Anger and grief collided in a crowded Beirut hospital Sunday as relatives of burn victims from a fuel tanker explosion in north Lebanon waited breathlessly for news of loved ones.

A top medical center and one of Lebanon's oldest and most prestigious university hospitals has warned it may be forced to shut down in less than 48 hours due to fuel shortages, which would threaten the lives of its critically ill patients.

In a stark warning, the American University of Beirut Medical Center, said 55 patients dependent on respirators, including 15 children, and more than 100 people with renal failure who are on dialysis would be immediately threatened.

Russia on Friday recorded its highest daily coronavirus death toll for a second day running, as a third wave of infections persists despite efforts from authorities to boost vaccinations. 

A government tally showed 815 fatalities over the past 24 hours and 22,277 new cases. 

China on Friday rejected the World Health Organization's calls for a renewed probe into the origins of Covid-19, saying it supported "scientific" over "political" efforts to find out how the virus started.

Pressure is once more mounting on Beijing to consider a fresh probe into the origins of a pandemic which has killed more than four million people and paralyzed economies worldwide since it first emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.

Spain has become a leader of Europe's virus vaccination drive against Covid-19, due to a deep trust in the public health system and close-knit family ties that encourage people to get the jab to protect relatives.

More than 61 percent of Spain's population of 47 million is fully vaccinated, one of the highest rates among large European Union nations -- ahead of Italy's 57.8 percent, 56 percent in France and 55.2 percent in Germany. The figure in the United States is 50.3 percent.

China's coronavirus cases hit a seven-month high on Tuesday, after a cluster at a test site drove up numbers as the Delta variant challenges Beijing's grip on the pandemic.

State media has described the current outbreak -- which has sparked local lockdowns, mass testing and travel restrictions -- as the most severe since the virus emerged in the central city of Wuhan.

The U.S. State Department has advised Americans to avoid all travel to France over rising coronavirus cases in the country.

France is battling a fourth wave of the virus even though Covid-19 hospitalizations are still way off previous highs.

France on Monday began enforcing a Covid pass championed by President Emmanuel Macron in cafes, restaurants and trains, a tightening of rules the government hopes will boost vaccinations but which has prompted weeks of angry protests.

Tokyo reported another large jump in virus cases on Thursday, again shattering records, as the government expanded restrictions to eight more regions just days before the Olympics ends.

Tokyo is already under a virus state of emergency but is seeing an exponential growth in cases, driven by the more contagious Delta variant.

Covid infections in Iran surged again Wednesday, hitting a new one-day record for a third straight day and taking total cases to more than four million.

Iran registered 39,357 new cases in the 24 hours to Wednesday, taking the total since the pandemic started to 4,019,084, the health ministry said.