LAST UPDATE | 19 Aug 2020

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

1. #COVID-19: Family visits, sports and eating out: here’s what you need to know about the new Covid-19 restrictions.

2. #JOE BIDEN: US Democrats have nominated Joe Biden as their 2020 presidential candidate, offering the Washington veteran as a “man of courage” who would sweep away the “chaos” of four years under Donald Trump.

3. #STORM ELLEN: Met Éireann’s head of forecasting Evelyn Cusack has warned of “disruptive and potentially damaging winds” on the way this evening as Storm Ellen approaches Ireland. A Status Orange wind warning has been issued for seven counties in the south and west of the country.

4. #LEAVING CERT: Amid confusion here and a furore in the UK over its approach, here is reminder of how the Leaving Cert Calculated Grades system works and the rationale behind it.

5. #BREXIT: The UK and EU have resumed Brexit trade talks, with the two sides still far apart on key issues including fishing rights and competition rules.

6. #GAA: The GAA has called on the National Public Health Emergency Team to present the evidence that informed their recommendation that all sport in Ireland revert to being held behind closed doors.

7. #MALI: Mali’s president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita today said he had resigned to avoid “bloodshed” after he was detained in a military coup, whose leaders pledged new elections to resolve a spiralling political crisis in the fragile West African nation.

8. #RESEARCH: Covid-19 may enter the body by targeting the part of nose responsible for smell, new research has suggested.

9. #VACCINE: Australia should make any coronavirus vaccine compulsory for its 25 million citizens bar medical exemptions, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said today, wading into a heated ethical debate.