FACTBOX-Latest on worldwide spread of the coronavirus

Europe's drugs regulator will review the COVID-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University this month under an accelerated timeline, the watchdog said on Tuesday. 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

* The European Commission plans to conclude this week preliminary talks with French company Valneva over the advance purchase of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate. * Chancellor Angela Merkel has told lawmakers in her conservative party that she expects a lockdown in Germany to last until the start of April, top-selling Bild daily reported.

* Spain aims for all its nursing home residents to have received a first dose of vaccine by the end of the week. * Polish retailers are considering suing the state over coronavirus restrictions, arguing the rules unfairly discriminate against clothing and other shops.

* Sweden has vaccinated around 80,000 people since it began with its programme last month, the Public Health Agency said. ASIA-PACIFIC

* China imposed new curbs in areas near Beijing, putting 4.9 million people in Langfang city under lockdown as new infections raised worries about a second wave. * Japan is considering extending a state of emergency further beyond Tokyo to include Aichi prefecture and other central and western areas.

* Malaysia on Tuesday declared a state of emergency as it reported 3,309 new cases, the biggest daily rise since the start of the pandemic, while Indonesia reported a daily record of 302 new deaths, bringing total fatalities to 24,645. * Indian airlines started delivering batches of COVID-19 vaccines nationwide, preparing for the launch of a campaign to offer shots to 1.3 billion people.

AMERICAS * The Trump administration plans to release vaccine doses it has been holding back for second shots and will urge states to offer them to all Americans over age 65.

* U.S. greenhouse gas emissions fell 10.3% in 2020, the largest drop in emissions in the post-World War II era, according to a report. * Mexico is considering acquiring 24 million doses of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine and will receive its first batch of AstraZeneca jabs from Argentina to finish production of them.

* Ontario is considering "next steps" amid calls to put Canada's most populous province under more stringent lockdown. MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

* Two senior Malawian cabinet ministers and two other senior political figures died on Tuesday from COVID-19. * Nigeria is working on what type and quantity of COVID-19 vaccines to procure and will make financial provision for them in its 2021 budget, finance minister said. The country expects to receive 20% of the vaccines in donations.

* Turkey will begin administering vaccines as of Thursday or Friday, while Egypt expects to start receiving shots through the Geneva-based GAVI vaccine alliance in the coming weeks. MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS

* British drugmaker GSK and U.S.-based Vir Biotechnology will evaluate a second antibody-based treatment in patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 in an early- to mid-stage trial, the companies said. * The vaccine developed by China's Sinovac Biotech showed a general efficacy of less than 60% in its late-stage trial in Brazil.

* Pfizer's partner BioNTech boosted the 2021 delivery target for its vaccine to 2 billion doses, up from 1.3 billion previously. ECONOMIC IMPACT

* Wall Street was headed for a steady start on Tuesday as a sell- off in U.S. Treasuries lifted demand for the dollar and markets hoped for a calmer countdown to Joe Biden's inauguration next week. * Japanese bank lending continued to rise in December to hit a fresh record, as companies kept piling up cash to weather the fallout from the pandemic.

(Compiled by Anita Kobylinska and Ramakrishnan M.; Edited by Shailesh Kuber and Angus MacSwan)

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)