Fifty MPs from multiple parties in the UK have asked for a compensation scheme for frontline workers during the coronavirus crisis.

A letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson calls on the government to help the families of those "who die as a result of contracting Covid-19 while performing front-line duties".

"Just like members of the Armed Forces, they should know that if the worst happens, the state will help their families," the letter reads.

The scheme they are calling for would include a lump sum up front, a guaranteed income for the worker’s family and child payments to eligible children under 18.

On 24 March, the British government announced it would turn the ExCeL Centre in London's Docklands area into a hospital to cope with patients affected by Covid-19 and work began almost immediately.

These pictures show how the building has been transformed into the NHS Nightingale Hospital London.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

See more pictures of how the ExCeL Centre has become the NHS Nightingale Hospital London here.

Spain has recorded 849 new deaths related to coronavirus, the highest number in 24 hours in the country since the outbreak began.

The national death toll is now at 8,189, according to the health ministry.

Spain is the worst-hit country in Europe after Italy.

Image source, Reuters

Messages of unity and solidarity with those combating the pandemic were projected on to Giza’s Great Pyramid by Egypt’s government on Monday night.

“Thank you to those keeping us safe”, “Stay at home” and “Stay safe”, said the messages in Arabic and English.

Image source, EPA

Egypt - whose population of 100 million is the biggest in the Arab world - has so far reported 656 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and 41 related deaths.

To limit the spread of the virus the authorities have closed tourist and religious sites, as well as schools and universities. There is also a night-time curfew.

Tourism and Antiquities Minister Khaled al-Anani told reporters in Giza: "The tourism sector is one of the most affected industries, but our priority is health.”

Image source, AFP

Katya Adler
Europe Editor

France is one of a number of countries, including the UK, warning of increased domestic violence as coronavirus keeps people in their homes.

Cases went up by 32% in one week, in Paris by 36%, Secretary of State for Gender Equality Marlène Schiappa said,

The country plans to introduce an emergency warning system in chemists, supermarkets and online for victims of abuse.

Image source, Getty Images

Borders shut. Travel banned. Billions under lockdown. The pandemic has delivered an "unprecedented shock" to airlines with huge challenges ahead, the International Air Transport Association says. Demand for airplane travel has plummeted, with two million flights already cancelled, and the IATA estimates the industry will lose $252bn (£202bn) in 2020, external. Here’s the latest:

• American Airlines is requesting $12bnin support from the US government
• Passenger numbers in Germany’s Frankfurt airport - a major international hub - have dropped 90.7%
• British Airways has suspended all flights to and from London Gatwick’s airport, and routes operating from Heathrow Airport are severely reduced
• In the UK, the companies which manage baggage handling warned that they are close to collapse
• On Monday, budget airline EasyJet grounded its whole fleet
• US Congress last week set aside $50bn for airlines, with half the money offered as loans in exchange for not mandating leave of absence for employees until at least 30 September
• Last week, the British chancellor said airlines should not turn to government first when seeking financial help

Or avoiding ice cream, for that matter. There's been a lot of talk online about the different ways you can beat or avoid the coronavirus and not a lot of it is true. We debunk several myths here, and also in this video below - have a watch.

Getting Britons home from abroad is likely to be the biggest ever repatriation undertaken by the UK government, the transport secretary has said.

Grant Shapps said the cost would come to £75m ($93m).

He said: “I handled the Thomas Cook repatriation, which was the largest at the time, but this is even bigger because it is not a single airline and we don’t know where everyone is."

Labour deputy leadership candidate Rosena Allin-Khan - who is also an A&E doctor - has shared a letter she sent to England's health secretary asking how long NHS staff will have to wait for testing.

She says the “lack of testing is having a huge mental health impact on our NHS workforce”.

BBC Radio's Asian Network

The UK's National Union of Students (NUS) wants compulsory exams for all final-year students to be scrapped because of coronavirus.

The NUS is calling for universities to give final-year students a series of options including opting out of exams and settling for a grade based on attainment so far; "open-book" exams done at home; and deferring the term at no extra cost.

It also wants thousands of first- and second-year exams cancelled completely.

The NUS vice-president for higher education, Claire Sosienski-Smith, said students were struggling with stress and anxiety, and it was "vital that no student is disadvantaged" by the pandemic.

A quarter of the world’s population is living under some sort of lockdown as a result of coronavirus.

But many couples, and single people hoping to find a match, are finding creative ways to date while under lockdown. They share their tips on keeping the spark alive - while staying safe.

In the UK, strict rules have been placed on people's personal movement to limit the spread of coronavirus.

Under the restrictions, everybody must stay at home and only leave for these reasons:

• To exercise once a day - either alone, or with members of your household
• Shopping for basic necessities, although this should be done as little as possible
• Medical need, or to provide care for a vulnerable person
• Travel to or from work, but only where this is absolutely necessary

Watch the BBC's Laura Foster measure out the safe distance of two metres for you.

Image source, EPA

Sales of groceries in the UK in March beat all previous records as shoppers stocked up for a long period at home, according to consumer analysts Kantar.

The busiest spell was 16-19 March, when 88% of households visited a food store, adding up to 42 million extra trips across four days.

Year-on-year supermarket sales grew by 20.6% over the past four weeks.

Read the full story here.

Image source, Getty Images

A teenager in Oxford, England - who was made homeless during the coronavirus restrictions - said two councils told him he would have to sleep rough before they could help him.

The teenager, who worked as a waiter before restaurants were closed due to the outbreak, said: "They both told me I would have to sleep rough in a specific location in their jurisdictions that I should inform them of, and that an outreach team would come and find me when they could."

Last week, the UK's minister for homelessness asked all English local authorities, external to provide accommodation for all rough sleepers, and urged hotels, hostels and B&Bs , externalthat had closed services for homeless people to "reverse these decisions as soon as possible".

Read the full story here.

BBC World Service

Image source, Getty Images

The former president of the Republic of Congo, Jacques Joaquim Yhombi-Opango, has died in Paris from complications related to coronavirus.

He was 81 years old. His family said he had been ill before contracting the virus.

Mr Yhombi-Opango led Congo-Brazzaville from 1977 until he was toppled in 1979 by the country's current leader, Denis Sassou Nguesso.

He spent several years in prison before multi-party democracy was introduced in 1991 and served as prime minister until civil war broke out in 1997.

He went into exile in France, before being allowed to return home 10 years later.

Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi has called for calm after the country confirmed its first cases of coronavirus on Monday.

The country’s Health Minister Lems Kwape said three travellers – two of them from Thailand and the third from the United Kingdom – tested positive for the virus.

Botswana was among the few African countries yet to report coronavirus cases. Others include Lesotho, Comoros, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Burundi and São Tomé and Príncipe.

Reality Check

Testing is seen as key to tackling the coronavirus - if people don't know they are infected they are likelier to infect others - and the UK hopes to rapidly increase the number of people tested in the coming weeks.

But how does the UK's approach compare with that of other countries?

Our latest Reality Check article tries to answer the following questions.

• How many tests is the UK doing?
• How does this compare with the rest of the world?
• Can I get a test for coronavirus?

Read the Reality Check article here.

Image source, Getty Images

An investigation has been launched after a group of migrant workers were filmed being doused in a "chemical solution" by Indian officials.

They are understood to be migrants who returned to the city of Bareilly, in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.

The video - which has been viewed nearly 400,000 times after it was uploaded by a local journalist - shows the group squatting on the ground while medical and fire department officials dressed in hazmat suits spray them.

It has caused an uproar on Twitter, with many users pointing out that this is not protocol at airports, bus stations or train stations.

Bareilly's district magistrate said officials were investigating the incident in the video.

Image source, @kanwardeepstoi

Simon Jack
BBC Business Editor

Image source, Getty Images

Millions of plants, shrubs and trees could be binned in the coming days and weeks, meaning ruin for UK growers.

The closure of 2,000 garden centres and nurseries mean makers of what's called "ornamental horticulture" have no outlet for their plants.

The Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) is asking the government for financial assistance of up to £250m to help the industry avoid collapse.

It warned that up to a third of producers could go bust.

As one grower put it: "My car dealer down the road is shut. However painful that will be - they will still have all their vehicles. At roughly the same value, in three months' time, if I'm a nursery producing seasonal plants it will be nil."

Officials in Florida have arrested the pastor of a megachurch who is accused of continuing to host large church services attended by hundreds despite public orders urging residents to stay at home.

Pastor Rodney Howard-Browne was arrested on Monday and charged with unlawful assembly and violation of health emergency rules. His bail was set at $500 (£406), external and he was released after posting bond, the Guardian reports.

“His reckless disregard for human life put hundreds of people in his congregation at risk, and thousands of residents who may interact with them this week, in danger,” Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said.

On 15 March, the pastor reportedly encouraged people at the service to shake hands to show they weren't afraid of being infected with coronavirus. He also vowed his church would "never close", external, The Daily Beast reports.

The US state has nearly 5,500 confirmed coronavirus cases and at least 71 deaths, according to the state's health department, external.