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| - Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis: The US will buy 500 million vaccine doses to donate to poorer nations in a bid to "supercharge" the pandemic fight, with many parts of the world still struggling to contain the virus. India records a global record of more than 6,000 virus deaths in 24 hours after the eastern state of Bihar dramatically revises upwards its data, stoking suspicions that the country's toll is much higher than reported. The World Health Organization warns vaccination rates in Europe are still far off what is needed to stop a resurgence and calls on countries to maintain protective measures. Iran's confirmed cases surpass the three million mark, though daily cases and deaths continue a downward trend after peaking in April. The pandemic has had an unprecedented effect on human rights, fuelling racism and child abuse, the EU's rights agency says in its annual report. Singapore will begin slowly easing a month-long partial lockdown from next week after the curbs succeed in stemming an outbreak. Global plastics production declined in 2020 as a result of the pandemic, only the third time since World War II that output has fallen, an industry body says. People getting vaccinated in Canada's Manitoba province can enter a lottery to win a hefty cash prize or scholarship money in a bid to encourage jab uptake. The pandemic has killed at least 3,764,250 people worldwide since the virus first emerged in December 2019, according to an AFP compilation of official data. The US is the worst-affected country with 598,765 deaths, followed by Brazil with 479,515, India 359,676, Mexico 229,353, Peru 187,479 and Britain with 127,860. The figures are based on reports by health authorities in each country, but do not take into account upward revisions carried out later by statistical bodies. The WHO says up to three times more people have died directly or indirectly due to the pandemic than official figures suggest. burs-eab/fg/dl
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