A woman’s descent into poverty provides a powerful finale to the Zimbabwean author’s trilogy

“You want nothing more than to break away from the implacable terror of every day you spend in your country – where you can no longer afford the odd dab of peanut butter to liven up the vegetables from Mai Manyanga’s garden.” This is the voice of Tambu, first encountered in the Zimbabwean writer Tsitsi Dangarembga’s much-praised 1988 book Nervous Conditions, a passionate, first-person account of a 1960s Rhodesian childhood scarred by the war of independence.

Now, in the final instalment in the trilogy, Tambu is middle aged and writing in an appropriately distanced second person. Dangarembga sets herself the challenge of writing about how alienated personhood becomes when life stories lose hope and in a country where effort is no longer followed by reward.

Regenerative agriculture can revolutionise the continent. That’s not a pie-in-the-sky utopia, but something we can all bring about

How should we stare down the challenges of a new decade? Where will we find hope and solutions? This is the first piece in a new series in which we ask prominent Australians to write about one thing they think could improve the nation in the 2020s

We need a revolution in Australia. Many can sense that. We’re richer than ever, but when it comes to our environment and the climate we’re in a big hole – and we need to stop digging. We must find new ways of living on this incredible continent we have brought to the brink of climatic and ecological catastrophe. If that sounds bleak, it is. But what if the revolution we need is already taking place; in the space between our ears and the ground beneath our feet?

Related: Farmer wants a revolution: 'How is this not genocide?'

Transitioning to regenerative agriculture isn’t some sort of pie-in-the-sky hoping for a utopia

Will we challenge and transform our thinking, or continue ploughing on towards the cliff edge up ahead?

Related: Look after the soil, save the Earth: farming in Australia's unrelenting climate

David Pocock is a professional rugby union player and co-author of the book In Our Nature with his partner, Emma Pocock

A year after eastern Zimbabwe was devastated by one of the worst storms on record, many people remain amid the wreckage living in makeshift shelters

The sound of the rising wind and the heavy rain trigger fear at Garikai camp in Ngangu, Chimanimani, eastern Zimbabwe.

Villagers here are haunted by traumatic memories of the aftermath of the cyclone that swept over this region last March, when they were forced to bury the dead in makeshift coffins. Some people have never found their loved ones.

Related: Why were the people worst affected by Cyclone Idai so badly prepared? | Antonio Matimbe

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'

Court application warns ‘many lives will be lost’ without urgent action to provide face masks

The Zimbabwean government has been taken to court over its failure to provide doctors working on the frontline of the Covid-19 pandemic with masks.

The Zimbabwe Association for Doctors for Human Rights (ZADHR) is seeking to compel the authorities urgently to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) for medical practitioners, warning that medics in the country’s troubled health sector will otherwise die.

Related: 'We will starve': Zimbabwe's poor full of misgiving over Covid-19 lockdown

A rise in cases of the mosquito-borne disease poses another layer of threat in a country where the health system is already struggling

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At least 131 people have died from malaria in Zimbabwe in a new outbreak, adding pressure to a country already struggling to deal with Covid-19.

The fatalities occurred in 201 outbreaks recorded across the country, according to the Ministry of Health. Meanwhile Zimbabwe’s lockdown has been extended by two weeks to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Related: 'We will starve': Zimbabwe's poor full of misgiving over Covid-19 lockdown

Migrants trapped in dangerous conditions at frontiers, ports and transit camps

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Tens of thousands of migrants are trapped in dangerous conditions at frontiers, mines, ports and in transit camps across Africa after states shut their borders in an attempt to stem the spread of Covid-19.

Some have been abandoned by smugglers unable to take them further on their journeys to Europe or elsewhere. Others were returning home or moving across the continent in search of work when frontiers were closed in March.

Time is running out if you're receiving SSI or VA benefits and want to make sure your children under 17 are included in your stimulus payments. You have just until tomorrow to report your information to the IRS. But beware: Some people have already complained that their checks fall short.

Health savings accounts, or HSAs, will cover Covid-19-related testing and treatment, among other things.

An SEC rule is requiring many brokers, often referred to as financial or wealth advisors, to stop marketing themselves as "advisors" next month.

From a drop in income to the inability to pay bills, young adults are facing obstacles they weren't necessarily expecting.

Business owners, the unemployed and recipients of stimulus checks are among the targets of financial thieves trying to access trillions of dollars in federal coronavirus relief.

If you had other sources of liquidity available to your company, and applied for the Paycheck Protection Program anyway, now might be the time to think about giving the cash back. You have just over a week to act.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo extended the moratorium on evictions through August. The state has been the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic.

As co-founder and creative director of her own fashion line, Rebecca Minkoff understands the current struggles small-business owners are now facing — especially women. Here's her advice on how to survive.

New guidance from the IRS makes it clear that stimulus checks cut to deceased people must be returned. But what about those who die from the coronavirus? That depends on the timing of the deaths and receipt of the checks.

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What a new way of doing business could do for McDonald's profitability. With CNBC's Melissa Lee and the Fast Money traders, Guy Adami, Tim Seymour, Dan Nathan and Karen Finerman.

Making sense of Disney's earnings, with CNBC's Melissa Lee and the Fast Money traders, Guy Adami, Tim Seymour, Steve Grasso and Karen Finerman.

Is Abbott Labs a buy? With CNBC's Melissa Lee and the Fast Money traders, Guy Adami, Tim Seymour, Pete Najarian and Steve Grasso.

FM trader Brian Kelly on legendary investor Paul Tudor Jones buying bitcoin. With CNBC's Melissa Lee and the Fast Money traders, Guy Adami, Tim Seymour, Karen Finerman and Dan Nathan.

Charles Stewart, Sotheby's CEO, on how the company has shifted business during the pandemic. With CNBC's Melissa Lee and the Fast Money traders, Guy Adami, Tim Seymour, Karen Finerman and Dan Nathan.

Bitcoin hits $10,000 ahead of Monday's 'halving' event. With CNBC's Melissa Lee and the Fast Money traders, Guy Adami, Tim Seymour, Brian Kelly and Jeff Mills.

The RAF's display team colour the skies above London red, white and blue to mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day. Nazi commanders surrendered to allied forces in a French schoolhouse 75 years ago on 8 May 1945, bringing the second world war in Europe to an end.

• VE Day 2020: 75th anniversary marked with two-minute silence and Red Arrows flypast – live
  
• VE Day 75 timetable: Prince Charles to lead event with two-minute silence
  

Britain observed a two-minute silence on Friday to commemorate the 75th anniversary of VE Day, marking the end of the second world war. Charles, the Prince of Wales, and the Duchess of Cornwall led the ceremony from Balmoral in Scotland. Political leaders also paid silent tribute at 11am along with the rest of the nation. Nazi commanders surrendered to allied forces in a French schoolhouse 75 years ago to the day.

• VE Day 2020: Britain pauses for two-minute silence as Red Arrows flypast marks 75th anniversary – live
  
• VE Day 75 timetable
  

The legislative council descended into chaos for more than an hour on Friday as opposing lawmakers threw placards and scrambling over each other to take control of a house committee. Politicians rushed to take the seat left empty after the house was unable to elect a new chairperson. The incumbent, Starry Lee, reached the seat first as pro-Beijing and pro-democracy members crowded in

• Hong Kong parliament in chaos as politicians fight for chair

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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Dr Michael Ryan, the director of the WHO health emergencies programme, has said there is a way out of the Covid-19 pandemic for communities, adding that 'a careful and measured return' to workplaces and schools with the right precautions could work, but that concerts and other mass gatherings were much more difficult.

He predicted a significant change to lifestyles until a vaccine or effective treatments were found.

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Iquitos, still reeling from a dengue fever outbreak and plagued by poverty, relies on air deliveries for medicine, equipment and oxygen

In the final hours before Covid-19 claimed her life, Cecilio Sangama watched helplessly as his eldest sister Edith gasped for breath.

Hospitals across Peru’s largest Amazon city had run out of oxygen, and the shortage had pushed the black market price of a cylinder well above $1,000 (£810).

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.

The Australian government has arranged four additional Qantas flights to Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai in the coming fortnight. This blog has now closed

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• Coronavirus Australia maps and cases: live numbers and statistics

10.10am BST

To recap, this afternoon there were 6,929 Covid-19 cases in Australia, with the death toll at 97.

There had been 16 new cases in the last 24 hours, four of which were related to the Cedar Meats cluster in Victoria.

Related: Coronavirus Australia latest: at a glance

8.21am BST

There are just two people in South Australia considered to be active cases of Covid-19.

No further cases were recorded when the state health department released updated statistics on Saturday, with South Australia’s total tally remaining at 439.

We want people to get out and explore our fabulous regions. It is safe for regional travel in South Australia.

Donald Trump has asserted with no evidence that the coronavirus pandemic will ‘go away without a vaccine’. Without mentioning specifics, he pointed to other viruses and flus that ‘disappeared’ before vaccines were created. ‘They’ve never shown up again. They die, too. Like everything else, they die,’ Trump said. ‘It’s going to go away. And we’re not going to see it again, hopefully, after a period of time.’

• Global report: Trump says Covid-19 will ‘go away without vaccine’, expects US death toll to top 95,000
  
• Coronavirus US live: Trump fumes as White House staffers test positive and death toll nears 80,000

20m Americans lost their jobs in April; Donald Trump says virus will ‘go away without a vaccine’. This blog is now closed, follow our new blog below

• Coronavirus live updates

1.45am BST

We are closing this blog now, but you can stay up to date with all the latest news on our new global live blog which you can find below.

Related: Coronavirus live news: global cases approach 4 million as US unemployment hits 14.7%

1.13am BST

New Zealand’s cabinet will meet on Monday to decide the future of the country’s tough but effective lockdown – though Kiwis have been told not to visit their mums this Mother’s Day.

Next week, Ardern’s government will plot a path back to something close to normality, meeting to decide a timetable for the removal of social and business restrictions. The prime minister has already released what level two restrictions will look like, including the re-opening of restaurants, hairdressers, gyms, cinemas and public facilities like museums and libraries.

Social restrictions could end immediately, with provisions for schools, business and personal movement more likely to be phased in.

Any decision will come too late for Kiwi mums to enjoy visits from sons and daughters not already in their household bubbles. Ardern has banned socialising outside of existing households, with few exceptions, and told Kiwis this week to “stick to the plan” ahead of Monday’s review.

Former staffer discusses allegation in in-depth interview with the former Fox News and NBC host

Tara Reade repeated her allegations of sexual assault against Joe Biden in an in-depth interview with Megyn Kelly released on Friday, answering questions on who she shared her story with and why she supported the former vice president publicly in the past.

Reade has accused Biden of sexually assaulting her in 1993, when she worked as an aide in his Senate office. She told Kelly, a former Fox News and NBC host who memorably sparred with Trump during the 2016 campaign over his treatment of women, that Biden pushed her against the wall in a Senate hallway and digitally penetrated her against her will.

Monetary fund warns the US and China against continuing trade war, saying it could damage coronavirus recovery

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The head of the International Monetary Fund has signalled a possible downward revision of global economic forecasts, and warned the United States and China against rekindling a trade war that could weaken a recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

Kristalina Georgieva, the IMF’s managing director, told an online event hosted by the European University Institute that recent economic data for many countries was coming in below the fund’s already pessimistic forecast for a 3% contraction in 2020.

Stringent measures to be announced with visitors and returning Britons to be asked to self-isolate

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A 14-day quarantine period for all travellers coming to Britain would have a devastating impact on the UK aviation industry and wider economy, a trade body has said.

The government is expected to announce the quarantine on Sunday as part of measures to prevent a second peak of the coronavirus pandemic.

Germany’s top coronavirus expert says children play as big a role as adults in spread

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More countries across Europe are preparing to reopen schools in the coming weeks despite conflicting advice from scientists, some of whom caution against underestimating children’s potential to spread the coronavirus.

Some schools and nurseries in Denmark and Norway have already reopened, and grandparents in Switzerland are allowed to hug grandchildren under 10, following a ruling by the health ministry’s head of infectious diseases that it is safe to do so.

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.

London embassy contradicts health minister as visitors could face 14-day confinement even if asymptomatic

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French officials have announced that Britons and those from European Union member states will not be placed in 14 days mandatory quarantine if they travel to France, as suggested by the country’s health minister.

In what appeared to be a direct contradiction of Olivier Véran’s statement on Saturday, the French embassy in London tweeted that the measure would not be imposed on those arriving in France from the UK or Schengen area.

Related: France to sell some of nation's antique furniture to support hospitals

US president again criticises Beijing as European countries prepare to ease lockdown

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Donald Trump has said he is “very confident” there will be a vaccine for coronavirus by the end of the year, revising up his estimate of the final US death toll as several European countries prepare for a cautious easing of lockdowns.

The president used a Fox News “virtual town hall” on Sunday night to repeat his regular virus talking points, including that a vaccine was not far away, Covid-19 was China’s fault and the economy would not only recover but “grow like crazy”.

Related: Mike Pompeo: 'enormous evidence' coronavirus came from Chinese lab

Global coronavirus cases have surpassed 3.5 million with more than 247,000 deaths.

In New York, the centre of the US outbreak, an emergency field hospital erected in Central Park is set to close. Dozens of New Yorkers were fined for violating social distancing guidelines as they flocked to beaches and parks in balmy weekend weather.

China reported three new coronavirus cases, versus two the day before.

Japan’s state of emergency is expected to be extended until the end of the month.

France will not quarantine anyone arriving from the EU, the Schengen area or Britain due to the coronavirus.

New Zealand has reported no new coronavirus cases for the first time.

South Korea plans to ease a ban on some gatherings and events as long as they “follow disinfection measures”.

Brazil has become the first country in Latin America to report more than 100,000 cases.

The Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, announced mosques will reopen across large parts of the Islamic republic after they were closed in early March.

Man found to have had virus a month before government confirmed first cases

A French hospital that retested old samples from pneumonia patients has discovered that it treated a man with the coronavirus as early as 27 December, nearly a month before the French government confirmed its first cases.

Dr Yves Cohen, head of resuscitation at the Avicenne and Jean Verdier hospitals in the northern suburbs of Paris, told BFM TV that scientists had retested samples from 24 patients treated in December and January who tested negative for flu.

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.

Customers say they were denied cancellation repayments and pushed to accept unusable vouchers

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Eurostar is to offer more generous cancellation terms and has promised cash refunds after facing a backlash from customers furious at its previous refunds stance.

With French borders still closed to all tourist traffic, Eurostar has been forced to cancel all but two trains a day out of London, leaving thousands of passengers with unusable tickets.

Related: Confusion over French quarantine rules for overseas visitors

Related: UK watchdog flooded with complaints over holiday refunds