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British opposition Labour leader Keir Starmer will question Prime Minister Boris Johnson over his strategy to tackle the coronavirus outbreak, including on testing and support for social care, in a phone call later on Wednesday.

When the coronavirus outbreak in China disrupted global smartphone production in February, Samsung looked set to weather the crisis better than most thanks to its limited exposure there and launches of pricey 5G phones. Its fortunes are reversing.

Shares in sensor producer AMS jumped 22% after the Apple supplier gave an upbeat forecast for the current quarter and the remainder of the year, soothing investors who fear a slump in smartphone demand due to the coronavirus crisis.

The coronavirus pandemic is a long way from over, German Health Minister Jens Spahn said on Wednesday, announcing measures, including ramped-up purchases of flu vaccines, to help ready the healthcare system for a long-term challenge.

The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Sweden rose past the 20,000 mark on Wednesday as the Nordic country reported 107 new deaths to put the tally at 2,462 since the outbreak began.

The Netherlands' number of confirmed coronavirus cases has risen by 386 to 38,802 health authorities said on Wednesday, with 145 new deaths.

Australia's prime minister Scott Morrison said on Wednesday bans on international travel and large gatherings would stay in place even as the government eases lockdowns and moves towards a "COVID-safe" economy and society.

A 30-year-old woman serving a 26-month sentence for maintaining a drug-affiliated business died of COVID-19 on Tuesday several weeks after giving birth to her child while she was on a ventilator, the U.S. Bureau of Prisons said.

Shares in Wirecard slumped again on Wednesday as a prominent short seller demanded the sacking of CEO Markus Braun after a special audit of the German payments company was unable to verify its financial statements.

The United States has reported more than a million coronavirus infections only because of its testing, President Donald Trump said on Wednesday, hailing the effort as being "much better than any other country in the world".

Indonesia confirmed 260 new coronavirus infections on Wednesday, taking the total in the Southeast Asian nation to 9,771, said health ministry official Achmad Yurianto.

Almost all areas of Spain have a ratio of contagion per patient, dubbed the 'R' number, below 1, head of health emergencies Fernando Simon said on Wednesday.

The social media platform TikTok and the philanthropic Gates Foundation donated $10 million each on Wednesday to the vaccine alliance GAVI to help fund efforts to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa.

Facebook Inc ad sales appear to have ticked up since late March, offering investors reason for optimism even as decimated advertising budgets from the coronavirus are expected to weigh heavily on first-quarter earnings, according to data from firms that track online ads.

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd said on Wednesday it expected profit to decline in the current quarter due to a coronavirus-related slump in sales of smartphones and TVs, although the chip business would remain solid.

Sales at GN Store Nord's audio business jumped in the first quarter as demand for headsets and webcams from locked down workers soared, and the Danish company said the boom would continue as it caught up with the order backlog.

South Korea's SK Innovation Co Ltd, a supplier for Volkswagen and Ford Motors, will spend $727 million to build its second electric vehicle (EV) battery plant in the United States, the company said on Tuesday.

Australia plans to expand screening for the coronavirus after securing 10 million more test kits on Wednesday, a measure officials said is key to sustaining low transmission rates and allowing restrictions on social movement to be eased.

Sensor specialist AMS said on Wednesday it expects the impact from the coronavirus in the second quarter to be limited, as it reported first-quarter revenues within the upper half of its own forecast.

At least five of Mexico City's largest private hospitals have filled up with coronavirus patients and have no room for new ones, doctors and hospital workers said on Tuesday, though more than 100 other medical centers have available beds.