PARIS: Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis:
The Russian government reports a record number of new coronavirus cases after the Kremlin warned of a looming surge in cases driven by the Omicron variant.
Kiribati and Samoa enter lockdowns after overseas arrivals brought Covid to the Pacific island nations that had avoided the worst of the pandemic for two years.
Scientists are keeping a close watch on a recently discovered sub-variant of the Omicron version of the Covid-19 virus, dubbed BA.2, to determine how its emergence could affect future pandemic spread.
Thousands of protesters demonstrate in Sweden's two biggest cities against the use of vaccine passes, in marches that passed off peacefully despite concern about clashes between neo-Nazi groups and their opponents.
Around 38,000 people protest across France, according to government figures, two days before everyone aged 16 and above has to start showing a proof of vaccination to access restaurants, bars and transport.
French government deputy Romain Grau is punched by a protestor after demonstrators in the southern city of Perpignan gather at his constituency office and he goes out to talk to them.
The Arab League has for a third year in a row postponed its annual summit because of Covid-19. There is no new date yet for the event originally scheduled for March 22 in Algiers.
The coronavirus has killed at least 5,583,378 people since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to an AFP tally compiled from official sources on Saturday.
The United States has recorded the most Covid deaths with 864,564, followed by Brazil with 622,563, India on 488,884 and Russia 325,433.
Taking into account excess mortality linked to Covid-19, the WHO estimates the overall death toll could be two to three times higher.
S African scientists who first identified Omicron are pointing to two other Omicron sub-variants, BA 4 and BA 5, "as...
Nearly a quarter of adults are now obese in Europe, higher than in any other region except the Americas, WHO says
Very young children are the only group that are yet to be eligible for COVID-19 vaccine in the US and in most countries
China is facing its worst outbreak since the peak of the first wave in early 2020, with eastern Shanghai recording...
Under its zero-COVID policy, China has used lockdowns, mass testing, and travel restrictions to stamp out infections
China's health commission says a four-year-old boy tested positive for the strain after being hospitalised earlier...
