In the US there has been a surge in demand for software that monitors employee activity, as millions more people work from home as a result of the pandemic.

Companies that use the software might argue that this is about maintaining productivity, but others feel the software is open to misuse.

BBC Click's Lara Lewington finds out how the software works and speaks to the New York Times journalist Adam Satariano who tested monitoring software to see how it affected how he worked when others were watching.

Image source, Getty Images

A South African court has found that some coronavirus lockdown regulations imposed by the government were "unconstitutional and invalid".

The case was filed by a community group, Liberty Fighters Network, which challenged the response measures announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The high court in the capital Pretoria ruled on Tuesday that "the regulations are not rationally connected to the objectives of slowing the rate of infection or limiting the spread thereof".

However it suspended the judgement for 14 days to give the government time to overhaul the regulations.

The cabinet has said it will "review, amend and republish the regulations" but that the measures will remain in place "for now", according to a statement.

South Africa has some of the most stringent coronavirus containment measures in the world.

It eased a month-long lockdown on 1 May after dropping the alert level from level 5 to level 4, and to level 3 on 1 June.

Alcohol sales resumed this week following a two-month ban. All gatherings, except funerals and for work, are still banned. Travel between provinces is also prohibited, and international flights are cancelled except for those repatriating citizens.

The country has the highest cases of coronavirus on the continent, with about 30,000 confirmed so far and 700 deaths.

Read: Coronavirus in South Africa: Eight lessons for the rest of the continent

Rain might have returned in many places across the UK but Wednesday's papers suggest a sunny summer holiday might now be back on the cards for Britons who want to travel abroad this year.

The Daily Mirror says holidays have been given a "lifeline" and that the government's quarantine rules could be relaxed. However, in the Telegraph, Home Secretary Priti Patel warns tough travel measures are important to prevent a second peak of the virus.

Image source, Mirror

Image source, Telegraph

The Guardian leads on an interview with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, who has accused the prime minister of "winging it" over the easing of the lockdown and said he needed to "get a grip".

Meanwhile, the Metro's top story focuses on the latest coronavirus figures in the UK, suggesting there is a so-called "north-south Covid-19 divide" that is getting wider.

Image source, Guardian

Image source, Metro

Vivienne Nunis
Business reporter, BBC News

Image source, Estelle Lucas

With social distancing rules in place and strip clubs and brothels closed, sex workers around the world have seen their incomes disappear almost overnight as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Fearing for their livelihoods, as well as their health, some are offering services online to keep their business going, while others are turning to charities for help.

Estelle Lucas has worked as an escort for the past 10 years in Melbourne, carefully building relationships with her clients.

But the spread of Covid-19 and the need for social distancing has prompted a ban on sex work, leaving her worried those efforts will go to waste.

"I'm scared that all my work will come back to zero and I will just have to start hustling like I did when I first started out," Estelle told the BBC. She also fears for her clients' health. "Are they even going to be there?" she says. "There's a lot of nervous energy going around."

• Click here to read Vivienne's full article

Shaimaa Khalil
BBC News, Sydney

Image source, Reuters

Australia has long been dubbed The Lucky Country. Not anymore, if this year is anything to go by. New official figures show it's headed for its first recession in nearly 30 years.

Australia has had steady growth for decades with a combination of abundant natural resources like coal, iron ore and natural gas and a steady demand from its biggest trade partner China.

Tourism has also been a big driver of growth. According to Tourism Australia, the year 2018-2019 saw a revenue of A$122bn ($85bn; £67bn) from domestic and international tourists.

Then the country was hit hard. Twice.

When the bushfires ravaged through more than 12m hectares of the country, tourism was pummelled and thousands of small business lost months of essential seasonal revenue.

Then Covid-19 became a global pandemic. Australia closed its borders and imposed strict social distancing rules to control the spread of the virus. Nearly a million people lost their jobs as a result.

The government has pumped more than A$200bn into economic stimulus packages including wage subsidy schemes. And while Australia has fared better than many in controlling the virus and in subsequent economic slump, this country of abundance will have to face a much harsher reality for a while.

Read more: Australia set for first recession in three decades

Image source, Getty Images

Woolworths supermarket is giving their full-time employees in Australia and New Zealand bonuses worth $1,000 ($645; £551).

The bonuses won't be paid in cash, but are made up of $750 of shares in the company and $250 in-store credit.

Chief Executive Brad Banducci tells local media that it's a recognition of the "critical role" their staff will play "as we all adjust to the new normal".

The company added that Woolworths will now have the largest number of shareholders in Australia and New Zealand.

Good morning, and welcome to those of you joining us from the UK. We’ll be keeping you updated on all the latest developments from Westminster and around the country.

Here’s what you need to know this morning:

• Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been accused of mismanaging the easing of virus restrictions in the UK by Labour leader Keir Starmer, who said the PM was "winging it"
• Mr Johnson and Sir Keir will go head-to-head later at Prime Minister's Questions for the first time since the row erupted over the prime minister's chief adviser Dominic Cummings
• The government will also give more details of its proposals to require the majority of those arriving in the UK from abroad to self-isolate for 14 days, amid criticism of the quarantine plan
• Portugal’s foreign minister says British tourists will be “most welcome” this summer. Augusto Santos Silva says Portugal is in talks with the UK and is hoping to reach an agreement so people returning from holidays in the country don't have to isolate
• Universities are setting out plans for social distancing when campuses re-open in the autumn. Students may have to live and study with the same small group of people

Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer

A race would not be cancelled in the re-started season if a driver or team member tested positive for coronavirus, says Formula 1 boss Chase Carey.

The F1 chairman and chief executive was speaking after F1 announced the first eight races of a rescheduled 2020 season starting in Austria on 5 July.

"We will have a procedure in place that finding an infection will not lead to a cancellation," said Carey.

"If a driver has an infection, [teams have] reserve drivers available."

The season-opening Australian Grand Prix was called off in March after a McLaren team member tested positive.

But Carey told the F1 website: "The array of 'what ifs' are too wide to play out every one of them, but a team not being able to race wouldn't cancel the race."

• Read the full story here

Image source, Getty Images

For many of us, life is a series of commitments - whether that's social events, family gatherings or work-related meetings. Lockdown has meant that our diaries are suddenly empty, and for those of us with busy lives, the stark change has been difficult to adjust to. But for others, it's been a wake-up call.

Rather than lamenting the loss of a packed calendar, some people have found that the quieter, slower life imposed by the coronavirus lockdown offered a much-needed break.

"The things I've been doing during lockdown have been better for me than had I been going on holiday," one Londoner told the BBC. "It's made me think about what's really important in life."

• Click here to read how the lockdown made people rethink their lives

Tom Burridge
Transport correspondent

Portugal's foreign minister has said anyone in the UK thinking of going to Portugal this summer would be "most welcome".

Augusto Santos Silva said tourists will be warned how full beaches are so that they can avoided crowded spots.

Santos Silva told the BBC that an "air bridge" agreement between the UK and Portugal could be in place by the end of June.

Holidaymakers would not be subject to a 14-day quarantine under a deal.

He said any travel quarantine "was an enemy of tourism", but that he respected the UK government's decision to enforce one on almost all arrivals to the UK from next Monday.

Santos Silva said "rules" would ensure that people would be able to holiday safely.

• Read the full story

Image source, Getty Images

Michelle Roberts
Health editor, BBC News online

Scientists are running a trial to see if ibuprofen can help hospital patients who are sick with coronavirus.

The team from London's Guy's and St Thomas' hospital and Kings College believe the drug, which is an anti-inflammatory as well as a painkiller, could treat breathing difficulties.

They hope the low-cost treatment can keep patients off ventilators.

In the trial, external, called Liberate, half of the patients will receive ibuprofen in addition to usual care.

The trial will use a special formulation of ibuprofen rather than the regular tablets that people might usually buy. Some people already take this lipid capsule form of the drug for conditions like arthritis.

Studies in animals suggest it might treat acute respiratory distress syndrome - one of the complications of severe coronavirus.

• Read the full story here

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Reuters

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been accused of risking a new wave of infections, by opposition leader Keir Starmer.

In his strongest criticism yet of the PM's handling of the crisis, the Labour leader told the Guardian, external that Johnson must "get a grip" and restore public trust. He said there was a suspicion the PM was "winging it" over moves to reopen schools and relax shielding advice.

"After a week or more of mismanagement, I'm deeply concerned the government has made a difficult situation 10 times worse," he said. "We've called for an exit strategy. What we appear to have got is an exit without a strategy."

The government has said it is proceeding with caution to secure a safe recovery.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has suggested the UK is beginning to "win the battle" against the virus, which has now claimed the lives of nearly 40,000 people, according to the government's daily case figures.

Sean Coughlan
BBC News, education correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

Students in the UK might have to stay in a "protective bubble" of the same small group, when university campuses reopen in the autumn.

University leaders suggested students would live and study with the same group to minimise mixing.

They were setting out safety measures for a socially-distanced student life - including a virtual freshers' week.

A survey suggested 71% of students would prefer to start the term later, if they got more in-person teaching.

University campuses have been closed since the coronavirus lockdown, with teaching switching online, and their representative body, Universities UK, has been setting out how they might bring students back for the autumn term.

• Click here to read Sean's full article

The Premier League has given clubs permission to play friendly matches, with strict restrictions, before the restart on 17 June.

Top-flight sides made requests to face other teams in preparation for the league's return, which was accepted, according to the Telegraph., external

Premier League leaders Liverpool held an 11-a-side game in training at Anfield on Monday.

Friendlies can be played at either stadiums or training grounds.

However, the Premier League has outlined a number of conditions such as negative Covid-19 tests being returned by players involved.

• Click here to read the full story

Image source, LFC

Image source, Getty Images

New Zealand may drop its alert to the lowest level as early as next week, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has said. That would mean lifting all social distancing measures and a return to normal life - except international travel.

The country had only a few infections and deaths and for the past 12 days has not had any new cases. There is just one active case remaining.

That's more than two months after the government imposed a severe lockdown, closing most businesses and forcing people to stay home.

Ardern said that by next Monday she'll make the call on whether to take the country to the lowest alert level.

Health officials have recommended that Pakistan's Punjab province be placed under a 30-day lockdown after a government sample survey suggested that 670,000 people in the provincial capital, Lahore, could be asymptomatic carriers of Covid-19, report local media.

Lahore, home to around 12 million, has more than 27,000 confirmed cases.

The report also warned that "no workplace and residential area of any town" is free from the virus, external, reported the Dawn newspaper.

Earlier this week, PM Imran Khan defended lifting the lockdown, external amid rising cases and a devastated economy, saying Pakistanis would have to "live with the virus". The country has confirmed more than 76,000 cases and 1,621 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

The finance ministers of the G7 countries will hold a phone conference on Wednesday evening to discuss the economic impact the pandemic will have and how to combat that.

An actual G7 summit has recently been postponed. US President Donald Trump had invited leaders to Washington for a meeting in June but the summit was called off after some leaders said they would not attend in person due to the ongoing crisis.

The summit is now thought to be moved to an unspecified future date and Trump has suggested adding Russia, South Korea, Australia and India to the list of countries invited.

Soutik Biswas
India Correspondent

"He might not make it tonight. Things are suddenly looking very bad," Dr Saswati Sinha told a patient's wife on the phone as she drove back to her hospital through the deserted streets of the eastern Indian city of Kolkata (formerly Calcutta).

It was the night of 11 April. India was in the throes of a harsh lockdown to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The patient, Nitaidas Mukherjee, had been battling Covid-19 for nearly two weeks at the city's AMRI Hospital, where Dr Sinha worked as a critical care consultant.

Ravaged by the virus, the 52-year-old social worker, who ran a non-profit rescuing the homeless and destitute, was hooked to a ventilator and battling for his life in critical care.

• Read the full story on his road to recovery here

More than 100 patients from a recently-built Covid-19 field hospital in Mumbai are among the 10,000 people to be evacuated as a cyclone approaches.

Cyclone Nisarga, which is approaching across the Arabian Sea from the south-west, would be the first serious cyclone to make landfall in the city since 1891.

With 20 million people, Mumbai is India's most populous city and its financial capital.

And with more than 40,000 confirmed virus cases, and almost 1,400 deaths, it is the worst-affected city in India.

• Click here to read more

Image source, AFP

South Korea has also announced yet another supplementary budget to help the economy through the fallout of the virus crisis.

It's the third such budget this year and this time it's another 35.3tn won ($28.8bn: £23bn), raising the total stimulus to 270tn won.

The government's support measures are equivalent to around 14% of the country's GDP and they're aimed at anything from protecting jobs and granting loans to business, to developing a vaccine against the virus.

On Monday South Korea reduced its economic growth forecast, predicting the worst performance since the Asian financial crisis in 1998.