Italy has outlined its plans to ease the lockdown restrictions that were implemented across the country 7 weeks ago to combat the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

Nearly half of US states will have their ‘stay-at-home’ orders expire this week, paving the way for much of the US to relax its lockdowns.

Spain's daily death toll from the coronavirus fell to its second lowest since mid-March on Saturday, as half the country prepared to move to the next phase of an exit from one of Europe's strictest lockdowns.

Since the beginning of the healthcare crisis, the decrees issued by the Conte government have, one after the other, increased the number of restrictions. This is on top of the ordinances from the different regions. A campaign has developed and has promoted social distancing through calls to stay at home, hashtags and appeals. But all this fervour did not affect the millions of workers forced to continue going to work in non-essential companies and services.

The bosses are pushing ever harder for workers to return to work. And the Tory government is giving them free rein to restart the economy without the necessary safety measures. The labour movement must organise a fightback.

School closures mean kids will be spending a lot more time at home. Here's some advice on how to cope.

Researchers are able to detect and measure things they could not before, while many species flourish amid the silence.

Gone are the oppressive schedules, replaced with long stretches of glorious free time.

Oil prices pared losses to turn higher on Monday, despite worries that a global oil glut may persist even as coronavirus pandemic lockdowns start to ease and amid a fresh spat between the United States and China over the origin of the virus.

Oil prices climbed in early trade on Tuesday, adding to gains in the previous session, on expectations that fuel demand will begin to pick up as some U.S. states and nations in Europe and Asia start to ease coronavirus lockdown measures.

Researchers at Cambridge University and the U.S. Federal Reserve Board found that imposing no lockdown measures in the face of Covid-19 was "extremely risky" for developed economies.

"That's going to tug against what the governors have to do," the former FDA chief told CNBC. "We still face a pretty big epidemic in this country."

Eli Lee from Bank of Singapore says that investors must realize that the speed of coming out of coronavirus lockdowns will be nowhere near the pace at which we entered it.

China's exports could weaken in May, possibly also in June, as some of its largest export markets in the West have been under lockdown due to the pandemic, says Ray Farris, Credit Suisse's chief investment officer for South Asia.

Covid-19 has forced epidemiology and economics to become intertwined as never before.

Sweden's decision to avoid a strict lockdown like its European neighbors drew global attention and was not without controversy, but its chief epidemiologist says there are few things he would have done differently.

Italy, Belgium and Portugal are reopening some business activities on Monday as they take their first tentative steps to lifting their coronavirus lockdowns.

"This situation makes me sick, because (it) is totally avoidable," Lucica Ditiu, executive director of the Stop TB Partnership, said.

"We will want, if we possibly can, to get going with some of these measures on Monday," U.K. Prime Minister Johnson told Parliament.

Unable to access state benefits, food and even running water as the country shuts up shop, people in Harare fear the worst

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Nelson Mahunde, 70, trudges along the deserted streets of Harare’s central business district to collect his monthly pension.

In one hand, he clutches a pension letter; with the other, he hold on firmly to his walking stick.

How can we wash our hands regularly when there is no running water?

Related: Zimbabwe's president appeals for help to end country's 'financial isolation'

As the lockdown days wear on, it can be hard to find hope amid the gloom. But people across the world are finding reasons to keep their spirits up – from lockdown charity walks and miraculous recoveries, to virtual graduation wishes from celebrities and socially distanced block parties

• Fancy dress to hitting the jackpot: reasons for cheer in lockdown UK
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India’s ‘champagne of teas’ among those affected as country’s tea board estimates output could drop 9%, amid strain in China and Sri Lanka

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Trouble is brewing for the world’s tea producers as the coronavirus lockdown shut down the harvest in several important regions, including the picking of India’s “champagne of teas”.

Despite forecasts of increased demand from drinkers stuck at home across the world, producers have become frustrated by the enforced quarantining of their workforce, with India’s output expected to drop by 9% in 2020.

While men and women can go out on alternate days, trans people in the Colombian capital face increasing risk of violent attacks

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A policy of making men and women leave their homes on alternate days during lockdown in Bogotá is fuelling violence towards the transgender community by the police and the public, activists say.

The mayor of the Colombian capital, Claudia López, announced last month that women were permitted to go outdoors for essential tasks on even-numbered days and men on odd-numbered days, in an effort to limit numbers on the streets.

Two of Europe’s worst affected countries begin careful process of opening up societies again

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Spain and Italy, two of the European countries hardest hit by coronavirus, are beginning to emerge from lengthy and strict lockdowns as Russia and Afghanistan reported their biggest one-day rises in new infections.

In Spain, where 217,466 cases of Covid-19 and 25,264 deaths have been confirmed, adults were allowed back on to the street to exercise for the first time in seven weeks this weekend.

Epidemics of infectious diseases behave in different ways but the 1918 influenza pandemic that killed more than 50 million people is regarded as a key example of a pandemic that occurred in multiple waves, with the latter more severe than the first. It has been replicated – albeit more mildly – in subsequent flu pandemics.

US and Sweden raise questions over how virus spread in China, while Austria declares outbreak under control

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The World Health Organization has urged countries to look for more early cases of Covid-19 and urged a full exploration of the pandemic’s origins and early path, as Germany took preventive action to head off any future rise in infections.

Related: Coronavirus map of the US: latest cases state by state

Russia cemented its place as the European country reporting the highest number of new infections, with total cases soaring past 155,000, although at 1,451 its fatality rate has remained low compared to other countries.

Hong Kong announced plans to ease major social distancing measures, including reopening schools, cinemas, bars and beauty parlours, from Friday.

Overcrowded, unhygienic prisons in Latin America and the spread of the coronavirus in regional prisons in the US are a source of “major concern”, the UN human rights office said.

India embarked on a “massive” operation using passenger jets and naval ships to bring back some of the hundreds of thousands of nationals stranded abroad.

Virgin Atlantic airline said it was cutting 3,000 jobs.

Ex-president backs new app for victims as WHO reports 60% rise in domestic abuse calls

The former French president François Hollande has spoken of his concern for women suffering domestic abuse during the lockdown.

In an interview with the Guardian, Hollande called for schoolchildren to be taught that violence at home was unacceptable but that it affected every social group.

Related: Protecting domestic violence victims in lockdown

From being a goose on the loose to controlling whole galaxies, here’s a world of experiences for all the family

• Modern Toss on video games ...

The cinemas may be shut, the gig venues closed, but there is one place you can still meet your friends and be entertained without leaving your house: the world of gaming. For many of us, it has been years since we could really justify spending all day in our pyjamas slaying virtual dragons – now that way of life, for some at least, is a little less frowned-upon. But if you’re returning to serious gaming after a few years away, where exactly should you be spending your valuable money and time? Here are no less than 100 highly recommended titles, from family favourites to epic sci-fi sagas – all available on current platforms, be it PC, smartphones or consoles. Whether you want to be moved, terrified, relaxed or intellectually challenged, alone or with pals, we’ve got more than enough here to keep you occupied until you’re out and about again …

With the sporting calendar on hold during the coronavirus pandemic, football stars around the world are challenging each other to perform tricks with loo roll as part of the #stayathomechallenge to encourage fans to practise social distancing

With football on hold during the coronavirus pandemic, one of the world’s leading freestylers is helping fans remain active under lockdown. Every day, Liv Cooke a four-time world record holder, posts footage of herself performing a freestyle trick with instructions on how to follow suit at home

• A trick a day: how freestyler Liv Cooke is bringing light to the lockdown

Alphonso Davies was born in a refugee camp after his parents fled civil war in Liberia. He has since become the youngest footballer to play for Canada and won a Bundesliga title with Bayern Munich. The 19-year-old talks to Gary Lineker about his incredible journey

• Manchester City defender admits visiting sister and parents
• Club will not discipline him due to extenuating circumstances

Kyle Walker believes he is being harassed by the media after contravening lockdown rules again when visiting his parents and sister, with Manchester City deciding against disciplinary action due to extenuating circumstances.

The Sun reported that Walker travelled to Sheffield on Wednesday to visit his sister and parents. This came after the defender apologised following a report he held a party at his house with two sex workers present last month, breaking lockdown rules.

Club’s charity has adjusted swiftly amid Covid-19 and faces challenges with youngsters previously involved in crime

Like most workers in the charity sector, George Henry knew he had a problem when the UK entered lockdown on 23 March. As the targeted interventions manager at the Palace for Life Foundation – Crystal Palace’s charity – Henry uses football to help disadvantaged young people in south London and organises a team of mentors who try to keep them on the straight and narrow.

“Most of them have been arrested or been in gangs and we try to get them into positive outcomes,” he says. “We’re based in schools and a custody suite for our Divert programme, which aims to get them back into employment and training. Around this time of year we usually help with the transition from year six to year seven but because of the lockdown that couldn’t happen.”

Recessions tend to centre on one part of the economy; coronavirus has hit them all. The road to recovery will be long

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In a way, Britain should have been the country best prepared for the devastating impact of Covid-19 on the economy, because throughout 2019 barely a day went past without someone popping up to warn of the dangers of a cliff-edge Brexit.

But there are cliff edges and then there’s falling off the cliff, and not even the most pessimistic remainer would have been willing to predict what has happened since the UK went into lockdown at the end of March. While most of the attention has been focused – quite rightly – on the medical emergency, the economy has collapsed.

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नई दिल्ली: कोरोना वायरस के बढ़ते संक्रमण को रोकने के लिए भारत में 17 मई तक लॉकडाउन का ऐलान किया गया है। ये लॉकडाउन कब तक जारी रहेगा, इस पर अभी कुछ नहीं कहा जा सकता है। लॉकडाउन की वजह से

FRANCE 24 takes a three-part look at the women on the front lines of the Covid-19 fight in France and examines the details of the government plan to start lifting lockdown on May 11. We also spoke with Iceland's prime minister about her country's response to the pandemic and examined how art lovers, barred from museum visits, are recreating famous paintings in their homes. 

Millions of us are in confinement around the world – all searching for activities to occupy us and cheer us up. Every day since mid-March, French DJ and producer Bob Sinclar has been gathering hundreds of thousands of people for one hour of uplifting funk via Facebook and Instagram. He spoke to Eve Jackson about keeping the groove going in confinement.

Four Grammy awards, tens of millions of views, Quincy Jones as a manager, Herbie Hancock as a fan and Chris Martin as a collaborator: 25-year-old Jacob Collier has been compared to Mozart and Prince and called jazz's new messiah. The north London prodigy speaks to Eve Jackson from confinement about his four-volume, 50-song album "Djesse", being managed by the man who produced the best-selling album of all time, and what he's learned in lockdown.

Some of the busiest traffic arteries in Paris will be reserved for cyclists in a bid to limit crowds on public transport when France begins lifting its coronavirus lockdown next week, the city's mayor said.