Jessica Parker
BBC political correspondent

The drip drip of Conservative MPs calling on Dominic Cummings to go has continued today.

Now hovering around 30 it is worth saying that this amounts to about 8% of the parliamentary party.

However, what’s notable is that there are those who, even if they’re not calling on Mr Cummings to go, have felt it necessary to write long open letters explaining their thinking to constituents.

Public anger, it seems, has not been put to bed by Monday’s extraordinary rose garden press conference.

The prime minister’s chief aide does of course have his backers; people who believe he did what was right in difficult circumstances.

And one government minister suggested to me that the story’s been “whipped up” by those who simply do not like Dominic Cummings, either politically or as a person.

But this saga is now into its fourth day on a week where the prime minister wishes to communicate crucial messages about his plans for easing the lockdown.

It is – another minister conceded – a “problem” and “distraction”.

And today, as yesterday, the question remains: How much political capital is Boris Johnson ready to expend on keeping his chief aide?

Image source, PA Images

The UK's Royal National Lifeboat Institute (RNLI) is urging the government to restrict access to beaches until lifeguard patrols return, after two people died in separate incidents on the Cornish coast yesterday.

The RNLI has suspended lifeguard patrols during the pandemic, and a few weeks ago announced it would only patrol 70 beaches this summer instead of the usual 240.

In an open letter, the charity's chief executive Mark Dowie says safety advice can only go so far when people are desperate to exercise some freedom after weeks of lockdown.

The charity is hoping to roll out lifeguard patrols on 16 beaches from this weekend, with more to follow in June and later as lockdown restrictions are lifted.

A further 134 coronavirus deaths have been recorded across all settings in the UK, taking the country's total to 37,048.

The Department of Health and Social Care said 2,004 more people had tested positive for coronavirus as of 09:00 BST on Tuesday.

A technical problem meant statistics reporting the number of people tested could not be published, the department said.

Former president of the European Council Donald Tusk has mocked Dominic Cummings, as the ex-Vote Leave chief battles allegations he broke the UK's coronavirus lockdown.

In a tweet, Mr Tusk addresses Mr Cummings, who is UK PM Boris Johnson's top aide and currently embroiled in controversy over a 260-mile trip to County Durham.

Mr Cummings and No 10 insist no laws were broken - but that hasn't stopped Mr Tusk from issuing the jibe:

Chris Page
BBC News Ireland correspondent

The Stormont Department of Health has recorded no deaths linked to Covid-19 since Monday.

It is the first day since 18 March that the department’s daily figures have reported no deaths.

The figures, which are released every day, mainly relate to deaths in hospital.

They include some, but not all, fatalities in other settings.

Another set of figures is released every Friday by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, which includes all deaths in which Covid-19 is listed on the death certificate, and therefore gives a fuller picture of the mortality rate.

Today’s statistics from the Department of Health also show there’ve been 28 new confirmed cases of the virus, bringing the total to 4637.

Image source, PA Media

JK Rowling has surprised fans with the announcement of a brand new children's book, which she is publishing in daily instalments on her website for free.

The Ickabog is a fairytale, and is Rowling's first children's story not to be connected to Harry Potter.

She wrote it more than a decade ago for her own children. But now, the author said, it's for "children on lockdown, or even those back at school during these strange, unsettling times".

Read more here.

Image source, moigovqatar.en

Amnesty International says its researchers discovered serious security vulnerabilities, external in a Covid-19 contact-tracing app in Qatar that is compulsory to download.

The flaw in the Ehteraz app - which was fixed on Friday after the human rights group notified the Qatari authorities - could have exposed highly sensitive personal information of about one million users, including their names and national IDs. Citizens and residents who do not use the app could face up to three years in prison and a fine of $55,000 (£44,500).

“While the Qatari authorities were quick to fix this issue, it was a huge security weakness and a fundamental flaw in Qatar’s contact tracing app that malicious attackers could have easily exploited," Claudio Guarnieri, head of Amnesty International’s Security Lab, said in a statement.

“This incident should act as a warning to governments around the world rushing out contact tracing apps that are too often poorly designed and lack privacy safeguards,” he added.

Currently more than 45 countries have rolled out, or plan to roll out, Covid-19 contact-tracing apps, including Australia, France, Italy, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

Image source, Reuters

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is about to reopen after being closed since 23 March - with some restrictions.

According to NYSE President Stacey Cunningham, the trading floor won't look like the "iconic images" people think of when they think of the exchange.

She told the BBC that rather than being crowded together and shouting out on the floor, brokers will be fewer in number, wearing protective masks, and will be observing "strict social distancing".

Since it closed, the NYSE has been limited to electronic-only trading.

You can read more about the iconic stock exchange's reopening here, external.

State officials say they've found six virus cases in a 48-person crew on a livestock export ship, the Al Kuwait, docked at Fremantle Port.

For Western Australia, which had no cases in hospital, this is an "extremely concerning situation", said premier Mark McGowan.

"Straight away, I had thoughts of the [Ruby Princess] cruise ship saga," he said. "It goes to show that strong border controls are important."

• Criminal investigation announced into Ruby Princess

McGowan said the patients had been taken off and quarantined, but the rest of the crew remained on board, and he was negotiating to get the boat to return to its port of origin in Kuwait.

"I suspect it is probably more than likely that more crew members may become infected with the virus," Mr McGowan said.

Image source, EPA

Russia will hold a military parade to mark the 75th anniversary of World War Two's Victory Day, after it was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic, its president has announced.

Vladimir Putin was forced to cancel Russia's traditional Victory Day parade on 9 May, as the coronavirus crisis gathered pace in the country.

Usually, Victory Day in Russia sees columns of soldiers, veterans, historical Red Army vehicles, and modern military hardware parade through Moscow's Red Square.

Instead, Russia organised low-key commemorations, involving a flypast of military aircraft over the Kremlin and wreath-laying ceremonies.

Now, Putin has instructed his Defence Minister, Sergei Shoigu, to begin preparations for further commemorations next month.

"We will do it on 24 June, the day the legendary victors' parade took place in 1945," he told his minister on TV on Tuesday.

Victory Day commemorations are important features of the calendar for former Soviet countries, which together lost around 26 million people in World War Two.

Read more: Russia marks WW2 Victory Day with subdued celebrations

• The Covid 'catastrophe' in southern Russia

The Office for National Statistics says there were 3,810 deaths involving coronavirus in England and Wales during the week ending 15 May - the lowest weekly number recorded in the last six weeks.

Coronavirus accounted for just over 25% of all deaths in the UK that week.

The latest figures from the National Records of Scotland, published last week, showed 3,546 deaths had been registered in Scotland up to 17 May.

The latest figures from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, also published last week, showed 664 deaths in Northern Ireland up to 20 May.

The ONS's publication also looked at "excess deaths" in England and Wales - in other words how many more deaths were registered in the first 20 weeks of 2020 compared with the five-year average for the same time of year.

An analysis of that data found there was no additional risk of dying during that period for people under the age of 45.

Read more here.

Image source, .

Image source, EPA

Egypt's Health Minister, Hala Zayd, has ordered an investigation into the death of a doctor who contracted coronavirus while on duty, amid rising concern about the number of health workers dying.

One Egyptian media outlet says the investigation into the death of Dr Walid Yehia has been launched on the direct orders of President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi.

It comes after the doctors' union issued a statement on Monday, holding the health ministry “entirely responsible” for the deaths of 19 doctors, with more than 350 infected.

“The syndicate is warning that the health system could completely collapse, leading to a catastrophe affecting the entire country if the health ministry's negligence and lack of action towards medical staff is not rectified,” said the Egyptian Medical Syndicate, a body representing thousands of Egyptian doctors.

The most populous Arab country, Egypt has recorded nearly 18,000 cases and 783 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University figures., external

The Scottish government will launch a new "test and protect" contact-tracing strategy on Thursday, Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed.

The first minister said anyone with symptoms of Covid-19 should take "immediate steps" to be tested. They and their household should then self-isolate until the results of the test were known.

Those who test positive will need to provide the details of everyone they have had close contact with.

These people will then be contacted by specialist tracers, and will need to self-isolate at home for 14 days.

A further 18 people with coronavirus died in Scotland on Monday, taking the total death toll there to 2,291.

Read more here.

Europe's beaches beckon as countries around the continent ease their lockdowns, and millions still hope to have a holiday abroad.

But a video shot by a French NGO in the Mediterranean shows masks and gloves littering the seabed.

Opération mer propre (Operation clean sea) is trying to clean up the coast near the French Riviera resort of Antibes.

It is alarmed by this new coronavirus pollution, which adds to the already chronic problem of plastic pollution.

Image source, o2

The UK's National Health Service has snatched the title of longest residency at London's o2 from Prince, Michael McIntryre and Take That, as it closes its coronavirus training site at the event venue after 44 days.

The arena was home to training for the capital's Covid-19 response and its owners have unveiled a new artwork dedicated to the NHS Nightingale Hospital team.

The o2's Danielle Kennedy-Clark said: "This has been our most important residency to date and we’re grateful to the team for this special piece of artwork to remind us of such a poignant time.”

Kerry Allen
BBC Monitoring, Chinese Media Analyst

Today is the final call for citizens in the central Chinese city of Wuhan to receive Covid-19 tests, as part of an ambitious 10-day drive to test the entire population of the central Chinese city. More about that here.

At its peak, there were more than 50,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Wuhan, and the city’s health commission wanted to ensure that the city avoids a second wave by ensuring it identifies any asymptomatic carriers.

Hundreds have already been identified. The Hubei provincial health commission says that 334 people across the province are under medical observation who are asymptomatic, and that a further 26 have been identified in the last 24 hours.

Yesterday, official media instructed citizens who had not yet been tested to register with their communities before 5pm today, in order that they can receive tests.

The official Xinhua News Agency says today that 6.5 million tests were carried out between 14 and 23 May, and some three million tests were carried out prior to the drive. There are 11.12 million people in Wuhan.

Tom Symonds
Home Affairs Correspondent

A judge has ordered the government to respond to a legal challenge against the lockdown by 12 June.

The High Court made a ruling after the government asked for more time to respond to an attempted judicial review of the policy, led by the businessman Simon Dolan.

Mr Dolan’s challenging the government on three issues:

• Whether the lockdown is unlawful because the government implemented regulations under the Public Health Act 1984 instead of the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 or the Coronavirus Act 2020
• The legality of the continuation of lockdown and whether the tests for lifting it are too narrow and failing to take account of the economic and social impacts
• Whether the restrictions brought in by the government contravene the European Convention of Human Rights, which covers the right to liberty, family life, education and property

Image source, Reuters

Restrictions on people travelling from Brazil to the US come into force later on Tuesday and cases in Chile jump.

• A ban on travellers from Brazil entering the United States has been brought forward by two days after the number of deaths in 24 hours recorded in the South American country was higher than that in the US. The restrictions will apply to foreign nationals who have been to Brazil in the last 14 days. They will now come into force later on Tuesday. Brazil is the country with the second highest number of coronavirus infections after the US
• Meanwhile, Brazil has said it won't change its recommendation to use a malaria drug to fight coronavirus, even though the World Health Organization has suspended trials of hydroxychloroquine because of safety concerns
• Chile has registered a new record for the number of coronavirus cases registered in 24 hours with nearly 5,000 infections. Two government ministers are among those who have tested positive. The capital, Santiago, and other regions remain under lockdown. There have been almost 74,000 cases in total now

Image source, Reuters

A drug treatment that appears to shorten recovery time for people with coronavirus is being made available on the National Health Service in the UK.

Remdesivir is an anti-viral medicine that was originally developed to fight ebola.

UK regulators say there is enough evidence to approve its use in selected hospital patients.

Read more here.

A global pledging campaign has raised more than €9.5bn (£8.5bn; $10.4bn) for the development of vaccines and therapies against Covid-19, the EU Commission's president has announced.

Ursula von der Leyen said the funding “milestone” showed the world was demonstrating solidarity in tackling the pandemic.

The appeal, which was launched by the EU Commission earlier this month, is designed to ensure that affordable vaccines and treatments are available worldwide.

An initial £6.5bn was pledged by 40 countries and donors when the initiative was launched at an online summit hosted by the EU.

The US and Russia did not take part in the initiative. China, where the virus originated in December, was represented by its ambassador to the EU at the May summit.

Read more: World leaders pledge billions for vaccine fight