- Four billion doses of vaccines given worldwide -

More than four billion doses of coronavirus vaccines have been administered worldwide, according to a count compiled by AFP Thursday at 0900 GMT based on official sources.

Four out of ten doses (1.6 billion) were given in China, followed by India (451 million) and the United States (343 million) in absolute numbers.

But in terms of population, among countries with a population of over one million, the Middle East tops the list with the United Arab Emirates giving 168 doses per 100 inhabitants. Uruguay (137) and Bahrain (134) come in second and third.

- Delta mutant spread in China -

The Delta mutant began to spread to many Chinese provinces, including Beijing, as announced by the authorities.

171 people have contracted the virus in Jiangsu Province, which borders Shanghai, and foci have spread to at least four other provinces.

Most of those infected with the virus were vaccinated, according to local authorities in Jiangsu, which raised concerns about the effectiveness of Chinese vaccines against this mutant.

- AstraZeneca sold more than $1 billion in the first quarter -

AstraZeneca announced Thursday that sales of its COVID-19 vaccine reached $1.17 billion in the first half of the year.

This figure is due to the delivery of about 319 million doses worldwide, which the group sells at cost without profit.

- Low funding for research in France -

Funding granted to public research in France dedicated to combating the epidemic is "clearly low" compared to other countries and "too scattered to respond to the challenges of the crisis," according to the Court of Auditors.

Between January 2020 and March 2021, “the total resources allocated to public research in France amounted to 530.17 million euros, while Germany invested about 1.5 billion euros and the United Kingdom 1.3 billion.”

-Spain extends curfew in Catalonia-

The curfew has been extended in Barcelona and a large part of the Catalonia region, which has been hardest hit in Spain by the new wave of the epidemic, while the country is experiencing the first signs of stability.

- Paris considers quarantine for arrivals to Britain "discriminatory" -

On Thursday, French Secretary of State for European Affairs Clement Bonn considered that maintaining the quarantine measure for travelers coming from France to England was "incomprehensible" and "discriminatory."

- Airbus sees its business picking up again -

Despite the health crisis that continues to affect the aviation sector, Airbus announced Thursday a net profit of 2.2 billion euros, thanks to the delivery of a large number of aircraft compared to 2020.

Also, French giant Accor posted a net profit of 67 million euros for the first half of the year, after a net loss of 1.51 billion euros the previous year.

- Sydney police call on army to enforce lockdown measures -

Police in Australia's largest city requested the army's help in enforcing closures to combat the spread of the coronavirus, after infections in Sydney hit a new record Thursday.

- Cambodia imposes restrictions along its border with Thailand -

Cambodia imposed new restrictions to combat the coronavirus Thursday, affecting eight provinces on the border with Thailand, which led to the stifling of the movement of millions of residents in order to limit the spread of the highly contagious delta mutant.

- Thai hospitals run short of beds -

The Thai Ministry of Health sounded the alarm about the acute shortage of hospital beds and isolation facilities in Bangkok on Thursday as the number of COVID-19 infections and deaths rose to a new record.

- France considers the epidemiological situation "tragic" overseas and "alarming" in the east -

On Thursday, French Prime Minister Jean Castix expressed his concern about the "dramatic" health situation in some French overseas territories because, according to him, many residents there are "resistant to vaccinations."

- Nicaragua: 24 NGOs dissolved -

Nicaragua's parliament has removed the legal status of 24 NGOs, mostly in the medical field, accusing them of breaking laws, but these entities say the move is in retaliation for criticizing the government's management of the epidemic.

- More than 4.19 million deaths -

The virus has caused the death of 4,190,383 people in the world since the end of December 2019, according to a census conducted by Agence France-Presse based on official sources on Thursday at 10:00 GMT.

The United States is the most affected country in terms of raw deaths (611,801), followed by Brazil (553,179), India (422,662), Mexico (239,616) and Peru (196,138).

The World Health Organization, taking into account the excess mortality rate directly or indirectly related to Covid-19, considers that the outcome of the epidemic may be two or three times greater than the officially announced outcome.