NEED TO CATCH up? TheJournal.ie brings you a round-up of today’s news.

IRELAND

Zara Hanlon (5) and Kate Hanlon (7) on hand to launch the new BUMBLEance vehicle at Connolly Hospital, Dublin.

• The “pension time bomb” has become a huge issue in the general election, one expect has described the State pension as ‘a bit of a mess’. 
• Outgoing Fine Gael TD Maria Bailey has said she will not be contesting the upcoming general election.
• Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has said her party shouldn’t need to seek an injunction against RTÉ to be allowed to take place in its televised leaders’ debate.
• People Before Profit launched the party’s manifesto in Dublin.  
• The garda who shot Mark Hennessy has told the Coroner’s Court that he believed Jastine Valdez was in the car and her abductor was about to slit her throat.
• A body believed to be that of missing fisherman William ‘Willie’ Whelan, has been located off the Wexford coast.
• A man in his sixties has died in a farm accident in Whitegate, Co Cork after a heavy door on a grain trailer fell in top of him. 
• The leaders of the five main parties in Stormont have asked for a scheduled £1,000 pay increase be deferred.
• The Teachers’ Union of Ireland has said it expects a high volume of second-level schools to close during its one-day stoppage on 4 February. 

WORLD

A portion of the spectators' line fills the hallway outside the Harvey Weinstein rape trial. Richard Drew / PA Richard Drew / PA / PA

#WUHAN: Chinese authorities are to suspend flights and trains out of the city of Wuhan as they attempt to halt the spread of a deadly virus.

#SAUDI HACKING: Independent UN Rights experts said today they had received information that Amazon owner Jeff Bezos’s phone was hacked through a WhatsApp account belonging to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.

#ON TRIAL: Harvey Weinstein is a “seasoned” sexual predator and rapist who abused his power as a movie-producing titan to prey on vulnerable aspiring actresses, prosecutors said today as his trial got into full swing. 

PARTING SHOT

Tributes have been flooding in for Monty Python star Terry Jones has died at the age of 77.

The actor and comedian, who had dementia, directed some of the comedy troupe’s most-loved works, including Life Of Brian.

He appeared in TV series Monty Python’s Flying Circus in a variety of characters and was known for his performances in drag.