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Some 3.05 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 211,376 have died, according to a Reuters tally, as of 1400 GMT on Tuesday.

Commercial buildings shuttered for weeks to stem the spread of the coronavirus could fuel another grisly lung infection: Legionnaires’ disease.

As more Japanese restaurants shut down and people stay home during the country's state of emergency to fight the coronavirus, experts say rats may be expanding their search for food to deserted streets once crowded with humans.

Britain said on Tuesday it would end support for four projects designed to boost the number of ventilators available in the battle against coronavirus, as it backs eleven other devices.

Britain's coronavirus testing scheme will be opened up to a much wider pool of people including those over the age of 65 with symptoms, and all care home residents, health minister Matt Hancock said on Tuesday.

Some children in the United Kingdom with no underlying health conditions have died from a rare inflammatory syndrome which researchers believe to be linked to COVID-19, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on Tuesday.

(This April 27 story corrects fourth para to say one-third, not one-quarter, of all cases are in the United States. Corrects fifth para to say one in 15 reported cases has been fatal, not one in seven)

British scientists advising the government have concluded that wearing a face mask has a small effect on stopping a coronavirus carrier from infecting someone else, and the evidence is weak, Deputy Chief Scientific Adviser Angela McLean said on Tuesday.

President Vladimir Putin extended coronavirus lockdown measures for another two weeks on Tuesday, while ordering his government to begin preparations for a gradual lifting of the curbs from mid-May.

Iranians should be cautious but not afraid of the coronavirus, President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday as the country eases restrictions in an attempt to return to normal life.

Senator Josh Hawley urged the Justice Department on Tuesday to open a criminal probe of Amazon.com Inc, saying the online retailer was building a monopoly using "predatory data practices" on vendors using its platform.

French lawmakers will be allowed to debate and vote on the government's contact-tracing app once the government is confident it can prevent a resurgence of the coronavirus epidemic, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said on Tuesday.

Claims that the coronavirus pandemic originated in a laboratory in the Chinese city of Wuhan have no basis in fact, the head of the lab told Reuters, adding that there were still no conclusive answers as to where the disease started.

An independent investigation by auditor KPMG into Wirecard found on Tuesday the German payments company did not provide sufficient documentation to address all allegations of accounting irregularities made by the Financial Times.

With the pandemic hobbling the meat-packing industry, Iowa farmer Al Van Beek had nowhere to ship his full-grown pigs to make room for the 7,500 piglets he expected from his breeding operation. The crisis forced a decision that still troubles him: He ordered his employees to give injections to the pregnant sows, one by one, that would cause them to abort their baby pigs.

The Spanish government was expected to outline on Tuesday how regions can begin phasing out one of Europe's toughest lockdowns as the daily death toll from the coronavirus fell to 301, less than a third of a record high of 950 in early April.

Germany's coronavirus infection rate has edged up from earlier this month and people should stay at home as much as they can despite a lockdown relaxation last week, the head of the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases said on Tuesday.

U.S. cases of the novel coronavirus were approaching 1 million on Tuesday, having doubled in 18 days, and made up one-third of all infections in the world, according to a Reuters tally.

A further 552 people who tested positive for COVID-19 have died in English hospitals, taking the toll there to 19,301, officials said on Tuesday.

Global payment service provider Checkout.com said on Tuesday it would join Libra Association, the entity managing the Facebook-led effort to build global digital currency Libra.