FACTBOX-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

Britain's COVID-19 cases rose by nearly 41% over the past week, while the chief of the Tokyo 2020 organising committee did not rule out cancelling the Olympics if infections spiked, as more athletes tested positive and sponsors ditched plans to attend Friday's opening ceremony.

Britain's COVID-19 cases rose by nearly 41% over the past week, while the chief of the Tokyo 2020 organising committee did not rule out cancelling the Olympics if infections spiked, as more athletes tested positive and sponsors ditched plans to attend Friday's opening ceremony. 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

* The vast majority of new cases in Spain in the past five weeks were detected among non-vaccinated people. * London's High Court ruled that Britain acted lawfully over its so-called traffic lights system for travellers entering Britain in a case brought by Manchester Airports Group, backed by a number of airlines.

ASIA-PACIFIC * India's excess deaths during the pandemic could be as high as 4.9 million, a new study shows, providing further evidence that millions more may have died than the official tally.

* The spread of the Delta variant is reaching alarming levels in Pakistan's largest city Karachi on the eve of the Eid al Adha Muslim holiday as public and some private sector hospitals are reaching capacity and have started refusing patients, medical officials said. * Indonesia extended its restrictions to July 25 as infections remained high, aiming for a gradual easing of curbs next week if infections drop.

* South Korea's prime minister and defence minister apologised as hundreds of COVID-19-infected sailors were flown to Seoul after a navy destroyer patrolling the waters off Africa was found to be riddled with the coronavirus. AMERICAS

* The Delta variant is the cause of more than 80% of new U.S. cases, but the authorised vaccines remain more than 90% effective in preventing hospitalisations and deaths, said top U.S. infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci during a Senate hearing. * A fully vaccinated White House official tested positive off site, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said. Psaki also said she is in regular contact with the conservative news network Fox News about its coverage of the vaccine.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA * Turkey's daily cases rose to 8,780 on Tuesday, nearly double a low water mark touched earlier this month.

* Iran imposed a one-week lockdown in the capital and a nearby province as daily caseloads hit a record high, state television reported. MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS

* Europe's drug regulator said it had started a real-time review of the vaccine developed by French drugmaker Sanofi and Britain's GlaxoSmithKline, the fifth shot currently under such a review. * Scientists are working on a benchmark for COVID-19 vaccine efficacy that would allow drugmakers to conduct smaller, speedier human trials to get them to market and address a huge global vaccine shortage.

ECONOMIC IMPACT * Wall Street made a comeback on Tuesday with all the major indexes rising, and yields on other safe havens including U.S. Treasuries bounced off lows even as worries remained about a resurgence in COVID-19.

* U.S. homebuilding increased more than expected in June, but permits for future home construction fell to an eight-month low, likely reflecting hesitancy caused by expensive building materials as well as shortages of labour and land. (Compiled by Devika Syamnath and Federico Maccioni; Edited by Angus MacSwan and Shounak Dasgupta)