Brazil has become the world number two hotspot for Covid-19 cases, second only to the United States, after it confirmed that 330,890 people had been infected by the virus, its Health Ministry said.
The Vila Formosa cemetery, where the bodies of the coronavirus pandemic victims are buried in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Photo: 2020 Anadolu Agency
It registered 1,001 daily coronavirus deaths on Friday, taking total deaths to 21,048. President Jair Bolsonaro has been widely criticized for his handling of the outbreak and is at the centre of a deepening political crisis.
More than 5.23 million people were reported to have been infected globally with the virus and 337,887 have died, according to a Reuters tally.
See all RNZ coverage of Covid-19
Europe
* Spain will reopen its borders to tourism in July and its top soccer division will kick off again in June, the prime minister on Saturday, as one of Europe's toughest coronavirus lockdowns starts to ease. Pedro Sanchez's announcement coincided with calls for his resignation over the impact of the lockdown on jobs and the economy from the far-right Vox party, who called a protest through central Madrid that drew thousands of horn-honking cars and motorbikes.
* British Prime Minister Boris Johnson resisted calls on Saturday from opposition parties to sack adviser Dominic Cummings after he travelled 400 km while his wife showed Covid-19 symptoms to ensure their son could be looked after by his family.
* Russia said 9,434 new cases of the coronavirus had been reported in the last 24 hours, pushing its nationwide tally to 335,882. It also reported 139 new fatalities after a record of 150 deaths the day before, bringing the death toll to 3388.
* Britain will introduce a Covid-19 quarantine for travellers arriving from abroad from June 8, interior minister Priti Patel said, a measure that airlines have warned will devastate their industry. All international arrivals, including returning Britons, will have to self-isolate for 14 days.
The Americas
* Mexico on Friday registered a record for coronavirus deaths on a single day, posting 479 more deaths along with 2960 new infections, according to health ministry data. Authorities have now reported 62,527 total cases of the coronavirus and 6,989 deaths since detecting the first cases in Mexico in late February.
* The Trump administration weighed in on a lawsuit brought against Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker's coronavirus stay-at-home orders, with a rare federal court filing in support of the legal challenge he faces over his emergency powers.
The US Justice Department's filing in Illinois marked another escalation by the administration in confronting state governors it sees as going too far with restrictions meant to quell the coronavirus pandemic.
* As the United States into the long Memorial Day holiday weekend, Americans are back on the road after more than two months of coronavirus lockdowns that kept them homebound, with beach-area traffic tripling since the low point in mid-April.
Asia-Pacific
* China recorded no new confirmed Covid-19 cases on the mainland for May 22, the first time it had seen no daily rise in the number of cases since the pandemic began in the central city of Wuhan late last year.
* Australia's most populous state, New South Wales, said on Saturday it recorded just three new cases of the coronavirus the previous day and urged younger people to get tested as it prepared to further loosen restrictions on pubs and restaurants.
* Coronavirus cases in Singapore topped 30,000 as the city-state reported hundreds of new infections in cramped migrant worker dormitories every day.
* A new cluster of coronavirus infections has broken out in Malaysia at a detention centre for undocumented migrants, authorities said.
* Indonesia confirmed 949 new coronavirus infections, taking its total to 21,745, the health ministry said. There were 25 new deaths, taking the total to 1351.
* Japan's central bank created its own version of the US Federal Reserve's "Main Street" lending programme to channel more money to small businesses.
Middle East and Africa
* Iran moved to open businesses, religious and cultural sites as it eases restrictions imposed to contain the coronavirus pandemic. Museums and historical sites are to reopen on Sunday to coincide with the Eid el-Fitr celebrations that end the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, President Hassan Rouhani said. Holy shrines will reopen on Monday.
* A woman has died in Gaza Strip after contracting coronavirus, the Palestinian enclave's first fatality from the global pandemic, the health ministry said.
Economic fallout
* Car rental firm Hertz Global Holdings Inc HTZ.N filed for bankruptcy protection on Friday after its business was decimated during the coronavirus pandemic and talks with creditors failed to result in much needed relief.
The firm, whose largest shareholder is billionaire investor Carl Icahn with a nearly 39 percent ownership stake, is reeling from government orders restricting travel and requiring citizens to remain home.
* Oil prices tumbled and global equity markets wavered on Friday as China's move to impose a new security law on Hong Kong further strained US-Sino relations and clouded economic recovery prospects.
* Unemployment rates rose and total employment fell in all 50 US states and the District of Columbia in April due to lockdowns, the Labour Department said.
* China dropped its annual growth target for the first time and pledged more government spending as the Covid-19 pandemic hammers its economy.
- Reuters
Read more about the Covid-19 coronavirus:
- See all RNZ Covid-19 news
- Covid-19 symptoms: What they are and how they make you feel
- Touching your Face: Why do we do it and how to stop
- Scientific hand-washing advice to avoid infection
- Your Covid-19 questions answered - from health and employment to managing anxiety
- A timeline: How the coronavirus started, spread and stalled life in New Zealand
- Coronavirus: A glossary of terms
- The Coronavirus Podcast
