Updated Feb 18th 2021, 8:59 AM

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

1. #LEAVING CERTIFICATE: Students are to be given the option not to sit exams and instead apply for a calculated grade accredited by the State Examinations Commission.

2. #CIDR: Health surveillance were urged to slow down the number of Covid-19 cases they were inputting into the HPSC’s data-reporting system after a computer glitch slowed the official reporting of cases after Christmas, newly released emails show.

3. #ULSTER BANK: There has been an influx of calls from Ulster Bank mortgage holders looking at options to switch to another lender, mortgage brokers have said. 

4. #ENVIRONMENT: A nationwide ban on the sale and burning of smoky coal are among proposed new regulations announced by the Government today. 

5. #RICHARD O’HALLORAN: An Irish businessman barred from leaving China over a dispute has said the exit ban is having a “devastating effect” on him and his family and hopes authorities “see sense” soon. 

6. #COVID-19: Health officials last night confirmed 650 new cases of Covid-19 in Ireland and 57 deaths. 

7. #ESRI: The minimum wage increase did not lead to higher labour costs for the vast majority of Irish firms, a study has found.

8. #UNITED STATES: Former US President Donald Trump is escalating a political war within his own party that could undermine the Republican push to fight President Joe Biden’s agenda and ultimately return to power.

9. #VACCINES: The Un Secretary-General has criticised the “wildly uneven and unfair” distribution of Covid-19 vaccines globally.