Overview: China, Africa developments, Biden talks to Mexican president

May 2 (Reuters) - China's commercial capital of Shanghai was dealt a blow on Monday as authorities reported 58 new COVID-19 cases outside quarantine areas while Beijing pressed on with testing millions of its people on a May Day holiday few were celebrating. read more

* The protracted lockdown in Shanghai is slowing China's normally booming meat trade, with stringent COVID-19 measures causing logistics logjams across the food industry in a sign of the broadening disruptions to business. read more

* China's lockdowns to control the spread of COVID-19 are "cruel" and Taiwan will not follow suit, Premier Su Tseng-chang said. read more

* Sweden's ruling Social Democrats said they intend to strengthen unemployment benefit in 2022, an election year, at a cost of around 5 billion Swedish crowns ($509.2 million) by making some temporary benefits introduced during the pandemic permanent. ...

* Giant online retailer Amazon.com Inc will end its paid time-off policy for employees with COVID-19 from May 2, the company told U.S.-based staff. read more

* U.S. President Joe Biden had "constructive" talks with Mexican counterpart President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the White House said, as officials on both sides of the shared border fret about lapsing immigration restrictions. read more

* U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Sunday urged debt relief for African countries and more investment to help their economies recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and weather the impacts of the Ukraine war. read more

* Africa's first COVID-19 vaccination plant, touted last year as a trailblazer for an under-vaccinated continent frustrated by sluggish Western handouts, risks shutting down after receiving not a single order, a company executive said. read more

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ALSO SEE: Shanghai COVID outbreak shows signs of waning as cases fall