India recorded 44,489 new coronavirus infections, data from the health ministry showed on Thursday, the 19th straight day that single-day cases have stayed below the 50,000 mark.

Japanese shares edged higher on Thursday, as tech shares tracked overnight gains on the Nasdaq, although worries over latest coronavirus restrictions at home hindering economic recovery capped gains.

Proxy adviser Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) said that Ziopharm Oncology Inc shareholders should elect two of the three board members proposed by WaterMill Asset Management Corp, after the investor earlier urged the biotechnology company to oust half of its board.

Americans defied pleas from state and local officials to stay home for the Thanksgiving holiday in the face of the surging coronavirus pandemic, triggering fresh warnings from health officials with the release of vaccines still weeks away.

The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on Wednesday proposed to lower the fee for healthcare exchange issuers under the Affordable Care Act as part of the Trump administration's efforts to reduce healthcare insurance premiums.

All adults should do a minimum of 150 minutes of vigorous physical activity per week, even more vital for well-being and mental health in the COVID-19 era, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday in its first guidance in a decade.

Germany will make mask-wearing obligatory in all pedestrian high-traffic areas as well as in city centres, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday, adding that a lockdown imposed this month to slow the spread of COVID-19 may have to be extended into January.

Germany will extend restrictive measures imposed early this month under a month-long "lockdown light" to slow the spread of the coronavirus until Dec. 20, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday.

Global COVID-19 cases hit 60 million on Wednesday, while millions of Americans traveled for Thanksgiving, turning a blind eye to official warnings, record hospitalizations and a surging death toll.

* Bloc dogged by chronic drugs shortages made worse by COVID-19 (Adds pharmaceutical industry reaction)