IRAN EXPERIENCING ITS TOUGHEST YEAR DUE TO SANCTIONS, VIRUS: ROUHANI

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Sunday that his country is

experiencing its toughest year because of US sanctions coupled with the

Covid-19 pandemic.

The coronavirus crisis has exacerbated economic problems that worsened after

US President Donald Trump withdrew in 2018 from Iran's nuclear deal with

major powers and reimposed sanctions. On Monday, Iran's rial currency fell

to its lowest ever level against the US dollar.

"It's been the most difficult year due to the enemy's economic pressure and

the pandemic," Rouhani said in a televised speech.

"The economic pressure that began in 2018 has increased ... and today it is

the toughest pressure on our dear country."

Iran has seen a sharp increase in coronavirus infections and deaths since

restrictions to stem the spread of the pandemic were gradually lifted from

mid-April. The death toll has recently topped 100 a day for the first time

in two months.

Some 2,489 new cases were recorded in the past 24 hours, taking the total to

222,669, Health Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari told state television.

She said 144 people had died, bringing the total to 10,508.

Rouhani said wearing of masks will become mandatory for two weeks starting

next Sunday in "gathering places" that are deemed "red spots".

Senior officials have regularly warned that restrictions will be reimposed

if health regulations such as social distancing to stem the surge in

infections are not observed.

Iran launched a campaign on Saturday to motivate a reluctant public to use

face masks.

UK PLANS LOCALISED LOCKDOWNS AS COVID-19 DEATHS AMONG INDIAN-ORIGIN PEOPLE

REMAIN HIGH

The UK government on Sunday said it is planning to impose localised

lockdowns in some regions showing a spike in coronavirus infections, as

latest figures showed that Indian-origin people remain in the category of

those hardest hit from the deadly virus among Britain's ethnic minorities.

Home Secretary Priti Patel confirmed as "correct" the reports of the first

such local lockdown for Leicester, a region in eastern England with a large

Indian-origin population.

"We have seen flare-ups across the country already, just in the last three

or four weeks in particular. There will be support going into Leicester,"

said Patel.

"With local flare-ups it is right we have a localised solution in terms of

infection control, social distancing, testing and many of the tools actually

within the Public Health England space that will come together to control

the virus and to stop the spread so we can get on top of the infection," she

said.

Patel's confirmation came as England has seen an overall fall in the daily

death toll and prepares to substantially lift its lockdown restrictions from

July 4, when bars, restaurants and cinemas will begin to open up to public

access amid Covid-secure guidelines of safe distancing and hygienic

conditions.

Meanwhile, the latest NHS England statistics revealed that 763 people

identifying with Indian heritage have died so far in the pandemic, according

to data collated until last Thursday. This continues to reflect three per

cent of the total deaths officially recorded by the National Health Service

(NHS) from coronavirus, first reported in April at the peak of the pandemic,

followed by those of Pakistani and Caribbean heritage as the second-hardest

hit ethnic groups at two per cent each.

ONCE THE NATION'S EPICENTER, NY VIRUS DEATH TOLL DROPS TO 5

New York State reached a major milestone in the fight against the

coronavirus Sunday when health officials reported a single-day death toll

below double digits for the first time since the pandemic's beginning.

Infections rates and daily indicators have been trending positively for the

state in recent weeks, with daily death tolls hovering in the teens.

According to the state, only five people died Saturday from COVID-19.

At the height of the pandemic's grip on the tri-state, New York alone

recorded almost 800 deaths for a single day. Although the state has shown

considerable progress in lowering infection rates and hospitalizations,

officials consider the first wave of the coronavirus far from defeated.

"This is a continuation of the first wave and it was a failed effort to stop

the first wave in this country," Gov. Andrew Cuomo said on "Meet the Press"

Sunday morning, adding that the state's COVID hospitalizations have dropped

below 800.

CHINA TO VOTE ON HONG KONG LAW ON TUESDAY

China's top legislative body will vote on Hong Kong's security legislation

on Tuesday, the day before the city's handover anniversary, Now TV News

reported, signalling Beijing may soon hand down a measure that pro-democracy

activists say could erode the city's unique freedoms.

At a three-day meeting that started on Sunday, the National People's

Congress standing committee discussed the legislation to punish acts of

secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces, Radio TV

Hong Kong reported earlier, citing Ip Kwok-him, one of the city's non-voting

delegates. The proposed law includes a life sentence for acts of secession

and subversion, according to the Now TV report, which cited unidentified

people.

GLOBAL CORONAVIRUS DEATHS TOP HALF A MILLION

The death toll from COVID-19 reached half a million people on Sunday,

according to a Reuters tally, a grim milestone for the global pandemic that

seems to be resurgent in some countries even as other regions are still

grappling with the first wave.

The respiratory illness caused by the new coronavirus has been particularly

dangerous for the elderly, although other adults and children are also among

the 500,000 fatalities and more than 10 million reported cases.

While the overall rate of death has flattened in recent weeks, health

experts have expressed concerns about record numbers of new cases in

countries like the United States, India and Brazil, as well as new outbreaks

in parts of Asia.

More than 4,700 people are dying every 24 hours from COVID-19-linked

illness, according to Reuters calculations based on an average from June 1

to 27.

That equates to 196 people per hour, or one person every 18 seconds.

About one-quarter of all the deaths so far have been in the United States,

the Reuters data shows. The recent surge in cases has been most pronounced

in a handful of Southern and Western states that reopened earlier and more

aggressively.

In just five months, the COVID-19 death toll is now equal to the number of

people who die annually from malaria, one of the most deadly infectious

diseases.

The death rate averages out to 78,000 per month, compared with 64,000

AIDS-related deaths and 36,000 malaria deaths, according to 2018 figures

from the World Health Organization.

Health experts caution that the official data likely does not tell the full

story, with many believing that both cases and deaths have likely been

under-reported in some countries.

PARIS MAYOR ANNE HIDALGO DECLARES VICTORY IN RE-ELECTION BID

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo declared victory in her fight to win reelection in

the French capital on Sunday, which will allow her to oversee the 2024

Summer Olympics.

She is backed by the Europe Ecology-The Greens party, which gained strong

influence nationwide in Sunday's voting.

The second round of the municipal elections, which had been postponed amid

the coronavirus crisis, has seen a record low turnout amid concerns over the

pandemic.

Only 40% of voters cast ballots as French voters were required to wear

masks, maintain social distancing while in lines and carry their own pens to

sign voting registers.

Poll organizers were wearing masks and gloves for protection, and in some

places they were separated from voters by transparent plastic shields.

Mail-in voting isn't allowed in France.

Interior Minister Christophe Castaner, in charge of organizing the

elections, said that "today, everywhere across France, health measures ...

were able to be respected. That is a satisfaction." Yet he "regretted" the

low turnout.

Projections from opinion polls, based on the first ballots processed, show a

strong breakthrough from the Greens and their allies in many big and

medium-size cities.

The elections, though ostensibly focused on local concerns, are also seen as

a key political indicator ahead of the 2022 French presidential election.

Mr. Macron had said he wasn't considering the elections as a pro- or

anti-government vote.

SRI LANKA LIFTS NATIONWIDE LOCKDOWN

Sri Lanka's nationwide lockdown was lifted on Sunday after a selective

curfew a month ago was reimposed during a surge in COVID-19 infections, the

country's President said.

The island nation imposed the lockdown on March 20 and lifted it gradually

over the past two months, although a night-time curfew remained in place.

It reintroduced tighter restrictions in late May and early June to curb

large gatherings for the funeral of a popular government minister and for a

religious festival.

"The curfew has completely been lifted effective from today," President

Gotabaya Rajapaksa's office said in a statement. Health officials said new

infections reported since April 30 were from Sri Lankans stranded in West

Asia who were brought home on special flights and quarantined.

A cluster in a Navy camp was controlled with the facility still in lockdown,

they said. "There has been no community spread of the virus and the

infections at the Welisara Navy camp are now contained," a health official

said.

Authorities plan to reopen Sri Lanka's borders on August 1, but the date

could be reviewed due to the imported cases, the official added. Sri Lanka

will also hold its parliamentary elections at the start of August. Around

2,000 infections including 11 deaths have been recorded so far, according to

government figures.