England's chief nursing officer Ruth May has told MPs she was "dropped" from the daily Downing Street briefings in the wake of Dominic Cummings' controversial trip to Durham.

She said she did not know why her appearance was cancelled, but said she was "of course" asked in a preparatory session for her views about lockdown rules, amid a public outcry about the apparent breach by the prime minister's adviser.

Ms May said: "In my view the rules were clear, they were there for everyone's safety and they applied to us all."

But she also said it was a "regular occurrence" for her colleagues to be stood down from the briefings and said she had been scheduled to appear at a subsequent briefing, but she was "stuck in traffic".

Max Matza
BBC News, Washington

Image source, Getty Images

A dining experience beloved by generations of hungry Americans is in danger of being spoiled by the coronavirus pandemic.

Buffets - from the humblest hotel breakfasts to the grandest casino banquets - are struggling to stay afloat as new health restrictions come into place and wary diners eschew the self-serve dining tradition.

Many loyal buffet-goers are also elderly, and among the more virus-vulnerable groups.

Susan Yin, the owner of Jack's Fresh in downtown Washington DC, told the BBC that her average sales have dropped nearly 90% after they re-opened two months ago following a two-month closure.

Jack's Fresh, which specialises in Asian food and American sandwiches, is currently making around $500 (£398) per day, down from an average of $3,500 before the pandemic, she says.

"No people work in this area," says Mrs Yin, referring to the commuters that have mostly been working from home since March. "It's still very quiet."

Read the full story here.

Pumza Fihlani
BBC News, Johannesburg

A community in a newly formed informal settlement near the South African city of Cape Town has given the pandemic a new twist and named their area Covid-19.

The place is occupied by people who have lost their income due to the pandemic and cannot afford to pay rent.

It has different sections named Covid-1, Covid-2 etc all the way up to Covid-19.

Many of the homes there are made from corrugated iron.

Another informal settlement nearby has been named Sanitizer. It’s partly in jest but also reflects the effects that the virus is having on some communities.

Locals have said they are aware of the growing number of informal settlements, especially at this time, but managing them is difficult.

Land is a contentious issue in South Africa and Cape Town is often cited as a prime example of how structural apartheid forced black and marginalised communities to live on the peripheries of the city often needing to spend a lot of money to get to work.

More than three million South Africans have lost their jobs since the lockdown and as the country battles with a sharp rise in infections, putting strain on the health system – the economic effects of the pandemic are beginning to hit hard too.

Read more:

• Coronavirus in South Africa: Inside Port Elizabeth's 'hospitals of horrors'

James Gallagher
Health and science correspondent, BBC News

Earlier we reported that a new coronavirus vaccine, developed by the University of Oxford, appears to be safe and triggers an immune response.

The vaccine - called ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 - is made from a genetically engineered virus that causes the common cold in chimpanzees.

It has been heavily modified, first so it cannot cause infections in people and also to make it "look" more like coronavirus.

Scientists did this by transferring the genetic instructions for the coronavirus's "spike protein" - the crucial tool it uses to invade our cells - to the vaccine they were developing.

This means the vaccine resembles the coronavirus and the immune system can learn how to attack it.

Read more here.

The number of people who died in English hospitals after a positive coronavirus test has reached 29,187 after NHS England recorded six more deaths in the last 24 hours.

The patients were aged between 74 and 98 years old and all had underlying health conditions.

The Department for Health and Social Care said on Friday it was “pausing” publication of daily death figures for the whole of the UK over concerns that the data for England may have included people who died months after a positive coronavirus test.

But Public Health England is continuing to make these figures available on the coronavirus data dashboard, external, which is expected to be updated later.

PHE has said that about 4,000 of the UK's 45,000 reported deaths happened more than 28 days after a test, the cut-off point for coronavirus deaths in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Of those, about 2,000 deaths were not blamed on coronavirus by the recording doctor.

Image source, Getty Images

The men's T20 World Cup, scheduled to be held in Australia between 18 October and 15 November, has been postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The cricket tournament is now scheduled to be held in October and November 2021 with another tournament in 2022.

"The decision gives us the best possible opportunity of delivering two safe and successful T20 World Cups," said ICC chief executive Manu Sawhney.

Follow our updates here.

Image source, Getty

Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, has updated its safety guidelines to stop visitors from exploiting a loophole in its mask policy.

The resort opened earlier this month with strict rules on social distancing, masks, and a host of measures to help prevent the spread of coronavirus.

While the wearing of masks is mandatory for guests, until recently guests were able to take them off while eating and drinking.

The rules have now been changed, external and visitors can still eat on site while being "stationary and [maintaining] appropriate physical distancing".

Disney has been criticised for reopening as Florida grapples with one of America's largest outbreaks of Covid-19. But the entertainment giant has defended its decision.

"Covid is here, and we have a responsibility to figure out the best approach to safely operate in this new normal," said Josh D'Amaro, Disney's theme park chairman, in an interview with the New York Times.

Image source, Getty Images

The Bahamas has announced it will ban US visitors amid recent rises in Covid-19. The Caribbean nation had begun reopening its borders at the start of July.

Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said in an address on Sunday, external: "Regrettably, the situation here at home has already deteriorated since we began the reopening of our domestic economy. It has deteriorated at an exponential rate since we reopened our international borders."

The Ministry of Health has confirmed a total of 153 Covid-19 cases, 49 of which happened after the borders opened on 1 July.

"Our current situation demands decisive action, if we are to avoid being overrun and defeated by this virus."

By Wednesday, the Bahamas will prohibit all international commercial flights and vessels - with exceptions for commercial flights from the UK, Canada and the EU.

All visitors - as well as any returning Bahamians - will be asked to show a negative Covid-19 test from an accredited laboratory upon arrival.

Americans who are currently on the islands will still be able to leave on outgoing flights, but no new tourists from the US will be allowed in.

Scotland has recorded seven new cases of coronavirus, the first fall in the daily infection numbers for five days.

It comes after positive tests for 23 people were reported on Sunday, the highest increase for almost a month. The nation also saw an outbreak at a contact tracing centre in North Lanarkshire, which serves the NHS in England.

With no new deaths reported, leaving the toll at 2,941, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said all the latest cases would still be closely examined and contact tracing carried out where necessary.

In Wales, the toll remains at 1,547 after Public Health Wales said no additional deaths were recorded in the last 24 hours. There were 15 more cases confirmed by testing.

Chris Mason
Political Correspondent

They are calling it "Honk for Hope". Dozens of coaches from all over the country are currently driving around Westminster and making a lot of noise.

It is an industry that feels abandoned by the government during the economic slump that has accompanied the coronavirus pandemic - and says it is in urgent need of support.

There's been no response yet from the Department for Transport.

Image source, Rolls-Royce

Aerospace companies in the UK have been awarded grants worth £200m to support their recovery from coronavirus and invest in green technology.

The projects, which are receiving matching funding from the companies, include innovative wing designs from Airbus and an efficient UltraFan engine led by Rolls-Royce.

Airbus announced earlier this month that it is planning to cut 1,700 jobs in the UK while Rolls-Royce is slashing its workforce by a fifth, with 3,000 jobs going after the coronavirus led to a drastic fall in air travel.

A coronavirus vaccine developed by the University of Oxford appears safe and trains the immune system.

Phase one trials involving about 1,077 people showed the injection led to them making antibodies and white blood cells that can fight coronavirus.

The findings are hugely promising, but it is still too soon to know if this is enough to offer protection and larger trials are under way.

The UK has already ordered 100 million doses of the vaccine.

The French president and the German chancellor say they're cautiously optimistic that the 27 EU leaders can reach an agreement on a coronavirus recovery package, on the fourth day of intense negotiations.

Discussions resumed with what France's Emmanuel Macron said was "the possible hopes of a compromise", but he added: "Nothing has been agreed yet, so I will remain extremely cautious".

"There's a spirit of compromise that's there, there have been some very tense moments and some moments that will no doubt be difficult again."

A key sticking point has been what part of the proposed €750bn (£680bn; $857bn) fund would be available to countries as non-repayable grants.

"Last night... we put in place a framework for a possible agreement," said German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday.

"This is a step forward and it gives hope that an agreement can be reached today - or at least that an agreement is possible."

Image source, Reuters

As we reported earlier, masks have to be worn in public indoor spaces, such as shops, restaurants and banks, in France from today.

This is what people in a couple of towns in the west of the country had to say about the new regulation.

One person on the resort of La Baule in Britanny told Reuters news agency: "For me, it makes absolutely no difference because I have worn one in enclosed spaces since the end of lockdown. It's a very good thing and everyone should do it."

Another, Cyril, said: "I'm not against it, like I said. If someone tells me to put one on, I'll put one on, but I wouldn't do it of my own accord, that's for sure."

In a covered market in the seaside town of Le Pouliguen, a supermarket manager, Stéphane Huchet, said on the whole people were responding well to the requirement.

"We started three days ago to require everyone to wear masks. Aside from some people who are reluctant, or ones who don't have any masks with them, the rest of it has gone well."

Asked whether he was worried about the situation, he said: "In the area, yes, because there are a lot of cases, in Guérande, in restaurants, some revealed cases. So we've become a bit more careful, excessively, let's say."

Image source, AFP

The Lancashire borough of Blackburn with Darwen is overtaking Leicester as the place with England's highest infection rate, official figures show.

Infections have doubled in the past week, with 79.2 cases per 100,000 people in the week up to 17 July, Public Health England said.

But its rise to the top of the list is prompted by the fall in infections since Leicester introduced its local lockdown. The city now has 77.7 cases per 100,000 people, down from 135 when the lockdown was imposed on 29 June.

New measures – including greater use of face coverings and restrictions on visitors from other households – have been introduced in Blackburn in an attempt to prevent the need for a local lockdown there.

Image source, EPA

If you're just joining us, this is the latest of what's happening around the world in the coronavirus crisis.

• EU leaders are about to reconvene to try to agree a huge virus rescue plan. Member states are largely split between those hit hardest by the outbreak - and keen to revive their economies - and those more concerned about the cost of the recovery plan
• After six months of closure, cinemas in China have reopened their doors. But cinema-going isn’t quite like it was before: customers must pre-book their tickets online and cinemas are limited on how many they can have in
• Nurses in Israel are staging a general strike over staff shortages and poor working conditions made worse by the coronavirus pandemic. This, they say, is making it impossible for them to do their job
• Australia has launched an investigation into security breaches in Victoria's hotel quarantine programme

Image source, PA Media

Just catching up with the day's news? Here's what's been happening in the UK:

• The UK government has signed deals for 90 million doses of two promising coronavirus vaccines which are in development. The deal comes on top of the 100 million doses of the Oxford University vaccine previously secured
• Preliminary results of a clinical trial suggest a new treatment for Covid-19 dramatically reduces the number of patients needing intensive care
• Blackburn with Darwen is overtaking Leicester as England's coronavirus hotspot, according to official figures
• Marks and Spencer is set to cut 950 jobs as part of a restructuring of its store operations
• Privacy campaigners say England's test and trace programme has broken a key data protection law

James Gallagher
Health and science correspondent, BBC News

Image source, AFP

The first results of the vaccine developed by the University of Oxford are expected today.

They will be the results of the “phase one” study involving around 1,000 volunteers. These are the earliest type of clinical trial in people.

Their primary purpose is to ensure the vaccine is safe enough to give to more people.

But we may also get insight into the type of immune response provoked by the jab – does it lead to the production of antibodies or stimulate other parts of the immune system?

What we won’t find out today is whether the vaccine “works” – can it stop you getting infected or at least lessen symptoms?

That will require trials involving far more people and in countries where there is far more coronavirus going around than there is currently in the UK.

Dozens of women in Afghanistan who were selling snacks around the capital, Kabul, found themselves jobless when lockdown closed their businesses.

So they had their solar-powered food carts converted into mobile disinfection units to help tackle the outbreak.

Video produced by Huong Ly and Trystan Young.

Kerry Allen
BBC Monitoring, Chinese Media Analyst

Image source, CNS

After six months of closure, cinemas in China reopened their doors today, with some people taking their seats at the stroke of midnight.

But going to the cinema isn’t quite like it was before. There are strict requirements for customers to pre-book their tickets online, and cinemas are ordered to stay at 30% of regular capacity.

Wearing masks is mandatory inside the cinema, and people can’t sit together, as social distancing restrictions remain in place. The official China News Service shows how one cinema has helped maintain this by separating people with cuddly toys., external

But it’s a welcome sign across China that life is returning to a version of normal. Cinemas were one of the first venues to close when China experienced the first Covid-19 outbreak at the very beginning of the year.

Still, not all cinemas have reopened today – those in medium or high-risk regions still must remain closed.

Currently, that means some areas of Xinjiang in the northwest of the country. Over the last week, 47 people have tested positive with symptoms of the virus in the capital city of Urumqi, and a further 50 without symptoms.