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An extraordinary Budget

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Boris Johnson's government will deliver its first Budget later - an update on the financial state of the nation and an outline of plans for taxation and spending going forward. The red box and House of Commons rowdiness come as standard, but this Budget is anything but normal.

For one, the man actually doing the delivering is a rookie - Rishi Sunak has been chancellor for just four weeks after his predecessor quit. Here's a bit more about him.

Secondly, this Budget is taking place during a global health crisis. As our economics editor Faisal Islam explains, the likely impact of coronavirus means economic forecasts written just a few weeks ago are already out of date. It also means Mr Sunak will spend plenty of his speech explaining how he hopes to mitigate that impact. That includes giving the NHS "whatever resources it needs" and offering help to individuals and businesses hit financially.

The third thing to note, as our political editor Laura Kuenssberg explains, is that this Budget will bring a significant shift in levels of public spending. Indeed, it'll set out the highest sustained capital investment since the 1970s. The chancellor will also confirm plans to change the way he calculates the benefit of public spending to include how it spreads wealth around the country.

Remember hearing the phrase "levelling up" a lot during the election? Well, this is the moment when the government hopes to show what that means. To prove that the Conservatives really do want to do more for those people in the North and Midlands who voted for them for the first time.

Read our essential guide to the Budget or watch a run-down on Johnson-omics.

Coronavirus latest

In the UK, six people with coronavirus have now died and nearly 400 people have tested positive, including MP Nadine Dorries. The health minister said Public Health England has been tracing all those in Parliament and her constituency she had been in contact with. Meanwhile, NHS England is scaling up and speeding up testing for people suspected of having the infection. And the government is considering a policy of "cocooning" groups who are most vulnerable, such as older people in care homes, keeping them apart from the wider population.

The list of events affected by coronavirus continues to grow. One of the world's biggest music festivals, Coachella in California, has been postponed. So too has Wednesday's Premier League match between Manchester City and Arsenal. Airlines have cancelled thousands of flights to cope with a huge slump in demand.

Read more on the UK's plans to deal with the outbreak and how you can reduce your risk. Follow the latest live updates here.

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Menstrual cup warning

Incorrect use of menstrual cups could be resulting in some women suffering pelvic organ prolapse, the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme has been told. Menstrual cups fit into the vagina and collect period blood. Their popularity has grown recently, but they're not currently regulated in the UK and there's no safety testing. The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy wants some manufacturers to include better safety advice to reduce risk.

Is this the beginning of the end for Sanders?

By Anthony Zurcher, BBC North America reporter

Call it Mini Super Tuesday, or Super Tuesday: The Sequel. No matter the name, a week after Joe Biden surged into the front-runner position, he has consolidated his lead. The bottom line is the race for the Democratic nomination now appears to be firmly in his control. Four years ago, Michigan gave Bernie Sanders a surprise win - albeit a narrow, 49-48 one - breathing new life into a campaign that was struggling after Hillary Clinton dominated Super Tuesday. This time around, the Midwestern state could mark the beginning of the end for his campaign.

Read the full article

What the papers say

The Budget and coronavirus collide on Wednesday's front pages. In the Daily Mail's words, this was to be the Budget which marked the end of austerity, but while that's still vital, the overriding imperative for now is to beat the disease. As the i puts it, Rishi Sunak has a simple task - "break glass, retrieve emergency measures". For the Daily Telegraph too, this is an emergency and requires an emergency response. In the Sun's view, the chancellor's priority must be to prevent firms going bust and the self-employed suffering hardships while off sick. It also calls for payment holidays, a VAT cut - whatever it takes, the paper says. Elsewhere, there are many pictures of deserted streets and tourist attractions in Italy. The Times says the decision of whether and when to introduce similar measures in the UK is inevitably one of political judgement and the choices Boris Johnson makes in the coming days will be critical.

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Lookahead

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Meghan's fashion choices this weekend were joyful. Is this just the beginning? (CNN)