FACTBOX - Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

INDIA reported on Tuesday 28,204 COVID-19 infections over the last 24 hours, the lowest since March 16. Australia's New South Wales state reported 356 locally acquired cases, its biggest daily rise.

EUROPE

* Germany wants to end free coronavirus tests in October, the RND group of newspapers reported on Monday, citing a draft proposal to be discussed by Chancellor Angela Merkel and leaders of the country's 16 states.

* The European Union will not change its safe travel list this week, an EU official told Reuters on Monday, allowing non-essential travel from the United States to continue for the time being.

ASIA-PACIFIC

* Australian authorities on Tuesday vowed to crank up policing of anti-COVID-19 lockdown rules in Sydney, but dismissed suggestions that tougher measures, including a curfew, were needed after the city reported its biggest single-day new case number yet.

* Thailand reported on Tuesday a daily record of 235 new coronavirus deaths, bringing the country's total accumulated fatalities to 6,588.

* Under pressure from businesses and public sectors facing a worker shortage that policymakers fear will fuel inflation, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is due to unveil plans this week to reopen the country's borders.

AMERICAS

* Only eight intensive care unit beds were available on Monday in the state of Arkansas, its governor said, as the rapid spread of the Delta variant of the coronavirus pushed cases and hospitalizations in the United States to a six-month high.

* Nearly 60% of the U.S. population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine as of Monday morning, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

* The U.S. CDC warned on Monday against travel to Israel, France, Thailand, Iceland and several other countries.

* Canada will extend its ban on arriving passenger flights from India to Sept. 21 because of the risks posed by COVID-19, the federal transport ministry said in a statement on Monday.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

* One person is now dying from COVID-19 every two minutes in Iran, state TV said.

MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS

* Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc is focused on launching the global late-stage trial of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate next month, chief executive Joseph Kim said in a call, with the drug developer expecting trial data in the first half of next year.

* South Korea gave vaccine developer SK Bioscience the green light on Tuesday for a Phase III study of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate at a time of vaccine shortages, when a spurt in infections is fuelling demand.

ECONOMIC IMPACT

* Asian stocks started off on a weak footing on Tuesday after a largely soft performance on Wall Street and as persistent concerns over the spread of the Delta variant of the coronavirus dented sentiment and triggered falls in metals and oil prices.

* A measure of Australian business conditions worsened sharply for a second month in July as lockdowns took a heavy toll on service industries and confidence in general.

* Japan's bank lending rose in July at the slowest annual pace in nearly nine years, data showed on Tuesday, a sign companies were emerging steadily from a cash crunch last year caused by the pandemic.