European governments prepared on Tuesday to introduce new restrictions to try to curb a growing surge of coronavirus infections across the continent and provide economic balm to help businesses survive the pandemic.
DEATHS AND INFECTIONS
* For an interactive graphic tracking the global spread of COVID-19, open https://graphics.reuters.com/world-coronavirus-tracker-and-maps/ in an external browser.
* Eikon users, see COVID-19: MacroVitals https://apac1.apps.cp.thomsonreuters.com/cms/?navid=1592404098 for a case tracker and summary of news.
EUROPE
* Poland’s prime minister called for an end to days of nationwide protests over a near-total ban on abortion, saying those attending were disregarding “massive risks” from the resurgent pandemic.
* France should prepare for “difficult decisions” on new curbs, its interior minister said, a day after the country reported its highest number of COVID-19 patients going into hospital since April.
* German ministers called for targeted, temporary curbs to slow exponentially growing infections, and predicted 20,000 new daily cases at end of the week.
* Russia ordered bars and restaurants to close overnight, RIA news agency reported.
* Less than half of Britons trust news organisations as a source for COVID-19 information, the Reuters Institute said.
AMERICAS
* Fear of the novel coronavirus has cast some Americans as litigants in an unprecedented wave of court battles over voting procedures.
* U.S. President Donald Trump celebrated the Senate’s confirmation of his third Supreme Court nominee, a month after a similar event preceded a coronavirus outbreak among top Republicans including Trump.
* Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro said on Monday it would be easier and cheaper to invest in a cure for COVID-19 rather than a vaccine, a sign he is increasingly positioning himself against inoculation programmes.
* The South American Football Confederation is making plans to hold next year’s Copa America in stadiums filled with fans if a vaccine is found in time, a senior member said.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* Hong Kong will reopen public beaches and relax restrictions on bars and restaurants starting Friday.
* Australia’s Victoria state, the epicentre of COVID-19 infections, said it had gone 48 hours without detecting any new cases for the first time in over seven months.
* India’s finance minister will meet the premier on Tuesday and could discuss likely steps for stimulus, ET Now reported.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* Parts of Yemen are seeing their highest levels of acute malnutrition in children, a U.N. report said, worsened by the pandemic, economic decline, floods, escalating conflict and significant underfunding of this year’s aid response.
* A massive $20 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Mozambique is on track to produce its first cargo in 2024 despite coronavirus pandemic disruptions globally, an executive said.
* Dubai airport, the world’s busiest for international travel before the crisis, could see passenger traffic fall as much 70% this year, its CEO said.
MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
* South Korea’s drug ministry is reviewing whether to fast-track approval of AstraZeneca’s vaccine candidate, Yonhap news agency reported.
* European countries are looking at buying millions of COVID-19 rapid tests mostly from Roche and Abbott, as production is stretched by a surge in infections.
* Antibodies against the coronavirus declined rapidly in the British population over summer, a study found, suggesting protection after infection may not be long lasting.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
* European equities fell in early Tuesday trading as risk-aversion swept markets, with a resurgence of coronavirus cases threatening the global economic recovery and caution ahead of U.S. elections on Nov. 3. [MKTS/GLOB]
* Spain plans to raise taxes on large companies and wealthy people to fund increased spending on social care and infrastructure as part of its 2021 budget, the government said.
(Compiled by Sarah Morland and Amy Caren Daniel; Editing by Barbara Lewis)
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