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| - Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis: Germany's BioNTech and US partner Pfizer apply for EU regulatory approval for their vaccine, with the bloc saying its health agency will meet by December 29 to consider the application. The OECD says thanks to vaccines now potentially only weeks away from distribution, the global economy may get back to pre-pandemic levels by the end of next year. As British MPs prepare to vote on replacing an England-wide lockdown set to expire at midnight, conservatives complain new rules risk isolated hotspots putting entire counties under the strictest measures, even if their infection rates remain below the national average. British department store Debenhams, which currently employs around 12,000 people, is set to close for business as Topshop owner Arcadia enters administration putting at risk a further 13,000 jobs. Both retailers cite lockdown fallout among other difficulties. The UN says $35 billion will be needed for aid in 2021, as the pandemic leaves tens of millions more in crisis with extreme poverty set to rise, life expectancy to fall and the annual toll from HIV, tuberculosis and malaria potentially doubling for the first time since the 1990s. Canada's budget deficit is projected to balloon to a record Can$382 billion (US$284 billion)-- almost 20 times higher than the shortfall in the last pre-pandemic budget in March 2019 -- as government spending skyrockets to combat the spread of the virus. US doctor Joseph Varon's embrace of a crying elderly man who "just wanted to be with his wife" on Thanksgiving Day goes viral around the world. The photo was captured by a Getty photographer on the doctor's 252nd consecutive day at work. Ireland ends a second partial lockdown with non-essential shops, hairdressers and gyms unlocking their doors after six weeks of tough restrictions. Donald Trump coronavirus advisor Scott Atlas -- who tweeted against masks and lockdown measures -- resigns. Racer Lewis Hamilton, who this season broke the record for the most Formula 1 wins, tests positive and will isolate, missing this weekend's Sakhir Grand Prix. The virus has so far killed at least 1,468,873 people since the outbreak emerged in China last December, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP on Tuesday 1100 GMT. More than 63,227,478 cases of coronavirus have been registered. The US is the worst-affected country with 268,103 deaths, followed by Brazil with 173,120 deaths, India with 137,621 deaths and Mexico with 105,940 deaths. Sri Lanka frees hundreds of prisoners and will release thousands more after a riot sparked by cases at one of its many overcrowded jails left nine inmates dead and 113 wounded. Hong Kong and Singapore indefinitely delay plans to allow people to travel between the two financial hubs as the former sees a sudden spike in cases. Berlin's legendary KitKat fetish nightclub is set to reopen to the public Friday, offering swabs deeply inserted into nostrils in its new role as a Covid-19 rapid testing centre. burs-nrh/jmy/tgb
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