Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said in a surprise move he would step down, setting the stage for a new premier after a one-year tenure marred by an unpopular COVID-19 response and sinking public support.

The government is also considering easing restrictions in restaurants and lengthening their opening hours in areas, local media reported.

DEATHS AND INFECTIONS
EUROPE
* AstraZeneca and the European Commission have reached a settlement on the delivery of pending vaccine doses by the drugmaker, ending a row about shortages that had weighed on the company and the region's vaccination campaign.
* Paris 2024 CEO praised Tokyo for its "remarkable" ability to pull off the Olympics amid the pandemic and said Paris was ready to take the baton.

ASIA-PACIFIC
* Australia will receive an additional 4 million doses of Pfizer's vaccine this month after agreeing a swap deal with Britain.
* Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City is proposing to emerge from a strict lockdown and resume economic activities from September 15, according to a draft proposal.
* With an abundance of plastic waste but a scarcity of personal protective equipment, Thailand is turning trash into treasure by upcycling bottles into protective clothing for people at risk of infection.
* China has supplied 1 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines to the rest of the world, an official at the National Health Commission said.

AMERICAS
* Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau came under concerted fire at a debate on Thursday from opponents who said he had no business calling an election during the pandemic.
* Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei announced new national transport curbs and social restrictions on Thursday in an effort to contain a surge of infections and relieve pressure on hospitals.
* The United States on Thursday shipped more than 2 million doses of Moderna's vaccine to Kenya and Ghana through the COVAX programme, a White House official said.
* Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Thursday signed off on a law allowing for vaccine and medication patents to be broken in a public emergency, such as the pandemic.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* An arrangement whereby Johnson & Johnson was shipping vaccine doses to Europe that had been packaged in South Africa has been suspended, African Union envoy Strive Masiyiwa said on Thursday.
* Abu Dhabi will remove the need to quarantine for all vaccinated travellers arriving from international destinations starting Sunday, the government media office said on Thursday.

MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
* India has granted homegrown drugmaker Biological E permission to begin midstage studies of its COVID-19 vaccine in children and adolescents, according to an official statement.
* The Philippines' Food and Drug Administration approved the emergency use of Moderna's doses for children ages 12 to 17, the agency's chief said.

ECONOMIC IMPACT
* Stock markets held near record highs and the dollar sank to a one-month low as investors prepared to recalculate their Fed tapering bets on the back of U.S. payrolls data later in the day.
* U.S. employment growth likely pulled back in August after gaining nearly 2 million jobs in the past two months as soaring cases reduced demand for travel and entertainment.
* A relaxation of banking rules that make it easier for Indonesian borrowers hurt by the pandemic to restructure their loans will be extended until March 2023, the country's Financial Services Authority said.
* India's dominant services industry returned to growth in August, expanding at its fastest pace since the pandemic began, as businesses reopened amid improved vaccination rates, a survey showed, although firms continued to cut jobs.