Saudi Arabia reopened Saturday the area around the sacred Kaaba in Mecca's Grand Mosque, Islam's holiest site, reversing one of a series of measures introduced to combat the coronavirus outbreak.

 Iran on Saturday reported 21 new deaths from the novel coronavirus and 1,076 fresh cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the overall tolls to 145 dead and 5,823 infected.

Saudi authorities have detained three princes including King Salman's brother and nephew on charges of plotting a coup, the US media reported Friday, signalling a further consolidation of power by the kingdom's de facto ruler.

China has reported 28 new fatalities from the deadly coronavirus outbreak, taking the death toll in the country to 3,070, Chinese health officials said on Saturday as the rapid spread of the epidemic hit a milestone, infecting more than 100,000 people globally.

At least 27 people were killed in an attack on a political rally in Kabul Friday, officials said, in the first major assault in the city since the US signed a withdrawal deal with the Taliban.

The death toll in China's novel coronavirus outbreak has touched 3,042 with 30 new fatalities while the confirmed cases have risen to 80,552 amid signs that the dreaded COVID-19 was stabilising, including in the epicentre Hubei province.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Thursday asked the Indian government to confront what he called "extremist Hindus and their parties", saying the hearts of Muslims all over the world are "grieving" over the recent communal violence in Delhi.

World football governing body FIFA on Thursday proposed postponing all the upcoming 2022 World Cup and 2023 Asian Cup Cup qualifiers, including India's home game against Qatar, due to the rising coronavirus threat.