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European tourists are reportedly defying travel and border restrictions to visit Italy, with many passing through Switzerland to avoid quarantine.

Austrian holidaymakers looking for a break at an Italian beach are turning up in the north-eastern seaside town of Jesolo, near Venice, Austria's public broadcaster ORF says. Austria annoyed Italians last Thursday by opening its borders to all its neighbours bar Italy.

"A Salzburg guest who has been with me since childhood has decided to travel to Italy with his girlfriend via Switzerland to visit us here in Jesolo," the broadcaster quotes Antonio Vigolo, owner of the Cavalieri Palace hotel, as saying. "On the way home, he wants to travel the same route to avoid the two-week quarantine."

Meanwhile, dozens of German tourists have also travelled to Jesolo, passing through Switzerland, and have wound up at the same hotel, according to Italy's Ansa news agency.

Jesolo, one of the largest holiday resorts in Italy, eased coronavirus restrictions and reopened its beaches on 23 May.

Image source, Joey Kong

Black Lives Matter demonstrations have been continuing today with further protests in many European cities, including London where thousands gathered outside the US embassy.

It follows those seen in the US in reaction to the death of George Floyd while in police custody.

In Bristol, protesters tore down the statue of a prominent 17th Century slave trader, Edward Colston, whose landmark in the city centre had been defaced previously.

Earlier England's Health Secretary Matt Hancock reiterated the UK government's advice against large gatherings because of coronavirus fears. Germany's health minister, Jens Spahn, said the fight against racism needed common engagement but big crowds in the middle of a pandemic worried him.

There were similar crowds to those in London at the US embassy in Madrid.

Alba Garcia, an 18-year-old psychology student, said: "What brought me here is when I saw George Floyd's murder video - I was in a lot of pain."

In Rome, protesters stood apart but filled the city's Piazza del Popolo and kneeled in silence with their fists in the air to call for justice for Floyd. There were also marches in Copenhagen and Brussels.

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A senior imam has advised mosques not to open in the UK until they can hold congregational prayers, despite government plans for places of worship to reopen.

The government is expected to announce that churches, mosques and synagogues in England can open their doors for private prayer from 15 June but full services and weddings will still be banned.

As mosques are primarily for congregational prayers Muslim leaders have warned against reopening.

Imam Qari Asim, chairman of the Mosques & Imams National Advisory Board (MINAB), said opening them would "cause more challenges".

He said: "The fundamental difference between mosques and some other places of worship is that mosques are first and foremost used for congregational prayers.

"Individual prayers can be performed anywhere, primarily at homes."

Image source, Reuters

Malta has allowed four boats carrying more than 400 migrants to dock - despite closing ports to such vessels during the coronavirus pandemic - after a group threatened to kidnap the crew of their vessel.

In a televised interview, Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela said a member of the crew on board the tourist boat Europa Two had urged him personally for help, adding that the group making the threats "gave us half an hour to act".

The migrants, who had been at sea since the end of April, stormed the kitchen, grabbed knives and warned that they would start a fire with a gas cylinder unless they were brought ashore, the prime minister said.

The idea of military personnel boarding the vessel by force was ruled out over safety concerns, he added.

Malta had earlier chartered the four tourist boats to hold the migrants at sea after they were transferred from the ships that had rescued them off Libya.

No new coronavirus deaths have been reported in Scotland and Northern Ireland, latest government figures show.

A total of 2,415 patients have died in Scotland after testing positive for Covid-19, according to details released on Sunday.

This is no change on Saturday's figure and the first time the death toll has remained the same since March 20.

Scottish Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said she would offer a "note of caution" about reading too much into Sunday's figures, as fewer deaths tended to be reported at the weekend.

The Scottish government figures also show that 15,621 people have tested positive for Covid-19, an increase of 18 on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Department of Health in Northern Ireland has recorded no deaths linked to Covid-19 since Saturday, with the total recorded remaining at 537.

It is the second time during the pandemic that the daily statistics released by the department have featured no deaths.

The figures mainly comprise of deaths in hospital and include some, but not all, deaths in other settings. There have been six new confirmed cases in Northern Ireland.

The number of coronavirus cases in Saudi Arabia has passed 100,000, according to official figures.

The ministry of health reported 3,045 new cases on Sunday, taking the total number of cases in the country to 101,914.

The number of new daily cases exceeded 3,000 for the first time on Saturday.

The official number of deaths from the virus is 712, according to the Sunday figures. The figures are clear from the ministry's Twitter feed, which has the details in English as well as Arabic.

Nick Triggle
Health Correspondent

Looking back now, it is clear the virus was much more widespread than was realised in February and March.

It is estimated that by the time lockdown was announced on 23 March there were 100,000 new cases a day.

At the time, testing and surveillance were picking up only a small fraction of them. When the scale of the outbreak was realised, scientists advising the government pushed for lockdown – and ministers subsequently agreed.

It is easy to criticise both the failures of science and the decisions of ministers in hindsight.

Other countries had already moved to lockdown ahead of the UK, but still we held out for a few weeks.

The key question is should we have known more at the time and should we have been better prepared?

This is all likely to be pored over in a public inquiry at some point – and that will no doubt show mistakes were made. The government’s chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, has admitted as much himself.

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South Africa's decision last week to lift an alcohol ban - imposed to stop the spread of the coronavirus - has led to a sharp rise in trauma admissions at hospitals, reports say.

A specialist at a hospital in Durban told South Africa's Sunday Times newspaper that there had been many more stabbings, accidents and assaults, , externalwhich he said were linked to the resumption of alcohol sales.

Another member of staff, Prof Elmin Steyn, told the newspaper that patients awaiting surgery were having to go to intensive care units (ICU).

"The problem is the ICU beds are filled with gravely ill Covid-19 patients," Prof Elmin Steyn said.

Hospitals have also reportedly seen an increase in car accident victims.

During the first two months of the lockdown, when alcohol was banned, some hospitals reported a 70% reduction in trauma admissions.

Image source, AFP

Pope Francis has urged Italians to remain vigilant over coronavirus and to continue to observe rules on social distancing and the wearing of masks.

Addressing several hundred people in St Peter's Square at the Vatican for his Sunday blessing, the pontiff said: "Your small presence in the square is a sign that Italy has overcome the acute phase of the epidemic.

"But be careful. Don't sing victory too soon.

"We still have to follow the rules in place because they are rules that help us avoid the possibility that the virus will progress."

Italy has entered the final phase in easing lockdown restrictions, allowing domestic travel between regions and opening its international borders.

Shops, cafes and restaurants have already opened their doors again, and tourist sites have begun welcoming tourists.

Earlier, the Holy See said there were no longer any cases of coronavirus in Vatican City.

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These are the latest headlines globally as the coronavirus death toll continues to rise, and while protests take place in the US and many other countries against racism and police brutality.

• The number of people confirmed to have died of coronavirus has passed 400,000, according to the latest figures from the Johns Hopkins University.
• Brazil has removed months of data on Covid-19 from a government website amid criticism of President Jair Bolsonaro's handling of the outbreak. The country has already recorded more than 35,000 coronavirus-related deaths.
• Big rallies have taken place across the US and have continued on Sunday in Rome and Copenhagen against racism and police brutality. The protests were sparked by the death of George Floyd.

• The Vatican has announced there are no more cases of coronavirus among Holy See employees - the governing body of the Catholic Church - and others inside Vatican City.
• The pandemic is a "devastating blow" for the world economy, according to World Bank President David Malpass.

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Two Labour regional mayors have criticised the government's plans for local lockdowns.

Andy Burnham, the mayor for Greater Manchester, said the government's talk of local lockdowns is "not helpful" and the plan would be potentially "unenforceable" for some local authorities.

Speaking during a virtual press conference with Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram, Burnham said they both wanted to work with Westminster but didn't rule out imposing their own measures if the government continued to "ignore" them.

It comes amid concerns the coronavirus infection rate is on the rise in north-west England.

Rotheram urged the government to publish any plans for how local lockdowns would work - but said he was "doubtful" they had "detailed plans they claim to have".

The pair said if No 10 was "determined to proceed" with its local lockdown plans then "significant support needs to be put in place" for English regions, including a local furlough scheme and funding for councils.

Burnham said they were not trying to "challenge" or "undermine" the government but they felt relaxations in the North West had "come too early".

Read more about the regional variation in infection rates here.

Following Health Secretary Matt Hancock's appeal for people to avoid anti-racism demonstrations across the UK because of the risk of coronavirus, the Church of England's first female black bishop has said that racism is also killing people.

The Bishop of Dover, Rev Rose Hudson-Wilkin, said that those protesting had not taken their decision to do so lightly.

Image source, Reuters

The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) has criticised the government’s plan to reopen places of worship in England, saying it “lacks clarity for Muslim communities”.

Harun Khan, secretary general of the MCB, said: "Mosques are provisioned primarily for congregational worship, so there is currently significant uncertainty and concern from mosque leaders on how the new regulations can actually be implemented."

He urged the government to give "clear and unambiguous guidance" so those involved in the running of mosques "have the clarity they need to plan effectively to ensure the safety and wellbeing of everyone".

Here's a round-up of the coronavirus news in the UK from this morning, as well as the anti-racism protests in the wake of the death of George Floyd in the US.

• An infectious disease expert and member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies says he believes a delay in implementing a lockdown "cost a lot of lives" in the UK. Health Secretary Matt Hancock has insisted the government made the “right decisions at the right time”
• A total of 27 police officers have been injured during a series of anti-racism protests.
• Labour's Lisa Nandy has said people "cannot be silent in the face of racism" but urged demonstrators to take precautions and socially distance
• However, Hancock said protests risked spreading the virus and urged people not to gather in groups of more than six
• And places of worship will be allowed to open for private individual prayer under government plans to be announced next week

Image source, Getty Images

Greece has extended a lockdown on its migrant camps by another two weeks until 21 June.

More than 33,000 migrants and asylum seekers live in five camps on the Aegean islands and some 70,000 in other facilities on the mainland, but no coronavirus deaths have been reported.

Overall, Greece has reported just 180 deaths and 2,980 cases. The country was quick to introduce strict confinement measures on migrant camps on 21 March and imposed a more general lockdown on 23 March.

The country has started to relax some measures as it prepares to revive its tourism-dependent economy. Yesterday, restaurants and hotels were allowed to open indoor dining areas while further restrictions will be eased over the next few days.

Many UK theatres are struggling after they had to shut their doors during the coronavirus lockdown, sapping box office takings.

Some theatres including in Southampton and Southport have already gone into administration, with others warning of dire consequences if their incomes and funding dry up.

But the acclaimed film and stage director, Sir Sam Mendes, is optimistic about potential solutions being found to help the ailing industry.

Earlier this week, the Skyfall and 1917 director put forward suggestions for how to stop theatres going under.

He told the BBC's Andrew Marr today that he felt "positive" that there's "a way through here". He said believed his proposals were being "listened to" and "over the next couple of weeks this might begin to have some purchase".

He said the situation facing the sector was "very serious indeed", and "whole communities [are] now beginning to be deprived of the possibility of live performance for the future".

The continuation of job retention schemes, tax relief and government investment in productions could all help to ensure theatres do not permanently close, he said.

In his Financial Times article, external, Sir Sam also called on streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon that are "making lockdown millions" to help the theatre industry.

Image source, Getty Images

Hundreds of Moscow residents ventured to an open-air book fair in Red Square on Saturday in a small sign of the gradual efforts to open up the Russian capital.

Although there is still a ban on public events, the book fair was permitted to go ahead under tight restrictions, such as chairs being spaced one metre apart and temperature checks at the entrance.

"You either mourn that the industry is in crisis or go and take part in the book fair with all the precautions in place," said Natalia Eihwald from the Kompas-Gid children's publishing house, one of about 180 publishers with stalls at the fair.

Some publishers did opt to stay away, however. "We don't want to put our employees and our authors as well as our readers at risk," said Pavel Podkosov, director general of the Alpina Non-Fiction publishing house. "Taking part would be like staging a carnival in a hospital ward, which doesn't sound like much fun to us."

Russia has recorded more than 458,000 cases of coronavirus, including 5,725 deaths.

With more than 1.8 million cases, the US has the highest number of confirmed infections in the world. It has also recorded more than 109,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University., external

The state of New York , externalhas been particularly badly affected, with about 30,000 deaths in total. However, the number of daily deaths has dropped to fewer than 100 since 23 May - down from 1,000 a day in early April.

While the rate of new cases is now declining in many states, in others - including California, and several in the south-east - it is still rising.

At one point, more than 90% of the US population was under mandatory lockdown orders, but all 50 states have now begun to loosen their stay-at-home restrictions and allowed some businesses to reopen - a move health officials fear could further spread the virus.

There are more data charts and graphics on the impact of the coronavirus globally here.

Image source, EPA

Afghanistan has recorded 30 coronavirus deaths in the past 24 hours - its biggest daily rise.

The total number of confirmed cases has also increased to 20,342.

The capital, Kabul, suffered its worst day, with an additional 23 deaths. The city's governor, Mohammed Yaghoub Heidari, warned that the actual number of infections in the city could be much higher than official figures show.

From Sunday, the wearing of masks in public places is compulsory in Afghanistan; two-metre physical distancing must also be maintained.

Image source, EPA

The Vatican has announced there are no more cases of coronavirus among Holy See employees - the governing body of the Catholic Church - and others inside Vatican City.

Matteo Bruni, Holy See press chief, said:, external "The last person declared sick with Covid-19 in recent weeks has been tested negative. To date, there are no longer any cases of coronavirus among the employees of the Holy See and in the Vatican City state."

The last of the 12 positive cases was reported in early May., external

However, addressing a wider audience of pilgrims on Sunday, Pope Francis warned people not to let their guard down. "Be careful. Don't cry victory too soon."