FACTBOX-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

* Eikon users, see MacroVitals (cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?navid=1592404098) for a case tracker and a summary of developments. EUROPE * Hackers backed by the Russian state are trying to steal COVID-19 vaccine and treatment research from academic and pharmaceutical institutions around the world, Britain's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) said. * France accelerated plans to make it compulsory to wear face masks in enclosed public spaces because of concerns about renewed flare-ups of COVID-19.

Germany's health minister urged the World Health Organisation (WHO) to speed up its review of how it handled the pandemic, apparently signalling Europe's tougher line on the United Nations body.

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. * Eikon users, see MacroVitals (cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?navid=1592404098) for a case tracker and a summary of developments.

EUROPE * Hackers backed by the Russian state are trying to steal COVID-19 vaccine and treatment research from academic and pharmaceutical institutions around the world, Britain's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) said.

* France accelerated plans to make it compulsory to wear face masks in enclosed public spaces because of concerns about renewed flare-ups of COVID-19. * Italy on Thursday banned people coming from Serbia, Kosovo and Montenegro from entering its territory to prevent the importation of COVID-19 cases from the outside.

* Malta marked a week without new cases on Thursday, the first since the virus was detected there for the first time on March 7. AMERICAS

* Republicans will significantly limit the number of attendees at the party's national convention in Jacksonville, Florida, in August, as coronavirus cases continue to spike sharply across the state. * Americans who received enhanced unemployment benefits due to the pandemic spent more than when they were working, a study said, adding to concerns about a steep fall in spending when the emergency benefits expire.

* Oklahoma's Kevin Stitt became the first U.S. governor to test positive for COVID-19, while the country's leading expert on infectious diseases said he was confident the United States would meet its goal of a vaccine by the year end. ASIA-PACIFIC

* China will push forward research and development of COVID-19 vaccines "with all efforts", the National Medical Products Administration said. * China's central bank governor Yi Gang said the International Monetary Fund should turn to special drawing rights (SDR) in responding to the coronavirus pandemic.

* Japan said it will exclude people living or vacationing in Tokyo from a subsidised domestic tourism campaign as record numbers of coronavirus infections there sparked concern that the capital's residents could spread the virus to other parts of the country. MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

* Hospitals in Iran face acute shortages of medical personnel and beds as the country tackles a powerful second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, a senior official of Tehran's anti-coronavirus task force said. * Jordan said it will partially resume commercial flights from August to a limited number of European and Asian countries on an internationally approved safe list.

MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS * Novartis's Sandoz division will not make a profit on 15 generic drugs it is making available to developing countries to treat symptoms of COVID-19, the Swiss drugmaker said.

* Russia plans to produce 30 million doses of an experimental COVID-19 vaccine domestically this year, with the potential to manufacture a further 170 million abroad, the head of the country's sovereign wealth fund told Reuters. ECONOMIC FALLOUT

* The European Central Bank defended its huge pandemic stimulus package and said it expected to have to use the full amount of planned debt purchases to help the euro zone stay afloat during a lockdown-induced recession. * Zimbabwe's economy is expected to shrink by 4.5% this year owing to the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and a brutal climate change-related drought.

* Rent across Spain slipped 0.2% in the second quarter from the preceding three months, the first price drop in six years as flats once destined for tourists flooded the residential market as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. (Compiled by Linda Pasquini, Anna Rzhevkina and Devika Syamnath; Edited by Arun Koyyur and Shounak Dasgupta)

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