Just one month ago, President Joe Biden and his health advisers announced big plans to soon deliver a booster shot of the coronavirus vaccine to all Americans. But after campaigning for the White House on a pledge to "follow the science," Biden found himself uncharacteristically ahead of it with that lofty pronouncement.

Some of the nation's top medical advisers on Friday delivered a stinging rebuke of the idea, in essence telling the White House: not so fast.

The World Health Organization's director general has expressed deep concern about the impact of Lebanon's economic meltdown and multiple crises on the wellbeing of the nation, and said the brain drain among the country's health workers is particularly worrisome.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus spoke following meetings with senior Lebanese officials and visits to health facilities and practitioners over the past two days. He said the country of 6 million -- including over 1 million Syrian refugees -- needs emergency and development support to tackle shortages of medicines, fuel, and structural problems such as migration of medical professionals.

Tunisia and Libya are to reopen their shared border on Friday, the presidency in Tunis said, two months after they were closed as the country's coronavirus caseload soared.

"The president of (Tunisia) issued orders to reopen border crossings with the state of Libya from Friday" at 7:00 am local time (0600 GMT), the office of President Kais Saied said in a statement.

Work-related illnesses and injuries kill nearly two million people annually, largely because of long working hours, the U.N. said Friday, warning the pandemic would surely worsen the situation.

A month after the fall of Kabul, the world is still wrestling with how to help Afghanistan's impoverished people without propping up their Taliban leaders — a question that grows more urgent by the day.

With the Afghan government severed from the international banking system, aid groups both inside Afghanistan and abroad say they are struggling to get emergency relief, basic services and funds to a population at risk of starvation, unemployment and the coronavirus after 20 years of war.

World leaders will have to be vaccinated against the coronavirus to speak at the U.N. General Assembly's big meeting next week, the assembly leader and New York City officials have said, prompting swift objections from at least one nation.

With the diplomatic world's premier event being held in person for the first time during the pandemic, city International Affairs commissioner Penny Abeywardena told the assembly in a letter last week that officials consider the hall a "convention center" and therefore subject to the city's vaccination requirement.

Russian President Vladimir Putin says dozens of his staff have been infected with the coronavirus and that he will continue his self-isolation because of the outbreak.

The Kremlin announced earlier this week that he would self-isolate after someone in his inner circle was infected although Putin had tested negative for the virus and he's fully vaccinated with Russia's Sputnik V. But Putin said Thursday the infections were extensive.

World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Ahmed Al Mandhari will visit Beirut from 16-17 September, the WHO said.

“During the visit, the delegation will meet with high level officials, including the President, Prime Minister, Speaker of Parliament and Minister of Public Health, U.N. and NGO partners, and international partners. They will also visit several health facilities to review the response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” a WHO statement said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is going into self-isolation because of coronavirus cases in his inner circle, the Kremlin said Tuesday, adding that he tested negative for COVID-19.

The announcement came in the Kremlin's readout of Putin's phone call with Tajikistan's president. Putin has been fully vaccinated with the Russian coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V, receiving his second shot in April.

Saydi Mubarak and her mother share a bond that goes beyond a close mother-daughter relationship: They were both diagnosed with breast cancer a year ago and underwent months of chemotherapy at a Beirut hospital, together facing the anxiety, the hair loss and the uncertainty for the future.

Now they share the fear of not being able to get the medication they need to complete their treatment because in Lebanon, where a devastating economic crisis has upended daily life, there are almost no drugs to be found.