The United States recorded 1,297 coronavirus deaths on Thursday, bringing its total to 101,573 since the global pandemic began, according to a tally kept by Johns Hopkins University.

France on Thursday announced the long-awaited nationwide reopening of bars, restaurants and cafes from June 2, albeit with restrictions, and lifted limitations on domestic travel in time for the summer holidays.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Thursday some English schools and shops would reopen from next week as he tried to end a scandal over what police said appeared to be a "minor" lockdown breach by his closest adviser.

The Philippines will lift key coronavirus lockdown measures in the nation's capital, President Rodrigo Duterte said Thursday, aiming to resuscitate a faltering economy after nearly three months of strict home quarantine.

Manila has endured one of the world's longest lockdowns, which has hit the livelihoods of millions of workers but not halted a steady stream of new infections.  

England launched a "test and trace" system on Thursday, the latest weapon deployed in a battle to halt the coronavirus's spread in one of the worst affected countries in the world.

Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche said Thursday that it is planning to test whether a mix of its arthritis drug tocilizumab and Gilead's antiviral drug remdesivir could treat severe cases of COVID-19 effectively.

Unthinkable just a few months ago, the United States on Wednesday surpassed the grim milestone of 100,000 coronavirus deaths, as the pandemic tightened its grip on Latin America.

With the European Union unveiling a massive recovery plan to step up its emergence from the crisis, the US figure was a sobering reminder of the devastation being wreaked around the globe by a virus that only emerged late last year.

As the novel coronavirus wreaks global havoc, Bill Gates is the new bete noire for conspiracy theorists worldwide including in Africa where a Kenyan politician's false online post has added major fuel to the spread of misinformation.

- Massive EU aid plan -

The European Union proposes a 750-billion-euro ($825-billion) post-virus recovery fund for Europe and urges skeptical member states to back it.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday said the European Union should take more global responsibility in the coronavirus crisis, especially as ties with the United States were currently "difficult".