Jack Dorsey, the founder and CEO of Twitter and Square, has announced he is giving away $1bn (£810m) for coronavirus relief efforts.

The figure represents around a quarter of his total personal wealth, he says.

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Acting US Navy Secretary Thomas Modly has reportedly offered to resign over his handling of a coronavirus-stricken aircraft carrier.

Unnamed officials confirmed the news to various US media outlets, but it is unclear if his resignation has been accepted.

Mr Modly has been criticised for ousting Brett Crozier, the captain of the USS Theodore Roosevelt. Captain Crozier wrote a letter to the Pentagon last week, saying it was not doing enough to help quarantine his crew after an outbreak on board.

His letter was published in the San Francisco Chronicle, leading Modly to strip the captain of his post, accusing him of leaking the correspondence. Soon afterwards, the Navy Secretary was forced to apologise after he called Captain Crozier "stupid" in a speech aboard the carrier.

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If you’re wondering why you’ve been having trouble buying flour in UK shops, the National Association of British and Irish Millers has put out some figures, external to explain it.

About 4% of the flour milled in the UK is sold to the public through shops and supermarkets – the rest is bought by bulk buyers such as food manufacturers. The average household buys a bag of flour every 14 weeks.

As with many products, there has been a considerable increase in demand from both retail consumers and bulk buyers since the coronavirus outbreak began, and millers have managed to double production for retail consumers.

That doubling has been enough to allow 15% of UK households to buy a bag of flour per week, but many shelves are still bare.

This is partly due to a bottleneck in the system, which is that most flour is sold by the tanker-full or in 16kg or 25kg bags. There is limited capacity to fill the 1.5kg bags that you see in the shops.

In response, the industry is looking at the possibility of selling larger bags of flour to enthusiastic home-bakers.

Image source, AFP

Earlier today, Slovenia's parliament passed legislation allowing its members to convene over the internet.

The country has more than 1,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus, and 36 people have died. But despite the outbreak, lawmakers have continued to meet in parliament, many of them wearing face masks.

"We are in the middle of the outbreak and it is still not clear when it will end," said parliamentary Speaker Igor Zorcic. "It is important to ensure that parliament will be able to discuss all further necessary decrees designed to fight the consequences of coronavirus."

The parliament has also passed legislation which will enable faster enforcement of laws during the coronavirus crisis.

One of the key pieces of public health advice being issued in several countries is that people should avoid touching their faces.

But why do we do it in the first place, and how can we stop?

Psychologist Natasha Tiwari tells us more.

Image source, AFP

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has said that - at the direction of President Donald Trump - he is trying to secure an additional $250bn for a loan programme for small businesses.

In a tweet, Mr Mnuchin said he had spoken about the funding with the leaders of the Senate and House of Representatives.

The loan programme is intended to shore up small businesses hit hardest by America's economic downturn amid the coronavirus outbreak. $350bn has already been secured for the loan programme, as part of a $2 trillion stimulus package signed by President Trump last month.

Health Ministers in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland have agreed a plan to co-operate in tackling the coronavirus crisis.

Their document acknowledges that the pandemic “does not respect borders” and contains commitments to work together in areas including data modelling, public health measures, and research.

In recent weeks, there have been political tensions within the power-sharing devolved government in Northern Ireland.

When the Republic of Ireland closed its schools before the UK, the deputy First Minister in Belfast – Michelle O’Neill of Sinn Féin – argued Northern Ireland should do the same.

Later she also accused the unionist health minister of “slavishly following” the UK government’s lead. More recently, politicians have been trying to present a united front. There have been 73 deaths in Northern Ireland, and 174 in the Republic.

Social distancing measures taken across the world have seen numerous restrictions placed on people in all walks of life.

While many workplaces are using all sorts of digital tools to connect, just how would that work if you were, say, a 60-piece orchestra that needed to rehearse?

This is far from the last night of the UK Proms at the Royal Albert Hall, but Devon Philharmonic Orchestra's attempts to stay in touch and practice via Facebook is well worth an audience.

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Sports activities in group have been banned around the world, and most people are only allowed to perform things they can do solo like walking, running or cycling. But what about surfing?

Well, that's created a wave of controversy in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, famed for its - now closed - beautiful beaches. On Sunday, four surfers were detained for breaching social distancing rules and a decree that has banned entry to the beaches. They could face charges of crime against public health.

Reports say surfers have been frequently seen on the beaches despite the rules. Some argue they only cross the sand to enter the ocean, and reject the criticism of them.

Rio authorities, like in other major cities and states, have told residents to stay at home, and closed most shops and public spaces as they try to curb the spread of coronavirus.

Not only surfers oppose the restrictions. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has warned of the economic impact they could cause and has threatened to issue a decree ordering businesses to reopen.

As of Monday, the country had confirmed 12,056 cases of coronavirus and 553 deaths.

British-African doctors who work in the NHS have done the #DontRush challenge, a viral social media trend where people transform their looks as Young T & Bugsey plays in the background.

The doctors told the BBC's Aaron Akinyemi that they wanted to celebrate diversity in the NHS - and have fun while doing it.

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In late February, the European Union launched a plan to buy equipment to tackle the coronavirus outbreak on behalf of its members.

It was aimed at reducing costs when negotiating with manufacturers.

The first scheme involved buying masks and then, in March, three more schemes were added to purchase ventilators, testing kits and personal protective equipment.

But, to date, nothing has been bought and delivered.

European Commission spokesman Stefan De Keersmaecker says that while some of the suppliers that the EU selected have signed contracts, other have not.

The UK did not join the scheme, although it was able to participate because it is still in the Brexit transition period until 31 December 2020. It wasn’t clear at the time whether the government had missed the deadline to join or it did not want to take part.

• 'Mix-up' over EU ventilator scheme

The number of deaths in Africa attributed to Covid-19 rose by 50 over the last 24 hours to 492 and there are a total of 10,252 confirmed cases on the continent, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the latest developments from across the continent:

• Chad's former ruler HisseneHabre has been granted two months leave from prison in Senegal, where he is serving life for crimes against humanity, as the jail where the 72-year-old is serving his sentence is to be used to quarantine new detainees
• Moroccans who venture outside their homes without wearing face masks risk prison sentences of up to three months and a fine of up to $126
• Rwanda has held a low-key event to mark the 26th anniversary of the 1994 genocide
• A couple whose wedding was called off in South Africa because of the lockdown held a mock ceremony with cardboard cut-out guests
• Meanwhile, also in South Africa, a 55-year-old man has appeared in court accused of spreading fake news after allegedly posting a video urging people not to be tested for coronavirus
• And In Cameroon, a Covid-19 patient on a ventilator has given birth to a baby girl in an isolation ward in the capital, Yaoundé

Robert Cuffe
BBC head of statistics

Today’s figures are a record high and bring the currently reported death toll above 6,000 for the first time.

Today's 786 is higher than Saturday’s previous peak of 708 deaths reported in a single day.

We also know that this figure misses deaths that occurred but have not yet been reported, so the true death toll at this point is likely higher.

If there is any silver lining to these grim figures, it is that they represent the fourth day in a row of below-trend growth.

For weeks up until Friday’s figures, the number of deaths had been doubling every three-and-a-half days.

Had that trend continued, we would have seen close to 1,400 deaths today.

So 786 is better than that – although it’s still too soon to know what’s causing it.

It could be a big bottleneck in reporting (we’ve seen that after previous weekends) or genuine evidence that growth is truly slowing down.

More hopefully, for almost a week now, daily new cases of infection have been holding steady at about 4,000 a day, suggesting that while we are still seeing new cases, the growth in this figure could be stalling.

In the US, Wisconsin is under stay-at-home orders, but people are being allowed out today to cast their vote in the state's Democratic primary election.

Yet few polling places are open, because many volunteer workers stayed at home. National Guard troops are assisting voters, due to a lack of staffing across the state.

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UK racing's first four Classics of the season - including the Derby at Epsom - have been postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Next month's Guineas meeting at Newmarket, featuring the 1,000 and 2,000 Guineas, is off.

Meanwhile, organisers of Royal Ascot say the June meeting, which attracted over 290,000 people in 2019, may be able to proceed but as an "event not open to the public".

"It may prove possible to run the Royal Ascot races behind closed doors, dependent on government and public health policy and the approval of the BHA [British Horseracing Authority],” said Ascot Racecourse's chief executive Guy Henderson.

British racing is currently suspended until at least the end of April.

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London's Westminster Abbey has sent a message of thanks to healthcare professionals to mark World Health Day.

Hinge has become the latest dating app to introduce a way to go on video dates while in self-isolation.

After matching with a partner, Hinge says, both people can select "ready", allowing them to begin their video chat. Plenty of Fish and The League have also introduced video chatting features.

Other dating apps have been capitalising on the new "date from home" culture.

Tinder is allowing free access to "Tinder Passport", which allows you to meet people that are not just in your immediate area, or even your country.

BBC Click's Chris Fox recently had a nice night in of virtual speed dating using an app called Filter Off.

Ashitha Nagesh
BBC News, London

When Hassan Akkad sent a tweet this morning about disinfecting Covid-19 wards in his local NHS hospital, he had no idea it would go viral.

But by the time he checked his phone at lunchtime, it had been liked and retweeted tens of thousands of times, and he was being inundated with messages of support and gratitude.

Hassan, 32, was an English teacher in Damascus, but was forced to flee for his safety after being arrested and tortured twice during the uprising there.

After a perilous 87-day journey through Europe, he arrived in the UK as a refugee in September 2015. Since moving to London he's worked as a photographer and filmmaker.

"Since the pandemic hit, I've been desperate to help," he told me. "I started delivering groceries to vulnerable people, and I signed up to volunteer for the NHS.

"The NHS had so many requests that I didn't hear back, but I did a bit of research and found out that my local hospital - Whipps Cross in London - was running short on cleaners. So I applied and was called for an interview, followed by thorough training by a lovely cleaner called Albert. I have been disinfecting a Covid-19 ward for a week now."

When I asked how he was finding the job, Hassan said: "It's been stressful, but equally rewarding - because by cleaning and disinfecting the ward, us cleaners are looking after the patients and the medical teams by stopping the spread of the virus.

"I want to give a shout out to all the cleaners, porters and ward hosts. They are the spine of the hospital, and they do such important work."

Half a million face masks will arrive in Canada tomorrow, after a last-minute deal was brokered with US President Donald Trump.

The White House had previously banned 3M, one of the largest manufacturers of medical face masks in the US, from exporting to Canada and Latin America, as countries around the world struggle with a shortage of supplies.

That led to a tense few days for Canada-US relations, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau making it clear that trade between the countries was a “two-way street”.

Late on Monday, 3M said they had received permission to continue shipping to Canada and Latin America.

The deal will also see the company import 166 million masks into the US from China.

Image source, Getty Images

While it is a grim news in France, with deaths topping 10,000, there is a glimmer of good news from Italy. The daily figures there are increasing by the smallest rate since the outbreak began. There were 880 new recorded infections today, bringing the total to 94,067, an increase of 0.94%.

A further 604 deaths were recorded, out of a total 17,127. In all, Italy has recorded 135,586 (including deaths and those cured), an increase of 3,039, at a new record low rate of 2.3%.

Here are some other developments around Europe:

• In Greece, healthcare workers went on strike in protest at working conditions, staff shortages and a lack of equipment. Greece has suffered less than some other European countries. On Monday, the death toll stood at 79, with 1,755 cases recorded
• Good news for Norwegians: if the rate of infections remains low, they could be allowed to visit their summer houses from 20 April. Norway locked down early on, ordering city-dwellers not to flee to cabins or cottages in the country.
• Finland, meanwhile, will start tracking the spread of coronavirus with randomised antibody tests. Hospitals will invite people chosen at random to be tested for the antibodies patients develop when they've had Covid-19
• States of emergency are being extended, until 30 April in the Czech Republic and 12 May in Latvia