FACTBOX-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

* Canada will donate more than 1.3 million doses of AstraZeneca's vaccine to three African countries through the COVAX vaccine-sharing facility, GAVI said. * Three-quarters of the people in Latin America and the Caribbean have not been fully immunised against COVID-19 in contrast to the United States and Canada, the Pan American Health Organization said on Wednesday.

The World Trade Organization needs results by the end of the year and must focus its efforts on finding a global response to the pandemic, its director-general said. 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

* Belgium's King Philippe and Queen Mathilde cancelled their attendance at all public events from Thursday after a family member tested positive for COVID-19. * The Kosovo government decided to destroy 133,000 AstraZeneca vaccines over their expired date of use as the country faces a sharp rise in the death rate.

* Cyprus will start administering a booster vaccine to certain groups, the country's health minister said. * Twelve million French children returned to school on Thursday wearing facemasks, using sanitizer as they arrived and standing distanced from each other in schoolyards.

* Norway will begin to offer COVID-19 vaccines to children aged 12 to 15, the prime minister said. * Restaurants and bars in Bulgaria will have to close at 10 p.m. from Sept. 7, while indoor sports competitions will be held without spectators, the health minister said.

ASIA-PACIFIC * Vietnam could face a lengthy battle against the coronavirus and cannot rely on lockdown and quarantine measures indefinitely, its prime minister said.

* India would resume exports of COVID-19 vaccines only after its own interests are taken care of, a health ministry official said, as a recent surge in immunisations raised hopes of foreign sales that have been barred since mid-April. AMERICAS

* The United States will begin shipping more than 2 million doses of Moderna's vaccine to Kenya and Ghana through the COVAX global distribution program, a White House official said. * Canada will donate more than 1.3 million doses of AstraZeneca's vaccine to three African countries through the COVAX vaccine-sharing facility, GAVI said.

* Three-quarters of the people in Latin America and the Caribbean have not been fully immunised against COVID-19 in contrast to the United States and Canada, the Pan American Health Organization said on Wednesday. MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

* An arrangement has been suspended whereby Johnson & Johnson (J&J) was shipping vaccine doses to Europe that had been packaged in South Africa, African Union envoy Strive Masiyiwa said. * Abu Dhabi will remove the need to quarantine for all vaccinated travellers arriving from international destinations starting Sunday, the Abu Dhabi government media office said on Twitter.

* Thailand's health ministry said its vaccine regimen of China's Sinovac followed by AstraZeneca was safe and successfully boosted immunity among its first 1.5 million recipients. MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS

* Aspen Pharmacare said it was in talks to make J&J's shot under licence in South Africa, at what would be the continent's first major independent distribution base for a global vaccine against COVID-19. * Moderna on Wednesday asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to allow the use of a third booster dose of its COVID-19 vaccine.

ECONOMIC IMPACT * Record-high world stocks slowed their charge as concerns grew over the Chinese economy after a run of soft data, while the risk of a sub-par U.S. payrolls report kept the dollar on the defensive.

* The roll-out of vaccinations is making life insurers more enthusiastic about offering coverage to those with underlying health conditions. (Compiled by Juliette Portala and Veronica Snoj ; Edited by Bernadette Baum and David Gregorio)