In any other year, Scotland would be welcoming up to three million visitors for the Edinburgh International Festival and the Fringe in August.

But while Scotland's cities have seen tourist numbers collapse during the pandemic, there are signs visitors are returning to some rural locations.

Maddy Savage
BBC News, Stockholm

Image source, Reuters

Swedes have been told they can make non-essential trips to neighbouring Denmark and Norway again from 30 July, according to the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The move follows both Denmark and Norway starting to allow tourism to and from a growing number of Swedish regions in recent weeks, having previously excluded Sweden when they opened their borders to one another in June due to their neighbour's high infection rate.

Sweden has seen a marked drop in daily recorded deaths and serious cases of Covid-19 this month. However, Swedes from areas with high local infection rates - including the capital Stockholm - are still being asked to stay away by the Danish and Norwegian governments, despite today's updated guidance by the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Sweden has also updated its advice to give the green light to Swedes holidaying in Switzerland and the Czech Republic.

Swedish authorities have said their travel restrictions are guided by travel bans and restrictions in other countries, rather than the spread of infection, in order to avoid disruption to travellers.

Swedes are still advised against non-essential travel to countries outside the EU and some European countries including the UK, where travellers from Sweden currently have to quarantine for 14 days.

We have more about Sweden's coronavirus strategy.

A further 83 people have died from Covid-19 associated deaths in the UK, according to government figures.

It takes the total deaths associated with the pandemic to 45,961.

There have been 763 more lab-confirmed cases across the UK, taking the total number of cases to 301,455.

These figures use data from Public Health England, which is currently reviewing its methodology after it was found to be including people who tested positive months before they died.

Image source, Reuters

More now from the man leading the effort to contain the virus in the US.

We earlier reported that Dr Anthony Fauci, the country's leading infectious disease expert, had warned against "political bickering" after President Trump questioned his popularity.

"The enemy here is the virus," he told the BBC. "This is no time to have political bickering and political fighting."

Dr Fauci also said some of the nearly 150,000 deaths in the US could have been prevented.

"I think they could have been prevented if, in fact, the public health measures had been followed," he said. "That's the reason why we need to continue... the public health messaging until we do get a vaccine."

He added: "What happened in some states is that they skipped over some of the checkpoints and went to the next stage [of easing lockdown measures] - which in fact led, unfortunately, to a surge in cases."

Image source, Self-Repairing Cities

Robots cleaners are being deployed in Leeds to sanitise public spaces and reduce the risk of coronavirus spreading.

The move is part of a trial by the University of Leeds to see if the robots can disinfect places effectively, avoiding the dangers of Covid-19 spreading to cleaning staff or the public.

Originally designed to inspect and repair infrastructure such as bridges, the robots' new job is to use computer vision and artificial intelligence to find objects which need regular cleaning and to spray them with a mist of diluted alcohol.

They were built by researchers at the Self Repairing Cities project, a consortium involving the University of Leeds, the University of Birmingham and University College London.

Dr Bilal Kaddouh, assistant professor at the Leeds School of Mechanical Engineering, said the initial trials went well but the next stage would be for the robots to operate autonomously.

Image source, Self-Repairing Cities

Image source, Getty Images

For some people, lockdown meant being forced into months of unbroken solitude. Others were trapped for weeks on end with an estranged spouse.

Some saw it as a positive experience – a welcome opportunity to slow down, go for walks and relax with a loving partner, or enjoy quality time with the children.

Whichever way the lockdown played out, there has been one near universal aspect to the past months – it abruptly disrupted our daily routines and living arrangements in ways that could not have been foreseen.

Our personalities are shaped by our experiences and social interactions, so how might the months of being isolated from friends, family and colleagues have altered us?

The team at BBC Future has taken a look.

As we have been reporting, the annual Hajj pilgrimage performed by Muslims from around the world began today in Saudi Arabia.

But it has been dramatically scaled back because of the pandemic. Only 10,000 pilgrims are expected, as opposed to about two million usually.

You can watch video from the event below and see how it compares to previous years.

The UK government is warning against all non-essential travel to Spain following a rise in coronavirus cases there. But that has not put off everyone from travelling.

Our reporters spoke to people travelling to Ibiza from East Midlands Airport.

Shona Lille, from Sheffield, said she was "itching" to get away. "I will stick to the guidelines, and wear my masks where I have to wear them so I'm doing everything. I just feel that I have the entitlement to travel and I will travel."

Kieron Brookes, from Liverpool, said: "We have booked it all and we have paid for the thing so we might as well go for a few days."

He said while his insurance would be invalid "we are just going to hope for the best".

Adam Spinos, from Long Eaton, Derbyshire, said he was more worried about being on the plane than at this destination. "I've checked everything that's happening over there and the situation, and it's fine," he said.

"I just want to see how the plane goes and the precautions staff take so people don't get too drunk and behave, which will make me feel more confident."

Image source, Getty Images

We know this pandemic has had a major impact on sport, with high-profile events being postponed or held behind closed doors.

But the Olympics and Paralympics could be held in front of "a limited number of spectators", according to the chief executive of the Tokyo 2020 Games.

Toshiro Muto told BBC Sport that organisers were hoping to allow "a limited number of spectators with full consideration of social distancing" into the venues.

He added that they would "do everything we can to make it to the opening ceremony" on 23 July next year.

The International Olympic Committee does not want to put the Games back a further year until 2022.

"Everyone should focus on holding the event next year - we're on the same page," Muto said. "We discussed this with [the IOC president] and he's saying it isn't appropriate to think about cancelling or postponing again."

The Games, still known as Tokyo 2020, are scheduled to be staged between 23 July and 8 August 2021, with the Paralympics from 24 August to 5 September.

Read more of the interview here.

Jonty Bloom
BBC Business correspondent

Image source, JJ Churchill

From the businessman having to let 50 staff go to the young graduates trying to get their first step on the career ladder the coronavirus pandemic has created a tough economic environment.

Andrew Churchill, boss of aerospace firm JJ Churchill, said making 50 of his 140 total staff redundant hurt.

"It was, and it should be, the worst part of any director's job to take the livelihood away from anybody, let alone somebody you've known for decades - let alone somebody whose knowledge and experience you value enormously," he said.

Image source, Lorna Ramm

At the other end of the spectrum is Lorna Ramm. She is leaving Edinburgh University with a degree in linguistics and English language and hopes to get a job in financial services or management consulting.

But even before the pandemic almost a third of graduates do not get graduate level jobs when they leave university.

"It's hard," the 22-year-old said. "I'm acutely aware that it will take me a long time to get to the professional level that I might have been pre-Covid."

There are high levels of competition for many jobs with the Alexandra pub in Wimbledon, south-west London, receiving 484 applications for two new bar staff roles.

Read the full story here.

Nick Triggle
Health correspondent

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned there are signs of a "second wave" of coronavirus cases in Europe, but what is the evidence for that?

Talk of a second wave is the stuff of nightmares. But many experts try to avoid the phrase altogether. Margaret Harris, from the World Health Organization, has made clear that what we have seen is "one big wave" that is making its way across the globe.

Some countries, such as South Korea and Singapore, have been better than others at flattening it from the start by stopping the virus spreading by using comprehensive testing and tracing regimes.

But others - and the UK, France, Spain and Italy are examples of this - have just managed to flatten it partway through the wave by introducing lockdowns. This was because they did not have such sophisticated infectious disease systems in place to control the virus.

Thanks to investment, they are in a much stronger position now and have been able to release lockdown, while still trying to suppress the virus wave through testing and tracing. But there are signs cases are picking up, especially in Spain.

Read the full analysis here.

Several countries across Europe have reported a rise in coronavirus cases in recent weeks.

The World Health Organization has warned that increasing infections among young people may be behind the latest outbreaks, as lockdowns are eased.

Our colleagues on the BBC Visual and Data Journalism Team are monitoring the situation in Europe and elsewhere and have produced a series of regularly updated charts tracking the pandemic.

A further 19 coronavirus-related deaths have been reported in England and Wales, the latest figures show.

There were 14 deaths recorded in the past 24 hours by NHS England, taking the total who have died in hospital from the virus to 29,317. Nine of the deaths were recorded in the Midlands.

In Wales, there were five further deaths, according to Public Health Wales, taking the total there to 1,554.

Scotland recorded no new deaths for the 13th day in a row, while Northern Ireland also recorded no deaths from the virus.

The UK figures will be published separately and differ due to recording over a different time period and based on different criteria.

Staying in the US, the country's top infectious disease expert has told the BBC that the height of a pandemic is not the time to be distracted by political infighting.

Dr Anthony Fauci's comments came shortly after President Trump questioned why he was not as popular as him - you can watch it above.

"The enemy here is the virus," he said. "This is no time to have political bickering and political fighting."

Dr Fauci blamed the recent surge in cases in the US on some states not following the recommendations of medical experts.

"I won't mention them, but some of the states... did not do the step-by-step progression as we recommended," he said.

But he added that he was hopeful an effective vaccine would be available soon.

"Hopefully in the next few months we will have more than one safe and effective vaccine which can complement the public health measures," he said.

You can read more about Dr Fauci here.

Jake Horton
BBC Reality Check

Image source, Reuters

At his news conference on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump said his administration was tracking "a significant rise in cases" in Portland and Seattle "because of what's been going on".

He was referring to protests over racial inequality and police violence. These have spread across the US, but the president singled out two cities on the west coast.

Looking at the data for the counties that include Portland and Seattle, there has been an uptick in reported coronavirus cases but the evidence linking this to the protests is weak.

Seattle's King county has seen a relatively modest increase in reported cases over the last few weeks, but Portland's Multnomah county has seen significant rise this month.

This increase in Portland, however, is similar to the trends being experienced in other parts of the US where protests have not taken place. Studies have shown , externalthere to be no significant link between the two.

Oregon's Health Officer, Dr Dean Sidelinger, said: "Protests and demonstrations may be a contributing factor, but evidence and case investigations just don't show that driving these large numbers." Plus, these protests are largely held outside where transmission is less likely.

We've also looked at the comment made by President Trump that "large portions" of the US are "corona-free".

There is not a single state that does not have a case of coronavirus and all states have registered new cases in the past week.

There are certainly parts of the country, particularly in rural areas, that have a much lower number of cases, but these are areas with very small populations.

Image source, PA Media

Frank Turner's experimental socially distanced gig last night left the venue manager at the Clapham Grand in south London concerned that live music during the pandemic may not be viable. But what was it like to be an audience member for one of the first concerts in months?

Classical musician Juliet Brien said it was "the most fabulous feeling going to a gig after so long".

"I've been desperately missing all forms of live music," she said. "I was in tears last night as each artist came on stage and started to sing - I knew it'd be emotional, but wasn't expecting it to feel quite as overwhelming!"

She said it was not only sitting at tables spaced far apart that was unusual: the audience was also discouraged from singing along to reduce the risk of transmitting the virus through droplets. They were allowed to hum instead.

"We still managed to feel that we could join in a bit with mouthing words, stamping, arm waving," she said. "All that interaction and chemistry between the artist and the audience that you just can’t get on a livestream was suddenly there again."

Angela Johnson, who also attended, said Frank Turner's livestreams "kept me sane" during lockdown but had found life without live music hard. She said the gig had "brilliant performances charged with so much emotion, it just filled my heart".

She said she feels "very grateful to have attended what am sure will be a legendary gig" and hopes that the government will ease restrictions on performances.

Jeremy Bowen
BBC Middle East editor

The radical downsizing of the Hajj is a huge disappointment to all those who were hoping to make the pilgrimage.

It is an economic catastrophe for the cities of Mecca and Medina. For centuries they have relied on the income from the Hajj, and this year amounts to a total loss. Two million pilgrims were expected.

But with Saudi Arabia hit hard by the pandemic, only 1,000 - all resident in the kingdom - will be able to fulfil their duty as Muslims to take part in the Hajj.

Image source, EPA

The loss of income from pilgrims is another serious economic blow for Saudi Arabia. In the second half of the 20th Century its wealth seemed limitless.

Now it is struggling to adapt to a world that is looking for ways to stop using fossil fuels. The uncertainties about the course of the pandemic in the next 12 months mean that there is no guarantee that next year's Hajj will be back to normal.

For those who love the thrill of finding a bargain a lockdown ban on car boot sales has been tough.

But bric-a-brac sales are back - now with airport-style queues, cashless payments and social distancing to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

The Arminghall car boot, held on 15 acres of Norfolk farmland, has been home to sales twice a week for more than 30 years and the punters are glad to have it back.

Mother-of-three Kelly Mallett is pleased with her haul - boxing gloves and pads, parasol lights, a pot plant and two placemats.

"That's the joy of a car boot - the random stuff. You won't get these placemats for that price in a shop. It's the little things. I even got a pair of flippers for free. I don't even need flippers."

Landowner and organiser Mark Sadd describe the queue as like a "miniature version of passport control".

"As soon as the government said we could restart, there was a lot of soul-searching on how we'd do it," he said.

We have the full story here.

Image source, EPA

Venues which only a year ago were hosting the Panamerican Games are now being used to treat coronavirus patients in Peru. The country is nearing 400,000 cases, the third-worst affected in Latin America after Brazil and Mexico.

In some cities, such as Arequipa, hospitals have been struggling to cope with demand and some patients were given oxygen in their cars.

In Colombia, President Iván Duque has extended the lockdown in the country for another month to the end of August. It is the eighth time it has been extended since it was first brought in at the end of March.

However, the president said shops and businesses in areas where there are no cases would be allowed to gradually reopen but that entertainment venues such as bars would remain closed. Colombia has more than 267,000 confirmed cases and there have been more than 9,000 Covid-related deaths.

Meanwhile, thousands of people in Bolivia have taken to the streets in protest at the postponement of the presidential election from September to October. Bolivia's electoral commission said the delay was necessary because of the coronavirus crisis.

But the opposition says the government of interim President Jeanine Áñez is using the pandemic as an excuse to extend its time in office. Áñez came to power last year after the long-term socialist president, Evo Morales, resigned following disputed elections.

Earlier we told you that Dr Hans Kluge, Europe regional director for the World Health Organization (WHO), said increasing infections among young people could be driving recent spikes in cases across the continent.

"We're receiving reports from several health authorities of a higher proportion of new infections among young people," he told the BBC.

Here is a look at some of the European countries where cases among the young have risen in recent weeks:

• The Netherlands has reported higher infection rates among younger age groups than older age groups in recent weeks
• In France, officials in Brittany blamed local outbreaks there on people aged between 18 and 25, saying they do not follow distancing measures as closely as others. "Young people spread the virus,"Anne-Briac Bili, head of the regional health authority, told broadcaster France3
• In the Spanish capital Madrid, where authorities are trying to stop infections from rising, regional government head Isabel Díaz Ayuso sounded the alarm on Tuesday about "the behaviour of young people", saying: "They are endangering neighbours but also their academic and working future"