FACTBOX-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

About 159,000 more people in 24 European countries have died since early March than would have ordinarily been expected, a World Health Organization official said, adding a "significant proportion" of the spike is linked to COVID-19.

DEATHS AND INFECTIONS * More than 5.74 million people have been reported infected with the novel coronavirus globally and 355,798 have died, according to a Reuters tally as of 1453 GMT on Thursday.

* 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.

* For Eikon users, click on MacroVitals cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?navid=1592404098 for a case tracker and a summary of developments. EUROPE

* The European Commission said it wanted to set up a permanent reserve of essential drugs and medical equipment to address shortages that have dogged the EU for years and worsened throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. * Prime Minister Boris Johnson will set out the next steps on easing Britain's coronavirus lockdown on Thursday, describing what will be possible from June 1, his spokesman said.

* Germany's parliament voted to slash value-added tax on restaurant meals by more than half for a year to help them recoup devastating losses. * Hungary and Slovenia eased border restrictions on Thursday to allow travel by their citizens between the two countries, their foreign ministers told a joint press conference at the border.

* Romania will reopen outdoor cafes and restaurants and allow international road and rail travel from June 1, President Klaus Iohannis said. * Greece announced a package of measures amounting to 115 million euros to support the country's air transport sector.

* Sending children back to schools and day care centres in Denmark, the first country in Europe to do so, did not lead to an increase in coronavirus infections, according to official data, confirming similar findings from Finland. AMERICAS

* The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits held above 2 million last week for a 10th straight week amid job cuts by U.S. state and local governments. * California hospitals struggle financially after preparing for COVID-19 surge that never came.

* Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he disagrees with the Bank of Mexico's forecasts for a major recession caused by the coronavirus pandemic and predicted that the economy will instead recover soon. * Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has signed into law 60-billion-real ($11.3 billion) of federal government aid to states and municipalities, but vetoed a section on public servants' wages, according to an official gazette publication.

ASIA-PACIFIC * China has room to stimulate the economy, but the government does not want to open the "floodgates", Premier Li Keqiang said.

* Indonesia will continue to prescribe two anti-malaria drugs for coronavirus patients but monitor their use closely, a spokesman for Indonesia COVID-19 taskforce said. * Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte approved a recommendation to ease the lockdown in the capital Manila from June 1, resuming much-needed activity in an economy on the brink of recession.

* Australia will divert A$280 million ($185.25 million) in overseas aid this year to bolster the response of its closest neighbours to the pandemic. MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

* Cases of community transmission of the new coronavirus are growing in Africa, particularly in Ethiopia, and a new strategy for testing is needed to prevent this, the head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said. * Kenya's small and medium businesses need urgent help to survive the economic slowdown, and many are at risk of shutting down by the end of June, the head of the central bank said.

* A bid round for nine oilfield licenses in Angola could be delayed by the coronavirus outbreak, the national petroleum regulator said. ECONOMIC FALLOUT

* European shares rose for a fourth straight session on Thursday and the euro perched at a two-month high, as businesses returning to work and a 750 billion euro EU stimulus plan outweighed rising U.S.-China tensions. * This year will be the worst for many world stock markets in nearly a decade at least.

* International tourism is set to fall by 70% this year, marking the sector's biggest slump since records began in the 1950s, United Nations World Tourism Organization Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili told newspaper Handelsblatt. * Britain's economy is unlikely to recover fully in the next two to three years, Bank of England policymaker Michael Saunders warned in the gloomiest medium-term assessment to date from a UK policymaker.

* Portugal's headline business and consumer confidence indicators based on a three-month moving average fell sharply in May, but monthly data pointed to a recovery as the country lifted its lockdown. * Germany's economy is likely to shrink by 6.6% this year, the Ifo Institute said.

* The number of people in France looking for jobs surged in April by 22.6% to a record high, Labour Ministry data showed. (Compiled by Linda Pasquini; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)