FACTBOX-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

* Australia reported its highest daily number of coronavirus-related deaths in three months as new infections continued to climb in its second most populous state. * India reported a record jump of 45,720 in coronavirus infections on Wednesday, taking its total number of cases to 1.24 million, the health ministry said.

U.S. coronavirus cases were approaching 4 million on Thursday, with over 2,600 new cases every hour on average, the highest rate in the world, a Reuters tally showed.

DEATHS AND INFECTIONS * For an interactive graphic tracking the global spread, open https://tmsnrt.rs/3aIRuz7 in an external browser.

* For a U.S.-focused tracker with state-by-state and county map, open https://tmsnrt.rs/2w7hX9T in an external browser. * Eikon users, see MacroVitals (cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?navid=1592404098) for a case tracker and a summary of developments.

EUROPE * The European Commission extended until the end of October a waiver of customs duties and sales taxes on imported face masks and other medical gear to address shortages.

* European Union states have agreed on common hygiene standards on planes and at airports to help curb the spread of the new coronavirus, German Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer said. * Britain said it will provide 100 million pounds ($127 million) of funding for a facility to scale up the manufacturing of vaccines against the coronavirus.

* Belgium will tighten coronavirus containment measures on July 25 after a rise in infections. * Samples of wastewater from the Paris sewage system have been showing traces of the coronavirus since the end of June, the head of the laboratory leading the research said.

AMERICAS * U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said the White House is interested in getting a trillion-dollar coronavirus relief bill out quickly and will not include the payroll tax cut long sought by President Donald Trump.

* China plans to provide a $1 billion loan to make its coronavirus vaccine accessible for countries across Latin America and the Caribbean, the Mexican foreign ministry said. * Brazil and Argentina registered daily records for confirmed coronavirus cases on Wednesday, pushing the total number of cases in Latin America past 4 million.

ASIA-PACIFIC * Hong Kong reported a daily record in new cases on Thursday.

* Japan's capital has reported 366 new cases, a new daily record fuelling fears of a second round of infections. * Australia reported its highest daily number of coronavirus-related deaths in three months as new infections continued to climb in its second most populous state.

* India reported a record jump of 45,720 in coronavirus infections on Wednesday, taking its total number of cases to 1.24 million, the health ministry said. MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

* South Africa witnessed some 17,000 extra deaths from natural causes or 59% more than would normally be expected between early May and mid-July, scientists said, suggesting many more people are dying of COVID-19 than shown in official figures. * Baghdad International Airport reopened for scheduled commercial flights after months of closure, as Iraq's total number of infections passed 100,000.

* Israeli lawmakers empowered the government to order anti-coronavirus curbs with limited parliamentary oversight. MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS

* The U.S. government has set a benchmark for coronavirus vaccine, pricing in a $2 billion deal with Pfizer Inc and German biotech BioNTech SE that will likely pressure other manufacturers to set similar prices, industry analysts told Reuters. * A vaccine candidate developed by China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm) could be ready for public use by the end of this year, state media reported on Wednesday.

ECONOMIC FALLOUT * Stock markets rose on Thursday as better-than-expected corporate earnings in Europe offset worries about rising coronavirus cases and an escalation in tensions between the United States and China.

* A temporary basic income for the world's poorest 2.7 billion people in 132 developing countries could slow the spread by allowing them to stay home, a U.N. Development Programme (UNDP) report said. * Australia reported its biggest budget deficit since World War Two as the coronavirus crisis knocks the country into its first recession in three decades.

(Compiled by Linda Pasquini, Anita Kobylinska and Krishna Chandra Eluri; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu, Tomasz Janowski and Barbara Lewis)