Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly will ask the Cabinet to approve an agreement with doctors and pharmacists to administer Covid-19 vaccines.

There has been a slight reduction in the number of patients in hospital with Covid-19 now at 1,954, with 199 of these in intensive care units.

The Fórsa trade union, which represents Special Needs Assistants, will decide later today whether or not to back Government plans to reopen primary schools and special schools to children with significant additional needs.

The incoming Biden administration has said it will not be easing Covid-19 restrictions on travel to the US from Ireland, the UK and parts of Europe, despite an order lifting the ban issued by outgoing-President Donald Trump.

The National Mall in Washington DC is already packed ahead of the inauguration of US President-elect Joe Biden.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel wants to extend a lockdown to restrict coronavirus infections until 15 February, Bild newspaper reported, citing a draft resolution of the federal government.

Guatemalan security forces have broken up a caravan of about 4,000 Honduran migrants trying to reach the United States on a journey of thousands of kilometres through Central America on foot.

A group representing mixed-race Irish children who were born in mother-and-baby homes has expressed shock at the findings in the Commission of Investigation's report that there was "no evidence of discrimination" in decisions around adoption.

Northern Ireland Secretary of State Brandon Lewis has said any empty shelves in Northern Ireland are due to coronavirus issues and not because of Brexit.

From the launch of his campaign in 2015 to his defeat to Joe Biden last November, Donald Trump's time in the White House was a roller coaster ride.

Country music star Garth Brooks will perform at US President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration as part of the swearing-in ceremony.

Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones have both been nominated for Critics Choice Awards for their performances in Normal People.

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has urged people there to stage mass anti-government protests during a court hearing after his arrest on arrival in Moscow from Germany.

From vaccine safety updates to what should be done with any leftover vaccine supplies, here are some of the things we learned at the latest Covid-19 briefing.

At least 12 gold miners trapped hundreds of metres underground in China for more than a week have sent up a note warning some are injured, water surrounds them and they urgently need medicine.

As 200 people with Covid-19 received treatment in intensive care units around the country today, at least another 200 others were getting high levels of respiratory support outside ICUs.

Up to half a dozen parakeets have become regular visitors to a garden in Dublin.

Gardaí say they have issued more than 400 fines for non-essential travel since last Monday.

Two Dublin maternity hospitals have confirmed they administered vaccines to non-staff members and say it was because there were doses which would have been discarded if not used on the day.