TOP HEADLINES

• The World Health Organization hopes to have half a billion doses of COVID-19 vaccine available for distribution by the global COVAX facility in the first quarter of 2021 "to bring to an end the acute phase of pandemic," its chief scientist said.

• Turkey has entered its first full weekend lockdown since May after coronavirus infections and deaths hit record highs in recent days. The country of 83 million people recorded 32,736 new cases, including asymptomatic ones, the highest number since the beginning of the pandemic in March.

• Bosnia's state prosecutors indicted four people, including a regional premier and a regional finance minister, over the purchase of defective ventilators for COVID-19 patients. The allegations have caused an outcry in Bosnia, where thousands took to the streets in May to protest against bad governance and corruption.

• In France, care home residents can now embrace visiting relatives by using an inflatable tunnel with two plastic sleeves. This "hug bubble" separates the individuals at all times by a hermetically-sealed plastic film, keeping the residents safe.

• Moscow's coronavirus task force began distributing the Sputnik V COVID-19 shot via 70 clinics, marking Russia's first mass vaccination against the disease. Doctors and other medical workers, teachers and social workers, will be the first to receive the vaccine. Russia reported a record high of 28,782 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, including 7,993 in Moscow.

• Three of Austria's nine provinces have kicked off a national effort to test as much of the population as possible before Christmas, to limit infections when families meet. Extra testing centers have been set up to find undetected cases.

• Portugal's parliament has approved a 15-day extension of a state of emergency to December 23 under a decree that envisages a further extension into January, as the government prepared measures to limit COVID-19 contagion during the holiday season.

• In Sweden, Central Bank First Deputy Governor Cecilia Skingsley has warned that any delay in vaccinating Swedes against Covid-19 would be hugely costly for the economy.

• Switzerland will allow ski resorts to remain open for domestic tourism but has announced some stricter measures including banning singing to control the spread of the coronavirus. The country's ski resorts will need local authority approval to open after December 22.

• Italy's flag carrier Alitalia has announced a COVID-19 testing scheme for passengers on the Rome to New York flights, following the introduction of similar schemes by the Dutch carrier KLM and the U.S. airline Delta. The airlines will conduct multiple tests to ensure the virus does not spread amongst the passengers during their journey.

• Top United Nations officials have warned the UN General Assembly that 2021 is shaping up to be a humanitarian catastrophe and rich countries must not trample poor countries in a "stampede for vaccines" to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

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ACROSS EUROPE

Rahul Pathak in Madrid

A new poll has found more than half of Spaniards will not take any COVID-19 vaccine as soon as it becomes available. The survey by the Centre for Sociological Studies said 55.2 percent of those polled said they would want to wait and see what the potential side effects were.  

Just a third of the population said they would be ready to take any COVID-19 vaccine immediately.  

The Spanish government has set a target of 15-20 million vaccinations by the middle of 2021; this represents just under half of the population.

Ross Cullen in Paris

The French government is reported to be working on its strategy for dealing with a possible third wave of COVID-19 infections early next year. 

A potential third wave is being foreseen after ministers announced a relaxation of coronavirus restrictions for the Christmas and New Year holidays. 

The next wave is predicted to time with the start of the government's COVID-19 vaccination programme for people living in care homes. 

Emmanuel Macron, France's president, says that he has seen "optimism" as the numbers in France continue to drop and the government says it remains on track to be able to lift the national lockdown on December 15.

Germany

Germany's highest court has upheld a ban on an anti-lockdown demonstration in the northern city of Bremen. Lower courts had already denied permission for the protest, planned for Saturday afternoon, at which 20,000 demonstrators were due to convene in the city centre of Bremen.

Last month, German police unleashed water cannon and pepper spray in an effort to scatter thousands of protesters in Berlin angry about the restrictions put in place to stop the spread of COVID-19. Although most Germans accept the latest "lockdown light" to curb the spread of the coronavirus in a second wave, critics say the amendment endangers citizens' civil rights.

The head of Germany's public health agency said on Thursday that the country's success in dealing with the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic in March and April had led many people to doubt the virus's severity or even its existence.

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