* The European Commission estimates European Union countries will receive about 900 million doses of vaccines in the second half of the year, compared to nearly 1 billion jabs it expected a month ago.

* Britain will next month publish plans to allow fully vaccinated people to travel unrestricted to all countries except those with the highest COVID-19 risk, in a boost for a travel industry wrecked by the pandemic.

* Stricter rules will be imposed across the Lisbon region and Algarve tourism magnet Albufeira as Portuguese authorities try to control a rise in infections that threatens the country's summer holiday season.

* Ticket holders at this year's Wimbledon tennis tournament must show proof of vaccination, a negative test or evidence of full recovery from the virus, and wear face masks when moving around the grounds but not while seated.

ASIA-PACIFIC

* NSW Australia reported a double digit rise in new locally acquired cases for the third consecutive day as officials fight to contain an outbreak of the highly contagious Delta variant.

* Japanese Emperor Naruhito "appears concerned" about the possibility the Olympic Games could cause the coronavirus to spread as feared by many members of the public, the head of the Imperial Household Agency said.

* Thailand's food and drug administration announced it had approved the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for emergency use.

AMERICAS

* Venezuela received its first shipment of doses of leftist ally Cuba's Abdala vaccine on Thursday.

* Mexico's health regulator has given approval to US drug maker Pfizer's vaccine for use in children 12 years and older.

* Chile's health minister said the first case of the more contagious Delta variant had been detected in the South American country.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

* Africa is not winning its fight against the pandemic as a third wave sweeps the continent and countries struggle to obtain enough vaccines for their populations, Africa CDC director John Nkengasong said.

MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS

* The World Health Organisation forecasts that people most vulnerable to COVID-19, such as the elderly, will need to get an annual vaccine booster to be protected against variants, an internal document seen by Reuters shows.

* The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has been found to be highly effective against the Delta variant.

* The US Food and Drug Administration said it plans to move quickly to add a warning about rare cases of heart inflammation in adolescents and young adults to fact sheets for the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines.

* Afrigen Biologics expects a decision in mid-July on partners to produce Africa's first vaccine using the mRNA platform.

ECONOMIC IMPACT

* US stock indexes set fresh records on Thursday and European shares closed near all-time highs, fuelled by supportive US jobless claims data and a breakthrough in infrastructure spending talks in Washington.

* Federal Reserve policymakers are split over what poses the bigger risk to the economy: a still-large jobs deficit or a potential inflation shock.

* The Bank of England said inflation would surpass three per cent as Britain's locked-down economy reopens, but the climb further above its two per cent target would only be "temporary".

GLOBAL

DEATHS: 3,915,122

CASES: 180,739,556

RECOVERED: 165,394,312

Australian Associated Press