FACTBOX-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

Global financial leaders will agree on Wednesday to boost the International Monetary Fund's resources by $650 billion to better help vulnerable countries deal with the effects of the COVIOD-19 pandemic, a draft communique showed. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) expects to hold a briefing on possible side effects of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine at 1600 CET (1400 GMT).

DEATHS AND INFECTIONS * Eikon users, see COVID-19: MacroVitals https://apac1.apps.cp.thomsonreuters.com/cms/?navid=1592404098 for a case tracker and summary of news.

EUROPE * Britain began using Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday in Wales as its rollout of other shots fell to their lowest level this year due to a supply crunch caused by manufacturing problems at AstraZeneca.

* Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny has tested negative for the coronavirus, his lawyer Olga Mikhailova said, adding that he has taken a second test. * The European Union denied blocking shipments of 3.1 million doses of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine to Australia, as the bloc steps up scrutiny of vaccine exports to address shortages.

AMERICAS * Several countries are scurrying to contain fresh COVID-19 outbreaks, a record 115,736 new cases on Wednesday, while U.S. President Joe Biden moved up the vaccine eligibility target for all American adults to April 19.

ASIA-PACIFIC * India's second wave of infections continued to swell as it reported a record 115,736 new cases, a 13-fold increase in just over two months, raising pressure on the government to expand its vaccination campaign.

* Japan's western region of Osaka cancelled Olympic torch events scheduled across the prefecture, as record coronavirus infections prompted its government to declare a medical emergency. * South Korea reported its highest single-day number of new cases in three months amid a rise in cluster infections, as it approved a Johnson & Johnson vaccine in a bid to expedite its inoculation campaign.

* Thailand has diagnosed 24 cases of the coronavirus variant B.1.1.7 first detected in Britain, a virologist said, its first reported domestic transmission of the highly contagious mutation. * Taiwan worked with other democracies to help its diplomatic ally Paraguay get COVID-19 vaccines after China put pressure on the South American country to ditch Taipei in exchange for shots, and India stepped in to help, Taiwan's foreign minister said.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA * The Supreme Committee to Combat Coronavirus in Oman said Omani citizens coming to the Sultanate through various land, sea and air ports will be exempt from the mandatory institutional quarantine but still must quarantine at home.

MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS * Indian drugmaker Shilpa Medicare Ltd has the capacity to manufacture 100-200 million doses of a protein-based vaccine for COVID-19, a company executive told Reuters.

* The University of Oxford said it had paused a small UK trial testing the COVID-19 vaccine it developed with AstraZeneca in children and teenagers, as it waits for more data on rare blood clotting issues in adults who received the shot. ECONOMIC IMPACT

* Asian shares pulled back from a three-week high, dragged lower by Chinese stocks, though investors were still focused on upcoming company earnings for more signs of a global economic recovery. * Germany's public sector deficit reached 189.2 billion euros ($225 billion) in 2020 thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, the first deficit since 2013 and the highest budget shortfall since German reunification three decades ago, the Statistics Office said.

* The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) kept interest rates at record lows but committed to a massive government bond purchase programme, keeping monetary policy accommodative amid concerns rising COVID-19 cases could derail a nascent economic recovery. (Compiled by Federico Maccioni, Vinay Dwivedi and Uttaresh.V; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)