The one feather* in the Government's cap fluttered to the ground yesterday when it emerged that a faulty calculated grades system had downgraded over 10% of this year's Leaving Cert results. Under-funded colleges may now have to create 1,000 extra places, according to the Times. 

The usually-assured education minister Norma Foley knew she was on a sticky wicket on the telly last night. She'll be defending another one in the Dáil around lunchtime today.

Every title reports on Dr Ronan Glynn's appearance at the Oireachtas Covid Committee yesterday, though his comments about employers falling short on remote working have been dropped from all reports. We'll have that in tomorrow's Fórsa ebulletins.

The Indo speculates that "rolling lock-downs" are to be a way of life, and NPHET meets again today after a hefty 429 new cases were reported last night.

Elsewhere, one report warns that Irish food exports (and imports) will plummet if there's a hard Brexit, another reckons the post office network will collapse without more State support, and the Examiner tells us that over 21,000 children are waiting for occupational therapy services.

Stateside, the Guardian reports that Democrats broke fundraising records in the hours after Tuesday's shit-show (CNN's words, not mine). That piece is a good general analysis of 2020's first US presidential election 'debate' and its import.

And I highly recommend this RTÉ report on China's suppression of over a million Muslim Uighurs. The first of two reports from Yvonne Murray (more on the 6.01 News tonight) shines a welcome light on an ongoing and seriously under-reported human rights catastrophe.

Great Zen today, featuring the story behind THAT 1932 photograph (including a shout-out to Roosevelt's New Deal). Not for those prone to vertigo, I'm afraid.

Have a good Thursday.

Bernard

* All things are relative.