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The Grand National is one of the biggest races in the world but Saturday's actual event has been called off. In its place, though, will be a televised Virtual Grand National.

Forty runners that would have been most likely to line up will take part, using CGI technology and special algorithms.

Tiger Roll had been due to seek an unprecedented third win in the big race at Aintree before it was cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Bookmakers have odds, and profits will go to NHS Charities Together. The race is being broadcast in the UK from 17:00 (16:00 GMT) on ITV1.

A few minutes ago we brought you news that UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson had written to opposition party leaders inviting them to a coronavirus meeting with experts next week.

He now has a new opposition leader to contend with, in the form of Sir Keir Starmer, who takes charge of the Labour Party from Jeremy Corbyn and you can find more about his victory here.

In his letter, the prime minister said the UK was facing its "biggest threat" in decades: "We have a duty to work together at this moment of national emergency."

The Russian Embassy in London has criticised the BBC for looking for a “hidden agenda” behind Russia’s assistance to the US and Italy during the pandemic.

The embassy was responding to a story published on 3 April - “What does ‘From Russia with love’ really mean?”- which debunked Russian state media reports that exaggerated Italy’s gratitude for the aid.

While admitting that “Russian media reports on Russian flags being flown and Russian anthem being sung in Italy are misleading”, the statement, external stresses that the aid was provided free of charge and on the request from Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.

“It is a sign of our solidarity with the Italian people, not linked to any political agenda,” it says.

The BBC story also cited an article in Italy's La Stampa newspaper quoting unnamed government officials in Rome as saying that 80% of the aid was “useless”.

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Another 809 people have died and 7,026 people have been diagnosed with the coronavirus in Spain in the past 24 hours.

As a result, a total of 11,744 have died, while the total number of cases - 124,736 - is now higher than in Italy.

While these are sombre figures, there is hope in Spain that the outbreak is stabilising.

This is the second day in a row that the daily death toll has fallen, and it's also the first time in three days that the number of fatalities has dropped below 900. The number of new infections is lower than Friday's figure of 7,472.

This appears to support Spanish Health Minister Salvador Illa's statement earlier this week that the outbreak in the country was reaching its peak.

Spaniards have just completed three weeks under lockdown, with a ban on all but essential outings and most businesses shut.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is expected to extend the current lockdown by another two weeks, until at least 26 April.

This news has just come in from our colleagues in Glasgow.

The deaths have all occurred in the past week due to a suspected coronavirus outbreak.

Staff at the Burlington care home in Cranhill say they are "closely monitoring" the health of other people in their care.

Read more about it here.

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US singer Pink has said she tested positive for the coronavirus and is now donating $1m (£815,000) to two emergency funds.

The Grammy Award-winning artist said that she and her young son Jameson had shown symptoms two weeks ago and a test revealed that she had the disease. She tweeted that they were retested "a few days ago" and were "thankfully negative".

"We must make testing free and more widely accessible to protect our children, our families, our friends and our communities," she said, adding that she would donate $500,000 to both the Temple University Hospital Emergency Fund in Philadelphia and the City of Los Angeles Mayor's Emergency Covid-19 crisis fund.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has written to opposition party leaders inviting them to a coronavirus meeting with experts next week.

The letter states that the country is facing its "biggest threat" in decades, adding: "We have a duty to work together at this moment of national emergency."

"We know this will not be a short battle - beating coronavirus will take months, not weeks."

The PM said he wanted to listen to the views of other party leaders and update them on measures taken so far.

The new leader of Labour, the main opposition party in the UK, is due to be announced later on Saturday.

After three weeks under lockdown, Spain has reported 809 further deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing to 11,744 the number of fatalities in the outbreak.

So far 124,736 have been infected, which is now more than in Italy.

Spain is looking for the pandemic to stabilise and the number of deaths has fallen below 900 for the first time in three days.

British boxer Anthony Yarde says his grandmother has died after contracting coronavirus.

She is the second member of his family to die as a result of the pandemic, following his father’s death last Friday.

The 28-year-old fighter appealed to people to “just stay home”.

“My dad and his mother have passed just days apart,” the light-heavyweight boxer wrote on social media.

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South Korea is to extend its rules on social distancing for another two weeks as the virus continues to spread, albeit at a slower rate.

Health minister Park Neung-hoo said the measures wouldn't be relaxed unless the country cut the number of daily new infections to 50 or below. On Saturday officials reported 94 new cases taking the total to 10,156 with 177 deaths.

South Koreans are advised to keep a social distance of at least 2m (6ft) and avoid public gatherings until at least 19 April.

However unlike lockdowns in many other countries, most shops and restaurants in South Korea are still open.

The country has been widely praised for its efforts to contain the outbreak through testing and contact tracing, but Mr Park said it was "too early to be at ease".

Up to 4,000 prisoners could be released from jails in England and Wales early because of the coronavirus, the prison service said.

Those convicted of violent crimes and sex offences will be excluded from the early-release scheme.

Inmates with two months or less to serve will be eligible for release on temporary licence.

It follows concerns that hospitals could be overwhelmed if the virus continues to spread in prisons.

So far, 88 prisoners across 29 jails have tested positive. A further 1,200 are believed to be self-isolating.

About 8,000 prison staff have been absent due to issues related to the virus - around a quarter of the total workforce in jails.

The Scottish government is considering similar measures and in Northern Ireland up to 200 offenders are being released early.

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UK police will continue patrolling popular tourist destinations such as Brighton this weekend, as warmer temperatures are forecast for much of the country over the weekend.

Police officers will be at Brighton station and if people are arriving only to “enjoy a sunny weekend” then they will be asked to go home, Nancy Platts, leader of Brighton and Hove City Council, told the BBC. “We cannot afford to risk the spread of this virus.”

Chief Constable Shaun Sawyer, of Devon and Cornwall Police in south-west England, urged people to be “selfless, not selfish” and said his officers would firstly "encourage" people to abide by government guidelines on essential travel. He said that enforcement “really is a last resort”.

“If a £60 ticket makes you do something and 684 people dying yesterday didn’t, then I think you’ve got to take a good look at yourself as to whether you realise the seriousness and significant of where we are,” he told BBC TV.

Police forces will be stopping people and asking them to go home if they are travelling unnecessarily.

We reported yesterday about a French doctor who sparked anger and accusations of racism after saying vaccine trials should be carried out "in Africa, where there are no masks, no treatments, no resuscitation".

"A bit like as it is done elsewhere for some studies on Aids. In prostitutes, we try things because we know that they are highly exposed and that they do not protect themselves,” Dr Jean-Paul Mira said during a televised debate on Thursday. Another, Camille Locht from Inserm research group, appeared to agree.

Now, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, the World Health Organization (WHO) regional director for Africa, has condemned the comments on Twitter.

Those shocked by the remarks also included footballers Samuel Eto’o and Didier Drogba. They called the comments "deeply racist" and said African people were being treated like "guinea pigs".

On Friday Dr Mira backtracked in a statement released by his employer: "I want to present all my apologies to those who were hurt, shocked and felt insulted by the remarks that I clumsily expressed on LCI this week."

This is a bit different. Ben Taylor hails from Yorkshire in the north-east of England and performs as Yorkshire Prose. This is his contribution to the debate on coronavirus and lockdown: "I get a bit of a lump in my throat when I think about our NHS, my mum and my wife are both nurses, I'm so proud of them and the rest."

As most of Britain prepares for a sunny weekend, the UK government reminds people that they should avoid non-essential travel.

A day of remembrance has been held in China to honour those who have died of coronavirus. The Qingming festival, also known as Tomb-Sweeping Day, is usually a time when people visit the graves of friends and family.

The most common signs of Covid-19 are a fever, dry cough and breathing difficulties.

For most people the symptoms will be mild but coronavirus can be serious for some, including the elderly or people with certain pre-existing conditions.

Some of the early symptoms can easily be confused with other winter bugs including colds and flu. But for now the UK government is advising anyone with a high temperature or a new, continuous cough to self-isolate at home for at least seven days just in case.

Under current guidance, most people may not need to get tested. If you are in the UK and worried about having the symptoms, use the NHS 111 advice service here, external.

You can also read more on the BBC about the symptoms and how to protect yourself

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The decision by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to recommend wearing a face mask in public adds to the list of countries providing different advice. In the Czech Republic and Slovakia, for example, you cannot go out in public without one. So just how safe are homemade masks?

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The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has now recommended that people in the US wear face masks when going out in public.

In the new guidelines, the CDC says, external: "Everyone should wear a cloth face cover when they have to go out in public, for example to the grocery store or to pick up other necessities.

"The cloth face cover is meant to protect other people in case you are infected... Continue to keep about six feet between yourself and others, the cloth face cover is not a substitute for social distancing."

But it stresses that people shouldn't wear face masks that are meant for healthcare workers.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) says people only need to wear face masks if they're taking care of someone with the coronavirus, or if they are coughing or sneezing.

"Masks are effective only when used in combination with frequent hand-cleaning with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water," the WHO adds.

England's deputy chief medical officer has said there are no plans to change UK guidance on the public wearing face masks, because he says it is not recommended as a way of stopping the spread of Covid-19.

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A three-minute silence has been held in China in remembrance of those who have died in the country's coronavirus outbreak.

The nation was brought to a halt at 10:00 local time (03:00 GMT), with cars, trains and ships sounding their horns and air raid sirens ringing out. Flags were also flown at half-mast.

In Wuhan, the epicentre of China's outbreak and the city where the first cases of the virus were detected late last year, all traffic lights in urban areas turned red and traffic was stopped.

China says more than 3,300 people in China died of the coronavirus, including 14 medical workers. However analysts believe the real number could be much higher as some coronavirus deaths were attributed to other health problems.

Read the full story about the tribute here.