FACTBOX-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

U.S. President Joe Biden said China was trying to project itself as a responsible nation in regard to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it remained unclear whether Beijing was really trying to understand the origins of the coronavirus. 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

* European Union approval of Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine will be delayed because a June 10 deadline to submit data was missed, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters, diminishing the shot's prospects in the EU's pandemic response. * Spain's plan for recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic and transformation into a greener and more digitalised economy got European Commission approval, the second such green light in the 27-nation EU after Portugal.

* It will be mandatory for care home workers in England to have coronavirus vaccinations, British health minister Matt Hancock said, adding the government was considering whether the policy should be extended to healthcare workers too. * Britain's government will extend a ban on evictions of businesses that stopped paying rent due to the pandemic, a junior finance minister said.

* Hungary will scrap border crossing restrictions on its internal Schengen borders from June 24, the foreign minister said. * Moscow city authorities ordered all workers with public facing roles to be vaccinated against COVID-19, one of the most forceful steps taken anywhere in the world to compel employees to get shots.

* France is bringing forward by 10 days the lifting of a nationwide curfew, Prime Minister Jean Castex said. * Germany will be able to offer a vaccine to everybody who wants one by the end of July or early August, the health minister said.

ASIA-PACIFIC * Japan will decide this month on whether to allow domestic spectators at the Tokyo Olympics, the government's chief spokesman said.

* Malaysia's council of rulers said they were of the view that there was no need for a state of emergency to be extended beyond Aug. 1. * India's government defended its decision to double the gap between the two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

AMERICAS * The primary issue with lagging COVID-19 vaccinations in the Americas is access to doses, not acceptance of vaccine safety or efficacy, the Pan American Health Organization said, urging donor countries to send shots as soon as possible.

* The U.S. government has bought another 200 million doses of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine, the drugmaker said, including an option to buy experimental shots that may be in development. MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

* Bahrain approved the emergency use for regn-cov2 medicine, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc's and Roche's newly authorized COVID-19 antibody combination, as part of its coronavirus treatment protocol to treat existing cases with mild and moderate symptoms. * Qatar's cabinet said it would allow up to 80% of public and private sector employees to return to offices from June 18 as a part of its plan to gradually ease coronavirus-related measures, the state news agency reported.

MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS * Johnson & Johnson is expected to miss its COVID-19 vaccine supply target to the European Union for the second quarter after millions of doses were banned for use in Europe over safety concerns, an EU Commission spokesman said.

ECONOMIC IMPACT * Stocks fell after the U.S. Federal Reserve brought forward its projections for interest rate hikes, driving up U.S. Treasury yields and the dollar.

* Spain's competition watchdog is investigating possible anti-competitive practices by several banks in the marketing of state-backed coronavirus loans. (Compiled by Krishna Chandra Eluri, Juliette Portala and Jagoda Darlak. Editing by Giles Elgood, Steve Orlofsky and Arun Koyyur)

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