The United States blocked adoption of a U.N. Security Council statement Friday that supported a Syrian ceasefire brokered by Russia and Turkey, diplomats said following a closed-door meeting.

President Bashar al-Assad Friday said he was pleased with a ceasefire deal for northwest Syria brokered by his ally Russia and rebel backer Turkey, the presidency said.

Egypt detected 12 new cases Friday of the novel coronavirus among workers aboard a Nile cruise boat heading from Aswan to Luxor, a healthy ministry statement said.

An attacker targeted the US embassy in the Tunisian capital on Friday, causing an explosion and injuries among police before being killed, police said.

The ruler of Dubai conducted a campaign of fear and intimidation against his estranged wife and ordered the abduction of two of his daughters, a British judge ruled in documents that were unsealed Thursday.

A judge at the High Court in London found that Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, 70, "acted in a manner from the end of 2018 which has been aimed at intimidating and frightening" his ex-wife Princess Haya, 45.

The European Union's diplomatic chief on Friday welcomed a Russian-Turkish ceasefire in Syria as a sign of goodwill but urged access for humanitarian aid.

A ceasefire in northern Syria agreed between Russia and Turkey came into force on Friday, aiming to halt intense fighting that has sparked a humanitarian disaster and raised fears of their armies clashing.

Turkey and Russia reached agreement on a ceasefire in Syria's northwestern Idlib province to take effect at midnight, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday after talks with counterpart Vladimir Putin in Moscow. 

"At 00.01 tonight, as in, from midnight, the ceasefire will be put in place," Erdogan said at a news  conference after the summit.

Britain's Supreme Court on Thursday said it had rejected an application by Dubai's ruler to challenge a decision to publish rulings relating to a legal battle with his estranged wife.

A senior US official on Thursday called on Europe to support Turkey's military operation in Syria, where it has lost more than 50 soldiers trying to hold back a Russian-backed offensive on the last rebel stronghold.