BERLIN: France and Germany proposed on Monday a 500-billion-euro fund to finance the recovery of the European Union's economy from the devastation wrought by the coronavirus crisis.
"We are convinced that it is not only fair but also necessary to now make available the funds ... that we will then gradually repay through several future European budgets," Merkel said.Countries benefitting from the financing would not have to repay the money, Macron added, emphasising that the funds"were not loans."
Battling against allegations from the United States and elsewhere that it concealed the scale of the problem, China vowed to back an independent inquiry into the handling of the coronavirus after it is"brought under control". But natural catastrophe threatened to derail the plans to keep transmission at bay - with Cyclone Amphan barrelling towards India and Bangladesh at speeds of 240km per hour, two million people face evacuation.In Latin America, Brazil now has the fourth-highest caseload in the world at 241,000 confirmed infections, and deaths have risen sharply in recent days.
Relatives have reported that the bodies of loved ones were being carted off in pick-up trucks for"express burials" without their consent.