Briefly

INDIA

Coronavirus tally now world's 2nd-highest

India on Monday overtook Brazil as the country with the second-highest number of coronavirus infections, as it reported a new daily record of more than 168,000 cases. The vast nation of 1.3 billion people has been reporting a rapid increase in new infections in recent weeks, with the surge taking the total toll to 13.5 million cases, just above Brazil's 13.48 million. Experts have warned that huge, mostly maskless and tightly packed crowds at political rallies in poll-bound states, mass religious festivals, and at other public places were fueling the new wave of infections.

RUSSIA

60 years on, Gagarin spaceflight honored

Russians on Monday celebrated the 60th anniversary of the first manned flight to space carried out by cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin as the Soviet hero remains one of the most admired figures in the country. Russian President Vladimir Putin traveled to Engels, a southern city on the banks of the Volga River where a memorial stands to honor the flight. On April 12, 1961, Gagarin's Vostok spacecraft took off from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, then part of the Soviet Union, as the 27-year-old exclaimed his iconic catchphrase "Let's go!". His flight lasted just 108 minutes, the time it took to complete one loop around the Earth, before returning to home soil. The day of Gagarin's flight is celebrated every year in Russia as Cosmonautics Day.

SAUDI ARABIA

Houthi rebels claim attack on refineries

Yemen's Houthi movement said on Monday it had fired 17 drones and two ballistic missiles at Saudi targets, including toward Saudi Aramco refineries in Jubail and Jeddah. There was no immediate Saudi confirmation. Saudi Aramco, the state oil firm, said when contacted by Reuters that it would respond at the earliest opportunity. The Saudi-led coalition that intervened in Yemen's war in 2015 against the Houthis said late on Sunday that it had intercepted and destroyed six armed Houthi drones.

AUSTRALIA

Towns damaged as cyclone hits west

A destructive cyclone damaged several towns on Australia's western coast, shattering windows, snapping trees and knocking out power. Tropical Cyclone Seroja crossed the Western Australia state coast south of the tourist town of Kalbarri with winds gusting up to 170 kilometers per hour shortly after dark on Sunday, officials said on Monday. Around 70 percent of buildings in Kalbarri, a town of 1,400 people, had been damaged, officials said. Other coastal towns sustained less damage. Government utility Western Power reported 31,500 customers had lost power.

Agencies - Xinhua