Five things you need to know today

Market attack suspect; rail safety; Syria conflict; Belfast stabbing; Apollo House

Home Sweet Home supporters outside the High Court, Dublin on Wednesday. Photograph: Gareth Chaney/Collins
Home Sweet Home supporters outside the High Court, Dublin on Wednesday. Photograph: Gareth Chaney/Collins

1. Berlin attack suspect was on watchlist over links to radicals

Germany is offering a €100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Anis Amri, a 24-year-old Tunisian national suspected of involvement in Monday's Christmas market attack in Berlin which killed 12.

German authorities on Wednesday took the unusual step of issuing a Europe-wide arrest warrant for the man, who is believed to be armed and dangerous, after finding ID papers belonging to him in the cabin of the truck used in Monday’s attack.

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2. Rail regulator strongly criticises Iarnród Éireann on safety

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The rail regulator has warned the Government of “strategic safety” issues arising on the railways over time unless senior management at Iarnród Éireann changes the way it deals with safety regulation.

In its annual report the Commission for Railway Regulation has strongly criticised the attitude of the railway company’s management to safety compliance issues.

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3. Syria conflict: UN creates team to prepare cases on war crimes

The United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday voted to establish a special team to "collect, consolidate, preserve and analyse evidence" as well as to prepare cases on war crimes and human rights abuses committed during the conflict in Syria.

The General Assembly adopted a Liechtenstein-drafted resolution to establish the independent team with 105 in favour, 15 against and 52 abstentions. The team will work in coordination with the UN Syria Commission of Inquiry.

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4. Man seriously injured in stabbing near Belfast Christmas market

A man was seriously injured in a stabbing incident near Belfast’s Christmas market on Wednesday.

Ambulances rushed to Belfast City Hall around 8pm on Wednesday after reports that a man, believed to be in his 40s, was found stabbed close to the market.

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5. No more than 40 homeless to stay at Apollo House each night

A High Court judge has ruled the people occupying Apollo House in Dublin city centre must leave the building by January 11th.

The building on Tara Street and Townsend Street was taken over last week by activists in the Home Sweet Home Coalition, and offered as accommodation to homeless people.

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