FACTBOX-Latest on the worldwide spread of coronavirus

* Norway said it will impose a 10-day quarantine on all people arriving from Britain, Austria, Greece and Ireland from Aug. 22. AMERICAS * U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday touted the use of convalescent plasma as a treatment for COVID-19 and suggested a reported decision by regulators to put on hold an emergency authorization for its use could be politically motivated. * The White House pushed for Congress to take up a narrow coronavirus economic relief bill that Democrats have long rejected.

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 * The British government is set to drop Croatia from its quarantine-free list on Thursday, The Telegraph reported.

* France registered 3,776 new infections on Wednesday but President Emmanuel Macron again ruled out imposing another national lockdown. * Norway said it will impose a 10-day quarantine on all people arriving from Britain, Austria, Greece and Ireland from Aug. 22.

AMERICAS * U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday touted the use of convalescent plasma as a treatment for COVID-19 and suggested a reported decision by regulators to put on hold an emergency authorization for its use could be politically motivated.

* The White House pushed for Congress to take up a narrow coronavirus economic relief bill that Democrats have long rejected. * New York City teachers threatened to strike or bring legal action unless the largest U.S. school district implements a more rigorous COVID-19 testing plan and other safety measures before reopening schools next month.

* Brazil reported more than 49,200 new cases and 1,212 additional deaths and its health ministry said the virus’ spread in the country could be about to slow. * Cases in Colombia surpassed 500,000 on Wednesday.

ASIA-PACIFIC * Infections have spread nationwide from a church in Seoul, raising fears that one of the world's virus mitigation success stories might yet suffer a disastrous outbreak, a top health official said.

* India reported a record daily jump of 69,652 infections on Thursday, taking the total number of cases to 2.84 million, and deaths rose by 977 to 53,866. * Australian state of Victoria, the country's COVID-19 hot spot, reported a small daily increase in new infections with 240 cases.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA * Iran's official death toll topped 20,000, with 153 deaths in the past 24 hours.

* Egypt will require all people entering the country to present Polymerase Chain Reaction test results for COVID-19 on arrival from Sept. 1. MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS

* 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. * South Korea's Green Cross Corp has received regulatory approval for phase II human clinical trials of its experimental coronavirus plasma treatment drug.

ECONOMIC IMPACT * Asian equities and U.S. futures fell, hurt by the U.S. Federal Reserve's cautious view of the economy, tensions with China and new clusters of coronavirus infections.

* 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. * Britain's economy will not fully recover from its current historic downturn for at least two years, a Reuters poll of economists found.

(Compiled by Uttaresh.V, Devika Syamnath and Anita Kobylinska; Editing by Kirsten Donovan, Shounak Dasgupta and Arun Koyyur)