• Franco-Austrian biotech firm Valneva announced positive results from clinical trials of its COVID-19 vaccine, but it might be too late as it comes a month after the UK government cancelled its 100 million-dose deal from Valneva's Scotland factory. The French government said the European Union is still negotiating to buy the vaccine.

• European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced more than a billion vaccines produced in the European Union have been exported – the same number as those doses given to European citizens. The exported doses have gone to 150 countries, Von der Leyen added. "Very clearly, the European Union is the largest exporter of COVID-19 vaccines," she said in Brussels on Monday.

• Two men who were refused entry to a French nightclub for producing a fake vaccine pass have been arrested for a shooting at the venue that left one partygoer injured. The incident took place on Thursday in the eastern town Montbeliard.

"It has been confirmed that one of the men tried to present a health pass that did not match his identity," the public prosecutor for the area, Ariane Combarel, told AFP. The pair then left the scene only to return later in a car, from which several shots were fired in the direction of the club, she added. One man was shot in the knee but was not seriously injured. 

• Russia's COVID-19 surge is continuing, with another record number of daily cases set on Monday and total infections increased to more than 8 million. Some 34,325 new cases were identified in the past 24 hours, the highest number since the start of the pandemic. While 998 people died in the same period. 

• Singapore will reopen its border for fully vaccinated passengers from eight nations on Tuesday. Travelers from Canada, Denmark, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, the UK and the U.S. will have to test negative on arrival, but will not have to isolate. Arrivals from Brunei and Germany were allowed in from September. 

• The Olympic flame was lit in an empty stadium on Monday at the ruins of the Temple of Hera in Olympia before starting its journey to Beijing for the upcoming Winter Games. "Due to the situation created by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Lighting Ceremony will be held in strict compliance with local health protocols," the Hellenic Olympic Committee said. The audience was limited to the members of the International Olympic Committee and the Greek and Chinese Olympic Committees. 

• The White House will lift travel restrictions for fully vaccinated international visitors starting November 8. It will end the most wide-ranging restrictions on the U.S. border ever, which meant very few people could enter the country for 21 months. The Biden administration has not yet explained how entry will work and what exemptions will be granted for the vaccine requirements, with reports suggesting under-18s will not have to be vaccinated.

FROM OUR GLOBAL COLLEAGUES

CGTN Europe: Vaccine passports now compulsory for all workers in Italy

CGTN China: Chinese mainland reports 20 confirmed COVID-19 cases

CGTN America: Mexico warns migration will not slow without more U.S. investment in Central America

CGTN Africa: Biden promises vaccines, discusses 'transparency' with visiting Kenyan president

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