January 25: Today’s top stories in 60 seconds

Chris Hipkins replaces Ardern as New Zealand PM
Hundreds gathered to applaud Jacinda Ardern as she left New Zealand’s parliament to resign as prime minister, before Chris Hipkins was swiftly sworn in as her replacement. Ms Ardern said last week she no longer had “enough in the tank” after steering the country through natural disasters, its worst-ever terror attack and the Covid-19 pandemic. Mr Hipkins was sworn in by Governor-General Cindy Kiro during a ceremony in the capital Wellington, saying he was “energised and excited by the challenges ahead”. “This is the biggest privilege and responsibility of my life,” he said. The 44-year-old is now tasked with reversing the government’s sagging popularity, which has been hampered by a deteriorating economy and a resurgent conservative opposition.
RTÉ

US and Germany ready to send tanks to Ukraine – reports
After months of reluctance, the US and Germany reportedly plan to send tanks to Ukraine, in what Kyiv hopes will be a game-changer on the battlefield. US President Joe Biden’s administration is expected to announce plans to send at least 30 M1 Abrams tanks. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has also reportedly decided to send at least 14 Leopard 2 tanks. He is set to speak in parliament on Wednesday morning. Russia’s ambassador to the US said the news was “another blatant provocation”. And the Kremlin spokesman said Germany’s reported decision would “bring nothing good” and leave “a lasting mark” on relations with Russia. Ukrainian officials say they are urgently in need of heavier weapons, and say sufficient battle tanks could help Kyiv’s forces seize back territory from the Russians. But until now, the US and Germany have resisted internal and external pressure to send their tanks to Ukraine.
BBC News

Man charged over alleged theft and assault on garda in Buncrana
A man has been charged over an alleged theft and an assault on a garda in Buncrana, Co Donegal. The man, aged in his 40s, is due to appear in court on Wednesday over the incident that occurred on Monday.
Independent.ie

Government struggles to secure accommodation for asylum seekers
Asylum seekers will be forced to sleep on the streets as the Government struggles to get accommodation providers to take new arrivals from countries other than Ukraine. Protests outside centres providing accommodation to non-Ukrainian arrivals have added to the difficulty in securing sufficient accommodation from private sector providers. With the closure of the Citywest hub to asylum applicants, Government sources have admitted there are still options for Ukrainians but there is huge difficulty getting hoteliers, and other providers, to take arrivals from countries such as Somalia, Algeria, Nigeria, and Georgia. The difficulty is most noticeable when seeking accommodation for single men from these countries.
The Irish Examiner

Pope calls for bishops to ‘have a process of conversion’ and welcome LGBTQ people into church
Poppe Francis has branded laws criminalising homosexuality “unjust” – saying God loves his children just as they are – and called on Catholic bishops supporting the laws to welcome LGBTQ people into the church. “Being homosexual isn’t a crime,” Francis said during an interview with the Associated Press on Tuesday. He acknowledged Catholic bishops in some parts of the world support laws criminalising homosexuality or discriminate against the LGBTQ community – and referred to the issue in terms of “sin”. But he attributed such attitudes to cultural backgrounds and said bishops in particular need to undergo a process of change to recognise the dignity of everyone.
The Journal

Mike Tyson hit with $5M lawsuit for alleged rape inside his limousine
A woman has filed a lawsuit accusing former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson of raping her sometime in the early 1990s after she met him at a nightclub in Albany, New York. The woman, who is suing for $5 million, said Tyson raped her in a limousine and that she has suffered from “physical, psychological and emotional injury” in the years since then. The woman’s affidavit does not provide a date for the attack but says only that it happened in the early 1990s — around the same time that beauty pageant contestant Desiree Washington said Tyson raped her in Indianapolis. Tyson was convicted of raping Washington on Feb. 10, 1992, and served three years in prison. The legal action in New York was filed under the state’s Adult Survivors Act, which gives sexual assault victims a one-year window to file lawsuits over assaults that happened years or even decades ago.
NBC New York

Today’s forecast
Mostly cloudy with patches of mist this morning. Light rain and drizzle the northern half of the country will gradually move southwards today, with sunny spells and the chance of a few isolated showers following. The patchy rain will clear the south of the country towards evening. Light to moderate southwesterly winds will become northwesterly as rain clears. Highest temperatures of 7 to 10 degrees. Tonight will be cold and dry with clear spells and some patches of mist and hill fog. Frost and some icy patches will develop also with lowest temperatures dropping to between -2 and +3 degrees, coolest in the midlands, as northerly winds fall light and variable.
Met Éireann