Hundreds of Christian worshippers have made use of Israel's easing of coronavirus restrictions, packing a Jerusalem church revered as the site of Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection for an ancient fire ceremony a day before Orthodox Easter.

The faithful gathered at The Church of the Holy Sepulcher, waiting for clergymen to emerge with the Holy Fire from the Edicule, a chamber built on the site where Christians believe Jesus was buried and rose from the dead after being crucified.

More emergency medical aid from foreign donors to alleviate a dire oxygen shortage arrived in India on Sunday, as Covid-19 deaths in the South Asian nation rose to a new record.

Fresh coronavirus waves showed no sign of abating Saturday as devastating surges in India and Brazil pushed daily infections and deaths to record levels.

The Kurdish-ruled region of northeastern Syria will run out of Covid-19 testing equipment in a week, the International Rescue Committee warned Thursday.

India's coronavirus disaster deepened on Thursday with the daily death toll climbing above 3,600 as dozens of countries sent urgent medical aid to help tackle the spiraling crisis.  

US pharmaceutical firm Moderna said Thursday it expects to increase global production of its cutting-edge Covid vaccine to up to three billion doses in 2022.

Beijing and Moscow have stepped up "state-sponsored disinformation" campaigns denigrating Western-developed vaccines against Covid while promoting their own, the EU said on Wednesday.

Paris prosecutors are taking on and combining into a involuntary manslaughter probe three separate investigations over deaths of three people who were given the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine in France, they said Wednesday. 

India crossed a grim milestone Wednesday of 200,000 people lost to the coronavirus as a devastating surge of new infections tears through dense cities and rural areas alike and overwhelms health care systems on the brink of collapse.

The health ministry reported a single-day record 3,293 COVID-19 deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing India's total fatalities to 201,187, as the world's second most populous country endures its darkest chapter of the pandemic yet.

The developers of Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine on Tuesday criticized Brazil's refusal to import the jab as politically motivated.