Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus
(Reuters) - The coronavirus might have been spreading in China as early as August last year, according to Harvard Medical School research based on satellite images of hospital travel patterns and search engine data, but China dismissed the report as "ridiculous".
DEATHS AND INFECTIONS
* More than 7.14 million people have been reported infected with the novel coronavirus globally and 406,929 have died, a Reuters tally as of 0934 GMT showed on Tuesday.
* 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.
* For Eikon users, see MacroVitals (cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?navid=1592404098) for a case tracker and a summary of developments.
EUROPE
* Finland's new finance minister called for EU-wide coordination of recovery measures to mitigate the long-term cost of lockdowns.
* France launched what it said was a 15 billion euro ($17 billion) rescue plan for its aerospace industry, warning 100,000 jobs were directly at stake due to travel slump.
* Ireland offered a new 10-year bond, its third so far this year via a syndicate of banks, that a market source said could raise 4 billion euros to plug the growing budget deficit.
* Italy plans to raise between 510-520 billion euros ($576-587 billion) through government bond issues by the end of this year, the treasury's head of debt told Il Sole 24 Ore.
* Travel corridors allowing unrestricted movement between Britain and some other countries will open from June 29, a UK tourism lobby group said, citing government assurances.
* British drugmaker AstraZeneca said it expects to start clinical studies of two COVID-19 antibody based therapies in the next two months.
AMERICAS
* University of Washington researchers estimated that 145,728 people could die of COVID-19 in the United States by August, raising their forecast by more than 5,000 fatalities in a matter of days.
* Brazil reported 679 new deaths and 15,654 additional cases, as controversy grew over the country's official coronavirus data amid allegations of manipulation from a senior lawmaker.
* The Brazilian Football Confederation has set up a R$100 million ($20.74 million) relief fund to help top-flight clubs.
* Venezuela's government said a flight carrying humanitarian aid for the epidemic had arrived from Iran.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* South Korea's Daewoong Pharmaceutical said its anti-parasitic drug niclosamide had eliminated the novel coronavirus from animals' lungs during testing.
* China urged students going overseas to think carefully before choosing Australia, citing a spate of racist incidents targeting Asians during the COVID-19 pandemic.
* Hong Kong's government said it does not intend to hold a stake in Cathay Pacific Airways long term after leading a rescue package to help it through the pandemic.
* Indonesia reported 1,043 new coronavirus infections on Tuesday, its biggest daily rise.
* Vietnam plans to allow a resumption of flights to and from countries that have had no cases of coronavirus for 30 days, state media cited the prime minister as saying.
* Australian banks doubled their lending to the most leveraged home owners in the March quarter, just as the country shut its economy, data shows.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* Dubai's non-oil private sector economy contracted in May although less than in previous months, as some restrictions to contain the new coronavirus were eased, a survey showed.
* Qatar will start lifting restrictions under a four-phase plan starting on June 15, when some mosques can reopen and flights can depart.
* Uganda's central bank again cut its benchmark lending rate by 100 basis points to support the economy as it downgraded projected growth.
ECONOMIC FALLOUT
* Stock market bulls were forced to a halt and high-flying currencies like the euro and Australian dollar lost altitude, as a weeks-long risk rally ran into some turbulence.[MKTS/GLOB]
* France's economy will take two years to recover from its worst post-war recession, the central bank said.
* German exports and imports slumped in April, posting their biggest declines since 1990, data showed.
* Finland's rapid recovery from the economic crisis looks unlikely, but the worst-case scenarios have so far been avoided, Bank of Finland said.
* Norwegian companies have slashed their investment plans because of the coronavirus outbreak and a subsequent slide in the price of crude oil, the country's main export, a central bank business survey showed.
* Japan's money stock, or currency in circulation and bank deposits, rose at a record pace in May as companies hoarded cash to guard against slumping sales, central bank data showed.
(Compiled by Devika Syamnath, Uttaresh.V and Linda Pasquini; Editing by Anil D'Silva and Arun Koyyur)
