FACTBOX-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

India's coronavirus death toll neared the bleak milestone of 200,000 with another 2,771 fatalities reported on Tuesday, while its armed forces pledged urgent medical aid to help battle the staggering spike in infections.

DEATHS AND INFECTIONS

* Eikon users, see COVID-19: MacroVitals for a case tracker and summary of the news. EUROPE

* The European Commission launched legal action against AstraZeneca for not respecting its contract for the supply of vaccines and for not having a "reliable" plan to ensure timely deliveries.

AMERICAS

* Some U.S. lawmakers and wealthy technology executives have joined forces to boost aid to India as it grapples with a severe spike in coronavirus infections, with a focus on ensuring aid is equally distributed across the country, a Congress member said. * Canada will send the armed forces and Red Cross to Ontario to help the country's most populous province as it struggles to cope with a surge in hospitalizations from COVID-19, the country's public safety minister said on Monday.

* The United States will start to share up to 60 million doses of AstraZeneca's vaccine with other countries as soon as the next few weeks, the White House said. * The Brazilian health regulator Anvisa on Monday rejected importing the Russian-made Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine requested by state governors battling a deadly second wave of the virus that is battering Latin America's largest nation.

* Venezuela is interested in acquiring the Johnson & Johnson vaccine for its inoculation campaign, parliament chief Jorge Rodriguez said, adding that authorities want to know more about its side effects.

ASIA-PACIFIC

* Australia is set to consider a proposal on Tuesday to suspend flights from India to prevent more virulent coronavirus variants from entering the country following a surge in positive COVID-19 cases in the world's second-most populous nation. * Japan will open a mass vaccination center in central Tokyo next month, officials said on Tuesday, part of the country's bid to speed up its COVID-19 inoculation campaign as the Olympic Games looms.

* The World Health Organization expects to decide whether to give emergency approval for China's two main COVID-19 vaccines in the next two weeks.

* Thailand slapped restrictions on travel from India over concerns of imported cases and closed more venues in Bangkok, even as it came under fire for not doing enough to contain a spike in infections.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

* Health authorities are reallocating around 75% of the Democratic Republic of Congo's 1.7 million AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine doses to other African countries to make sure they're used before they expire, a UNICEF representative said on Monday.

* Turks will be required to stay mostly at home under a nationwide "full lockdown" starting on Thursday and lasting until May 17 to curb a surge in coronavirus infections and deaths, President Tayyip Erdogan announced on Monday. MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS

* Gilead Sciences will give India at least 450,000 vials of its COVID-19 drug remdesivir and donate active pharmaceutical ingredients to boost production, it said. ECONOMIC IMPACT

* The U.S. Chamber of Commerce warned the Indian economy, the world's sixth-largest, could falter as a result of a record spike in coronavirus cases, creating drag for the global economy.