France’s digital minister has said its coronavirus contact-tracing app has been downloaded 600,000 times since it became available on Tuesday afternoon. StopCovid France is designed to prevent a second wave of infections by using smartphone logs to warn users if they have been near someone who later tested positive for the virus.

But a last-minute launch delay led some citizens to download the wrong product. England has yet to confirm when its own app will roll out nationwide. Health Secretary Matt Hancock had originally said it would be by 1 June, and then later suggested it would be around the middle of next week. But the BBC has learned that it is now unlikely to be before 15 June and could be as late as July. That is in part because of delays in releasing a second version of the software to the Isle of Wight, where it is being trialled. The update will add symptoms including the loss of taste and smell to a self-diagnosis questionnaire next week, or soon after.(BBC)…[+]

Google has been sued in the US over claims it illegally invades the privacy of users by tracking people even when they are browsing in “private mode”. The class action wants at least $5bn (£4bn) from Google and owner Alphabet.

Many internet users assume their search history isn’t being tracked when they view in private mode, but Google says this isn’t the case. The search engine denies this is illegal and says it is upfront about the data it collects in this mode.

The proposed class action likely includes “millions” of Google users who since 1 June 2016 browsed the internet in private mode according to law firm Boies Schiller Flexner who filed the claim on Tuesday in federal court in San Jose, California.(BBC)…[+]

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 King’s 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, 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. Prof Mitul Mehta, one of the team at King’s College London, said: “We need to do a trial to show that the evidence actually matches what we expect to happen.”(BBC)…[+]

Shagufta Kausar and her husband Shafqat Emmanuel have spent the last six years in jail waiting for an appeal against their death sentence for “blasphemy” to conclude. Now, the family of the poor Christian couple from the central Pakistani town of Gojra hope an end to their ordeal could be in sight, with a final hearing at Lahore High Court scheduled for Wednesday.

Their lawyer, Saif ul Malook, who also represented Asia Bibi, another Christian woman who had a death sentence for blasphemy successfully overturned, told the BBC the evidence used to convict the couple was deeply flawed. But, he warned, that judges can be “fearful” of acquitting suspects, in case they are targeted themselves by extremists. Court proceedings have also slowed in recent weeks as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.(BBC)…[+]

More than 10,000 people have died with coronavirus in Mexico, the country’s health minister has announced.

The announcement came on the same day that many restrictions brought in to curb the spread of the virus were lifted. The number of confirmed cases was more than 93,000 as of Monday, according to official figures. That figure means Mexico is the fourth worst affected country in Latin America after Brazil, Peru and Chile.

The number of cases continues to rise steeply. On Monday, the country recorded 2,771 new cases and 237 deaths with coronavirus. The worst affected states are Mexico City, the state surrounding it and Baja California in the south.

The states of Puebla in central Mexico and Sinaloa in the north have also experienced a steep increase in cases. The number of tests carried out in Mexico is low and experts warn the number of people infected could be much higher than that reported by the government.(BBC)…[+]

Last night he held a Bible in front of St John’s Episcopal Church, just across the road from the White House. Today, he’ll visit the Shrine to St John Paul II, also in Washington DC. But US President Donald Trump’s signalling of religious affiliation has not been welcomed by a range of clerics as the nation struggles to manage the twin challenges of a pandemic and widespread political protest.

The Episcopal Bishop of Washington, the Right Reverend Mariann Budde, said: “The president just used a Bible, the most sacred text of the Judeo-Christian tradition, and one of the churches of my diocese, without permission, as a backdrop for a message antithetical to the teachings of Jesus.” James Martin, a Jesuit priest and consultant to the Vatican’s communications department, tweeted: “Let me be clear. This is revolting. The Bible is not a prop. A church is not a photo op. Religion is not a political tool. God is not your plaything.”(BBC)…[+]

Moscow’s authorities have more than doubled the official death toll from Covid-19 in the Russian capital for the month of April. The city’s health department now says 1,561 people died from the disease – not 639 as initially announced. The department stressed that the new tally included even the most “controversial, debatable” cases.

Moscow-based reporters had said the official numbers were too low, but were accused of fake news and distortion.

Confirmation that the numbers had been under-reported emerged before Russia announced 232 new deaths, its biggest daily death toll during the pandemic so far. With 8,572 new recorded infections, Russia has the third highest number in the world of 387,623 cases. The official number of deaths stands at 4,374. The government says the country’s mass testing programme is responsible for that low mortality rate – but many believe the numbers are in fact far higher.(BBC)…[+]

Norway and Denmark say they will open up tourism between their two countries from 15 June but will maintain restrictions for Swedes. Sweden did not impose a lockdown, unlike its Nordic neighbours, and its Covid-19 death toll – above 4,000 – is by far the highest in Scandinavia.

Danish PM Mette Frederiksen said Denmark and Sweden were in different places regarding the pandemic. Denmark is also opening up tourism with Germany and Iceland, within limits. Tourists from those countries cannot stay the night in Copenhagen, which has the most coronavirus cases. Danes can travel to those two countries too, without having to go into quarantine on their return. The announcement dashes the hopes of Danes hoping to travel to Southern Europe for their holidays and Denmark’s foreign minister said they should avoid big cities and stick to the countryside. At a joint video news conference, Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg said “we can’t open too suddenly, that would jeopardise everything we’ve accomplished”.(BBC)…[+]

Twitter has hidden a tweet by President Donald Trump from his profile, saying it violates rules about glorifying violence. It did the same hours later when the official White House account tweeted a copy of the president’s words.

Instead of being deleted, both tweets can be viewed by clicking on a prominent warning. It says that “Twitter has determined that it may be in the public’s interest for the Tweet to remain accessible.” This is the latest twist in an escalating row between Twitter and the White House. Mr Trump was tweeting about the US city of Minneapolis, which has seen consecutive nights of protests following the death of a black man in police custody. 

The president said he would “send in the National Guard”, and followed that up with a warning that “when the looting starts, the shooting starts.” That second tweet was hidden by Twitter for “glorifying violence”.  Twitter’s policy of adding a warning to, rather than deleting, tweets that break its rules when it comes to major public figures was announced in mid-2019. But the social network has never used it on Mr Trump – nor deleted any of his tweets before. “This is the bravest and riskiest thing I’ve ever seen Twitter – or any social media giant – do,” said Carl Miller, from the Centre for the Analysis of Social Media at UK-based think-tank Demos.

“This pours rocket fuel over the online-harm-versus-free-speech debate. Online content policy doesn’t get more incendiary than this.”(BBC)…[+]

All non-essential retailers will be able to reopen in England from 15 June, Boris Johnson has announced, as part of plans to further ease the lockdown. However, the move is “contingent on progress in the fight against coronavirus”, and retailers will have to adhere to new guidelines to protect shoppers and workers, the PM added.

Outdoor markets and car showrooms will be able to reopen from 1 June. It comes as the number of coronavirus deaths in the UK rose by 121 to 36,914. Mr Johnson said new guidance had been published for the retail sector “detailing the measures they should take to meet the necessary social distancing and hygiene standards”. “Shops now have the time to implement this guidance before they reopen,” he said. “This will ensure there can be no doubt about what steps they should take.”(BBC)…[+]