Factbox - Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus
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(Reuters) - Vietnam's coronavirus outbreak epicentre Ho Chi Minh City will extend its restrictions, state media reported, as Hanoi and several provinces sought an easing of curbs and the aviation authority proposed domestic flights resume.
DEATHS AND INFECTIONS
* Eikon users, see COVID-19: MacroVitals https://apac1.apps.cp.thomsonreuters.com/cms/?navid=1592404098 for a case tracker and summary of news
EUROPE
* Britain's biggest airport Heathrow said passenger numbers were still 71% lower in August compared to the same month before the pandemic, as it demanded the government change its travel rules to help the sector recover.
* British businesses also demanded that finance minister Rishi Sunak stop raising their taxes and instead offer more help to meet the challenges of Brexit, COVID-19 and climate change when he makes major budget statements next month.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob's coalition and the main opposition bloc will sign a cooperation pact to ensure stability during the pandemic.
* New Zealand extended a strict lockdown in its largest city, requiring 1.7 million people living in Auckland to remain indoors for at least another week.
* The government of Australia's New South Wales said the pace of vaccinations had slowed as first-dose coverage neared 80% and urged the unvaccinated to get shots soon or risk missing out on freedoms when curbs ease.
AMERICAS
* U.S. President Joe Biden will announce new steps to slow the spread of COVID-19 before the U.N. General Assembly meets, Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said Sunday.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* South Africa will ease COVID-19 restrictions and shorten its nationwide curfew after a decline in infections, President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a televised address.
* Oman's fiscal deficit and debt are expected to decline sharply, the International Monetary Fund said on Sunday, as the Gulf state implements a medium-term plan to fix finances hit by the pandemic and low oil prices.
MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
* Valneva shares plunged around 40% after the British government ended a vaccine supply deal with it, alleging a breach of obligations that the company denied.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
* World stocks started the week on the back foot, slipping to 2-1/2 week lows on further signs of accelerating inflation as well as tax and regulatory pressures on the world's biggest companies.[MKTS/GLOB]
* The German economy will pick up steam in the third quarter but business activity will cool again in the final three months of the year, the economy ministry said.
* Hungary's government debt agency said it had overhauled its 2021 financing plan, making room for extra foreign currency bond issuance to cover a delay in access to the European Union's pandemic response facility.
(Compiled by Juliette Portala and Devika Syamnath ; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Catherine Evans)
