Three Iranian border guards were killed in a clash with "armed insurgents" in the northwestern province of West Azerbaijan on Friday, ISNA news agency reported.

"You can take off your mask and kiss the bride," the priest said, as a septuagenarian US couple who spent the pandemic lockdown together after a single date married on Thursday.

Twitter on Friday flagged a post by US President Donald Trump on the unrest in Minneapolis as 'glorifying violence', saying the tweet violated its rules but would not be removed.

Ethiopian soldiers and police officers allegedly carried out dozens of extrajudicial executions last year in a crackdown on a rebel group active in the country's restive Oromia region, Amnesty International said in a report Friday. 

The United States recorded 1,297 coronavirus deaths on Thursday, bringing its total to 101,573 since the global pandemic began, according to a tally kept by Johns Hopkins University.

Brazil registered a new record in COVID-19 cases and more than 1,000 dead in a 24 hour period, according to official figures out Thursday.

China faced growing international pressure Friday over its move to impose a security law on Hong Kong that critics say will destroy the city's autonomy, with the United States and Britain placing the issue before the UN Security Council.

South Korea on Friday imposed limits on the number of pupils going to schools in and around Seoul as officials scramble to tackle fresh coronavirus cases that threaten the country's success in containing the epidemic.

France on Thursday announced the long-awaited nationwide reopening of bars, restaurants and cafes from June 2, albeit with restrictions, and lifted limitations on domestic travel in time for the summer holidays.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Thursday some English schools and shops would reopen from next week as he tried to end a scandal over what police said appeared to be a "minor" lockdown breach by his closest adviser.