FACTBOX-Latest on worldwide spread of the coronavirus

Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said it would be challenging to distribute vaccines that use messenger RNA based technology in developing countries because of their cold storage requirements. DEATHS AND INFECTIONS * For an interactive graphic tracking the global spread of COVID-19, open https://graphics.reuters.com/world-coronavirus-tracker-and-maps/ in an external browser. * Eikon users, see COVID-19: MacroVitals https://apac1.apps.cp.thomsonreuters.com/cms/?navid=1592404098 for a case tracker and summary of news.

Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said it would be challenging to distribute vaccines that use messenger RNA based technology in developing countries because of their cold storage requirements.

DEATHS AND INFECTIONS * For an interactive graphic tracking the global spread of COVID-19, open https://graphics.reuters.com/world-coronavirus-tracker-and-maps/ in an external browser.

* Eikon users, see COVID-19: MacroVitals https://apac1.apps.cp.thomsonreuters.com/cms/?navid=1592404098 for a case tracker and summary of news. EUROPE

* Pfizer Inc and German partner BioNTech SE said they had reached an agreement with the European Commission to supply up to 300 million doses of their experimental coronavirus vaccine. * Italy surpassed the one-million infections mark on Wednesday, leap-frogging Mexico to become one of the top 10 worst-affected countries globally, meanwhile the United Kingdom passed 50,000 deaths linked to COVID-19.

* Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's cabinet voted on Wednesday to impose a national lockdown at weekends. * Greece will apply a tighter curfew at night time, allowing movement only for work and health reasons, while Sweden plans to ban the sale of alcohol in bars, restaurants and night clubs after 10 p.m.

* Germany on Wednesday reported the biggest spike in deaths linked to COVID-19 since April. AMERICAS

* Coronavirus cases are still surging in the Americas, averaging 150,000 a day in the last week, the World Health Organization's regional office said. * California and several states across the U.S. Midwest tightened restrictions on residents on Tuesday as the nation's top infectious disease specialist called on Americans to remain vigilant until a vaccine can be approved and distributed.

* The United States reported a record number of new coronavirus cases for the seventh day in a row on Tuesday, a Reuters tally showed, while the number of deaths surged to their highest daily count since August. * More than 15,000 mink in the United States have died following infection with the coronavirus since August, and authorities are keeping about a dozen farms under quarantine while they investigate, state agriculture officials said.

ASIA-PACIFIC * Total coronavirus infections in Nepal exceeded 200,000 on Wednesday, as health workers say the Himalayan nation was facing a "catastrophic" situation.

* Indonesia reported 3,770 new infections on Wednesday, taking its total number of cases to 448,118, the country's COVID-19 task force said. * A travel bubble between Hong Kong and Singapore will begin on Nov. 22, as the countries moved to re-establish overseas travel links and lift the hurdle of quarantine for visiting foreigners.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA * Israel is in talks with drugmaker Pfizer Inc over its potential COVID-19 vaccine, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, although it has not signed any deals yet.

* Saeb Erekat, one of the most experienced and high-profile advocates for the Palestinian cause over decades of dispute with Israel, died on Tuesday after contracting COVID-19. MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS

* Moderna Inc said it was on track to report early data from a late-stage trial of its experimental coronavirus vaccine later this month, and could file for U.S. emergency use authorisation in early December. * China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm) said the data from large-scale, late-stage clinical trials for its unit's COVID-19 vaccine are "better than expected".

* Uzbekistan will carry out a phase III trial of a coronavirus vaccine candidate developed by China's Anhui Zhifei Longcom Biopharmaceutical Co. * Russia's Sputnik V vaccine is 92% effective according to interim trial results, the country's sovereign wealth fund said, as Moscow rushes to keep pace with Western drugmakers.

ECONOMIC IMPACT * U.S. stocks advanced and crude prices extended their rally on Wednesday, on hopes of potential COVID-19 vaccines and economic revival, though spiking coronavirus infections raised the spectre of new lockdowns and dampened investor optimism.

* Italy's government is ready to increase its 2021 budget deficit and review this year's to fund further compensation for businesses hit by COVID-19, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said. * The COVID-19 pandemic poses the most significant risk to Chile's financial system as its institutions' capacity to take mitigating action diminishes, the country's Central Bank warned.

(Compiled by Anita Kobylinska and Anna Rzhevkina; Editing by Philippa Fletcher and Barbara Lewis)