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A vaccine to counter the new coronavirus could be approved in about a year in an "optimistic" scenario, a agency which approves medicines for the European Union said on Thursday.

Yemen's Saudi-backed government on Thursday reported the first cases of the novel coronavirus in the southern province of Al Dhalea, among 15 new infections that took the total in areas under its control to 85 with 12 deaths.

Two health advocacy groups have written to the Indian government asking it to rescind patents given to Gilead Sciences for the drug remdesivir so it can be distributed more fairly to coronavirus patients around the world, particularly in poorer nations.

France will go ahead with its tax on big digital businesses this year whether there is progress or not towards an international deal on the issue, its finance minister said on Thursday.

Germany's unlisted CureVac said its experimental coronavirus vaccine was shown to trigger an immune response in animals when given a low dose and the biotech firm was looking at carrying out its first human trials in June.

Moscow will begin free mass testing of citizens for the coronavirus from May 15, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on his website on Thursday, with a target of 100,000 people a day by the end of the month.

Around 148,000 people in England had COVID-19 in recent weeks, according to results on Thursday from a large-scale study in Britain into the spread of the disease.

More than a month after Indonesian President Joko Widodo promised to ramp up coronavirus testing, medical workers are complaining of persistent delays in the process.

The number of people in Ireland infected by someone who has tested positive for the new coronavirus stands at 0.4 to 0.6 ahead of the planned gradual reopening of the economy next week, Health Minister Simon Harris said 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 had already given preliminary approval to the tests.

Semiconductor firm Nvidia Corp on Thursday announced a new chip that can be digitally split up to run several different programs on one physical chip, a first for the company that matches a key capability on many of Intel Corp's chips.

France will go ahead with plans to apply a tax on digital businesses this year whether or not there is an international deal on the issue, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Thursday.

Germany's unlisted Curevac said its experimental coronavirus vaccine was shown to trigger an immune response in lab tests when used at a low dose and that the biotech firm would start first tests on humans in June.

Nvidia Corp, whose semiconductors power data centers, autonomous cars and robots, said on Thursday it plans to enter the market for technology that helps cars with automated lane-keeping, cruise control and other driver-assistance features.

Britain's approval of a COVID-19 antibody test is an "important breakthrough" and might lead to Britons being able to use health certificates if antibodies are present, a spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Thursday.

The COVID-19 death toll in the United Kingdom rose by 428 to 33,614, health officials said on Thursday.

Diagnostic services provider LabCorp said on Thursday it would make its COVID-19 tests available at workplaces, as employers across the United States look to bring people back to work safely.

Sanofi officials will attend a high-level meeting at the Elysee palace next week after comments by the French drugmaker that vaccines produced in the United States could go to U.S. patients first upset President Emmanuel Macron, an Elysee official said on Thursday.

Zoom Video Communications Inc said Thursday it plans to hire 500 software engineers for research and development locations in Phoenix and Pittsburgh over the next two years, expanding its engineering workforce by about 60%.

Spain's daily coronavirus death toll rose on Thursday to its highest in a week as authorities warned that a second wave of the outbreak was possible after a nationwide antibody survey showed about 5% of the population had contracted the virus.