FACTBOX-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

France has asked its citizens to wear masks in public transport as it deals with a new wave of COVID-19 cases, while North Korea continued to fight an outbreak of the pandemic, with Kim Jong Un presiding over another meeting to tighten discipline.

France has asked its citizens to wear masks in public transport as it deals with a new wave of COVID-19 cases, while North Korea continued to fight an outbreak of the pandemic, with Kim Jong Un presiding over another meeting to tighten discipline. 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. ASIA-PACIFIC

* Pakistan's aviation regulator has made masks mandatory on domestic flights given a gradual rise in the number of COVID-19 cases across the country. * North Korea's Kim Jong Un presided over another meeting of the ruling party to tighten discipline, state media said on Tuesday, as Pyongyang continues to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and gears up for potential flood damage from heavy rains.

EUROPE * French people should start wearing masks again in crowded areas, especially in public transport, as France has to deal with a new wave of COVID-19 infections fuelled by new variants of the disease.

AMERICAS * A U.S. appeals court panel said it would convene a full panel to reconsider President Joe Biden's executive order requiring civilian federal employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19, and set aside the order pending that hearing.

AFRICA & MIDDLE EAST * China's Sinovac Biotech said South Africa's health products regulator granted conditional registration to its coronavirus vaccine, CoronaVac, for people aged 18 and above.

MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS * China's Clover Biopharmaceuticals said a booster shot of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate significantly increased antibody response against the Omicron coronavirus variant from levels seen after two primary shots.

* Late-stage data on an experimental COVID-19 vaccine from Sanofi and GSK has shown the shot confers protection against the Omicron variant of the virus, the companies said. * COVID-19 may reactivate a common virus that lurks unseen in most people, and that effect might increase patients' risk of certain long-lasting symptoms, according to preliminary findings from a study.

ECONOMIC IMPACT * Profits at China's industrial firms shrank at a slower pace in May following a sharp fall in April, as activity in major manufacturing hubs resumed, but COVID-19 restrictions still weighed on factory production and squeezed factory margins.

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