Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and Tencent Holdings Ltd have each held separate talks with Baidu Inc to acquire a controlling stake in video streaming service iQIYI Inc, people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

Asian shares stalled near record highs on Friday as investors weighed renewed doubts about a highly-anticipated coronavirus vaccine against hopes that some of the region's economies will recovery quicker than their Western peers.

Americans marked a muted Thanksgiving Day holiday on Thursday, sometimes seeing family only by video after political leaders discouraged travel or large gatherings in the face of the surging coronavirus pandemic.

Days after grabbing headlines with its COVID-19 "vaccine for the world", AstraZeneca is facing tricky questions about its success rate that some experts say could hinder its chances of getting speedy U.S. and EU regulatory approval.

The British government's Chief Scientific Adviser Patrick Vallance said on Thursday the main point about the AstraZeneca vaccine against COVID-19 was that it worked, when asked about doubts that have been raised about the vaccine.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's political slogan is "medemer" - or "coming together". But some analysts say reforms meant to unify Ethiopia have inflamed simmering ethnic and political divisions and risk unravelling Africa's second most populous nation.

Asymptomatic COVID-19 patients are driving a surge in new cases in South Korea, frustrating efforts to control transmission by the Asian country which managed to keep infections under control in previous outbreaks.

Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon said an independence referendum that could wrench apart the United Kingdom after Brexit should take place in the earlier part of the devolved parliament's next term, which begins next year.

AstraZeneca is likely to run an additional global trial to assess the efficacy of its COVID-19 vaccine using a lower dosage, its chief executive was quoted as saying on Thursday amid questions over the results of its late-stage study.

British housing minister Robert Jenrick said there was no reason for anyone to be concerned about the data behind the Oxford and AstraZeneca vaccine and said the independent regulator would work to assess it.