British passengers who were on the Grand Princess cruise ship are on a flight back to Britain, said the Foreign Office.

Thousands of passengers on the US liner were stranded off the coast of California for days due to testing, and then an outbreak of coronavirus.

The 135 British nationals are expected to arrive in Birmingham on Wednesday evening. They will then be expected to self-isolate for two weeks.

Image source, Getty Images

The British pound briefly dropped 1 cent to $1.2830 after the Bank of England cut its benchmark interest rate, reports Reuters.

Image source, Getty Images

A UK health minister who came down with the coronavirus is hopeful that she is "over the worst of it now".

Nadine Dorries is the first UK MP to test positive for the virus.

The 62-year-old said in a tweet that she was more worried about her mother, who has begun to cough.

The Bank of England has reduced rates from 0.75% to 0.25%, taking borrowing costs to the lowest level in history.

The Bank said it would also relax capital rules to free up billions pounds of extra lending power to support the economy.

The move is part of a "package" of measures released by the government in light of the coronavirus outbreak.

Sealing Germany's borders to prevent the spread of the virus will not work, the country's Health Minister Jens Spahn said on Wednesday.

He rejected calls to follow its neighbour Austria - which now denies entry to visitors from Italy.

"The virus is in Germany, it is in Europe. That's the thought we have to get used to," he told local radio station Deutschlandfunk radio, reported Reuters.

"It will still spread even if you close all the borders. Sooner or later you have to let people in or out and then it starts spreading again."

There are currently 1,296 confirmed cases in Germany.

Image source, Getty Images

If you're just joining us here is a look at what's been happening around the world in the last few hours:

• There are now 119,000 cases of coronavirus globally and 4,296 deaths
• More than 55% of the cases are reportedly cured
• New countries reporting cases include Bolivia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Jamaica and Turkey

There's been an emergency cut in interest rates in the face of coronavirus by 0.5% to 0.25% - the joint lowest in history.

Yvette Tan
BBC News

An interview with a Chinese doctor in the virus epicentre of Wuhan is being censored in China - leading social media users to come up with creative ways to access the article.

The article, written by Ren Wu Magazine, focused on Dr Ai Fen - head of the emergency unit at the Wuhan Central Hospital.

In late December, she got lab test results for a patient, which said "Sars coronavirus". She took a picture of the report and alerted her colleagues to the situation - and for her efforts, was reprimanded by her superiors.

Eight doctors, including her colleague Dr Li Wenliang, shared her photo and were later summoned and told off by police. Dr Li eventually died after contracting the virus.

Dr Ai now says she now regrets not speaking out.

"If I had known what the situation would be like today. I would have told everybody," she said.

The article was widely shared on social media platform WeChat, before it was taken down by authorities. But social media users have come up with creative ways to avoid the censors, including writing the articles backwards and replacing it with emojis.

Tokyo Disneyland will remain closed throughout early April, its operator Oriental Land Co Ltd has said, according to a Reuters report.

The company had previously said it would remain closed until 15 March.

Image source, Getty Images

Indonesia has recorded its first Covid-19 death - a 53-year-old woman from overseas.

Indonesia has 26 other confirmed cases.

As some workplaces in Wuhan re-open, our China correspondent Stephen McDonell reports from Beijing - where government officials are trying to reassure the population that all will soon be well.

Shingai Nyoka
BBC News, Harare

A Thai national who fled from quarantine before doctors could test him for coronavirus has since returned for testing and has been declared negative, according to Zimbabwe’s information ministry.

The 26-year-old man had been referred to Wilkins Hospital in the capital, Harare, earlier this week with a fever.

He arrived in Zimbabwe on 14 February from Thailand and had been described as low-risk.

The ministry said the man had since been discharged from hospital.

Zimbabwe has no confirmed case of coronavirus.

• Read: The spread of coronavirus prejudice

More than 90 virus cases have been linked to a call centre in Seoul, said a Yonhap report quoting the capital's mayor.

This makes it the biggest Covid-19 cluster in Seoul.

There are currently 7,755 confirmed cases in South Korea.

Image source, Getty Images

Google's parent company Alphabet has asked its North American staff to work from home to reduce the potential spread of the coronavirus.

Alphabet is the latest company to make such an announcement as US coronavirus cases have risen to more than 1,000.

Last week, Google, along with many of the world's other major tech companies, including Apple, Amazon, Microsoft and Facebook, began recommending that staff in Seattle should work from home as the coronavirus spreads in Washington state.

Read more here

Arsenal's game against Manchester City tonight has been postponed, as some of their players are in isolation. Here is the timeline of events:

• Thursday 27 February: Arsenal knocked out of Europa League by Greek side Olympiakos
• Tuesday 10 March: Olympiakos owner Evangelos Marinakis announces on Instagram he has the virus, external
• Tuesday 10 March: Arsenal "trace any individuals who had close contact with him at the game 13 days ago", and self-isolation begins
• Wednesday 11 March: Arsenal say "some players are unavailable for tonight's match against Manchester City and the Premier League has decided the game should be postponed"
• Friday 13 March: Affected players and staff due to return to work
• Saturday 14 March: Arsenal due to play Brighton as scheduled

A plane has left South Africa headed to China's coronavirus epicentre of Wuhan to repatriate more than 120 citizens stranded there since the outbreak began in January.

"Go with speed, with God and bring our children back home," President Cyril Ramaphosa reportedly told, external the dozens of military staff and health officials boarding the flight at Johannesburg's main airport on Tuesday night.

Japan's Olympics minister has responded to suggestions that the Games could be delayed by one or two years.

"A delay is not under consideration," said Seiko Hashimoto in a parliamentary committee, according to a Bloomberg report. "[It] is inconceivable."

A member of the organising committee's executive board earlier said they had to start "preparing for any possibility".

Hashimoto - a former Olympic athlete - acknowledged that the final decision rests with the International Olympic Committee.

Image source, Getty Images

Some industries in the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the outbreak emerged late last year, will resume, the provincial government has said.

The notice said key sectors such as public transport, medical supplies, and producers of daily necessities, will be allowed to return to work.

Other industries that impact national or global supply chains can also resume - with permission from relevant authorities.

Image source, Getty Images

Cathay Pacific said it expects a "substantial" loss in the first half of this year as the impact of the coronavirus takes it toll.

The Hong Kong carrier also saw a 28% drop in 2019 profits as it struggled during the city's political protests.

The first half of 2020 is "expected to be extremely challenging financially," said chairman Patrick Healy.

A coronavirus conference has been cancelled because of the coronavirus, according to a Bloomberg report.

US Think Tank the Council on Foreign Relations was due to hold a conference called "Doing Business Under Coronavirus" on Friday in New York.