TOP HEADLINES

· The Delta variant of COVID-19, first identified in India, is becoming the globally dominant variant of the disease "because of its significantly increased transmissibility," the World Health Organization's chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan has said. 

· AstraZeneca has been told by a Belgian court it must deliver at least 50m more doses of its COVID-19 vaccine to the EU by the end of September. The company says it would be able to hit that target by the end of June and noted that the European Commission had requested 300m doses by the end of September.

· European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the court ruling, noting that there would be a penalty charge of 10 euros ($11.80) per dose missed if the 50m vaccines were not delivered on time. "This decision confirms the position of the commission," she said.

·  The two sides have been in dispute over the contract signed for COVID-19 vaccines. The drugmaker had committed to do its best to deliver 300 million doses to the 27-nation bloc by the end of June, but production delays led it to revise this to 100 million vaccines. 

· Disneyland Paris has opened its doors for the first time in eight months as France starts to ease restrictions. Visitors will still have to social distance and wear a mask while in the park.

· Italy is to introduce a five-day COVID-19 quarantine for travelers from the UK from Monday, who will also have to take mandatory tests. Italy's doors will be opened to travelers from the U.S, Canada, Japan and the EU, if visitors show they have been vaccinated or recently tested negative for COVID-19.

· Anyone over the age of 18 can now get a jab in England. Around 80 percent of adults in the country have at least received their first dose of a vaccine. On Thursday, 11,007 people tested positive in the UK, the highest figure for four months.

· Fully vaccinated non-EU tourists will be able to visit Germany from June 25 onwards, according to the country's interior ministry.

· People living in Lisbon will not be able to leave the region over the weekend as the government tries to control a rise in cases. The restriction starts at 3 p.m. local time on Friday and is lifted on Monday at 6 a.m..

· Moscow will also extend recent restrictions until June 29 because of a surge of reported cases. Public events of more than 1,000 people are banned and restaurants and cafes will be required to close early.

· In a bid to boost vaccinations, Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin announced that residents of the Russian capital who get their first coronavirus jab will now take part in a lottery to win a car.

· The European Medicines Agency has announced it will not create a 50 percent efficacy threshold for vaccines. The news comes after a trial of Germany's CureVac jab showed that it was only 47 percent effective.

ACROSS EUROPE

Ryan Thompson in Frankfurt

German football fans are being warned to skip any Euro 2020 matches in the UK – even if Germany makes it to the final. 

Chancellery Minister Helge Braun said the spread of the Delta variant of COVID-19 in the UK was a "great concern" because fans would risk bringing the more contagious strain back to Germany.

"You shouldn't travel to virus variant areas," he warned.

Fans would likely be tied up in quarantine on both ends of the trip. First, for a minimum of five days in the UK and then again for two weeks on return to Germany. Vaccination certificates do not provide an exemption to isolation requirements for these travelers because they're returning from "variant of concern" areas.

Germany put the UK back in the most severe tier of travel restrictions in May, after upgrading its status in April after the successful vaccine roll-out led to a drop in cases. 

Penelope Liersch in Budapest 

As the world passes more than 4 million deaths from COVID-19, two central European countries have some of the highest death rates per population. Hungary and Czechia have the second and fourth highest death rates. 

But Hungary's government has said cases have been dropping steadily since April, with authorities saying earlier this month the third wave was over thanks to high levels of vaccination. The latest numbers show two people died in the past 24 hours, with hospital attendances also showing large declines. 

More than 5.3 million people have had a first dose of a vaccine and more than 4.3 million have had a second dose.

In his weekly radio interview on Friday, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said he was concerned that at least 3 million adults have not had a vaccination, warning they should not sit back and risk serious infection. 

Meanwhile, there are fears from Slovakia that Hungary's full stadiums for Euro 2020 matches could spread the Delta variant across the region. The Slovak ministry of health warned that, although the epidemiological situation in Hungary is positive, there has been an increase in infections in Portugal. The Slovakian government is offering all citizens who attended Budapest's opening match on Tuesday to register for a free PCR test. 

Ross Cullen in Paris

In France, 2,044 new cases have been recorded against more than 4,500 cases this time last week, as the health picture in the country continues to improve. But 11,114 people are still being treated in hospital, with 225 new patients being admitted for treatment in the past 24 hours. 

The health minister has threatened to make coronavirus vaccinations compulsory for healthcare workers "by the end of the summer." Olivier Veran deplored the low vaccination coverage of care-givers and launched "a solemn appeal, once again, to care-givers who have not been vaccinated, to take this step." 

The culture minister said that mini concerts will be able to be held in bars and restaurants this weekend for the Festival of Music, the annual holiday celebrating music. 

Nicole Johnston, London  

From Friday, all those aged 18 in England will be able to book their COVID-19 jab. However, infections are still rising across the country, driven largely by young people. 

It is 200 days since the UK launched its vaccination program. Fully reopening the economy and society has been delayed by one month in England while scientists assess the impact of a resurgence of COVID-19 cases. 

They want to investigate whether the vaccination program has broken the link between infections, hospitalizations and deaths. The government has not yet made a decision on whether to offer the dose to those aged between 12 and 17. 

England's Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty said the height of the current surge is "still uncertain" and he expects new variants will lead to booster jabs over the next few years.

FROM OUR GLOBAL COLLEAGUES

CGTN Europe: European Medicines Agency vaccinations update – no 50% efficacy threshold

CGTN China: Chinese mainland reports 23 new COVID-19 cases

CGTN America: Colombia begins lifting COVID-19 restrictions

CGTN Africa: Number of fully vaccinated people in Africa nears 12 million mark

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CGTN Europe has been providing in-depth coverage of the novel coronavirus story as it has unfolded.