Around the world, countries are
concerned about new outbreaks of the coronavirus. After weeks
with almost no new infections, Beijing has recorded dozens of
new cases in recent days, all linked to a major wholesale food
market.
DEATHS AND INFECTIONS
* More than 7.83 million people have been reported infected
around the world and 429,881 have died, a Reuters tally showed
as of 1600 GMT on Sunday.
EUROPE
* Britain is reviewing its two-metre social distancing rule
ahead of the next stage of lockdown easing planned for July 4,
when bars, restaurants and hairdressers could reopen in England,
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.
* Spain will reopen its borders to visitors from Europe's
open-border Schengen area from June 21, 10 days earlier than
previously planned, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said, in a
further easing of lockdown restrictions.
* President Vladimir Putin said Russia was emerging from the
novel coronavirus epidemic with minimal losses, having handled
it better than the United States where he said party political
interests got in the way. With 528,964 confirmed cases, Russia
has the third-highest number of infections after Brazil and the
United States.
AMERICAS
* New coronavirus cases and hospitalizations in record
numbers swept through more U.S. states, including Florida and
Texas, as most push ahead with reopening and President Donald
Trump plans an indoor rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
* Chilean President Sebastian Pinera replaced Health
Minister Jaime Manalich amid controversy over the country's
figures for deaths from the pandemic.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* India's federal government said it will provide New
Delhi's city authorities with 500 railway coaches that will be
equipped to care for coronavirus patients, after a surge in
cases led to a shortage of hospital beds.
* Australia's two largest states will further ease public
coronavirus restrictions at libraries, community centres and
nightclubs, officials said, despite recording increases in new
infections.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* The number of daily deaths from the coronavirus pandemic
topped 100 in Iran for the first time in two months, health
ministry data showed.
* Egypt confirmed 1,677 new coronavirus cases and 62 deaths,
the health ministry said, the highest daily increase for both
counts. In total, the Arab world's most populous country has
registered 42,980 cases including 1,484 deaths, the ministry
said.
* Sudan will begin rolling out an experimental programme of
direct cash transfers to its neediest citizens next week as it
tries to wean the country off costly subsidies.
MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
* AstraZeneca Plc has signed a contract with
European governments to supply the region with its potential
coronavirus vaccine, the British drugmaker's latest deal to
pledge its drug to help combat the pandemic.
* New research offers reassuring evidence to hundreds of
millions of people with high blood pressure that popular
anti-hypertension drugs do not put them at greater risk from
Covid-19 as some experts had feared.
ECONOMIC FALLOUT
* Australia will spend another A$1.5 billion ($1.03 billion)
on infrastructure and fast-track approval for projects including
the expansion of BHP Group's Olympic Dam in a bid to
stimulate its ailing economy, Prime Minister Scott Morrison will
say on Monday.
* Germany plans to make 500 million euros ($563 million)
available to firms to prevent a collapse in company training and
apprenticeships due to the coronavirus crisis, a document seen
by Reuters showed.
* Canadian oil sands companies have shelved nearly C$2
billion in green initiatives in a cost-cutting drive to weather
the pandemic, a reversal in some of their commitments to reduce
emissions and clean up their dirty-oil image.