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.

Canada's biggest city entered lockdown on Monday in the latest bid to curb coronavirus infections, with case numbers surging across North America even as US officials said vaccinations could be available within weeks.

A Russian citizen who worked on naval ships was found guilty of high treason for passing on military secrets to the CIA, Russia's security services said Friday.

The US registered more than 2,200 deaths from Covid-19 in the last 24 hours, according to the Johns Hopkins University tally on Thursday, a record high since May as the pandemic surges across the country.

Joe Biden has won the state of Arizona, US networks said late Thursday, further cementing his lead in the Electoral College and flipping the state Democratic for the first time since 1996.

More than 120,000 coronavirus cases were reported in the US in the past 24 hours, smashing a daily record set the day before, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

Americans were voting on Tuesday under the shadow of a surging coronavirus pandemic to decide whether to reelect Republican Donald Trump, one of the most polarizing presidents in U.S. history, or send Democrat Joe Biden to the White House.

President Donald Trump and challenger Joe Biden will rally voters just hours apart in the Florida city of Tampa on Thursday, their campaign paths crossing for the first time as the rivals' fight for the White House enters its frenetic final days.

Florida is a must-win prize, and polls show the candidates in a dead heat in America's third-largest state, which has sided with the winner in every presidential election since 1964, with one exception.

A record of nearly 80,000 new Covid-19 infections over the course of a day were reported in the United States on Friday, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University.

Russia's foreign minister called for collective efforts Tuesday to prevent a large-scale war in the Persian Gulf and got strong support from all Security Council members except the United States, which called Iran the major culprit and urged that it be held accountable for supporting terrorists and destabilizing the region.

Sergey Lavrov told a high-level virtual council meeting that a worst case scenario was avoided earlier this year following the U.S. killing of Iran's top general, Qassem Soleimani, and warned that "the situation remains fragile and could become dangerous and unpredictable again."