TOP HEADLINES 

· Russia reported 1,075 COVID-19 deaths on Saturday, its fifth straight daily record, as the authorities prepare to shut workplaces countrywide and lock down the capital.

A record of 37,678 new cases were also reported. Despite developing one of the world's first vaccines, Russia has vaccinated only about a third of its population, one of the lowest rates in Europe.

President Vladimir Putin this week approved a nationwide workplace shutdown in the first week of November, and the capital Moscow will reimpose a partial lockdown from October 28, with only essential shops such as pharmacies and supermarkets allowed to remain open. 

· British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday that a new COVID-19 lockdown is not on the cards, as advisers warned that acting early with lighter measures to cut rising case numbers would reduce the need for tougher restrictions in the future.

Johnson's government has said there is no need yet to introduce a "Plan B" involving mask mandates, work-from-home orders, and vaccine passports, though such measures could be introduced if more people do not come forward for COVID-19 vaccines and booster shots.

Johnson scrapped England's COVID restrictions in the summer, and he said that, while case numbers were rising, the trend was in line with what was expected.

· Scientists at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said that the likely benefits of giving the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to 5 to 11-year-olds clearly outweigh the risks of rare cases of heart inflammation.

Earlier on Friday, the vaccine makers said their shot showed 90.7 percent efficacy against the coronavirus in a clinical trial of children 5 to 11 years old.

· Hungary's main doctors' association urged Hungarians not vaccinated to stay away from mass rallies this weekend amid a rise in cases across central Europe, the region with the European Union's (EU) lowest vaccination rates. 

Supporters of Prime Minister Viktor Orban are to hold a march across central Budapest on Saturday to mark the 65th anniversary of Hungary's failed uprising against Soviet rule.

· Ukraine's capital on Friday reimposed restrictions to curb the spread of the coronavirus after reporting a record number of deaths and cases for the second day in a row.

A government tally registered a record 23,785 new infections and 614 daily deaths in Ukraine, and authorities warned that the worst was yet to come.

"Dear friends, we are now just approaching this peak," said Oleksiy Danylov, the head of the national security and defense council.

· The Romanian government will re-introduce a night curfew and make health passes mandatory for entry to most public venues from Monday, as well as sending school children on vacation for two weeks, as it seeks to stem a surge in cases and deaths.

The measures, expanding to make countrywide steps that had already been taken on a local basis, were approved by the interim government late on Friday.

Romania has reported record numbers of daily coronavirus deaths and infections this month and the hospital system is stretched to breaking point. The country has the second-lowest coronavirus vaccination rate in the EU.