LAST UPDATE | 20 Jan 2021

EVERY MORNING, TheJournal.ie brings you all the news you need to know as you start the day.

1. #SCHOOLS: The government has abandoned plans to reopen schools for special education tomorrow, after unions said they opposed the move over Covid-related safety concerns. Norma Foley said “it’s a matter of deep regret” that unions have opposed the phased reopening of schools.

2. #BIDEN: Joe Biden will be officially sworn-in as the 46th president of the United States today – here’s what’s happening when.

3. #TRUMP: Donald Trump will become the first US president since Andrew Johnson in 1869 to skip his successor’s ceremonial swearing-in. What’s next for Trump?

4. #PARDONS: In his final hours in office, Donald Trump has pardoned dozens of people, including former strategist Steve Bannon.

5. #SNAPCHAT: Gardaí are launching a crackdown on drug dealers using social media apps such as Snapchat to sell their products during Level 5 restrictions, TheJournal.ie has learned.

6. #CHINA: A partial lockdown has been imposed on Beijing, with 1.6 million residents banned from leaving the Chinese capital, after a handful of Covid-19 cases were detected.

7. :UK: Deaths from Covid-19 will continue to rise for some days to come, scientists have warned after the UK recorded its highest daily death toll – 1,610 – since the pandemic began.

8. #STRAIN: The UK strain of Covid-19 has spread to at least 60 countries, the World Health Organization said today.

9. #VOICES: The UN Security Council needs an ‘outsider’ and Ireland fits that bill, Andrew Anderson writes.