Top Democrats in the U.S. Congress on Thursday urged renewed negotiations over a multitrillion-dollar coronavirus aid proposal, but the top Republican immediately rejected their approach as too expensive, continuing a months-long impasse.
DEATHS AND INFECTIONS
EUROPE
* French Prime Minister Jean Castex said there would be no easing for at least two weeks of the country's second COVID-19 lockdown.
* The United Kingdom reported 33,470 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, the highest daily total to date.
* Portugal announced an expansion of a nightly curfew and weekend lockdown already in place across more than 100 municipalities to a further 77 areas.
* Immunity to COVID-19 in Sweden is likely lower than previously estimated, the country's top epidemiologist said, as daily deaths in the disease rose to their highest level in months.
* Restaurants and shopping malls will remain closed in Catalonia for at least another ten days.
* Authorities in Moscow said they could consider imposing additional restrictions if the coronavirus situation worsened.
* A potential vaccine candidate being developed in Denmark has in early animal trials proven effective against a mutated coronavirus strain from mink discovered in the country, a scientist working on the vaccine said.
AMERICAS
* U.S. infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci said vaccine developers should push to make billions of their COVID-19 vaccines to ensure access to all parts of the world, instead of focusing on the rich countries.
* Biden will continue to lay the groundwork for his administration amid a worsening coronavirus outbreak in the northeast of the country and reeling Midwest, while President Donald Trump prolongs legal challenges.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* China is facing an increased risk of local transmission of the coronavirus in the winter due to imported cases, a senior official at the country's health authority said.
* The Indian government announced a fresh stimulus of $16.1 billion while cases accelerated in the country's capital New Delhi, sparking an acute shortage of ICU beds ahead of the nation's biggest festival, Diwali.
* Japan reported record new infections, while Tokyo Olympics organisers said athletes arriving for the games will not have to isolate for 14 days.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* Iraq has started closing camps housing tens of thousands of people after COVID-19 delays, but aid groups warn this could create a second wave of displacement with dire consequences.
* The World Food Programme's "humanitarian e-commerce" system in Somalia is helping to prevent large crowds from gathering at aid distribution sites during the pandemic.
MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
* CureVac said its experimental COVID-19 vaccine will most likely be suitable for standard fridge temperature logistics.
* The World Health Organization is in talks with the Russian institute that developed the Sputnik V candidate vaccine over its potential application for emergency use listing.
* The two-day suspension of a late-stage clinical trial in Brazil for the COVID-19 vaccine developed by China's Sinovac has not impacted the study, the head of the Sao Paulo institute running the trial said.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
* Wall Street sank and U.S. Treasury yields edged lower on Thursday as euphoria over a potential COVID-19 vaccine faded in the face of spiking infections and the threat of a new round of economic restrictions to contain the pandemic.
* Global oil demand is unlikely to get a significant boost from the roll-out of vaccines until well into 2021, the International Energy Agency said.
