(Reuters) – Russians may soon be able to receive vaccines not registered in the country from clinics set up in a special economic zone, Russian Kommersant daily reported, as Russia reported another new record of deaths.
DEATHS AND INFECTIONS
* Eikon users, see COVID-19: MacroVitals https://apac1.apps.cp.thomsonreuters.com/cms/?navid=1592404098 for a case tracker and summary of news
EUROPE
* Euro zone unemployment fell as expected in August, continuing the downward trend since the start of the year as the economy recovers from its pandemic slump in 2020.
* Britain’s economy grew by more than previously thought in the April-June period before what looks like a sharp slowdown more recently as post-lockdown bottlenecks mount.
* The number of daily new infections in Ukraine rose to almost 12,000 over the past 24 hours for the first time since April, health ministry data showed.
* The European Union will extend a mechanism to monitor and potentially limit the export of COVID-19 vaccines from the bloc, an EU official said on Wednesday.
AMERICAS
* Six Argentina players and two staff have been kicked out of the Rugby Championship for breaching its health rules after taking an unauthorised day trip to the New South Wales resort of Byron Bay, competition organisers said.
* Brazil’s Butantan biomedical institute is in talks to sell a locally manufactured vaccine developed by China’s Sinovac to other countries in South America and Africa.
* The Pan American Health Organization said on Wednesday it is in advanced talks with vaccine makers to buy additional shots for its member states.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* The economic difficulties in Myanmar have been caused by two waves of infections and the government is doing its best to resolve the situation as soon as possible, military spokesman Zaw Min Tun said.
* Malaysia said it would now be mandatory for all federal government employees to be vaccinated, with exceptions only to be allowed on health grounds.
* Vietnam’s commercial hub Ho Chi Minh City will start relaxing its coronavirus curbs, officials said, allowing more business and social activities.
* Singapore’s central bank is expected to leave monetary policy on hold at its October review, analysts say, as variants spread locally and across the world.
* Melbourne’s cases surged to record levels with officials blaming illegal home gatherings to watch a key sporting event for the spike.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* Jordan fully reopened its main border crossing with Syria on Wednesday in a move to boost the countries’ struggling economies. The Jaber crossing had reopened in 2018 after the Syrian government drove rebels from the south, but the pandemic led to measures being imposed to curb transmission.
MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
* When the coronavirus infects cells, it not only impairs their activity but can also change their function, new findings suggest. Laboratory studies also show that Merck & Co’s experimental oral antiviral drug is likely to be effective in patients infected with any of the known variants, researchers said on Wednesday.
* AstraZeneca’s vaccine demonstrated 74% efficacy at preventing symptomatic disease, according to results of its U.S. clinical trial published on Wednesday.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
* The dollar hovered below the previous session’s one-year highs on growing expectations the U.S. Federal Reserve will tighten policy in coming months, while Asian shares were headed for their worst quarter since the pandemic hit.
* Global mergers and acquisitions hit new record highs in the third quarter as companies and investors shaped their post-COVID future through transformative deals.
(Compiled by Juliette Portala and Ramakrishnan M.; Editing by Arun Koyyur and Kim Coghill)
