USA

A further 80,000 have been wounded, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said, citing newly declassified intelligence.

Half of the dead are from the Wagner mercenary group, the US says.

If accurate, the number of Russian casualties outweighs the city's pre-war population of 70,000.

Moscow has been trying to take Bakhmut since last year in a grinding war of attrition.

The battle for the small city - where only a few thousand civilians remain - has taken on huge symbolic importance for both sides.

Governor Tate Reeves said significant risks remained in parts of the state.

Hundreds of people have been displaced in the wake of the tornadoes which tore through Mississippi and Alabama on Friday night.

The mayor of one of the worst affected towns said he had lost personal friends in the disaster.

Friday's tornado was the deadliest in the state of Mississippi in more than a decade. At least 25 people have died in the state, with one person confirmed dead in neighbouring Alabama.

At least six children - including four siblings, aged one to eight, who were reportedly swept from their parents' grip - are among the dead.

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said the death toll would continue to rise as "hundreds" remained unaccounted for.

More than 12,000 households remain without power, and hundreds of homes and businesses have been flooded.

The damage to roads, bridges and other infrastructure will cost millions to repair, the governor said on Monday.

The new measures would bar sales of semiautomatic weapons to people under 21 and ban large-capacity magazines.

But Republican opposition in the Senate means the bill has little chance of entering law, despite a renewed focus on gun control in the wake of a series of mass shootings in the US.

Hours before the vote, survivors of the Uvalde school shooting gave emotional testimony to lawmakers which reduced some to tears.

The primary school shooting in the Texan city claimed the lives of 21 people, including 19 young children.

Biden said the death of Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi had "removed a major terrorist threat to the world".

Qurayshi detonated a bomb that killed himself and members of his own family "in a final act of desperate cowardice", the president added.

Syrian first responders said they found the bodies of 13 people after the raid.

The operation targeted a two-storey residential building on the outskirts of the opposition-held town of Atmeh, which is in northern Idlib province and is close to the border with Turkey.

USAID is providing critical water, sanitation, and hygiene supplies and supporting disease prevention messaging campaigns to reduce the spread of infectious disease.

USAID will also work through partners to address food security, agriculture, livestock, and shelter needs among the most affected populations.

This new funding is in addition to an initial US$100,000 in immediate assistance and long-standing programs in Tonga that are already responding to urgent needs.

The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Stratton (WMSL-752) is also underway to join assistance efforts.

Thousands of flights have been cancelled, and power cuts have been reported in some south-eastern states.

Virginia, Georgia, and North and South Carolina declared states of emergency.

The US National Weather Service (NWS) said the storm would hit much of the eastern third of the country over the next two days, with more than 1ft (30cm) of snow expected in some areas.

The huge storm system is approaching the eastern US from the Midwest.

Snow and ice could result in "dangerous travel, power outages, and tree damage", the NWS warned.

The fast-spreading Omicron variant of the coronavirus has become dominant in the United States with lightning speed, and claimed the life on Monday of an unvaccinated man in Texas, officials said.

The spike in Covid-19 cases is alarming public health officials, who fear an explosion of infections after the Christmas and New Year's holidays.

The Omicron variant now accounts for 73 percent of US coronavirus infections based on sequencing data for the week ended on Saturday, the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said on Monday.

The deal will see the US and UK give Australia the technology to build nuclear-powered submarines for the first time.

It is being widely viewed as an effort to counter China's influence in the contested South China Sea.

The region has been a flashpoint for years and tensions there remain high.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said the alliance risked "severely damaging regional peace... and intensifying the arms race".

The vaccine had initially been given emergency use authorisation. Its two jabs, three weeks apart, are now fully approved for those aged 16 and older.

The approval is expected to set off more vaccine mandates by employers and organisations across the country.

It comes amid lingering vaccine hesitancy among many Americans.

In a statement, the FDA said its review for approval included data from approximately 44,000 people. The vaccine, which will now be marketed as Comirnaty, was found to be 91% effective in preventing Covid disease.