Coronavirus: Latest global developments

PARIS: Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis:

- Sixth weekend of French demos -

Tens of thousands protest in France for a sixth weekend against vaccination policies they say restrict liberty by imposing jabs and barring the unvaccinated from public venues.

- Hundreds arrested in Australia -

Hundreds are detained after violent clashes between anti-lockdown protesters and police in Australia's two largest cities as the country recorded its sharpest rise in daily cases since the pandemic began.

- Iran puts Covid fight first -

Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi says his new government will put tackling Covid and accelerating vaccinations ahead of reviving the economy.

- NYC 'homecoming' gig -

Bruce Springsteen, Patti Smith and Paul Simon are to play at a massive Central Park concert meant to signal New York City's "homecoming" after the pandemic's devastation there.

- Palau loses virus-free tag -

Palau reports its first cases of coronavirus after two travellers from Guam tested positive. The tiny Pacific nation had been one of only 14 countries not to have had a case.

- Indian vaccine approved -

India authorises the emergency use of a second homegrown Covid-19 vaccine, ZyCoV-D, by pharmaceutical firm Zydus Cadila, which is also the first approved for children older than 12 in the country.

- Treatment hope -

AstraZeneca announces positive results from a trial of a Covid-19 treatment that uses a drug made from a combination of two antibodies.

- 4.4 million dead -

The coronavirus has killed at least 4,415,382 people since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to an AFP compilation of official data.

The US is the worst-affected country with 627,845 deaths, followed by Brazil with 573,511, India with 433,964, Mexico 252,080 and Peru 197,752.