FACTBOX-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

* Britain found 55 more cases of the coronavirus variant first detected in India in latest weekly figures, with the country set to be added to the travel red list from Friday morning. * Norway's health ministry said it will lend 216,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine it has in stock to Sweden, which said it will postpone a tentative plan to ease some restrictions, as well as Iceland.

India recorded the world's highest daily tally of 314,835 COVID-19 infections on Thursday as a second wave of the pandemic raised new fears about the ability of crumbling health services to cope. DEATHS AND INFECTIONS

* Eikon users, see COVID-19: MacroVitals https://apac1.apps.cp.thomsonreuters.com/cms/?navid=1592404098 for a case tracker and summary of news. EUROPE

* France will lift domestic travel restrictions from May 3 but a 7 p.m. curfew will remain in place until the outbreak is under control, and said a quarantine would be imposed for travellers from five countries. * Britain found 55 more cases of the coronavirus variant first detected in India in latest weekly figures, with the country set to be added to the travel red list from Friday morning.

* Norway's health ministry said it will lend 216,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine it has in stock to Sweden, which said it will postpone a tentative plan to ease some restrictions, as well as Iceland. AMERICAS

* Ontario's hospitals and ICUs have been crushed by a punishing third coronavirus wave, as depleted resources and overworked staff push Canada's healthcare system, often held up as a model for the rest of the world, to the brink. * The U.S. State Department has added at least 116 countries this week to its "Level Four: Do Not Travel" advisory list.

ASIA-PACIFIC * India will start receiving Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine by end-May, its local distributor told Reuters on Thursday, a later than expected schedule that could slow the country's immunisation drive.

* Singapore, which is quarantining about 1,200 migrant workers after finding cases in their dormitory, will not allow entry to long-term visa holders and short-term visitors with recent travel history to India, the health ministry said. * The Japanese government plans to declare a state of emergency for Tokyo and three other prefectures, the prime minister said.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA * Israel and Bahrain have agreed to recognise each other's COVID-19 vaccination programmes and let people who have had shots travel without restriction between the countries.

* South African researchers hope to next week resume a study using Johnson & Johnson's vaccine to immunise healthcare workers, one of the scientists leading the programme said. * The United Arab Emirates has suspended all incoming flights from India, the UAE's National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority said.

MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS * Britain's medicines regulator said there had been 168 major blood clots following a dose of AstraZeneca's vaccine, a rate of 7.9 clots per million doses, a jump in incidence from the previous week's figure.

* The COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech is effective at preventing symptomatic and severe disease in people with some chronic illnesses, like diabetes and heart disease, the biggest real-world study showed on Thursday. * Valneva has not met the conditions to conclude talks on a deal to the European Union with its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, a spokesman for the Commission said.

ECONOMIC IMPACT * Global stocks fell on Thursday weighed by Wall Street after a report that the Biden administration will propose a sharp increase to capital gains tax, while the dollar index gained as the euro and pound gave back some of the month's gains.

* The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell to a 13-month low last week, suggesting layoffs were subsiding and strengthening expectations for another month of blockbuster job growth in April. * The European Central Bank left policy unchanged as expected, keeping copious stimulus flowing even as it predicted a firm rebound in the euro zone economy in the coming months as pandemic restrictions are lifted.

(Compiled by Ramakrishnan M. and Juliette Portala; Edited by Steve Orlofsky and Arun Koyyur)