TOP HEADLINES

- Top-flight football returns to Spain as Sevilla hosts Real Betis in the first LaLiga game for more than two months. The game will be played behind closed doors, although there will be virtual fans and crowd noise to try to build up atmosphere. 

- The French government has said the European Union must reach an agreement on the $853 billion COVID-19 economy recovery plan by July. 

- Prince Joachim of Belgium has been fined $12,048 by Spanish authorities after flouting quarantine rules to attend a party in Cordoba on 26 May. 

- Italy is to open an inquiry into Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as that of the government's health and interior ministers. 

- Deaths in the UK have risen by 151 in the past 24 hours, the overall toll now stands at 41,279. 

- New COVID-19 cases have risen in the Balkans as countries including Bosnia, Albania and Serbia urge their citizens to stick to regulations and respect public health advice to slow the spread of the virus.

- Germany's number of cases rose by 55 in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 185,416. Fatalities also rose, by 26 to 8,755.

- Russia has reported 8,779 new cases, bringing the nationwide infection tally to 502,436. Deaths have also risen, by 174 in the past 24 hours, bringing the overall death toll to 6,532.

- Germany is to lift its border controls to all neighboring countries by mid-June but will extend its travel warning for non-European countries until the end of August. 

- The UK's Heathrow Airport has started a voluntary redundancy scheme for its employees after passenger numbers fell by 97 percent in May. 

- Finland will reopen its borders to tourists from neighboring Baltic and Nordic countries, excluding Sweden, from 15 June.

ACROSS EUROPE

By Isobel Ewing in Budapest

Hungary's government has squashed plans by Budapest mayor Gergely Karacsony to set up a quarantine center for the homeless in the capital's City Hall.

Opposition mayor Karacsony scored a surprise victory in last year's election over the Fidesz-backed incumbent, and often clashes with the government.

Karacsony's plan to set up the facility in City Hall, an 18th century building in the Baroque style, has been stopped by the government, which says it would violate zoning rules.

Karacsony expressed his outrage on his Facebook page, calling the government "heartless" and unwilling to help the most vulnerable."

Karacsony said the quarantine cente is necessary in case of a second wave of infection, as homeless shelters are currently crowded due to the pandemic.

The government office said the City Hall was in a World Heritage area frequented by tourists.

With regard to the aspect of tourism, setting up a homeless shelter "in the middle of the inner city" would not be "favorable," it said.

Hungary's government is keen to get international visitors back to Budapest as soon as possible, recently launching a promotional video showing the capital's many iconic landmarks empty of tourists.

By Rahul Pathak in Madrid

All eyes will be on the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán stadium in Sevilla on Thursday as top-flight football returns to Spain, with the home team taking on bitter rivals Real Betis.  

However, the first Spanish football match to take place since the COVID-19 outbreak, was actually completed on Wednesday... having kicked off six months ago.  

Back on 15 December, the second-tier game between Rayo Vallecano and Albacete was abandoned at half-time because of offensive chanting.

On Wednesday, the second half was finally completed, with Rayo winning 1-0. The game was played with no spectators.

That will also be the case on Thursday in the Seville derby, although La Liga says it will use virtual fans and fake crowd noise as part of its live broadcast.

By Ira Spitzer in Berlin

According to a recent survey, Germans have fared better financially during the coronavirus crisis than many other Europeans. 

Around a third of households in Germany said they had experienced a drop in income as a result of the pandemic, according to a survey by the consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. In Italy, the figure was 57 percent and in Spain as many as 61 percent of respondents reported less income available because of the coronavirus crisis.

Germany currently has about 5,460 active COVID-19 cases, according to data on Thursday from the Robert Koch Institute. While 8,755 people have died so far as a result of the outbreak and 171,200 people have recovered.

By Ross Cullen in Paris

The Renault chairman is appearing before MPs on Thursday after the government approved a $5.69 billion loan to the French car maker. The loan is conditional on Renault satisfying criteria, including basing future hi-tech activities in France. 

Also on Thursday, the national statistics agency, INSEE, released its latest figures, showing that more than half a million jobs were lost in the first quarter of 2020 due to the coronavirus crisis. 

INSEE also said that temporary employment collapsed by 40.4 percent in the first three months of this year compared with the end of 2019, a drop even more severe than that experienced during the 2008 Global Financial Crisis.

FROM OUR GLOBAL COLLEAGUES

CGTN China: Chinese mainland reports 11 new inbound COVID-19 cases, no new deaths

CGTN America: COVID-19 delaying lifesaving treatment for non-COVID-19 patients 

CGTN Africa: 72 healthcare workers test positive for COVID-19 in Kenya, says health ministry

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CGTN Europe has been providing in-depth coverage of the novel coronavirus story as it has unfolded. Here you can read the essential information about the crisis.