FACTBOX-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

A mental illness crisis is looming as millions of people worldwide are surrounded by death and disease and forced into isolation, poverty and anxiety by the COVID-19 pandemic, United Nations said.

More than 4.4 million people have been reported to be infected globally and 299,435 have died, according to a Reuters tally, as of 2217 GMT on Thursday. DEATHS AND INFECTIONS

* For an interactive graphic tracking the global spread, open https://tmsnrt.rs/3aIRuz7 in an external browser. * For a U.S.-focused tracker with state-by-state and county map, open https://tmsnrt.rs/2w7hX9T in an external browser.

EUROPE * A vaccine to counter the new coronavirus could be approved in about a year in an "optimistic" scenario, a agency which approves medicines for the European Union said.

* France's cumulative coronavirus death toll edged back above Spain's as the health ministry reported that the number of people who died of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours increased by 351 or 1.3% to 27,425. * Doctors in France and northern Italy, one of the areas hardest hit by COVID-19, have reported spikes in cases of a rare inflammatory syndrome in young children that appears similar to one reported in the United States, Britain and Spain.

* Russia on Thursday reported 9,974 new confirmed cases, its lowest daily rise in nearly two weeks, bringing its nationwide tally to 252,245. * The French government unveiled a 1.3 billion euros ($1.4 billion) investment plan for the country's tourism sector, which has been hit hard by the coronavirus crisis and the resulting shutdown in tourist attractions and hotels.

* Hungary's government could retract the emergency powers obtained to fight the coronavirus in late June, depending on the evolution of the pandemic. AMERICAS

* More than 1.4 million people have been infected in the United States and 84,958 have died, according to a Reuters tally, as of 2217 GMT on Thursday. * President Trump said he is mobilizing the U.S. military to distribute a vaccine when one becomes available and will focus first on older Americans.

* The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued guidelines to help schools and workplaces determine whether they are ready to open for business. It provided six "decision trees" that cover yes-or-no scenarios. * Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unveiled new measures to support hard hit sectors, including C$470 million ($334 million) for fisheries, and the partial reopening of some national parks.

* Accused criminals across the United States have started using the threat of deadly COVID-19 infection as a weapon in attacks on police, retail clerks and grocers trying to keep the nation fed during lockdown. * Over a third of hospitalised COVID-19 patients in a large New York medical system developed acute kidney injury, U.S. researchers reported.

ASIA-PACIFIC * China said it will step up testing to prevent a rebound of the epidemic that has killed more than 4,600 in its mainland territories.

* South Korean health authorities said they would revise their practice of publicising travel routes of coronavirus patients due to fears of backlash against clubgoers and discrimination against members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) community. * Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe lifted a state of emergency in large parts of the country on Thursday but said it would remain in place in Tokyo until the novel coronavirus is contained.

* India is aggressively pushing a state-backed contact tracing app, raising fears that it is on its way to Chinese-style methods of high tech social control. * Health groups have asked India to rescind Gilead's patents for COVID-19 drug remdesivir so it can be distributed more fairly to patients worldwide, particularly in poorer nations.

* Japan has begun treating severely ill patients with remdesivir, a health ministry official said, just days after giving it emergency approval. * The novel coronavirus has been detected in one of the southern Bangladesh camps that are home to more than a million Rohingya refugees, as humanitarian groups warned the infection could devastate the crowded settlement.

* Vietnam has mounted an all-out effort to save its most critically ill patient, a British pilot. With aggressive testing and a mass, centralised quarantine programme, it has reported just 288 cases and no deaths. * Malaysia will ease a ban on mass prayers in mosques, starting from Friday and ahead of this month's Eid festival.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA * Armenia extended a state of emergency until June 13, after the number of new daily infections began rising at the end of April.

* Burundi is expelling the national head of the World Health Organisation and three members of his team during a presidential election campaign that has gone ahead despite health risks from the coronavirus pandemic. * Sierra Leone is weathering a dramatic crunch in mining revenue as restrictions hurt companies' ability to export gold and diamonds and access essential supplies.

ECONOMIC FALLOUT * Global equity benchmarks gained late on Thursday, with safe-haven bonds also rising as investors shrugged off disappointing U.S. jobs data and took comfort in the possibility of states re-opening after lockdowns and fuelling an economic recovery.

* More global coordination is necessary to fight the twin threat of the coronavirus crisis and climate change, a top official from central bank umbrella group, the Bank for International Settlements, said. * Iran's oil exports have sunk to a record low as the coronavirus crisis compounds the impact of U.S. sanctions already limiting shipments.

* The Bank of Japan's governor said he saw no need to take interest rates deeper into negative territory now. (Compiled by Sarah Morland and Krishna Chandra Eluri; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)