LAST UPDATE | 29 Sep 2020

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

1. #COVID-19: The worldwide death toll from the Covid-19 pandemic has passed one million. 

2. #PUBS: Around 70 cases of Covid-19 in recent weeks have been linked to pubs and restaurants in Cork, Acting Chief Medical Officer Dr Ronan Glynn said this evening.

3.  #HSE: The HSE boss Paul Reid will tell the Special Covid-19 Response Committee that Ireland is meeting testing demands.

4. #BREXIT: The final scheduled round of post-Brexit trade talks begin today, with negotiators from the British and EU sides meeting in Brussels to try to hammer out the final details of a plan to get the bare bones of a trade deal agreed before the end of next month.

5. #COLLEGES: It will be compulsory for third-level institutions to provide an annual breakdown of the ethnic diversity among Irish academia from December this year, the Higher Education Authority has said.

6. #TESTING: A rapid Covid-19 test that shows on-the-spot results in 15 to 30 minutes is to be rolled out worldwide, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced yesterday. 

7. #GARDAÍ: Gardaí investigating the illegal sale of fireworks have targeted people who are using social media sites to sell off the goods.

8. #DONEGAL: A Donegal public health specialist has said Covid-19 outbreaks in the county that led to the implementation of additional restrictions were in all age groups and linked to a variety of social events at which people failed to adhere to the health guidance.

9. #INVESTMENT: Michael D’Arcy spoke in favour of legislation the Irish funds industry has been lobbying for for years, in his last Seanad speech.