CAPE TOWN -- South Africa on Thursday confirmed 424 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number to 8,232.

Meanwhile, the death toll from the pandemic has risen to 161 in the country, up eight from Wednesday's figure, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said. (South Africa-Coronavirus)

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PYONGYANG -- A military spokesperson of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) lashed out at the recent military exercise carried out by Seoul, calling it a "reckless move" and "grave provocation," the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Friday.

"This is a grave provocation which can never be overlooked and this situation demands a necessary reaction from us," KCNA quoted the spokesperson as saying. (DPRK-SKorea-Military)

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WASHINGTON -- The U.S. response to the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed major deficiencies and inequities in the country's healthcare system, shining a spotlight on improvements that must be made to steel it for future disasters, said an editorial published on Science Advances on Thursday.

"U.S. healthcare is incentivized to react to sickness rather than proactively focus on health maintenance," said the editorial by Maia Dorsett, assistant professor at the University of Rochester Medical Center. (US-Coronavirus-Health System)

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BEIJING -- Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chief of the Chinese side of the China-U.S. comprehensive economic dialogue, held a phone conversation with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin Friday morning.

The two sides agreed that they should enhance macroeconomic and public health cooperation, create a favorable atmosphere and conditions for the implementation of the China-U.S. phase-one trade deal, and strive for positive outcomes (China-US-Trade)

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CHICAGO -- A Chinese company on Thursday donated 250,000 face masks and 30,000 face shields to the central U.S. city of Chicago to assist its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

The City of Chicago hosted a brief ceremony at the downtown United Center to receive the donated anti-coronavirus supplies. (US-Coronavirus-Chinese Donation)