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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Thursday that Abbott Laboratories’ speedy coronavirus test, which can deliver results within minutes and is used at the White House, could potentially be inaccurate but can still be used to test patients.

Germany's financial watchdog BaFin said it has no plans to ban short-selling in payments company Wirecard even as hedge funds increased their bets speculating on a fall in the company's share price.

Taiwan's Foxconn posted an almost 90% drop in first-quarter profit on Friday, as the coronavirus pandemic disrupted production and hit demand from Apple Inc and other major clients.

Britain has given the green light to Abbott Laboratories to produce a COVID-19 antibody test, shortly after it gave the same approval to Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding, health officials said on Friday.

Any vaccine to fight the new coronavirus will not be ready for use for at least two years, the chief executive of Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis, which no longer makes vaccines itself, told a German newspaper.

Beijing has hosted a teleconference with its Pacific island nation allies to discuss COVID-19 aid and publicised their pledge to support the "One China" principle and "oppose any attempt" to politicise the coronavirus pandemic.

Swedish DIY and homewares firm Clas Ohlson said on Friday it would reach its profitability target in its fiscal year through April as sales remained robust in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Here's what you need to know about the coronavirus right now:

Thailand reported seven new coronavirus cases on Friday, while the number of deaths remained unchanged at 56.

Swiss drugmaker Roche said on Friday it will start selling a new digital diagnostics product that may simplify and accelerate screening of patients with breathing problems during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Illicit drug markets in the Asia-Pacific continue to expand and diversify and appear to be largely unaffected by the coronavirus outbreak, the United Nations said on Friday.

Osang Healthcare Co, the first South Korean maker of coronavirus test kits to win preliminary approval from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, is ready to ship kits that can test 100 million people in the United States, an executive said on Friday.

Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings has joined the Facebook-backed Libra digital currency project which has faced intense scrutiny from global regulators worried its launch could erode national control over money.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 913 to 173,152, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Friday.

Global coronavirus deaths passed 300,000 on Thursday as infections approached 4.5 million, according to a Reuters tally, with the United States responsible for more than a quarter of all fatalities.

The U.S. Department of Labor issued its first workplace guidance to nursing homes on Thursday since the COVID-19 pandemic swept the country and ravaged care facilities, saying residents, staff and visitors should keep 6 feet (1.83 meters) apart.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday issued guidelines to help schools and workplaces determine whether they are ready to open for business.

Brazil and Mexico on Thursday reported a record one-day rise in new coronavirus cases, just as leaders of both countries intensified attempts to reopen their economies even as the spread of the virus in Latin America is seemingly gathering pace.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd, the world's biggest contract manufacturer of computer chips, on Friday announced plans to build an approximately $12 billion advanced chip factory in Arizona.

(This May 13 story corrects to remove reference to University of Kentucky trial in penultimate paragraph)