Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis:
– Berlin 'anti-corona' demo –
Berlin police call for the dispersal of a mass demonstration against pandemic restrictions and mask wearing because participants are not respecting social distancing measures.
Thousands of coronavirus sceptics have descended on Berlin for the protest that has been allowed to go ahead after a bitter legal battle.
– More than 838,000 dead –
The pandemic has killed at least 838,271 people worldwide since surfacing in China late last year, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP at 1100 GMT on Saturday(7 PM Philippine time).
More than 24.7 million cases have been registered.
The United States has recorded the highest number of deaths with 181,779, followed by Brazil with 119,504, Mexico with 63,164, India with 62,550 and Britain with 41,486 fatalities.
– UK winter warnings –
England could face "national action" and "very extensive local lockdowns" in the event of a winter wave, the government says, with a "worst-case scenario" of 80,000 deaths.
"Cases go up again, and we have to use very extensive local lockdowns or take further national action. We don't rule that out but we don't want to see it", Health Secretary Matt Hancock tells The Times newspaper.
– Canada extends travel ban –
The government announces it will extend a ban on most travellers entering Canada until the end of September. Canadian citizens and permanent residents returning from abroad will still be subject to strict quarantine measures — a restriction in force since mid-March.
– Gold mine dispute –
Operations resume at the world's biggest gold mine in Indonesia after more than 1,000 workers had blocked access to the site in protest at being stopped from visiting their families over virus concerns.
The miners reached an agreement with US-based operator Freeport, which says it will restart bus services for workers to return home. These services had been cancelled over fears about the spread of infections, leaving many workers unable to leave the site for six months.
– Domestic travel lifts China aviation –
China's biggest airline reports less severe losses in the second quarter as domestic travel picks up with the outbreak in the country brought largely under control.
China Southern Airlines, the nation's largest carrier in terms of passenger numbers, posts losses of 2.9 billion yuan ($422 million) in April-June, compared with 5.3 billion yuan in the first quarter from January to March.
– Tour on tenterhooks –
As the world's greatest bike race the Tour de France gets underway after two-months delay, the Tour's director Christian Prudhomme says teams will be expelled if at least two members from the whole entourage, staff as well as riders, test positive for the virus.
The announcement reinforces a growing sense of doom for the 2020 Tour with positive test numbers growing by the day in France and worries over the race making it to the Paris finish line in three weeks' time.
