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President Emmanuel Macron will meet the chief executive of French pharmaceutical firm Sanofi on May 19, a presidential official said on Thursday, after Paul Hudson angered the government earlier by saying some countries would get priority access to a coronavirus vaccine.

Fortnite-creator Epic Games' digital videogame store was down on Thursday as it recorded huge traffic after reports that it was giving the premium edition of "Grand Theft Auto V" for free.

Doctors in northern Italy, one of the areas hardest hit by the new coronavirus, and in France have reported spikes in cases of a rare inflammatory syndrome in young children that appears similar to one reported in the United States, Britain and Spain, according to a report in The Lancet.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) said on Thursday it began a study to evaluate the combination of antibiotic azithromycin and malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, which was previously touted by U.S. President Donald Trump as a "game changer", for the treatment of COVID-19.

The reproduction rate for the coronavirus in Germany remained below the key threshold of 1 according to both the conventional calculation method and a new, less volatile measure, the Robert Koch Institute for disease control said on Thursday.

Sanofi will ensure that a potential vaccine against COVID-19, if approved, reaches all regions of the world at the same time, the chairman of the French drugmaker said on Thursday.

Researchers from Utrecht University said on Thursday they are in talks with major pharmaceutical manufacturers on developing an antibody treatment for the new coronavirus.

France's cumulative coronavirus death toll edged back above Spain's as the health ministry reported that the number of people who died of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours increased by 351 or 1.3% to 27,425.

A powerful Venezuelan official is seeking an investigation of the nation's academy of scientists for publishing research that questioned official figures on coronavirus cases and estimated the pandemic may hit the country hard in the coming months.

Satellite operator Intelsat SA said late on Wednesday that it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, making it the latest casualty of severe business disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

A closely watched coronavirus vaccine being developed by scientists at Oxford University appears protective in a small study of six monkeys, promising findings that led to the start of human trials late last month, U.S. and British researchers reported on Thursday.

Britain is in talks with Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG to buy an accurate COVID-19 antibody test, following the lead of the European Union and United States which have already given preliminary approval to the tests.

Britain's coronavirus test-and-trace app has been downloaded by 72,300 residents of the Isle of Wight, where it is being trialled, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said on Thursday.

France's cumulative coronavirus death toll edged over Spain's again as France reported on Thursday the number of people who died of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours increased by 351 or 1.3% to 27,425.

Commuters squinted as they streamed into a bus station in the South African township of Soweto on a bright Thursday, but not because of the glare - they were being sprayed with a solution meant to fight the coronavirus.

The United States on Thursday condemned attempts by China-linked "cyber actors and non-traditional collectors affiliated" to steal U.S. intellectual property and data related to coronavirus research, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said.

Sanofi chief executive Paul Hudson said on Thursday it was vital that any coronavirus vaccine reach all parts of the world, after angering the French government earlier by saying some countries would get priority access.

Sanofi chief executive Paul Hudson on Thursday said it was vital that any coronavirus vaccine reach all regions, hours after the pharmaceutical giant was admonished by the French government for suggesting some countries would get priority access.

As Europe gingerly eases its coronavirus lockdowns, many governments are scrambling to buy antibody tests to find out how many of their citizens were infected, in the hope that will help them craft strategies to avoid a second wave of COVID-19 cases.

France said on Thursday that the world's nations would have equal access to any coronavirus vaccine developed by pharmaceuticals giant Sanofi, a day after the CEO suggested that Americans would likely be the first in line.