Egypt on Tuesday flew a plane of medical supplies to the United States to assist in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, a role reversal for a top US aid recipient.

A second wave of the novel coronavirus in the US could be even more destructive because it will likely collide with the beginning of flu season, one of the country's top health officials said Tuesday.

Lebanon's parliament on Tuesday approved a bill legalizing the cultivation of cannabis for medical use amid the objections of Hizbullah's bloc and several independent MPs.

Bakary Meite's story of volunteering at a Paris hospital during the coronavirus pandemic has been seen, heard and read across the world, but the Ivory Coast back-rower remains humble about his efforts.

The coronavirus pandemic is exacerbating threats to press freedom around the world, with authoritarian states including China and Iran suppressing details of the outbreak, activists said on Tuesday.

The coronavirus pandemic has killed more than 170,000 people globally, close to two thirds of them in hardest-hit Europe, according to an AFP tally Tuesday at 0935 GMT. 

Spain saw a slight increase in the daily death toll from novel coronavirus on Tuesday, with 430 people dying in the past 24 hours, health ministry data showed. 

Italy's Prime Minister said on Tuesday that by the weekend he would reveal the steps the country will take to loosen restrictions, reopen the economy and emerge from the coronavirus crisis.

France on Monday announced it had become the fourth country worldwide to register over 20,000 deaths from the novel coronavirus, after recording 547 new fatalities in the epidemic.

Italy reported its first drop on Monday in the number of people currently suffering from the novel coronavirus since it recorded its first infection in February.