:LOS ANGELES, - APRIL 09: L.A. Live is illuminated in blue lights during the coronavirus pandemic on April 09, 2020 in Los Angeles, United States. Landmarks and buildings across the nation are displaying blue lights to show support for health care workers
More than 1.7 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 108,252 have died, according to a Reuters tally, as of 0200 GMT.
DEATHS AND INFECTIONS
EUROPE - Pope Francis called for global solidarity in fighting the pandemic and its economic fallout, urging the relaxation of international sanctions, debt relief for poor nations and ceasefires in all conflicts.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he owed his life to hospital staff, in his first comments since leaving intensive care for coronavirus treatment, while his government came under mounting pressure to explain why the death toll was rising so fast.
Spain's overnight death toll from the coronavirus rose to 619 on Sunday from a nearly three-week low of 510 on Saturday, the Health Ministry said, breaking a three-day streak of daily declines. The country's total death toll from the virus climbed to 16,972 from 16,353, the ministry said in a statement. Overall cases rose to 166,019 from 161,852.
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte extended a nationwide lockdown until May 3, though he said a few types of shops would be allowed to re-open next week.
AMERICAS - The United States surpassed Italy on Saturday as the country with the highest reported coronavirus death toll, recording more than 20,000 deaths since the outbreak began, according to a Reuters tally.
The two top Republicans in the U.S. Congress vowed to oppose Democrats' demands to match a $250 billion proposal to aid small businesses with the same amount for hospitals and state and local governments.
ASIA AND THE PACIFIC - China is stepping up scrutiny of inbound foreigners and tightening border control after the number of single-day imported coronavirus cases set a record, helping double the daily number of newly detected infections.
Bangladesh announced a relief package worth about $1.7 billion to help farmers struggling because of restrictions imposed to stem the spread of the coronavirus. Neighbouring India is expected to further extend its nationwide lockdown.
Malaysia's health ministry reported 153 new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus on Sunday, raising the cumulative total to 4,683, the highest in Southeast Asia. The latest data includes three new deaths, raising the total number of fatalities from the outbreak to 76.
Indonesia on Sunday reported 399 new cases of the coronavirus, its biggest daily jump so far, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 4,241, according to data provided by a health ministry official, Achmad Yurianto.
The Philippines recorded 50 coronavirus deaths on Sunday, its highest in a single day, taking the toll to 297. In a bulletin, the health ministry said 220 new infections took the tally of virus cases to 4,648. But 40 more patients recovered, for a total of 197 recoveries.
North Korea called for tougher and more thorough countermeasures to keep citizens safe from the coronavirus at a meeting where leader Kim Jong Un presided, state media said.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Sunday prompted an angry response from some Twitter users after sharing a video of himself lounging on a sofa with his dog, drinking tea and reading, along with a message telling people to stay at home.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA - African ambassadors in China have written to the country's foreign minister over what they call discrimination against Africans as the country seeks to prevent a resurgence of the coronavirus.
Iran's death toll from COVID-19 has risen by 117 in the past day to 4,474, health ministry spokesman Kianush Jahanpur said on Sunday.
ECONOMIC FALLOUT - India and other South Asian countries are likely to record their worst growth performance in four decades this year due to the pandemic, the World Bank said on Sunday.
JPMorgan Chase & Co, the largest lender in the United States by assets, is raising borrowing standards this week for most new home loans as the bank moves to mitigate lending risk stemming from the coronavirus disruption.
Brazil's 2020 deficit is approaching 500 billion reais ($96 billion), or 7% of gross domestic product, even before a state aid proposal of up to 222 billion reais to tackle the coronavirus is factored in, the economy ministry said.
