Palestinian voters will go to the polls at the end of July to elect a new president for the first time in 15 years.

The United States has imposed more sanctions on companies in Iran, China and the United Arab Emirates for doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines and on three Iranian entities for conventional arms proliferation.

Britain will ban arrivals from South American countries and Portugal because of concerns over a new Brazilian variant of the coronavirus, transport minister Grant Shapps said. PM Boris Johnson expressed concern about the Brazilian strain on Wednesday and Britain is already trying to contain a UK variant behind a surge in cases at the end of last year.

President-elect Joe Biden has unveiled a $1.9trn coronavirus plan to end “a crisis of deep human suffering” by speeding up vaccines and pumping out financial help to those struggling with the pandemic’s prolonged economic fallout, AP reports.

Germany on Friday passed two million coronavirus cases as a World Health Organization emergency committee readied to issue advice on stemming the spread of new, more contagious strains of the disease, AFP reported.

North Korea rolled out developmental ballistic missiles designed to be launched from submarines and other military hardware in a parade on Thursday that punctuated leader Kim Jong Un’s defiant calls to expand his nuclear weapons programme.

A global team of researchers arrived Thursday in the Chinese city where the coronavirus pandemic was first detected to conduct a politically sensitive investigation into its origins amid uncertainty about whether Beijing might try to prevent embarrassing discoveries.

Japan could consider fresh economic stimulus, including a possible fourth extra budget, as the government expands a state of emergency amid a record surge in coronavirus infections, a prominent cabinet minister said on Thursday.

President-elect Joe Biden will unveil a stimulus package proposal on Thursday designed to jump-start the economy during the coronavirus pandemic with an economic lifeline that could exceed $1.5 trillion and help minority communities.

People who have had COVID-19 are highly likely to have immunity to it for at least five months, but there is evidence that those with antibodies may still be able to carry and spread the virus, a study of British healthcare workers has found.