As the day draws to an end in Australia, here's a brief look at the main updates from the country today.

• The Australian government says the coronavirus infection curve is flattening and the country should be thinking about the long haul
• About 40,000 retired medics are to be called back to work
• And there is a developing stand-off over a cruise ship in Fremantle – the crew of the Artania are refusing to leave port after being ordered to do so. The ship has had dozens of coronavirus cases. Authorities fear some 450 people on board might still have the virus. None of them is Australian

Image source, Getty Images

Silverstone says it has until the end of April to decide whether or not the British Grand Prix can go ahead in July.

The first eight races on the calendar have already been called off, leaving Canada as the next scheduled event on 12-14 June.

Silverstone and Formula 1 say they "remain in close dialogue regarding the ongoing situation" and are assessing the feasibility of holding the event, scheduled for 17–19 July.

In a joint statement, they added: “We fully appreciate that other UK sporting events in July have taken decisions regarding their events, but it is important to highlight that their logistics and sporting arrangements differ from Silverstone’s."

Only Monaco has actually been cancelled, with the other races hoping to be given new dates in a revamped schedule later in the year.

Image source, AFP

Saudi Arabia has asked Muslims planning to take part in the annual Hajj pilgrimage to delay booking trips with tour operators amid uncertainty over the pandemic.

Some two million people were expected to travel to Mecca and Medina this July and August for the Hajj, which all Muslims who are physically able must undertake once in a lifetime.

The Saudi authorities have reported 1,563 cases of Covid-19 and 10 related deaths.

In other developments in the Middle East:

• The official death toll in Iran has risen to 3,036, after the health ministry reported 138 fatalities in the past 24 hours. The number of cases has risen to 47,593. Meanwhile, President Hassan Rouhani said the US had “lost the best opportunity to lift sanctions” on Iran to help it fight the coronavirus, a day after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo held out the possibility of a “re-think”
• Oman has reported its first death from Covid-19 - a 72-year-old Oman man. The sultanate has reported 210 confirmed cases
• In Israel, where 5,591 people have been infected and 21 have died, the defence ministry has said it has converted a missile production facility to make ventilators, amid a shortage of the machines. Meanwhile, the Israeli military said its chief of staff, Lt Gen Aviv Kochavi, had tested negative for the coronavirus, external. On Tuesday, he and two other senior commanders went into self-isolation after it emerged they had attended a meeting with an officer who later tested positive

Singer Rick Astley has announced he will play a free concert in Manchester in October for the health and emergency workers battling the outbreak of coronavirus in the UK.

He says he wants to say " a massive thank you" to the NHS workers, who are doing "an amazing job".

The Edinburgh Fringe festival has been cancelled this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, organisers have announced., external

The Edinburgh International Festival, the Art Festival, the International Book Festival and the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo have also been scrapped for this year.

Hugh Pym
BBC News Health Editor

There is much confusion over the issue of testing and a multitude of figures flying around. That reflects uncertainty at the highest levels of Whitehall on what is really going on.

It’s a critical issue for the NHS because doctors and nurses who are self isolating need to be tested so if they do not have the virus they can quickly return to work at a time when staff are badly needed on the frontline.

The government target is to get to 25,000 people being tested each day which has now been shifted back until late April. An earlier target was set at 10,000 which should have been hit by now. The daily testing total is still at about 8,000.

Then there is laboratory capacity, which according to officials, should allow 12,500 tests to be analysed each day and 15,000 by the end of this week. So why is that capacity not being used? That remains a bit of a mystery. If it can be solved many more NHS staff could be tested.

A global shortage of chemical supplies has been blamed by Michael Gove. But the full answer is probably more complex.Testing kits are hard to find in some areas. There is likely to be inefficiency in the organisation of testing processes and laboratory analysis.

When the pandemic is over many questions will be asked about whether the UK did order enough kit and supplies early enough. But right now ministers and officials have an immediate problem to fix.

Image source, AP

Self-employed workers in the UK can apply for a grant worth 80% of their average monthly profits under the government's plans - but the money will not begin to arrive until the start of June at the earliest.

Former Bank of England governor Sir Mervyn King has questioned the delay.

He told BBC 5 Live that "it’s no good waiting until June - the cash has to go to self-employed businesses now", in order to prevent long-term damage to the economy and people's "welfare, health and livelihoods".

"The idea that we simply wait until June, I think is not a practical response to the challenge that many people face when - through absolutely no fault of their own - their livelihoods are being put at risk," he told the Emma Barnett programme.

He said the UK had "in essence ...frozen the economy" as a result of current measures to tackle coronavirus, and suggested the UK could go further and freeze the market economy to ensure struggling firms don't go out of business.

"If we end up losing some money to people who don't deserve it that may end up being a price worth paying in order to keep large numbers of businesses functioning," he added.

It’s Eurovision, but not quite as you know it…

Following the cancellation of this year’s event, organisers will instead air a television show honouring all 41 songs in a non-competitive format.

"Eurovision: Shine a Light" will take place on Saturday, 16 May – in place of what would have been the live final in the Netherlands.

Sietse Bakker, executive producer, said: “We want to make a show that puts a spotlight not only on the 41 artists that were due to appear in Rotterdam but also inspire those at home and connect people from across Europe and beyond in these difficult times.

It is the first time in the competition’s history that it has been cancelled.

Image source, EBU/Getty

Image source, Twitter/@CynthiaViteri6

• Outrage is growing in Ecuador's most populous city Guayaquil as residents are sharing videos of bodies dumped in the streets. Forensic services are struggling to pick up the bodies of those who have died in recent days - not just from coronavirus but from other causes as well. Relatives are reporting waiting times of up to four days and some have resorted to leaving the bodies outside their homes. Local newspaper El Universo reports that between 400 and 450 bodies have yet to be removed from homes. Guayaquil Mayor Cynthia Viteri announced on Tuesday that the first of three refrigerated containers for the storage of bodies had arrived
• In Brazil, the first coronavirus case in an indigenous community has been reported. A 19-year-old woman from the Kokama indigenous group in Amazonas state has contracted the virus, said Francisco Ferreira Azevedo, a local health official. There are fears that the pandemic could hit indigenous communities particularly hard as they often live in remote locations without access to healthcare
• El Salvador has reported its first Covid-19 death. The 60-year-old woman had recently returned to El Salvador from the United States, President Nayib Bukele said. President Bukele was one of the first Latin American leaders to impose strict restrictions on movement and to close the small Central American country's borders

Some countries are not messing around when it comes to April Fools' Day this year.

A few countries have gone as far as threaten jail time for those attempting any pranks today, deeming them inappropriate and dangerous.

India's Maharashtra state said "strong action" would be taken against "miscreants", external, who use the day to spread fake news.

The state's police also took to Twitter, asking residents to "not be a fool" and maintain social distancing.

Thai authorities have warned that those spreading misinformation on Covid-19 could be penalised, external under its strict Computer Crime Act and face up to five years in prison.

And the no-joke rule has been adopted by certain corporations too. Earlier in the week, Google cancelled its infamous April Fools' tradition. According to an internal email obtained by Business Insider, external, Google will “take the year off from that tradition out of respect for all those fighting the Covid-19 pandemic."

But none of this has stopped people on social media from wondering whether all of 2020 so far has been some sort of extended April Fools' prank.

Jonathan Head
BBC South East Asia Correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

Thailand has joined other countries in promising automatic visa extensions for tourists stranded by flight cancellations.

Tens of thousands of foreigners are believed to be stuck in the country, and social media posts show hundreds crowded together and queuing for hours at immigration offices to try to extend their visas.

The Thai cabinet has agreed to an automatic extension for anyone who arrived on a tourist visa on or after 1 March.

Some Thai immigration offices have been criticised for charging stranded foreigners the standard 500 baht (£12.25) a day for overstaying.

There is still a very small number of flights leaving Bangkok every day.Meanwhile, there are also about 250 British nationals stuck in Cambodia. Some have already booked two or three flights home, only to have them cancelled, with no refund yet.

The Foreign Office says it is prepared to spend £75m ($90m) to bring stranded British travellers home, but is prioritising charter flights for those countries with no commercial flights.

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've shared their tips on keeping the spark alive - while staying safe.

M Ilyas Khan
BBC News, Islamabad

The cotton-sowing season is beginning in Punjab, but Pakistani farmers are facing difficulties finding farm workers and sowing material.

Pakistan’s economy depends heavily on the cotton industry and its related textile sector, which accounts for 60% of its total exports. And Punjab is the largest cotton producer, making 79% of the nationwide total.

But the ongoing lockdown and confusion over its implementation is casting a dark shadow. Farmers say police teams on the roads have no clear instructions on which supplies to let through and which to stop.

Most parts of Pakistan have been under a lockdown for over a week. There are 2,039 confirmed cases and at least 26 deaths.

• In India, at least 140 positive cases have been directly or indirectly linked to a religious event in Delhi's Nizamuddin neighbourhood. Officials are tracking thousands of those who attended the gathering, organised by the Islamic missionary movement Tablighi Jamaat. It is India's biggest hotspot at the moment as it has set off several Covid-19 clusters

• In Pakistan, a convention centre in Lahore has been transformed into a field hospital with 1,000 beds within nine days. The city is in the country's worst-affected province of Punjab
• The Malaysian government was forced to apologise after its women's ministry posted cartoons online telling wives to dress up, wear makeup and avoid nagging their husbands during the country's partial lockdown

Image source, Getty Images

Here is some more about Spain's latest record for deaths in a 24-hour period, which was announced just a while ago. It saw 864 more recorded in data released on Wednesday and comes after 849 people were reported to have died from the virus on Tuesday.

This is the fifth day in a row that Spain has officially recorded more than 800 deaths. The country has the second-deadliest outbreak in the world after Italy, and as of today it has become the third country to report more 100,000 confirmed cases.

Turkmenistan may not be somewhere you hear about particularly often - it's largely known for its autocratic government and huge gas reserves.

But the Central Asian nation has taken an extreme approach to the coronavirus.

In fact, it's reportedly banned the use of the word altogether.

State media has been stopped from using it and it has also been removed from health information brochures, according to the group Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

People wearing face masks or talking about the virus are even liable to be arrested by undercover police, RSF says.

It's worth noting that Turkmenistan is one of the world's most closed-off countries. The government has an absolute monopoly of the media and foreign news websites (like this one) are blocked.

The country has so far reported no cases of the virus. Neighbouring Iran, meanwhile, has reported more than 47,000.

Image source, Reuters

The World Health Organization (WHO) will spend $900,000 (£727,000) to support North Korea in tackling the coronavirus pandemic.

That's according to South Korean news agency Yonhap, which has gone through data posted on the website of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

North Korea claims there are no virus infections in the country yet, but observers say this is unlikely.

The county has implemented a range of anti-virus measures, including shutting down borders and mandating quarantine periods to prevent an outbreak.

Iran's death toll from the coronavirus outbreak has passed 3,000, after 138 deaths were recorded in the past 24 hours.

There were 2,987 new cases in the same period, state media reported, bringing the country's total to 47,593. Experts believe the actual figures are far higher.

This comes as Iran - which is battling one of the world's worst coronavirus outbreaks - reiterated its call for people to stay at home on the last day of the Persian New Year holiday, Nowruz.

Iranians normally celebrate it outdoors, having picnics in parks and the countryside.

But all parks and public gardens have been closed and police have been deployed to prevent people from entering them.

We are delivering the latest news on the coronavirus pandemic in lots of different languages.

You can also follow our live coverage in:

• Hindi
• Urdu, external
• Russian
• Arabic

While the virus originated in China late last year, it has since spread rapidly around the world and the epicentre of the crisis has shifted.

We've put together this handy graph that shows where the most new cases are being recorded - at the moment Spain, Italy, Germany and the US.

And this one breaks down the total number of confirmed cases worldwide.

As you can see, that number includes those who have recovered as well as recorded deaths.