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A mudslide in an unlicensed gold mine in Nicaragua trapped at least 10 workers Friday, state-run media reported.

For the second day in a row, the United States on Friday notched a record number of coronavirus cases in 24 hours, reaching 225,201 new infections, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

With the imminent arrival of coronavirus vaccines that will need to be stored at ultra-low temperatures, US companies are gearing up for a massive logistical effort to aid their distribution.

WASHINGTON — The world passed the grim milestone of 1.5 million coronavirus deaths on Thursday, as several nations planned to deliver much hoped-for vaccines early next year to break the cycle of lockdowns and restrictions.

Global coronavirus infections surged past 65 million on Friday even as countries doubled down on restrictions and plans to roll out vaccines gathered pace.

Bahrain announced on Friday that it had approved the emergency use of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, becoming the second country after Britain to green-light the drug.

A 15-year-old Czech boy on Friday survived a fall from the 19th floor of a block of flats in Prague, police, rescuers and media said.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Friday the United States would refuse entry to Chinese online trolls who target dissidents and minorities, announcing his latest visa curbs amid high tensions with Beijing.

The roll-out of vaccines to fight the Covid-19 pandemic will not by itself eliminate the deadly coronavirus, the World Health Organization said on Friday.

The World Health Organization chief said Friday that he, like several former US presidents, would be happy to have a coronavirus vaccine to help promote public confidence.

Spain plans to vaccinate at least a third of its 47 million residents by June, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Friday, with the Covid-19 immunisation campaign to start in January.

Israel said on Friday it had signed a deal to buy six million Covid-19 vaccine doses from US biotech company Moderna that are expected to be delivered in 2021.

Dharampal Gulati, a former refugee who became India's "Spice King" running an empire whose ready-to-use blends transformed kitchens around the country, has died at 97, his firm said.

A fire broke out on Friday at an oil refinery in the eastern South African city of Durban following an explosion, emergency responders said, adding that no-one was killed or hurt in the blast.

Britain's medicines regulator insisted Friday its world-first approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine met all safety standards, after officials in Europe and the United States raised questions about the rapid process.

The United Nations said Friday that fighting continued "in many parts" of Ethiopia's northern Tigray region, complicating efforts to deliver humanitarian aid despite an agreement granting the UN access to territory under federal control.

Ex-Soviet Kazakhstan said Friday it will begin producing Russia's coronavirus vaccine later this month, becoming the latest country to do so as a global inoculation race heats up.

Bangladesh transported more than 1,600 Rohingya refugees to a low-lying island Friday, in the first phase of a controversial planned relocation of 100,000 people.