Image source, EPA

More news on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to postpone a vote on constitutional amendments that would allow him to stay in power until 2036.

In a televised address to the nation, Mr Putin - who has ruled the country since 2000 - announced that the public vote due on 22 April was now delayed until a "later date".

He did not elaborate.

Separately, the president said that Russians would not work next week in an effort "to slow the speed" of the new coronavirus.

Russia has officially confirmed 658 cases, but no deaths.

Mr Putin's critics have said the authorities may be underreporting the true scale of the outbreak.

• Read more here: Coronavirus delays Russian vote

Lorna Gordon
BBC News Scotland correspondent

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has sent her best wishes to Prince Charles, who tested positive for coronavirus in Scotland.

She declined to comment on the specifics, when questioned on the fact that Prince Charles, 71, had tested positive at what some people have described as a second home - the prince is currently staying at Balmoral in Scotland.

Ms Sturgeon repeated the advice she gave on Sunday - that she didn't want people to see the Highland and Islands as places where they can outrun the virus.

She added that remote areas were under pressure at the best of times and she didn’t want health services in these areas to be put under additional pressure.

Scotland’s Chief Medical Officer Dr Catherine Calderwood said she had discussed the situation with the team at NHS Grampian and, from the information she had been given, it was clear Prince Charles had been tested for clinical reasons.

Separately, Prime Minister Boris Johnson wished Prince Charles a "speedy recovery", a Downing Street spokesman told reporters.

Image source, Getty Images

Dutch authorities have confirmed 80 more virus-related deaths in the country during the last 24 hours. They also confirmed 852 additional cases.

This latest figures bring the total to 6,412 cases and 356 deaths in the country of 17 million.

The Netherlands' health ministry stressed the actual number of infections will be higher because not everyone has been tested.

A ban on public gatherings has been extended until 1 June to help fight the Netherlands' outbreak.

As the US wakes up, here's a quick summary of the latest headlines from around the country:

• The White House and the Senate have agreed a huge stimulus package worth more than $1.8 trillion (£1.5tn) to help ease the economic impact of the virus
• While the full details of the deal aren't yet known, it reportedly includes payments of $1,200 to most American adults and aid to help small businesses pay their workers
• It also includes tax rebates, loans, money for hospitals and rescue packages
• The deal was announced shortly after President Trump said he hoped the US would shake off the coronavirus by Easter, but experts have sounded caution on that timeline
• New York state remains at the centre of the US crisis. Governor Andrew Cuomo has warned that the illness is spreading faster than "a bullet train" in the state

• And after 802 deaths and 55,225 confirmed infections, America is more than midway through a 15-day attempt to slow the spread of the virus through social distancing
• Earlier, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that it could become the new epicentre of the virus

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

New measures have been brought in to stop non-essential London Underground journeys, as passengers posted pictures of crowded carriages again this morning.

Queues are being introduced at ticket gates and some escalators are being turned off to slow the flow of passengers to platforms.

British Transport Police is also deploying 500 officers to patrol the network and remind the public that they should only be making essential journeys for work. Read more here

Image source, Reuters

The Vietnamese government has launched a war-like media campaign to suppress the coronavirus outbreak - despite the fact that there has been no officially reported death in the 95-million nation.

Top leaders like PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc are calling on the people to support “the Spring Offensive in a long war” against Covid-19.

The language clearly reminds older citizens of the anti-American “Spring Offensive” in 1975 by North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces, leading to the Communist victory in Saigon in April that year.

This dramatic language is also a hint that the virus may have spread across Vietnam.

Official confirmed cases have remained frozen at 113 for some time - but Deputy PM Vu Duc Dam said the country “must be ready to accept thousands of coronavirus patients” in the coming months.

Vietnam has already stopped all foreign nationals from entering the country, and from 24 March even overseas Vietnamese cannot fly back home until further notice.

Amol Rajan
Media Editor

In a briefing to staff this afternoon, BBC Director-General Tony Hall said that a planned modernisation of BBC News would be “paused”. This was due to contribute £40m of savings, toward an overall target of £80m.

The DG said it would be inappropriate to pursue this target while BBC News was so stretched in covering the pandemic. As a result, around 450 planned redundancies will be delayed.

While these savings will probably be implemented under Hall’s successor (he leaves at the end of the summer), the BBC is racking up a huge bill because of coronavirus. It has already said it will delay changes to free TV Licences for the over-75s by two months (at least) – and absorb that cost, which is coincidentally around £80m (at least).

The next Director-General is going to inherit an even bigger financial black hole that she or he imagined. However, negotiations with a government that had threatened to “whack” the BBC may be made marginally easier if the BBC – like other public service broadcasters – can prove its worth through this crisis.

Image source, Getty Images

During Prime Minister's Questions, Boris Johnson faced even more pressure to introduce measures to help self-employed people in the UK during this crisis.

Well, the BBC's political editor Laura Kuenssberg says it is on its way.

She says the chancellor will announce the new measures at the government's daily press conference on Thursday.

But there is no detail yet on how the government plans to assist this section of the economy.

Sarah Rainsford
BBC Moscow Correspondent

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said a vote on constitutional reform – which would allow him to stay in power for another two terms – will be postponed to a later date for health and safety reasons, due to the coronavirus crisis.

Image source, Reuters

Tennis star Roger Federer is the latest celebrity to donate money towards coronavirus causes.

The 38-year-old, considered one of the greatest sportspeople of all time, and his wife Mirka, have donated 1m swiss francs (about £861,000) to “vulnerable families in Switzerland”.

“Nobody should be left behind,” the 20-time Grand Slam winner wrote on Instagram. “Our contribution is just a start. We hope that others might join in supporting more families in need. Together we can overcome this crisis! Stay healthy!”

Married actors Blake Lively and Ryan Reynonds previously gave $1m to US and Canadian foodbanks.

Rihanna’s Clara Lionel Foundation donated $5m to various charities to help with medical supplies, equipment and access to food.

As the virus continues to spread across the continent, here are the latest updates from the region:

• Colombia begins a period of “mandatory preventive isolation” today meaning people all over the country will have to stay in their homes. Exceptions include medical appointments, shopping for essential goods like food, medicine and cleaning products, and going to the bank.

• Paraguay is the latest Latin American country to close its borders. The government announced on Tuesday that they would remain sealed until Sunday following a second death in the country from coronavirus.

• Mexico has called on businesses to stop employment that involves the movement of people from their homes to their workplaces. The country has entered the second stage of coronavirus transmission, meaning it has detected a case that has been passed from person to person locally, rather than coming from abroad.

• Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro has criticised the media for "fear-mongering" and has called on mayors and governors to roll back restrictions they have introduced to curb the spread. Mr Bolsonaro added that people aged over 60 were at risk, but most people - including himself - had nothing to fear. Over 2,200 cases of the virus have been reported in the country. The president has been accused of having a cavalier attitude to the pandemic.

Image source, Reuters

House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, UK Parliament

Prime Minister's Questions has come to an end and Leader of the House, Jacob Rees-Mogg, is making a business statement.

He confirms what we expected - that the UK Parliament will finish for its Easter Break today, rather than on Tuesday 31 March as planned.

Mr Rees-Mogg says the "aim" is for MPs to return to work on 21 April, but he will "keep the situation under review in terms of medical advice".

We're bringing you all the major updates from around the world about the coronavirus. If you're just joining us, here are some of the key developments we've been covering over the past few hours:

• India, a country of some 1.3 billion people, is spending its first day in lockdown
• This means about a quarter of the world’s population is now living under some form of lockdown, including restrictions on gatherings and travel outside the home. How strongly this is enforced and policed varies across countries
• The UK's Prince Charles has tested positive for the coronavirus, displaying mild symptoms
• Also in the UK, some 250,000 people have signed up as National Health Service volunteers
• Spain has recorded its biggest daily increase in fatalities, bringing its total death toll to 3,434 - surpassing China and putting it second only to Italy
• Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro has downplayed the threat of the coronavirus, calling on officials to roll back restrictions they have put in place to curb its spread

House of Commons
Parliament

In his final contribution to PMQs as the leader of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn tells the Commons the coronavirus crisis has shown "how deeply we depend on each other".

He says the wealthiest businessman will depend on the cleaner keeping his office safe, adding: "We can only come through this as a huge collective effort. No one is an island, no one is self made."

Mr Corbyn concludes: "At times like this, we have to recognise the value of each other and the strength of a society that cares for each other and cares for all."

Boris Johnson says he wants to associate himself fully with the Labour leader's comments.

He adds: "We are coming together as a nation like I haven't seen in a lifetime.... to help save the lives of many, many thousands of our citizens.

"We all understand that we will need to make a sacrifice, but we are gladly making that sacrifice."

Jonny Dymond
BBC royal correspondent

Royal doctors advise that Prince Charles would not have been contagious up until 13 March - a day after his last public engagement.

They are working on presumably his symptoms, the date he has taken the test and their understanding of where he is now in the virus' path.

We are waiting to see if there will be further statements or broadcasts from the Royal Family.

Our understanding is that the Queen will speak to the nation - only extraordinary circumstances prompt that and this is exactly that circumstance.

But the feeling is that the palace does not want any message from the Royal Family to get in the way of the more urgent messages from the government.

Any broadcast will be fairly carefully timed.

House of Commons
Parliament

Jeremy Corbyn says he is "not asking for the entire UK economy to close down", but wants more resources to be given to support the Department for Work and Pensions to ensure people get the help they need.

He calls for a rise in the weekly statutory sick pay of around £94, saying: "Unless we increase [sick pay] and give protection and access to benefits for those on zero-hour contracts, then there is a danger of those people going into work or trying to work when they shouldn't. We do need urgent action."

Boris Johnson agrees it is a time for "serious action", and says there has been a "serious response to the crisis" from the government.

Mr Corbyn also reiterates his plea for the government to remain open to scrutiny, even after Parliament closes.

The PM says the government has tried to be "as open and transparent as we can" and he will work with the Speaker on how to keep MPs in the loop.

Image source, Reuters

Canada's multi-billion-dollar relief package to respond to the coronavirus slowdown has passed in the House of Commons.

It allows the government to spend C$82bn ($57bn, £48bn) in emergency aid and economic stimulus.

The bill received approval on Wednesday with support from all parties.

It must now go to the Senate for approval.

Legislators passed the package, worth about 3% of the country's GDP, after a debate that went into the early morning hours.

A survey released on Wednesday by the Angus Reid Institute indicated that one-in-three Canadians across the country say they worry their household may miss a rent or mortgage payment this month., external

Demand on intensive care units in the UK will peak in “two-and-a-half to three weeks’ time” if current measures for tackling the coronavirus outbreak work, says a top epidemiologist advising the government.

Professor Neil Ferguson told a British parliamentary committee he was “moderately confident” the demand would then decline.

“If the current measures work as we would expect them to then we will see intensive care unit demand peak in approximately two-and-a-half to three weeks' time and then decline thereafter," he said.

Deputy chief medical officer Dr Jenny Harries says this will only happen “if people have continued to do as we have asked and cut down their social interactions”.

“That means the peak will be pushed forward but the height of it will be lower and we can manage all those who need hospital and healthcare safely through our NHS,” she told a Mumsnet webchat.

House of Commons
Parliament

We are now moving to the second half of an extended Prime Minister's Questions in the UK Parliament, which means another six questions from the outgoing Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

He begins by criticising Boris Johnson for not coming to the Commons to make regular statements, instead using press conferences, saying: "This House is the place the government should be held to account."

The Labour leader then moves onto the controversial decision to keep construction sites open, telling the story of a self-employed construction worker who had to go into work, despite having coronavirus, "as he had no other source of income to feed his family".

Mr Johnson says: "Everyone should work at home unless they cannot."

He also calls on employers to only remain open "in accordance with guidance" and reminds them "they have duty of care to employees".

House of Commons
Parliament

The Westminster leader of the third largest party in the Commons, the SNP, uses his questions to push for more help for the self-employed.

Ian Blackford says one in three self-employed people are now at risk of losing their income.

"Last Friday, the self-employed were promised by the prime minister and the chancellor that help was coming... but they and we are still waiting," he adds.

Boris Johnson says the government has done "a huge amount already to strengthen the safety net" for those losing income.

He adds: "There are particular complexities about the self-employed that do need to be addressed.

"We are working as fast as possibly can to get an appropriate package of support."

But Mr Blackford warns him: "Telling them to wait another day simply isn't good enough."