Reuters World News Summary

'Window of hope': Europe begins to launch COVID-19 vaccinations Hungary and Slovakia stole a march on their fellow EU nations as they began vaccinating people against COVID-19 on Saturday, a day ahead of rollouts in several other countries including France and Spain as the pandemic surges across the continent.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. 'Window of hope': Europe begins to launch COVID-19 vaccinations

Hungary and Slovakia stole a march on their fellow EU nations as they began vaccinating people against COVID-19 on Saturday, a day ahead of rollouts in several other countries including France and Spain as the pandemic surges across the continent. In Germany, a small number of people at a care home for the elderly were inoculated on Saturday, a day before the country's official start of its vaccination campaign. Archaeologists uncover ancient street food shop in Pompeii

Archaeologists in Pompeii, the city buried in a volcanic eruption in 79 AD, have made the extraordinary find of a frescoed hot food and drinks shop that served up the ancient equivalent of street food to Roman passersby. Known as a termopolium, Latin for hot drinks counter, the shop was discovered in the archaeological park's Regio V site, which is not yet open the public, and unveiled on Saturday. Ten climbers killed in Iran, ship crew missing after snowfall and storms

At least 10 climbers have died and several more are missing in mountains north of Iran's capital Tehran after heavy snowfall, state media reported on Saturday, and the seven crew members of a ship are also missing after storms in the Gulf. Heavy snow and winds in several parts of Iran in the past few days have closed many roads and disrupted transport. Canada's Ontario finds two cases of virus variant first seen in UK

Health officials in Ontario said on Saturday that two confirmed cases of the new coronavirus variant first detected in the United Kingdom have appeared in the Canadian province. Scientists say the variant is about 40%-70% more transmissible than the original strain. Several other countries, including Australia, Italy and the Netherlands say they detected cases of the new strain. Argentina church asks lawmakers to search their hearts ahead of abortion vote

The Church of Argentina on Saturday called on the country´s lawmakers to vote their conscience this coming week, when the Senate will take up a bill to legalize abortion that has divided a nation with long-held Roman Catholic roots. During a religious celebration in a small city west of Buenos Aires, Bishop Oscar Ojea, president of the local bishops' conference and an outspoken opponent of abortion, suggested a "no" vote was supported by "medical science and law." UK to roll out Oxford COVID-19 vaccine from Jan. 4, Sunday Telegraph says

The United Kingdom will roll out Oxford University’s COVID-19 vaccine from Jan. 4, according to plans being drawn up by ministers, The Sunday Telegraph reported. The government hopes to give the first dose of either the Oxford vaccine, which has been licensed to pharmaceuticals company AstraZeneca, or the Pfizer vaccine to 2 million people over the next two weeks, the newspaper said. George Blake, last in line of Cold War spies who betrayed Britain, dies at 98

George Blake, who died in Russia on Saturday at the age of 98, was the last in a line of British spies whose secret work for the Soviet Union humiliated the intelligence establishment when it was discovered at the height of the Cold War. Britain says he exposed the identities of hundreds of Western agents across Eastern Europe in the 1950s, some of whom were executed as a result of his treason. Venezuela's opposition-held Congress extends term after disputed vote

Venezuela's opposition-held National Assembly on Saturday approved a statute extending its term into 2021, after a disputed Dec. 6 election in which allies of President Nicolas Maduro's ruling socialist party won 91% of the seats in Congress. The South American country's four main opposition parties boycotted the parliamentary vote, arguing conditions for a free and fair election were not met, and most Western democracies, including the United States, have said they do not recognize the election results. Sudan taking control of land on border with Ethiopia -minister

Sudan has taken control of most of the land it accuses Ethiopians of encroaching upon near the border between the two countries, the Sudanese information minister said on Saturday. Tensions in the border region have flared since the outbreak of conflict in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region in early November and the arrival of more than 50,000 mainly Tigrayan refugees in eastern Sudan. Deadly fire hits Egyptian hospital treating COVID patients- sources, media

A fire killed at least seven people and injured several others on Saturday at a private hospital that was treating coronavirus patients on the outskirts of the Egyptian capital Cairo, local sources and media said. The fire broke out at about 9 a.m. at Misr Al Amal Hospital in El Obour, some 30 km (19 miles) northeast of central Cairo, and according to initial investigations was caused by an electrical fault, security and medical sources said.