Image source, Reuters

Harry Potter author JK Rowling will donate £1 million to two charities to help some of those hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic.

Ms Rowling said the money would be split equally between two charities - Crisis, which helps homeless people, and Refuge, which supports people suffering domestic violence.

She said on Twitter on Saturday that she was "thinking of the people who're out there doing their jobs to protect us and our way of life."

Image source, Reuters

The White House has blocked senior health adviser Dr Anthony Fauci from testifying next week to a congressional committee examining the Trump administration's response to the pandemic.

A subcommittee of the Democratic-led House of Representatives had sought Dr Fauci's testimony for a hearing on 6 May. Democrats have heavily criticised President Donald Trump's response to the outbreak, which has killed more than 65,000 Americans.

A White House spokesman said it would be "counterproductive" for those involved in the coronavirus response to testify.

"We are committed to working with Congress to offer testimony at the appropriate time," the spokesman added.

However, Dr Fauci is due to appear the following week at a hearing focused on testing in the Republican-controlled Senate, an official quoted by the Washington Post said.

Dr Fauci was a familiar face at the White House daily briefings on the pandemic but has appeared at fewer in recent weeks.

• Anthony Fauci: The face of America's fight against coronavirus

The BBC's Visual and Data Journalism Team has created a series of regularly updated maps and charts to track the global outbreak of the coronavirus.

The latest charts are below and a full report is available here.

Image source, Getty Images

The Catholic Church in Scotland is preparing plans for a phased reopening of parishes, but services might look very different after lockdown measures are lifted.

Social distancing could be implemented to allow church buildings to reopen if lockdown is relaxed, with the removal of pews, the suspension of the use of holy water and hymn books.

The Church will approach the Scottish government with its proposals.

Read more.

Engineering company Rolls-Royce is considering job losses as the pandemic continues to hit the aviation industry hard.

The UK-based firm, which makes aircraft engines, employs 23,000 people in the UK out of a total 52,000 worldwide.

Responding to reports in the Financial Times that up to 8,000 roles could be cut, the company said it expected to advise staff on the likely scale of job losses by the end of the month.

A spokesperson said in a statement: "We have taken swift action to increase our liquidity, dramatically reduce our spending in 2020, and strengthen our resilience in these exceptionally challenging times. But we will need to take further action."

Malaysian authorities are rounding up undocumented migrants as part of efforts to contain the spread of coronavirus, the country’s police chief Abdul Hamid Bador said.

Over 700 were taken into custody, including young children and ethnic Rohingya refugees from Myanmar, during Friday's raid in a downtown area of Kuala Lumpur, rights groups said.

"We cannot allow them to move freely... as it will be difficult for us to track them down if they leave identified locations," the police chief told Bernama news agency.

This follows public anger , externalover the presence of migrant foreigners, particularly Rohingya refugees, with some in the country accusing them of spreading the virus and being a burden on state resources.

Malaysia reported 105 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 6,176.

The number of deaths remained at 103, unchanged from Friday.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, AFP

Russian Construction Minister Vladimir Yakushev has gone to hospital with coronavirus, just a day after the prime minister did so.

The construction minister's deputy was also infected, Russian media said.

On Thursday Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin told President Vladimir Putin that he had the virus.

President Putin is now ruling via videoconference from a residence just outside Moscow.

In the past 24 hours, 9,623 more people tested positive for Covid-19 in Russia, more than half of them in Moscow.

The infections have been growing daily and the Russian death toll now stands at 1,222.

Image source, Eurostar

Passengers travelling on Eurostar from the UK must wear a face mask or face covering from Monday in line with guidelines from the French and Belgian governments.

Any type of mask is suitable, authorities have said, as long as it effectively covers the nose and mouth.

Those without masks may be refused travel, the statement added. Fines may also be imposed in France and Belgium for anyone without a mask.

Eurostar has significantly reduced its timetable for services running between London, Paris and Brussels, with four trains running each day today, Sunday and Monday.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said face coverings worn by the general public “will be useful” when the country comes out of lockdown.

Read more on whether the public should wear face masks.

Jon Kelly
BBC Stories

Today was supposed to be my wedding day - until Covid-19 intervened. But that won't stop me delivering my groom's speech, so make sure your glass is charged.

[Taps prosecco flute with fork] It's great to see so many of you not here today. Thank you all for not coming.

There are so many people who've helped make today not special in any way at all. I want to give a shout-out to our photographer for not taking any pictures; to our florist, for not bringing along any flowers; and to all the staff at our reception venue for boarding up the doors and windows so no-one can get in. My wife and I - oh, sorry, my fiancee and I - really can't tell you how grateful we are.

Read Jon's toast in full.

In the UK government briefing earlier this week, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said to avoid the "disaster" of a second peak the UK must keep the R rate below one.

But what is the R number and why does it matter?

BBC health correspondent Laura Foster explains.

Guy Hedgecoe
BBC News, Spain

Image source, Getty Images

Spaniards have made the most of the latest easing of the national lockdown, as they have taken to the streets in droves since early this morning.

The lifting of the restrictions on exercise for adults has meant that thousands of joggers, walkers and cyclists have been able to go out purely for leisure in Madrid and other cities for the first time in seven weeks.

In many areas, the large numbers who took to the streets made it look almost like a normal Saturday morning, apart from the fact that social distancing was observed and few cars were on the roads.

Other sports were also practised. In the southern province of Cádiz, surfers have returned to the water this morning, although regular swimming remains prohibited.

Some, however, remain reluctant to venture out.

“I want to go out because it’s a beautiful day,” said Carmen Pérez, a 65-year-old in Madrid. “But I’m a bit scared of getting infected.”

Confirmed cases in Spain rose by 1,366 on Saturday to 216,582 with the number of deaths up by 276 to 25,100.

Read more: Spain enjoys first exercise freedom for weeks

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Xinhua News Agency

When it comes to political satire during this pandemic, Xinhua - China's state news agency - has gone to some length with an animated film that takes a cheeky swipe at the US. It has been produced in response to the Trump Administration's criticism of the country over coronavirus.

Once Upon a Virus uses animated Lego characters to depict both sides, with the US represented by the Statue of Liberty and China by a historic warrior.

The pair fire verbal volleys at each other and, of course, China has the last word.

The Lego Group has denied involvement in the video., external

The sparring between China and the US has become increasingly heated.

Read more: What's behind new US strategy on China?

Image source, The Body Coach/ Getty Images

Fitness coach Joe Wicks, who has been running online PE classes for millions of people during lockdown, was admitted to hospital after injuring his hand.

Wicks, 33, showed fans an X-ray before the procedure on Friday, saying he would be operated on because the soft tissue in his hand was "inflamed and possibly infected".

He previously told followers that he had broken a bone in his hand after falling off his bike.

Wicks said the procedure has been delayed and he is on painkillers in hospital. He thanked NHS staff and fans for their support.

Paramedics are often the first point of contact for patients who have become seriously ill with coronavirus, but they also have non-Covid 19 cases to see.

The BBC's Emma Vardy spent a 12-hour shift with paramedic Tina Brennan in Northern Ireland.

Call-outs include a suspected coronavirus case in a care home and tending to a woman involved in a car crash.

Image source, KIM TAE-HOON

These unusual times have forced families around the world to quickly adapt, with home-schooling now commonplace in households.

But imagine home-schooling 10 boys? In the case of Seoul-resident and foster carer Kim Tae-hoon, it's 10 North Korean boys who defected from the repressive state without their parents.

Read more about Kim's life from BBC Korean's Julie Yoonnyung Lee.

Here's a roundup of the latest coronavirus developments in Asia and Australia.

• The Indian government has made it compulsory for all public and private sector workers to use a smartphone app designed to trace people who may have been infected with coronavirus. The Aarogya Setu app alerts users who have come in contact with people later found to have Covid-19. India has recorded 37,336 cases and 1,223 deaths
• Meanwhile in Australia, more than four million people have downloaded a contact-tracing app but the information it gathers is not yet available, broadcaster ABC reports. Health chiefs say privacy rules and final tests are still being carried out. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has called the COVIDSafe app "a ticket" to easing restrictions
• Singapore has announced a timetable to ease coronavirus measures. Practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine will resume some activities from Tuesday and other businesses such as hairdressers and laundry services will be allowed to operate from 12 May. On Friday the city-state's oldest coronavirus survivor, 102-year-old Madam Yap Lay Hong, was discharged from hospital. There have been more than 17,500 cases in Singapore but only 16 deaths

• Thailand, meanwhile, reported six more cases of Covid-19, taking the total to 2,966. The number of deaths stays the same at 54

Thousands have registered their interest to take part in a UK trial to see if blood plasma from coronavirus survivors can treat hospital patients with Covid-19.

The trial is under way, with 148 people having donated so far.

More than 6,500 people have registered their interested in the trial, which experts hope will see antibodies from recovered patients help clear the virus in others.

Researchers are going through NHS data to find other people who have tested positive for coronavirus.

Read more.

The UK government's testing co-ordinator has addressed concerns raised by care home providers.

Sam Monaghan, chief executive of care provider MHA, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that care home staff were having difficulty getting a testing slot and receiving results quickly.

Professor John Newton said: “There’s a lot being done and things are improving fast." He said an enhanced helpline for staff had been created, as well as mobile units.

Meanwhile, the government is looking at saliva tests, which are less invasive than the nose and throat swabs, and can be particularly beneficial for people with dementia.

“The saliva testing is a really interesting one and there are a number of companies… developing these.

“So we are actively looking at those and we are engaging with the companies and if they prove to be better then we will use those," Prof Newton said.

India's folk artists have long used traditional art for social messaging, and now a group has released a series of paintings to spread the message of distancing and hygiene to prevent the spreading of coronavirus.

Since March, artists who work with Dastkar - the country's prominent society for crafts and craftspeople - have produced work that convey the importance of social distancing, wearing face masks, washing hands with soap and avoiding group travel. There are also scenes depicting hospitals treating Covid-19 patients.

Read more here.

Image source, Dastkar

Image source, Dastkar

How do I know if I have coronavirus or hay fever?

The Royal College of General Practitioners is warning people not to mix up the symptoms of coronavirus with hay fever.

It says it is concerned people may leave their houses thinking they've just got the seasonal illness, when actually they have contracted coronavirus and should stay at home.

The BBC's Laura Foster explains how you can tell the difference.