EUROPE

* The number of new infections in France has risen by 2288, a new post-lockdown high.

* Norway is urging citizens to avoid all travel abroad, even to countries with few cases.

* Switzerland has signed an agreement with Moderna to secure early access to a vaccine under development.

AMERICAS

* Congressional Democrats have offered to reduce their proposed coronavirus aid package by $US1 trillion ($A1.4 trillion) if Republicans add a trillion to their counter-offer but President Donald Trump turned them down.

* Mexico's energy secretary, Rocio Nahle, is quarantining after being in contact with a person who tested positive for COVID-19.

* The US State Department is urging citizens not to travel to Mexico, despite easing a global travel ban.

ASIA-PACIFIC

* Russia has offered to supply a coronavirus vaccine to the Philippines or team up with a local firm to mass produce it, as infections in the Southeast Asian nation surge.

* India's total number of cases has climbed above two million.

* Hong Kong will offer free voluntary testing for residents, as it races to contain a resurgence of the virus.

* Japan will buy 120 million doses of AstraZeneca's experimental vaccine from early next year.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

* Uganda's prison population has swollen by 10 per cent since March, with thousands jailed for alleged violations of coronavirus lockdown rules.

* Africa's confirmed cases have surpassed one million.

MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS

* An approved coronavirus vaccine could end up being effective only 50-60 per cent of the time, says top US infectious diseases expert Anthony Fauci.

* Pfizer has signed a multiyear agreement to make COVID-19 treatment remdesivir for developer Gilead Sciences Inc .

* The United States will need to have independent experts review COVID-19 vaccine candidates before approval.

* Takeda Pharmaceutical will manufacture and sell up to 250 million doses of Novavax Inc's vaccine candidate in Japan every year.

* India's Serum Institute will get $US150 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the GAVI vaccines alliance to make 100 million COVID-19 vaccine doses for India and other emerging economies.

ECONOMIC FALLOUT

* US employment growth slowed considerably in July, underscoring an urgent need for additional aid.

* Extending Britain's furlough scheme would leave some workers trapped in false hope they could return to their jobs after the pandemic, its finance minister says.

Australian Associated Press