FACTBOX-Latest on the worldwide spread of coronavirus

* New York City teachers threatened to strike or take other jobs or legal action unless the largest U.S. school district implements a more rigorous COVID-19 testing plan and other safety measures before the system's scheduled reopening next month. ASIA-PACIFIC * At least one in four people in India may have been infected with the coronavirus, a much higher number than official government figures suggest, the head of a leading private laboratory said. * Bangladesh is ready to trial potential COVID-19 vaccines developed by India and will receive early supplies of any successful candidate.

Germany and France want to give more money and power to the World Health Organisation after the COVID-19 pandemic underscored long-standing financial and legal weaknesses at the U.N. agency, an internal document seen by Reuters shows.

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 summary of news.

EUROPE * France registered 3,776 new infections on Wednesday, marking another post-lockdown peak, but President Emmanuel Macron again ruled out imposing another national lockdown.

* Britain plans to bring in regular, population-wide testing and is working with London's Heathrow Airport to use testing to shorten quarantine times. * Norway said it will impose a 10-day quarantine on all people arriving from Britain, Austria, Greece and Ireland from Aug. 22.

AMERICAS * Medication costs for COVID-19 patients hospitalized in the United States have dropped sharply since May, reflecting advances in treatment, shorter stays and use of cheaper generic drugs.

* The White House pushed for Congress to take up a narrow coronavirus economic relief bill that Democrats have long rejected, while a leading Senate Democrat said real action may come soon after the Sept. 7 U.S. Labor Day holiday. * New York City teachers threatened to strike or take other jobs or legal action unless the largest U.S. school district implements a more rigorous COVID-19 testing plan and other safety measures before the system's scheduled reopening next month.

ASIA-PACIFIC * At least one in four people in India may have been infected with the coronavirus, a much higher number than official government figures suggest, the head of a leading private laboratory said.

* Bangladesh is ready to trial potential COVID-19 vaccines developed by India and will receive early supplies of any successful candidate. MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

* Iran's official death toll has topped 20,000, with 153 deaths in the past 24 hours. * The International Organization of Migration said it was worried that the economic fallout from lockdowns in East Africa will fuel human trafficking.

* Egypt will require all people entering the country to present Polymerase Chain Reaction test results for the new coronavirus on arrival from Sept. 1, the prime minister said. MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS

* The emergency approval of blood plasma as a potential COVID-19 treatment by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has now been put on hold, the New York Times reported, citing two senior administration officials. * Regeneron and Roche are teaming up on an investigational antibody cocktail against COVID-19.

* Abu Dhabi's G42 Healthcare has signed a preliminary agreement with Israel's NanoScent to develop, distribute, and manufacture a test that detects COVID-19 from exhaled air, UAE state news agency WAM reported. * Cuba kicks off clinical trials next week of a potential coronavirus vaccine called "Soberana 01" ("Sovereign 01") developed by its state-run Finlay Institute, with results due in February, state-run media said.

ECONOMIC IMPACT * The World Trade Organization said its goods trade barometer hit a record low, suggesting global merchandise trade registered a historic fall in the second quarter.

* Turkey's economy has regained the momentum it was seeing before the new coronavirus outbreak, President Tayyip Erdogan said. * Thailand will introduce more stimulus measures to boost tourism, jobs and consumption hit hard by the pandemic, including generous subsidies to encourage more hiring and domestic travel.

(Compiled by Devika Syamnath and Anita Kobylinska; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Shounak Dasgupta)