The Taliban are in the midst of consolidating power over Afghanistan, following a swift and largely bloodless takeover of the country last month.

The daily figure was down significantly from the 1,853 cases confirmed Sunday, although infection numbers tend to be lower on Mondays as fewer hospitals and clinics are open on weekends.

Australia is trying to contain a third wave of infections that has hit its two largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, and its capital Canberra, forcing more than half the country's 25 million people into strict stay-at-home restrictions.

The spill is in waters off Port Fourchon, Louisiana -- near where Ida made landfall -- in a region that is a major hub of the US petrochemical industry. 

Tiny Qatar has seized the moment, cementing its outsize global influence and reputation as a neutral mediator after winning the trust of all sides in Afghanistan's forever war.

Buttigieg earlier this year became the first openly gay US cabinet secretary, following a run for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.

There are 1,030 people admitted to hospital, with 175 of them in intensive care unit, the New South Wales health ministry said on Twitter.

Abdul Salam Hanafi, a member of the Islamist group's political office in Doha, Qatar, "held a phone conversation with Wu Jianghao, Deputy Foreign Minister of the People's Republic of China," spokesman Suhail Shaheen tweeted.

Suga, who took over after Shinzo Abe resigned last September, citing ill health, has seen his support ratings sink to below 30% as the nation struggles with its worst wave of COVID-19 infections ahead of a general election this year.

The roll-out of vaccinations is making life insurers more enthusiastic about offering coverage to those with underlying health conditions.

Authorities said 27 new cases were in Auckland and one was in Wellington. Friday's numbers were lower than 49 new cases reported on Thursday and 75 the day before.

Ida slammed into the southern state of Louisiana over the weekend, bringing severe flooding and tornadoes as it blazed a trail of destruction north.

Peking University and Tsinghua University shared 16th place while a record 10 mainland Chinese universities made the top 200 in the 2022 world university rankings.

Rumours that the 84-year-old pontiff was considering stepping down were recently reported in Italian media, seemingly sparked by his hospitalisation following an operation on his colon in July.

A report from the UN's World Meteorological Organization (WMO) examined mortality and economic losses from weather, climate and water extremes between 1970 and 2019.

Tumasov said the country's internet regulator had tried repeatedly to shut down his group's website under the terms of Russia's 2013 "anti-gay propaganda" law, which bans the dissemination of LGBT+ information to children.

In an indication of Washington's strategic turn, Vice President Kamala Harris was in Southeast Asia last week even as the US pullout from Afghanistan moved into its turbulent final days, hoping to strengthen US allies' pushback against the region's giant.

Mu, known scientifically as B.1.621, has been classified as a "variant of interest", the global health body said Tuesday in its weekly pandemic bulletin.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews flagged a staggered easing of the tough restrictions once 70 percent of the state's adult residents receive at least one dose, a milestone he hopes to reach at least by Sept. 23, based on current vaccination rates.

The Chinese government has recently taken action against what it has described as "chaotic" online fan club culture, and has also punished celebrities for tax evasion and other offences.

A giant C-17 transport laden with troops and the US ambassador flew out of Kabul airport a minute before midnight local time on August 31, the deadline set by President Joe Biden.

"My children were terrified," the 46-year-old told AFP in LaPlace, Louisiana, dressed all in blue and standing at the front door of her wrecked home. "I never heard wind like this before".

During his phone conversation with Blinken on Sunday, Wang also said the situation in Afghanistan has undergone fundamental changes and it is necessary for all parties to make contact with the Taliban and guide it actively, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

The girl was allegedly assaulted by the priest, 53, and three workers on August 1 after she had gone to a crematorium to fetch water.

Six more people have died in the current outbreak of the highly transmissible Delta variant, which began in the state in mid-June. There are 813 people now in hospital, 126 of them in intensive care, the New South Wales health ministry said on Twitter.

While denying the possibility that the virus was developed as a biological weapon, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said in a report, "All agencies assess that two hypotheses are plausible: natural exposure to an infected animal and a laboratory-associated incident."

Indonesia's top diplomat met with a senior member of the Taliban to discuss the future of Indonesia's relationship with Afghanistan, just hours before an Islamic State-linked terror attack outside of Kabul airport caused mayhem among the crowd of people lining up there to evacuate.

Addressing the nation from the White House, Biden bowed his head for a moment of silence before taking questions from journalists pressing him on the bloody twist in the already tragic operation to shut down the 20-year war in Afghanistan.

The bombings, claimed by the regionally based Islamic State-Khorosan or IS-K, killed scores of people including 13 US soldiers, and were carried out despite multiple, site-specific intelligence warnings that such an attack was imminent.

Several research institutions including the CNRS and the University of Paris mapped real-world contact networks using data from a high school, a primary school and a business in France.