The European Medicines Agency has listed the neurological disorder Guillain-Barre syndrome, which can cause temporary paralysis, as a "very rare" side effect of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine.

A causal relationship was "considered at least a reasonable possibility", the EMA said in an update Wednesday after a total of 833 cases of the syndrome had been reported worldwide by July 31, from about 592 million doses of the AstraZeneca "Vaxzevria" shot administered.

The supply chain troubles caused by Brexit and the pandemic have been so bad for Satyan Patel that the shelves at his convenience store in central London are seriously lacking water and soft drinks.

"Last week I ran out of Coca-Cola. I haven't had large bottles of Evian for three weeks," said Patel.

Standing outside the rundown public hospital in Bulgaria's northern town of Veliko Tarnovo, the vaccination unit's chief nurse voices a sad reality about her fellow citizens: "They don't believe in vaccines."

Bulgaria has one of the highest coronavirus death rates in the 27-nation European Union and is facing a new, rapid surge of infections due to the more infectious delta variant. Despite that, people in this Balkan nation are the most hesitant in the bloc to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

Saudi Arabia said Tuesday it was lifting a ban on travel to three countries including the UAE after imposing the restrictions to stop the spread of Covid-19.

The kingdom would reopen on Wednesday its land, sea and air ports to the United Arab Emirates, South Africa and Argentina, the official SPA news agency reported, citing an interior ministry source.

Travelers arriving in Hong Kong from China will no longer need to quarantine, Hong Kong's top official said Tuesday, easing curbs imposed after summer outbreaks of the coronavirus on the mainland.

Starting Wednesday, people who haven't been to medium- or high-risk areas on the mainland or Macao can enter the city, capped at 2,000 travelers daily, chief executive Carrie Lam said in a news conference. Travelers will still need a negative COVID-19 test prior to arrival and must take several tests while in Hong Kong to ensure they're not infected.

A program in the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam allowing international visitors to receive a Covid-19 vaccination while enjoying a tropical holiday has been disrupted due to a surge in virus cases.

New Zealand has recorded its first Covid-related death in six months, but health authorities said there were signs the outbreak of the highly infectious Delta variant was coming under control.

The European Union and drugmaker AstraZeneca said Friday that they reached a deal to end a damaging legal battle over the slow pace of deliveries of the company's COVID-19 vaccines.

The European Commission, which is the EU's executive branch, said AstraZeneca made a "firm commitment" to deliver a total of 300 million doses by March next year, as agreed under the advance purchasing agreement the two sides signed a year ago. About 100 million doses have already been supplied.

The African Union's COVID-19 envoy says vaccine doses produced by a plant in South Africa will no longer be exported to Europe after the intervention of South Africa's government.

Strive Masiyiwa told reporters Thursday that South African drug manufacturer Aspen, which has a contract with Johnson & Johnson to assemble the ingredients of its COVID-19 vaccine, will no longer ship vaccine doses out of the continent and that millions of doses warehoused in Europe will be returned to the continent.

Twelve million children in France went back to school Thursday for the new academic year, wearing face masks as part of rules aimed at slowing down the spread of the coronavirus in the country.

President Emmanuel Macron visited a primary school in the southern city of Marseille. He was greeted with a fist bump by children and teachers, all wearing masks, which are mandatory indoors starting from age 6.