India, the second worst coronavirus-hit country, recorded 92,605 fresh cases on Sunday in the past 24 hours, officials said.

According to the India’s federal health ministry, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country has risen to 5,400,619, reports Xinhua.

Meanwhile, 1,133 new deaths were also recorded.

The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases across India is 5,400,619 and the death toll is 86,752, the health ministry said.

According to ministry officials, 4,303,043 people have been discharged from hospitals after showing improvement.

The number of active cases in the country right now is 1,010,824, the ministry said.

Meanwhile, 63,661,060 samples were tested so far across the country, out of which 1,206,806 tests were conducted on Saturday alone, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said.

Currently, India is in the grip of COVID-19 pandemic and cases are increasing with every passing day.

Coronavirus cases across the globe reached 30,673,633 on Sunday, according to the Centre for System Science and Engineering of Johns Hopkins University (JHU).

Read Also: Covid-19: Global caseload now 3.67 mln

Protesters gathered Saturday in Bangkok for the most ambitious rally so far in a pro-democracy campaign that has shaken up the government and Thailand’s conservative establishment.

Organisers predicted that as many as 50,000 will march over two days in an area of the capital historically associated with political protests, after an estimated 10,000 people turned out for the last major rally on Aug. 16. But the early turnout was modest Saturday as a steady light rain fell.

Demonstrators wore face masks, but ignored a Thursday night plea from Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha to cancel the event, which he said risked spreading the coronavirus and derailing recovery of Thailand’s battered economy, reports AP.

The core demands declared by the protesters in July were the dissolution of parliament with fresh elections, a new constitution and an end to intimidation of political activists.

They believe that Prayuth, who as then-army commander led a 2014 coup toppling an elected government, was returned to power unfairly in last year’s general election because the laws had been changed to favor a pro-military party. A constitution promulgated under military rule is likewise undemocratic, they charge.

The mostly student activists raised the stakes dramatically at an Aug. 10 rally by issuing a 10-point manifesto calling for reforming the monarchy. Their demands seek to limit the king’s powers, establish tighter controls on palace finances and allow open discussion of the monarchy.

Also read: Thai student rallies protest dissolution of opposition party

Their boldness was virtually unprecedented, as the monarchy is considered sacrosanct in Thailand. A lese majeste law calls for a prison sentence of three to 15 years for anyone found guilty of defaming the royal institution.

The students are too young to have been caught up in the sometimes violent partisan political battles that roiled Thailand a decade ago, Kevin Hewison, a professor emeritus at the University of North Carolina and a veteran Thai studies scholar, said in an email interview.

“This is why they look and act differently and why they are so confounding for the regime,” Hewison said. “What the regime and its supporters see is relatively well-off kids turned against them and this confounds them.”

At least 8,000 police reportedly were deployed for the weekend protest, and prospects for confrontations appear high. Protest organizers have been said they will use Thammasat University and the adjacent field known as Sanam Luang as the rally venue, but had been denied permission to do so.

Undeterred, a small group pushed and argued Saturday at one of the university gates until it was opened, with no resistance from the authorities. Later, protesters began assembling a stage in Sanam Luang, despite police warnings that they were breaking the law.

“I cannot accept a system that is corrupt, but with the last few rallies there was no response from those who hold the power,” said one protester, Thanakorn Thatana. “The three core demands were ignored and even the most basic demand to stop harassing the people. The government didn’t listen to us, but instead there was an increase in harassment cases against even primary school kids.”

Arrests on charges including sedition for earlier actions have failed to faze the young activists.

Students launched the protest movement in February with rallies at universities around the country in reaction to a court ruling that dissolved the popular Future Forward Party and banned its leaders from political activity for 10 years.

The party won the third-highest number of seats in last year’s general election with an anti-establishment stance that attracted younger voters, and it is widely seen as being targeted for its popularity and for being critical of the government and the military.

But public protests were suspended in March when Thailand had its first major outbreak of the coronavirus and the government declared a state of emergency to cope with the crisis. The emergency decree is still in effect, and critics allege it is used to curb dissent.

Royalists have expressed shock at the students’ talk about the monarchy. Army commander Gen. Apirat Kongsompong indirectly but harshly criticized the protesters, declaring in a speech to military cadets that “COVID-19 can be cured ... but the disease that cannot be cured is the hatred of the nation.”

But actual blowback so far has been minor, with only half-hearted organizing efforts by mostly older royalists.

India's federal health ministry on Friday said about 30 Covid-19 vaccines were under various stages of development in the country, reports Xinhua.

According to the ministry, of the 30 vaccines, three were in the advanced stage.

"Nationally, nearly 30 COVID-19 vaccine candidates are under development, by both industry and academia. These vaccines are in different stages of pre-clinical and clinical development of which three candidates are in advanced stage of Phase I/II/III trials and four are in advanced pre-clinical development stage," Federal Health Minister Harsh Vardhan told the Indian parliament.

One COVID-19 vaccine is likely to be available by the beginning of the next year, said the minister.

According to the minister, a high-level expert group was looking into matters related to vaccine distribution and immunization.

"The distribution and immunization of the coronavirus vaccine are subject to availability. Once available, the coronavirus vaccine distribution follows the same route as for the current practice of vaccines distribution under Universal Immunization Program (UIP)," Vardhan said

India is in the grip of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the cases are increasing with each passing day.

India Friday said the number of COVID-19 cases in the country has reached 5,214,677 including 84,372 deaths.

Globally India is the second worst-hit country by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read Also: India records 96k new COVID-19 cases

China's satellite producer Galaxy Space announced that its new broadband communication satellite has entered the assembly stage after the company completed the development of satellite payloads

The satellite will be the second of the Beijing-based company, which aims to build a broadband satellite constellation in low-Earth orbit and create a global 5G communication network, reports news agency Xinhua.

Its first communication satellite was sent into space in January this year.

Also read: China sends nine satellites into orbit by sea launch

China's commercial satellite sector is expecting a boost after "satellite internet" was added to a list of "new infrastructures" in April by the National Development and Reform Commission.

China is going to introduce new measures to improve the management of nursing homes and standardise the services for sound growth of the elderly care service industry, an official said Thursday.

The new measures contained a revised regulation on nursing homes that will take into effect on November 1.

The regulation includes provisions on the registration, supervision, operation and legal liabilities of nursing homes, Xiao Dengfeng, an official with the Ministry of Civil Affairs, told a press conference, reports Xinhua.

According to the new regulation, nursing homes will be categorised into for-profit and non-profit institutions, he said.

The document highlights the role of the government in running elderly care institutions to ensure that the basic needs of the poor population are met.

Nursing homes established by the government can be run by private organisations through entrusted management, leasing or other means.

The document also encourages extended facilities for the elderly, such as community elderly care and home-based services, Xiao said.

The document states that civil affairs departments should perform their supervision and inspection duties in accordance with the law.

They can take measures against elderly care institutions suspected of violations of laws and regulations.

Also read: Coronavirus: Largest study suggests elderly and sick are most at risk