Interior minister says ammonium nitrate likely caused at least one explosion amid reports hospitals too damaged to treat patients

• Full report: huge explosion in Beirut
• Crisis upon crisis: blast rocks a Lebanon already on its knees
• Ammonium nitrate: what is the chemical blamed for blast in Lebanese capital?
• ‘We’re cursed’: shock and despair as explosion devastates city
• Beirut explosion – in pictures

4.01am BST

Here are some more photographs from the city – a common refrain on Twitter is that this blast has, in a matter of seconds, caused the same amount of destruction as years and years of war:

3.38am BST

Deadly explosion at Beirut’s port comes amid coronavirus pandemic and economic meltdown

• Beirut explosion: latest updates
• Full report: Huge blast rocks Lebanese capital
• ‘We’re cursed’: shock and despair in Beirut as explosion devastates city

Lebanon has been crippled by a number of long-running, seemingly intractable crises for decades. The country endured a devastating 15-year civil war and has often been caught in the crossfire of regional conflicts.

But the deadly explosion that ripped through the Beirut port on Tuesday – which comes amid the coronavirus pandemic and an economic meltdown – may be the calamity that brings a beleaguered nation to its knees.

Exclusive: Labour leader says Boris Johnson must make ‘hard decisions’ to halt second wave

• Keir Starmer: The government must up its game to prepare for a second wave of Covid-19
• Coronavirus – latest updates
• See all our coronavirus coverage

Ministers have one month to fix the broken test-and-trace system and halt a devastating second wave of coronavirus or Britain will face a “long and bleak winter”, Keir Starmer says today.

The Labour leader warned there is “precious little evidence” of serious preparation for a resurgence in Covid-19 cases.

• President unhappy that Lewis did not attend his inauguration
• Trump questions value of Civil Rights Act: ‘How’s it worked out?’

Donald Trump refused to praise the late John Lewis, the Georgia congressman and original Freedom Rider, during his latest one-on-one interview, and also questioned the value of the pivotal Civil Rights Act of the 1960s, which Lewis fought and almost died for.

Related: Coronavirus US: Biden tells Trump 'step up and do your job' over Covid-19 death toll – live

Woman has come forward claiming she recalls seeing duke at Mayfair nightclub with Giuffre

The FBI has been passed information from a witness claiming to have seen the Duke of York at a nightclub with a woman who alleges the pair had sex when she was a teenager.

The US lawyer Lisa Bloom, who is representing the victims of the royal’s former friend and convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein, said Shukri Walker recalled seeing Prince Andrew at Tramp nightclub in Mayfair and had come forward to support Virginia Giuffre’s version of events.

Report finds workload and lack of career development having an adverse effect on the sector

One in eight childcare workers in England earn less than £5 an hour, according to new research which warns that low pay, high workload and a lack of career development are having an adverse effect on the sector.

The Social Mobility Commission (SMC) report says there are signs the early years workforce is becoming increasingly unstable, warning that high staff turnover risks undermining the quality of provision and disadvantaged children’s outcomes.

Social Market Foundation will call for a £100-per-month ‘soft cap’ on online losses

Online gamblers should not be able to lose more than £100 a month without proving they can afford it, according to a report that will also call for betting websites that base themselves offshore to face stiffer taxes.

Proposals from the Social Market Foundation (SMF) thinktank build on growing clamour for the government to make sweeping changes to how the industry is regulated, following a string of high-profile stories about problem gambling.

Airline seeks protection under US’s bankruptcy code, allowing it to shield assets in the country

Virgin Atlantic has declared itself bankrupt and is seeking protection from creditors in the US, according to a court filing in New York on Tuesday.

The airline is seeking the protection under chapter 15 of the US bankruptcy code, which allows a foreign debtor to shield assets in the country. The announcement comes little more than a month after Virgin Atlantic announced it had secured funding to survive for another 18 months.

Mayfield park is part of government investment in outdoor spaces in response to coronavirus

The government is to contribute millions to fund Manchester’s first city-centre park in 100 years, as part of a series of investments in outdoor spaces in response to the coronavirus crisis.

The new 6.5-acre Mayfield park, touted as a “once-in-a-generation opportunity”, is part of a £1.4bn development to transform the under-loved urban area between Piccadilly station and Mancunian Way, running along the River Medlock.

Satellite images reveal guano patches, boosting known emperor penguin colonies by 20%

Satellite images have revealed 11 previously unknown emperor penguin colonies in Antarctica, boosting the number of known colonies of the imperilled birds by 20%.

The discoveries were made by spotting the distinctive red-brown guano patches the birds leave on the ice. The finds were made possible by higher-resolution images from a new satellite, as previous scans were unable to pick up smaller colonies.