TOP HEADLINES

- European Commission's Ursula von der Leyen and Josep Borrell have urged U.S. president Trump to "reconsider" his move to cut all ties with the World Health Organization. 

- UK government allow live sport to return from 1 June behind closed doors in "a safe and controlled environment."  

- Formula One's season will finally get underway with the Austrian Grand Prix on 5 July, the Austrian government announced. The Spielberg circuit will also stage a second race the following weekend. Both races will be go ahead without spectators.

- Scientific advisers to the UK government protest the decision to ease lockdown measures until the track and trace project, launched this week, is "fully working." Sir Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust, a research charity, said COVID-19 is "spreading too fast to lift lockdown in England.”

- Romania's prime minister Ludovic Orban has been accused of breaking his own government's coronavirus restrictions after a picture emerged of him smoking and drinking inside his office with several cabinet members. None were socially distanced or wearing masks. 

- Authorities in Gibraltar ban tourists from touching its famous Barbary monkeys, fearful of a virus outbreak among the animals.

- Director of the Venice Film Festival, Alberto Barbera, said COVID-19 would make the 2020 festival "unique" but that the September event would go ahead as a "sign of hope" to the ailing film industry. Previous film festivals, such as the French blue-riband Cannes event, were canceled. 

- In return for $10 billion, the German state will take a 20 percent slice of the airline Lufthansa - making it the biggest single shareholder, and granting it two seats on the board. 

- The European Commission ruled Lufthansa must give up 24 take-off and landing slots to rival airlines, as a price of the bailout.

- The Ukrainian football league has called off Karpaty Lviv vs Mariupol after several Karpaty players and staff have tested positive for coronavirus. The league is already being played behind closed doors. 

ACROSS EUROPE

By Andrew Wilson and Aden-Jay Wood in the UK

From Monday, competitive sport behind closed doors in the UK will be allowed to return. Horse racing is expected to be among the first to resume, with some race meetings scheduled for Monday, whilst the English Premier League football competition looks to restart on 17 June.  

Oliver Dowden, UK secretary for Digital, Culture, Media and sport, who announced the decision in the governments daily press briefing, said: "The wait is over. Live British sport will shortly be back on in safe and carefully controlled environments."

As the UK relaxes lockdown rules this weekend, government scientific advisers are already voicing their concerns about the risks of a second wave. There are still 8,000 new infections in England every day, the fifth highest in the world according to the World Health Organization.

Tens of thousands of people have written to their MPs to express their disapproval of government advisor Dominic Cummings in the most widespread national reaction since Brexit.

Almost all primary schools in England have said they'll reopen on Monday despite the objections voiced by teaching unions.

The Prime Minister is under pressure from senior conservatives to consider reducing the 2-meter social distancing rule to 1.5m in line with some other countries. There are concerns that the hospitality sector, in particular, will struggle with the current measures.

READ MORE: The New Normal: Education 

By Rahul Pathak in Spain

A minimum income plan is being drawn up by the Spanish government to tackle poverty and end the "hunger queues" that have become a frequent sight under coronavirus lockdown. 

CGTN Europe visited one in the Madrid suburb of Cuzco. About 700 people were queuing around the block, waiting patiently in soaring temperatures.

The left-leaning government of Pedro Sanchez says it wants to help vulnerable families with the introduction of a national minimum income or "ingreso mínimo vital" as it is known in Spain.

People can receive the payment, which will range from $512 to €1,125 a month, even if they are not working, a crucial point in this time of coronavirus lockdown.

By Ross Cullen in Paris

Renault says 15,000 jobs are being cut worldwide, including 4,600 in France, as it faces a slump in global demand that has been worsened by the COVID-19 crisis.

The French car maker is looking to make $2.2 billion in savings over the next three years. Its restructuring plan involves shrinking production and a freeze on expansion plans in Morocco and Romania.

Renault was described by President Emmanuel Macron earlier this week as one of the "symbols embodying the genius of France."

FROM OUR GLOBAL COLLEAGUES

CGTN China: Tokyo 2020 CEO Muto: October not the time to make final decision

CGTN America: Trump cuts U.S. ties with WHO amid criticism

CGTN Africa: Burundi's first lady flown to Kenya after testing positive for COVID-19

Check out The Pandemic Playbook, CGTN Europe's major investigation into the lessons learned from COVID-19