Global coronavirus cases are approaching 6 million with 364,849 deaths since the virus emerged in China late last year.
The number of globally confirmed coronavirus cases reached 5,923,432 as of Saturday morning, according to figures compiled by the U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.
In terms of the total number of cases and fatalities, the U.S. leads with over 1.7 million cases and 102,808 deaths.
The second-highest number of cases has been confirmed in Brazil with 465,166, followed by Russia with 387,623, the U.K. with 272,607, Spain with nearly 238,564 patients, Italy with
232,248 cases, France with over 186,923 infections and Germany with above 183,000 cases.
The UK has the second-highest death toll at 38,243, followed by Italy (33,229 deaths), France (28,717) , Brazil (27,878) and Spain (27,121), according to Johns Hopkins University.
India is now the country worst-hit by the coronavirus in Asia.
India on Friday reported 7,467 new cases and 175 deaths of COVID-19 in 24 hours, the highest single-day surge so far.
With 173,491 cases and 4,980 deaths, India has surpassed China's official death count caused by the novel coronavirus.
According to Johns Hopkins University, the country has reported nearly double the number of cases in China, which are currently at 84,119, and has surpassed its 4,638 coronavirus-related deaths as well.
Coronavirus cases were first reported in China December last year.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the coronavirus crisis a pandemic on March 11.
Coronavirus situation in Bangladesh
Coronavirus cases in Bangladesh rose to 42,844 with the detection of record 2,523 new cases in the last 24 hours on Friday.
With this the country broke the record of the highest number of detection within a day as Bangladesh had detected 2,029 cases Thursday.
“Twenty three more patients died during the same period, taking the death tally to 582,” Prof Dr Nasima Sultana, the Additional Director General of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), said at the regular online briefing.
Besides, 590 more patients made recovery, she said adding that so far 9,015 people have recovered from the disease in country.
The government has decided to allow limited operation of public transport and offices from May 31 to June 15 amid the outbreak.
The US will be ending its relationship with the World Health Organization, President Donald Trump announced Friday, saying that WHO had failed to adequately respond to the coronavirus because China has "total control" over it.
He said Chinese officials "ignored" their reporting obligations to the WHO and pressured the organisation to mislead the world when the virus was first discovered, reports AP.
Trump said the US contributes about $450 million to the world body while China provides about $40 million.
The US is the largest source of financial support to the WHO and its exit is expected to significantly weaken the organisation. Trump said the US would be "redirecting" the money to "other worldwide and deserving urgent global public health needs," without providing specifics.
The Trump administration may soon expel thousands of Chinese graduate students enrolled at US universities and impose other sanctions against Chinese officials in the latest signs of tensions between Washington and Beijing that are raging over trade, the coronavirus pandemic, human rights and the status of Hong Kong.
President Trump said he would make an announcement about China on Friday, and administration officials said he is considering a months-old proposal to revoke the visas of students affiliated with educational institutions in China linked to the People's Liberation Army or Chinese intelligence.
Trump is also weighing targeted travel and financial sanctions against Chinese officials for actions in Hong Kong, according to the officials, who were not authorised to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
"We'll be announcing what we're doing tomorrow with respect to China and we are not happy with China," Trump told reporters at an unrelated event Thursday, referring mainly to COVID-19. "We are not happy with what's happened. All over the world people are suffering, 186 countries. All over the world they're suffering. We're not happy."
The proposal to revoke the visas is not directly related to the dispute over Hong Kong, nor is it tied to US criticism of China for its handling of the coronavirus outbreak. Rather, it is connected to various elements of trade and human rights issues that have seen US officials complain about Chinese industrial espionage and spying and harassment of dissidents and religious and ethnic minorities.
But the timing of a potential announcement could come at a time of increasingly heated rhetoric about the imposition of national security laws on Hong Kong in violation of the Sino-British accord.
The US hosted 133,396 graduate students from China in the 2018-19 academic year, and they made up 36.1 percent of all international graduate students, according to the Institute of International Education. Overall, there were 369,548 students from China, accounting for 33.7 percent of international students who contributed nearly $15 billion to the US economy in 2018.
The proposal first began to be discussed last year when the administration moved to require Chinese diplomats based in the United States to report their domestic US travel and meetings with American scientists and academics. At the time, US officials said it was a reciprocal measure to match restrictions that American diplomats face in China.
Those limits were followed by a requirement that Chinese state-run media in the US register as "foreign diplomatic missions" and report their property holdings and employee rosters to the government. That was, in turn, followed by the limiting of the number of visas for Chinese journalists allowed to work in the United States.
China retaliated for the visa limitations by expelling several reporters from US media outlets, including The Washington Post and The New York Times.
After three days of continuous protest following the death of George Floyd, the Minneapolis police officer seen on video kneeling on the handcuffed black man’s neck, was arrested on Friday and charged with murder.
Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said Derek Chauvin was charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter, after the office gathered enough evidence to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt, reports AP.
Floyd died in custody after pleading that he could not breathe as the policeman knelt on his neck.
Freeman did not have immediate details, but said a criminal complaint would be made available later.
Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington said state investigators arrested Chauvin, who was one of four officers fired this week, but he did not provide details.
News of the arrest came moments after Minnesota Gov Tim Walz acknowledged the "abject failure" of the response to this week's protests and called for swift justice for officers involved. Walz said the state would take over the response to the protests and that it's time to show respect and dignity to those who are suffering.
"Minneapolis and St Paul are on fire. The fire is still smoldering in our streets. The ashes are symbolic of decades and generations of pain, of anguish unheard," Walz said, adding. "Now generations of pain is manifesting itself in front of the world — and the world is watching."
The governor cited a call he received from a state senator who described her district "on fire, no police, no firefighters, no social control, constituents locked in houses wondering what they were going to do. That is an abject failure that cannot happen."
His comments came the morning after protesters torched a police station that officers abandoned during a third night of violence. Livestream video showed protesters entering the building, where intentionally set fires activated smoke alarms and sprinklers.
President Donald Trump threatened action, tweeting "when the looting starts, the shooting starts," which prompted a warning from Twitter for "glorifying violence."
The governor faced tough questions after National Guard leader Maj Gen Jon Jensen blamed a lack of clarity about the Guard's mission for a slow response. Walz said the state was in a supporting role and that it was up to city leaders to run the situation. Walz said it became apparent as the 3rd Precinct was lost that the state had to step in, which happened at 12:05am. Requests from the cities for resources "never came," he said.
"You will not see that tonight, there will be no lack of leadership," Walz said.
On Friday morning, nearly every building in the shopping district around the abandoned police station had been vandalised, burned or looted. National Guard members were in the area, with several of them lined up, keeping people away from the police station.
Dozens of volunteers swept up broken glass in the street, doing what they could to help.
Dozens of fires were also set in nearby St Paul, where nearly 200 businesses were damaged or looted. Protests spread across the US, fuelled by outrage over Floyd's death, and years of violence against African Americans at the hands of police. Demonstrators clashed with officers in New York and blocked traffic in Columbus, Ohio, and Denver.
Trump threatened to bring Minneapolis "under control," calling the protesters "thugs" and tweeting that "when the looting starts, the shooting starts." The tweet drew another warning from Twitter, which said the comment violated the platform's rules, but the company did not remove it.
Trump also blasted the "total lack of leadership" in Minneapolis.
A visibly tired and frustrated Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey made his first public appearance of the night early Friday at City Hall and took responsibility for evacuating the precinct, saying it had become too dangerous for officers. As Frey continued, a reporter cut across loudly with a question: "What's the plan here?"
"With regard to?" Frey responded. Then he added: "There is a lot of pain and anger right now in our city. I understand that ... What we have seen over the past several hours and past couple of nights here in terms of looting is unacceptable."
He defended the city's lack of engagement with looters and said, "We are doing absolutely everything that we can to keep the peace." He said National Guard members were stationed in locations to help stem looting, including at banks, grocery stores and pharmacies.
The Minnesota State Patrol arrested a CNN television crew early Friday as the journalists reported on the unrest. While live on air, CNN reporter Omar Jimenez was handcuffed and led away. A producer and a photojournalist for CNN were also taken away in handcuffs.
The Minnesota State Patrol said the journalists were among four people arrested as troopers were "clearing the streets and restoring order," and they were released after being confirmed to be media members. CNN said on Twitter that the arrests were "a clear violation of their First Amendment rights." Walz publicly apologised on Friday.
Protests first erupted Tuesday, a day after Floyd's death in a confrontation with police captured on widely seen citizen video. In the footage, Floyd can be seen pleading as Chauvin presses his knee against him. As minutes pass, Floyd slowly stops talking and moving.
Attorney Benjamin Crump, who is representing members of Floyd's family, called for an independent investigation, and said he asked to take custody of Floyd's body to have an independent autopsy performed. Floyd said that talk of a heart condition or asthma are irrelevant because Floyd was walking and breathing before his contact with police.
The doctor who will do the autopsy is Michael Baden, former chief medical examiner of New York City, who was hired to do an autopsy for Eric Garner as well.
State and federal authorities are investigating Floyd's death. Chauvin was fired Tuesday, along with three other officers involved in the arrest.
Police in Iran have arrested a man accused of murdering his 14-year-old daughter in a so-called honour killing that has sparked widespread outrage, reports BBC.
Romina Ashrafi ran away from home in Gilan province with her 35-year-old boyfriend after her father objected to their marriage, local media said.
The pair were found by police and Romina was sent home despite reportedly telling them she feared for her life.
Last Thursday night, she was allegedly attacked by her father in her bedroom.
News outlet Gilkhabar.ir reported that Romina was "decapitated" with a sickle, and that afterwards the father walked outside the house "with the sickle in his hand and confessed".
On Wednesday, a number of national newspapers highlighted Romina's story on their front pages.
"Insecure paternal home", read the headline in the pro-reform Ebtekar, which lamented the failure of existing legislation to protect women and girls.
Meanwhile, the Persian hashtag #Romina_Ashrafi has been used more than 50,000 times on Twitter, with most users condemning the killing and the patriarchal nature of Iranian society in general.
Shahindokht Molaverdi, a former vice-president for women and family affairs and the current secretary of Iran's Society for Protecting Women's Rights, wrote: "Romina is neither the first nor will she be the last victim of honour killings."
She added that such murders would continue "as long as the law and dominant cultures in local and global communities are not deterring enough".
Iran's Islamic penal code reduces punitive measures for fathers and other family members who are convicted of murder or physically harming children in domestic violence or "honour killings".
As the death toll from the coronavirus rose above 100,000 in the United States, there were also record numbers getting sick in India.
The once-unthinkable milestone in the U.S. means that more Americans have died from the virus than were killed in the Vietnam and Korean wars combined.
“It’s a striking reminder of how dangerous this virus can be,” said Josh Michaud, associate director of global health policy with the Kaiser Family Foundation in Washington.
India, home to more than 1.3 billion people, reported more than 6,500 new infections Thursday as cases continued to rapidly rise. The surge comes as the nation's two-month-old lockdown is set to end on Sunday.
South Korea reported 79 new cases, its biggest daily jump in more than 50 days. It represents a big setback for a nation that has been held up as a model for containment.
South Korean health officials warned the resurgence is getting harder to track and social distancing and other steps need to be taken. Most new cases were from the Seoul metropolitan area, where about half of the nation's 51 million people live.
Some countries are seeing improvements. New cases in Spain and Italy have fallen steadily for two months. China reported just two new cases on Thursday, both from abroad. New Zealand has reported no new cases for six days and has just eight active cases remaining.
But the situation in many countries underscores the difficulty in reopening economies.
In the U.S., Las Vegas casinos and Walt Disney World have made plans to reopen, and crowds of unmasked Americans are expected to swarm beaches over the summer months. Public health officials predict a resurgence by fall.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, issued a stern warning after watching video of Memorial Day crowds gathered at a pool party in Missouri.
“We have a situation in which you see that type of crowding with no mask and people interacting. That’s not prudent, and that’s inviting a situation that could get out of control,” he said during an interview on CNN.
Worldwide, the virus has infected more than 5.6 million people and killed over 350,000, with the U.S. having the most confirmed cases and deaths, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. Europe has recorded about 170,000 deaths.
The true death toll from the virus is widely believed to be significantly higher, with experts saying many victims died without ever being tested.
Early on, President Donald Trump downplayed the severity of the virus, likening it to the flu, and predicted the U.S. wouldn’t reach 100,000 deaths.
“I think we’ll be substantially under that number,” Trump said on April 10. Ten days later, he said, “We’re going toward 50 or 60,000 people.” Ten days after that: “We’re probably heading to 60,000, 70,000.”
Critics have said deaths spiked because Trump was slow to respond, but he has contended on Twitter that it could have been 20 times higher without his actions. He has urged states to reopen their economies after months of stay-at-home restrictions.
In hard-hit Brazil, the virus has been spreading into indigenous lands and this week two virus deaths were registered in the Xingu area, one of the biggest reserves in the world.