Image source, Khalil MAZRAAWI/AFP

Welcome if you're just joining us. We've been looking at Ramadan, which begins today and will be a very different experience for Muslims this year.

Outbreaks of Covid-19 around the world have been traced to religious gatherings, and governments in many Middle Eastern countries have imposed social distancing measures to limit the spread of the disease.

Many have closed mosques and instructed worshippers to perform the special prayers at home. They plan to provide virtual alternatives using TV, radio and social media.

Some have also put in place nighttime curfews and inter-city travel bans, which will limit the ability of people to break their fasts in large groups or away from their homes.

Communal meals traditionally organised for the poor have also been affected. Many mosques and charities plan to distribute pre-packed meals instead.

However, in Pakistan and Indonesia some mosques are going ahead with congregational prayers.

A Singaporean man has been charged for leaving quarantine 30 minutes earlier than he was supposed to, according to a report by the Straits Times.

Tay Chun Hsien, 22, was ordered to be isolated in his flat until the 22 March at noon. But he's been accused of not being at home from around 11:30.

It's not clear why he had to be isolated or where he went after leaving home. Singapore has for some time been ordering contacts of confirmed cases to stay at home, and checking in on them with video calls at random times.

Tay, who has been charged under the Infectious Diseases Act, says he intends to plead guilty. If convicted, he faces up to six months in jail and a maximum fine of up to S$10,000 ($7,010; £5,670).

Already feeling like your hair is getting out of hand while isolating?

Spare a thought for this sheep which has been hidden away for seven years, roaming the Tasmanian wilderness while growing an enormous fleece.

Prickles was recently found by a farmer and she now spends her days hanging out with a new herd - and there are plans being made for that fleece. Watch her story here.

Up to 10 million key workers in the UK and their family members will be able to register for a coronavirus test if they are showing virus symptoms.

Those who can register include NHS and social care workers, police officers, teachers, those in the justice system, supermarket and food production workers, journalists and transport workers.

Previously, only a smaller group of people whose work was deemed critical to the Covid-19 response were eligible for testing.

But the government remains some way short of its target of 100,000 tests a day by the end of this month.

Thursday's figures showed 23,560 tests were carried out, though Health Secretary Matt Hancock said capacity had now increased to 51,000 per day.

Read more about testing here.

Image source, Getty Images

Resty Woro Yuniar
BBC News, Jakarta

Muslims in Indonesia’s Aceh flocked to the province’s grand mosque on Thursday night to attend mass Taraweeh prayers - an additional prayer at night during the Islamic fasting month Ramadan.

While many of them wore masks, they still prayed closely together, defying the Indonesian government’s physical distancing guidance.

“I’m scared of dying because of coronavirus, but I don’t let it stress me out and scare me out of praying. The most important thing is to maintain our personal hygiene by washing my hands and wearing masks,” Putri Sarah told BBC Indonesia.

Another congregation member, Wahyuka, said that he went to the mosque because his children forced him to.

“I myself am scared of praying together, that is why I prayed far from other people’s lines,” he said.

Marini Kristiani, a sociologist from Syiah Kuala University in Aceh, said that many Acehnese people pay more attention to fatwas, or Islamic rulings, issued by local religious figures than the central government.

Aceh is the only region in Indonesia that implements Islamic sharia law. The province also still carries out public flogging. The latest was on Tuesday, when six people were flogged for violating Islamic law - only one wore a mask.

Image source, Hidayatullah

US President Donald Trump has been widely criticised after he suggested the possibility of injecting disinfectant into the body as a treatment for Covid-19.

He also appeared to propose irradiating patients' bodies with UV light, after an official had earlier said sunlight and disinfectant were known to kill the infection.

"So, supposing we hit the body with a tremendous - whether it's ultraviolet or just very powerful light," he said.

"And then I see the disinfectant where it knocks it out in a minute. One minute. And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning?"

Pointing to his head, Mr Trump went on: "I'm not a doctor. But I'm, like, a person that has a good you-know-what."

But doctors warned the president's idea could have fatal results, with one doctor saying it's "irresponsible and it's dangerous".

In short - don't inject or ingest disinfectant.

Read more on Trump's remarks here.

Image source, KT

Lots of couples around the world have had their wedding plans thrown into chaos.

But one wedding in Seoul, South Korea, went ahead recently, in an empty wedding hall attended by the two people that mattered most - the groom Jisoo Ha and the bride Ji-ye.

South Korea's largest telecoms company had stepped in to organise a virtual wedding for them as part of a campaign meant to help people with problems caused by the outbreak.

So 50 friends and family members logged onto Zoom to watch the 45-minute ceremony, which was also live-streamed onYouTube., external

The couple were able to see and communicate with their guests in real-time through a large electronic display board installed at the wedding hall.

"It was so touching when my mother read a letter to us," said Park.

"I could see her face more closely and hear her voice loudly. I could even feel the slight tremor in my mother's voice."

Reporting by BBC News Korean

Image source, KT

Krutika Pathi
BBC News, Delhi

Image source, Irtiza Quraishi

One non-profit in the Indian capital, Delhi, has found a way to connect the community, as Ramadan begins under lockdown with no gatherings at mosques allowed.

“We thought let’s give ourselves an alternative - let’s give out ration kits to families in need,” Irtiza Quraishi of the Marham non-profit said.

Volunteers will aim to deliver around 200 kits every night. Filled with essentials like wheat, rice and lentils, each kit weighs 18kg and is enough for a family of three or four to survive for a month, Mr Quraishi said.

His team of volunteers have secured passes that will allow them to drive through the city to drop off the rations, which has been funded by the Hamdard National Foundation.

He adds that Ramadan is a month to reflect but now “everything has changed”.

“Our ambitions, our targets for the year - it’s different now. It’s all about survival so we need to work together to make sure everyone survives this.

“The satisfaction from doing something like this is similar to praying at the mosque - giving to others is a form of prayer itself.”

Image source, Reuters

In times of social distancing, all ventures outside should be done swiftly. And according to the mayor of Osaka, that means they should be done by men because women "take a long time" and "hesitate about this and that".

Mayor Ichiro Matsui said men should do the grocery runs because they "can snap up things they are told to buy and go, so I think it's good that they go shopping, avoiding human contact".

Unsurprisingly, he has come under significant fire for his comments, with people online accusing him of being prejudged and disrespectful to both women and men.

When challenged by a reporter, he admitted his advice might be viewed as out-of-touch, but said it was true in his family.

Traditional gender roles are still deeply rooted in Japanese society and women are often expected to take primary responsibility for childcare and domestic chores.

Image source, Getty Images

Nobel Prize-winning economist Abhijit Banerjee has told the BBC that India needs to be "much more generous" in providing relief to the millions that have been directly hit by the ongoing lockdown.

"We haven't done anything close to enough," the Indian-American academic said in an interview.

After imposing the lockdown on 24 March, India announced a $23bn (£18bn) relief package.

Much of it involves cash transfers and food security for the poor.

Prof Banerjee, who won the Nobel Prize in economics in 2019 with co-researchers Esther Dufflo and Michael Kremer, said the "government was right in its thinking to throw a shock in the system" to contain the spread of the Covid-19 infection.

"But the lockdown is not the end of the story. This disease is going to be with us for a long time until a vaccine arrives, which is not anytime soon," the economist added.

You can read more of his comments here.

All United Airlines flight attendants must wear a face covering or mask on duty starting today - the first such rule by a major US carrier

In a letter seen by Reuters, the Association of Flight Attendants welcomed the move but also urged the departments of transportation to make it compulsory for passengers to wear masks.

It also called for personal protection equipment to be made available to flight attendants, which was echoed by the US pilot union.

"Flight crews are a unique vector for the virus, traveling all over the country. It is vital that our crews be treated as essential workers and have access to personal protection equipment and testing," Jason Goldberg, spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association, was quoted as saying.

Major US airlines have drastically scaled back flying schedules but continue to operate domestic flights and a handful of international routes.

Image source, Getty Images

As Muslims start their first fast of Ramadan in unprecedented circumstances, we want to hear your experiences.

Get in touch here talkingpoint@bbc.co.uk with your personal stories, how you're celebrating with family and friends and ideas for coping.

Image source, RANDWICK COUNCIL

Three Sydney beaches that re-opened this week - Coogee, Clovelly and Maroubra - have been temporarily shut again after too many people flocked to the surf.

Local authorities said lifeguards cleared the crowds shortly after lunchtime when it became "just impossible to maintain safe social distancing".

A council spokeswoman told the BBC: "There were definitely too many people breaching the 1.5m distancing rule. Lots of people just paddling along the shoreline not actually swimming but just hanging out in the shallows.

"What we need is people to come and swim, do their exercise and then go."

But on a sunny Friday in 27C heat - the temptation to stay clearly proved too much for many. The beaches will re-open tomorrow, but officials say they will draw the line in the sand if crowds form again.

Bondi Beach is also set to re-open next week but only to swimmers and surfers.

Image source, TABITHA WARLEY/ALEX OUTHWAITE/ISRAEL CASSOL

The economic fallout from the virus has been massive, and advertising and marketing budgets are among the first things many companies will slash.

And that means trouble for social media influencers. Not only is sponsorship evaporating, but also their ability to generate content, because brands stop providing products to try out or ditch plans for press trips.

So when your income depends on showing off your lifestyle, your travels, or reviewing products, money is drying up very fast.

Click here to read all about how the virus is killing off the glossy lives of influencers.

Image source, AMANDA JUFRIAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Prayers were held in mosques in Aceh province in Indonesia - the world's most populous Muslim country - on Thursday evening.

The local religious authorities announced that the nightly Taraweeh prayers would be allowed in the month of Ramadan despite the Covid-19 outbreak - in defiance of the guidelines issued by the country's Religious Affairs Ministry that advises Indonesians to worship from home.

The congregational prayer were only being allowed in Aceh in areas where the spread of Covid-19 was under control, authorities said.

Aceh has recorded seven confirmed cases and one death.

Image source, Oviyandi Emnur/Barcroft Media via Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

A key member of Canada's pandemic task force has said the World Health Organization (WHO) response relied too much on China's official data and set back the global response by as much as three weeks.

Dr David Naylor told broadcaster CBC that the WHO should have known from past experience that there was a problem with China reporting incomplete data.

"I think we lost two to three weeks and I think that's regrettable, and I think that will come to light when a review is done," he said.

He stressed though it was wrong to conclude that an earlier reaction would have "completely changed" the course of the outbreak and said the WHO needed continued support.

The WHO has also been criticised by US President Trump, who has said he will withdraw funding.

As recently as November, the Indian capital, Delhi, went through some its worst polluted days in history.

But the country has been under strict lockdown since March and just have a look at what a difference that's made. The closure of factories and airports has resulted in a dramatic reduction in smog pollution.

M Ilyas Khan
BBC News, Islamabad

The government of Pakistan says the clerics have agreed to a set of precautions such as disinfectant sprays or keeping a 1m distance between worshippers. But everyone, including government officials, admits there is no capacity to enforce universal conformity.

Islamabad has repeatedly failed to enforce earlier lockdowns on mosques.

Some say the clergy has been adamant on opening religious rituals during Ramadan because it is the month when most affluent Muslims tend to pay zakat, or an Islamic annual tax on income, and most of which flows into the mosques and seminaries attached to them.

They say the government’s decision is evidence of the influence the clergy – which has long been an ally of Pakistan’s powerful military – wields over the political establishment.

A clear sign of this is the case of Islamabad’s famous Red Mosque, whose chief cleric has been booked for violating lockdown procedures for three consecutive weeks, but hasn’t been arrested because officials fear a violent backlash from his followers.

M Ilyas Khan
BBC News, Islamabad

Image source, AAMIR QURESHI/AFP via Getty Images

Ramadan officially begins in Pakistan on Saturday, but questions over official measures to contain infection still loom large.

The government has agreed to open mosques for Ramadan prayers after a month-long closure.

It comes as most Muslim countries, including Saudi Arabia which is the birthplace of Islam, have said they will continue with restrictions on public prayers in mosques.

Ramadan is traditionally marked by increased attendance at mosques and other communal rituals which many say may spur the social spread of the virus.

Pakistan has already registered more than 10,000 cases of coronavirus infection, of which around 79% have been due to local transmission.

Top doctors’ associations have since warned of an "unmanageable" spike in cases next month if the decision to open mosques for collective prayers is not revised.

At his daily press conference that ended just hours ago, US President Donald Trump suggested looking into unproven treatments for curing Covid-19, including using shining "a tremendous light" into the body, and injecting disinfectant.

But at the same briefing Dr Deborah Birx, White House coronavirus task force co-ordinator, said she had not seen evidence that heat could kill the virus.

Watch Mr Trump's remarks and the exchange here: