Briefly

INDIA

Nation's coronavirus cases pass 5 million

India's total coronavirus cases passed 5 million on Wednesday, Health Ministry data showed, as the pandemic extends its grip on the vast country at an ever-faster rate. With its latest 1 million cases recorded in just 11 days, a world record, India now has 5.02 million infections. Only the United States has more, with 6.59 million. India has for some time been recording the world's biggest daily jumps in cases, and on Wednesday, the rise was more than 90,000 with a record 1,290 deaths. While India took 167 days to reach 1 million cases, the next million came in just 21 days, faster than in the US and Brazil, according to the Times of India. Just 29 days later, India became only the third country after the US and Brazil to post 4 million infections. India passed Brazil earlier this month.

SOUTH KOREA

Vaccines planned for 60 percent of people

South Korea has said it plans to spend $146 million to procure coronavirus vaccines, initially aiming to secure a supply for 30 million people, or 60 percent of its population, as it battles persistent outbreaks of new cases. The population target is higher than a World Health Organization goal for the early purchase of supplies for 20 percent of the world's most vulnerable people, and at least 40 percent agreed by European Union nations, the United Kingdom and EU partners for their populations. While South Korean authorities would like to inoculate the entire population of 52 million, uncertainty around any vaccine's safety, efficacy and development was limiting investment, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun told a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

UKRAINE

Strategic exercises to be held with NATO

Ukraine will hold strategic command-staff exercises known as Joint Efforts 2020 with NATO members, a senior military official said on Tuesday. According to Oleksiy Taran, head of the General Directorate of Doctrine and Training of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, US and British military units will take part in the exercises to jointly carry out combat training missions. Up to 200 foreign instructors, military advisers and observers from NATO, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Lithuania and Poland will follow the exercises. He said they will be held during Sept 22-25 and more than 100 military units, 12,000 weapons and up to 700 units of military equipment will be involved.

Agencies - Xinhua