Famed Egyptian actress Ragaa al-Geddawy died on Sunday after contracting the COVID-19 disease, the actors union said. She was 81. 

"Ragaa al-Geddawy passed away this morning due to COVID-19," union head Ashraf Zaki told AFP. 

A surge in coronavirus cases sapped the fun out of July 4 celebrations in the United States as the pandemic also accelerated through neighboring Mexico, the rest of Latin America and South Africa.

Russia on Saturday said that it recorded more than 10,000 deaths from the coronavirus pandemic, a toll that is still far lower than in other countries with major outbreaks.

A state-linked technology company in the United Arab Emirates has signed a partnership with two major Israeli defense firms to research ways of combating the coronavirus pandemic.

The agreement, announced late Thursday, comes just weeks after the UAE warned Israel that proceeding with its planned annexation of parts of the occupied West Bank would upend its efforts to improve ties with Arab states.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Israelis to continue wearing masks and respect social distancing measures, as confirmed novel coronavirus cases spiked following the easing of lockdown measures.

Canada extended its entry ban for most foreigners by another month to July 31 and also prolonged its quarantine requirements in efforts to prevent imported cases of the coronavirus.

Beijing lifted several lockdowns imposed to control a fresh coronavirus outbreak and reported just three new cases in the city on Wednesday, raising hopes that the cluster had been brought under control.

The European Union reopened its borders Wednesday to visitors from 15 countries -- but not the virus-stricken United States, where a top health official warned the country is headed in the "wrong direction" as cases spike in multiple states.

Iran's coronavirus epidemic is still in its first wave, the health ministry said Tuesday, a day after reporting the highest single-day death toll since the country's outbreak began in February.

Unpaid salaries, mask shortages, threats from patients' families -- doctors across Iraq are cracking under such conditions, just as they face a long-feared spike in coronavirus cases.