Emergency services were first called to the Victoria Big Battery project -- built by French renewable energy firm Neoen using Tesla batteries -- on Friday morning.

Queensland said it had detected 13 new locally acquired COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours - the biggest one-day rise the state has recorded in a year. The lockdown of Brisbane, Australia's third-biggest city, was due to end on Tuesday but will now stay in place until late on Sunday.

"I don't think we're going to see lockdowns," Fauci, who is also director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on ABC's "This Week."

The "Dawn Raids", which often occurred early in the morning, took place from 1974 to 1976 when New Zealand's economy was in a downturn and the government clamped down on immigrant workers from the Pacific who overstayed their work visas.

The National Health Commission said in a statement 30 of the new infections were local cases, compared with 21 the previous day. There were no new deaths.

There were 210 locally acquired cases of COVID-19 reported in Sydney and vicinities that are under a weeks-long strict lockdown while battling an outbreak of the highly infectious Delta variant. Saturday's numbers bring the outbreak to 3,190 cases.

The variant was also more likely to break through protections afforded by the vaccines, but the health authority said such incidents were very rare, the CDC report posted on the Washington Post website showed.

China reported on Friday 64 new coronavirus cases in the mainland for July 29, compared with 49 cases a day earlier, the health authority said. A majority of the local cases were reported in Jiangsu province, the authority said. The province's capital city of Nanjing is currently facing an outbreak of the Delta variant that surfaced earlier this month.

The National Health Commission said in a statement 21 of the new infections were local cases, compared with 24 the previous day. There were no new deaths.

Existing states of emergency for Tokyo, its fourth since the pandemic began, and southern Okinawa island should also be extended to Aug. 31, Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, who is spearheading Japan's pandemic response, told a panel of experts in announcing the proposed expansion.

The emphasis by Papuan separatists on human rights in contesting the controversial history of Papuan integration into Indonesia raises questions about how Indonesian authorities should best handle unrest and conflict in the region, a panel discussion has heard.

New Zealand's health regulator has granted provisional approval for the AstraZeneca vaccine for individuals 18 years of age and older.

The earthquake hit 56 miles (91 kilometers) southeast of the town of Perryville, the USGS said. The US government issued a tsunami warning for south Alaska and the Alaskan peninsula.

The flareup, which began after nine workers at the Nanjing airport tested positive on July 20, has since seen 171 cases detected in Jiangsu province, while infections have spread to at least four other provinces.

Recorded infection rates across the UK have dropped for seven consecutive days with 23,511 new cases announced on Tuesday compared to 46,558 a week earlier -- a fall of nearly 50 percent.

The hawkish Qin Gang, a close confidante of President Xi Jinping, has arrived in Washington at a time of high tensions between China and the United States, and is expected to deliver a combative message.

Olympic host city Tokyo recorded 3,177 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, hitting a daily record high for a second straight day as a spike in infections puts pressure on hospitals. Nationwide new cases topped 9,500 for the first time, media reported.

"Politics, economy and issues related to the security of both countries and the current situation of Afghanistan and the peace process were discussed in the meetings," Taliban spokesperson Mohammad Naeem tweeted, quoted by Reuters.

The surge in infections comes amid the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus and as people in the capital tire of restrictions under a state of emergency.

"I want truth and transparency," Macron said in a speech to Polynesian officials, adding that there should be better compensation for victims of the tests.

"Look at what Russia is doing already about the 2022 elections and misinformation," Biden said during a trip to the office of the director of national intelligence near Washington, referring to information he receives during his daily briefing.

Britain reported 131 new deaths from COVID-19, the highest daily total since March 17, though it came after just 14 deaths were reported on Monday, suggesting the weekend might have impacted when deaths were reported.

State Department spokeswoman Jalina Porter told reporters that the swastika was discovered late on Monday and that Secretary of State Antony Blinken has addressed the incident with department staff.

Lockdown rules were due to end on Friday but restrictions will now run until Aug 28, state Premier Gladys Berejiklian told reporters in Sydney.

"That assertion treads on the sovereignty of the states in the region," he said at the start of a trip to Southeast Asia, where several countries have competing claims with China in the sea.

Dunhuang, a tourist draw with a colourful history as a Silk Road outpost, momentarily disappeared in the dust clouds as the storm hit on Sunday.

Local infections accounted for 31 of the new cases, down from 40 a day earlier, the National Health Commission said in a statement.

"Our role in Iraq will be...to be available to continue to train, to assist, to help, and to deal with ISIS...But we're not going be, by the end of the year, in a combat mission," Biden said as he met with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi at the White House, referring to the Islamic State militant group.

Neighbouring South Australia state will also ease stay-at-home rules, but the country's largest city Sydney was facing a likely extension to a lockdown now in its fifth week.

* South Korea has kicked off vaccinations for people ages 55-59 to speed up its inoculation campaign.