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| - Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis: The world death toll from Covid-19 passes 1.5 million from nearly 65 million cases, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP on Thursday at 1845 GMT. There have been 1,500,038 fatalities from 64,774,705 cases since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in China in late December 2019. The worst affected region is Latin America and the Caribbean with 452,263 deaths, followed by Europe (430,060) and the United States and Canada (286,946). Former US presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton are volunteering to take a coronavirus vaccine on camera if it will help promote public confidence. OPEC agrees to increase production from January, but by less than anticipated in a previous accord, after the second wave of the pandemic dashed hopes of a rapid recovery for the economy and for oil demand. Italy records its highest daily death toll from coronavirus with 993 fatalities in the last 24 hours, the highest since March 27, when it was under national lockdown. Iran says its novel coronavirus caseload surpassed one million, as the authorities consider easing restrictions in many parts of the Middle East's hardest hit country. Vaccinations against Covid-19 in France will be free, the government announces. They will begin in January for one million elderly in retirement homes, February for 14 million at-risk people and spring for the rest of the population. Sweden closes high schools for a month with students to instead take classes online, as coronavirus cases soar in the country which famously opted for a "softer" approach to curbing the spread of Covid-19. German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier warns that the traditionally frugal government's generous support for pandemic-hit firms could not go on "endlessly", as calls grow louder for a return to more fiscal prudence. The Premier League and the English Football League agree a £250-million ($337 million, 277 million euros) rescue package for lower-league clubs struggling to survive during the pandemic. burs-nrh/har
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