- European and U.S. regulators could approve Pfizer and BioNTech's vaccine as early as mid-December, the German firm's CEO has said, following its successful trial results.

- New cases and hospitalizations in France continue to drop, with new infections down by more than 17,000 from Tuesday to Wednesday.

- UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is 'very proud' of his government's procurement of face masks, gowns and protective clothing, despite a spending watchdog claiming suppliers with links to ministers, senior health advisers and government officials had been fast-tracked.

- EU leaders will discuss Poland and Hungary's veto of the bloc's coronavirus recovery plan today, while European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said its $887 billion rescue fund must be made available "without delay."

- Turkey is set to sign a contract within days to purchase at least 20 million doses of a China's Sinovac Biotech vaccine, the health minister has said, adding that the government was also in discussions about doses from Pfizer and BioNTech.

- More than 40 percent of European city dwellers have considered moving away because of the pandemic, a new survey has shown, with Londoners most prone to dreaming of escaping the metropolis. 

- Ukraine has reported a record 13,357 new cases in the past 24 hours, health minister Maksym Stepanov said on Thursday, adding that coronavirus-related deaths had also hit a new high of 257.

- England will need five extra days of lockdown measures for each day relaxed over the Christmas period, a senior government health adviser has warned.

- AstraZeneca and Oxford University's experimental vaccine produced a strong immune response in older adults, its latest trials have found, with researchers expecting to release late-stage trial results by Christmas.

- The head of the Church of Greece, 82-year-old Archbishop Ieronymos, has tested positive for the coronavirus and is being treated for mild symptoms in a central Athens hospital.

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