Coronavirus fatalities will soon top 60,000 in Brazil, the worst-hit country after the US. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro extended an emergency stipend to workers affected by the virus.
- Brazilian coronavirus deaths are likely to top 60,000 on Wednesday
- Leading US expert warns cases could reach ‘100,000 a day’
- Germany announces restrictions to ease on travelers from up to 11 non-EU countries
All updates in Universal Coordinated Time (UTC/GMT)
11:15 Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan says the European Union has treated Turkey unfairly over the coronavirus, accusing Brussels of taking a political stance.
Erdogan said the EU had behaved in a restrictive way.
While he did not provide further details, his comments came after the EU excluded Turkey, along with the United States and other countries, from an initial “safe list” of countries from which the 27-member bloc will allow non-essential travel.
10:51 German carmaker Volkswagen is shelving plans to build a new factory in Turkey in response to a drop in demand for new cars during the coronavirus pandemic, according to DPA news agency.
Germany’s largest automaker had been planning to open the factory in Manisa on the western coast of Turkey.
The €1.3 billion ($1.4 billion) plant was to build the Volkswagen brand Passat and the Superb, a sedan from its subsidiary Skoda.
The project had been on hold since last year. It had faced opposition from German labor unions and Volkswagen faced further criticism after Turkey launched a military incursion into Syria last October.
10:37 China’s aviation authority has said it will suspend Sichuan Airlines from operating the Cairo-Chengdu route for a week from July 6, after six arriving passengers tested positive for coronavirus.
China has largely been quick to act on suspending travel routes that have imported COVID-19 cases. For example, last month when a China Southern Airlines flight from Dhaka to Guangzhou was suspended for four weeks after imported infections.