FACTBOX-Latest on the worldwide spread of coronavirus

* Australia reported its second straight day without any COVID-19 deaths on Friday, the longest stretch without any fatalities from the virus in three months. MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA * The world's largest annual religious gathering is in full swing and is posing formidable health hazards for Iraqi authorities already struggling with a rise in infections. * Jordan will enter a nationwide 48-hour lockdown on Friday for the first time in months.

Days after halting negotiations with Congress over a coronavirus stimulus, U.S. President Donald Trump told Fox Business network that the talks had restarted. He also eyed a return to the campaign trail with a rally on Saturday.

DEATHS AND INFECTIONS * For an interactive graphic tracking the global spread of COVID-19, open https://graphics.reuters.com/world-coronavirus-tracker-and-maps/ in an external browser.

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

* Health minister Matt Hancock warned the United Kingdom was at a "perilous moment" as more than 17,540 new daily cases were recorded on Thursday, while Britain's parliament was set to vote on Tuesday on the imposition of a 10 p.m. closing time for English pubs, bars and restaurants. * Romanian authorities said they will suspend flights to and from high-risk countries to stem a sharp rise in new COVID-19 infections.

* The Czech government will tighten anti-coronavirus measures from next week with new curbs on sports and cultural venues and restaurants as the country struggles with a surge of new cases. AMERICAS

* Trump said he was looking at further campaign events, including a rally in Florida on Saturday. The White House physician has said the president had completed his course of therapy and could resume public events. * U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said legislation to help airlines survive the pandemic's fallout could only move through Congress with guarantees that a comprehensive aid bill would be developed too.

* Government crackdowns on social gatherings in parts of Quebec, Canada's epicenter of the pandemic, could drag on longer in hotspots like bars and restaurants, public health experts warned. * Mexico reported 5,300 new confirmed cases, with the death toll surpassing 83,000 following 370 additional fatalities.

ASIA-PACIFIC * China said it has joined a global COVID-19 vaccine initiative co-led by the World Health Organization (WHO), becoming the biggest economy to date to pledge support to help buy and distribute the shots fairly.

* Chinese domestic tourism saw a robust rebound over the just-ended Golden Week holiday, encouraged by the country's success in stamping out the novel coronavirus. * Australia reported its second straight day without any COVID-19 deaths on Friday, the longest stretch without any fatalities from the virus in three months.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA * The world's largest annual religious gathering is in full swing and is posing formidable health hazards for Iraqi authorities already struggling with a rise in infections.

* Jordan will enter a nationwide 48-hour lockdown on Friday for the first time in months. MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS

* A late-stage trial testing the combination of Gilead Sciences' remdesivir and a highly concentrated solution of antibodies that neutralize the COVID-19 virus has begun, the National Institutes of Health said. * Final data from Gilead's remdesivir showed the treatment cut COVID-19 recovery time by five days compared with patients who got a placebo, one day faster than indicated in preliminary data, the company and researchers said.

* Japan's Takeda Pharmaceutical Co said an alliance of drugmakers it spearheads has enrolled its first patient in a global clinical trial of a blood plasma treatment for COVID-19 after months of regulatory delays. ECONOMIC IMPACT

* Asian shares inched close to 2-1/2-year highs on Friday as revived hopes for a U.S. stimulus deal eclipsed weaker-than-expected jobs data. * Brazil managed to alleviate poverty with emergency payments during the pandemic, but if government income support efforts are not continued 15 million Brazilians will be thrown back into dire poverty come January, an economist warned.

* Japan's inflation-adjusted real wages fell for the sixth straight month in August, government data showed, while a Reuters poll found that the country's core machinery orders likely fell during August.