* The longstanding collaboration between the United States and Russia in operating the International Space Station (ISS) appears to be on solid footing even as tensions between the two countries build over the Ukraine crisis.
* Global commodity prices jumped towards multi-year highs on Thursday as Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine, with prices responding in knee-jerk fashion despite steady export flows of Russian oil, gas, grains and metals to the West.
* NATO will take additional steps to strengthen the alliance's deterrence and defence after Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine, the alliance said in a statement on Thursday.
* Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Thursday that Greece has secured energy supplies amid high tension over Russia-Ukraine standoff.
* The World Health Organization said on Wednesday it has set up a hub in the Republic of Korea to train low- and middle-income countries to produce their own vaccines and therapies, and is expanding its COVID-19 vaccine project to a further five nations.
* Extending the interval between the first two doses of the most widely used COVID-19 vaccines in the country to eight weeks for young men can reduce the rare risk of heart inflammation, US health officials said.
* Japan said on Thursday international travellers showing proof of a COVID-19 vaccination with the Johnson & Johnson JNJ.N shot would be allowed in and be eligible for a shorter time in quarantine when border controls are eased next month.
* The Omicron BA.2 sub-variant of COVID-19 appears to be more infectious than the original BA.1 sub-variant, but does not cause more severe disease, the head of Africa's top public health body said on Thursday citing data from South Africa.
* As COVID-19 cases ease in the United States, major tech giants and banks are asking its vaccinated employees to return to work and restoring office perks.
* Canada is ending rarely used special measures invoked nine days ago to tackle weeks-long protests that shut some border crossings and paralyzed Ottawa since late-January, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday.
* The Italian government will end the COVID-19 state of emergency on March 31, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said on Wednesday, promising a gradual return to normal after more than two years of the health crisis.
* Switzerland will donate up to 15 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to other countries by the middle of this year, having secured more than enough to cover its own population of around 8.7 million, the government said on Wednesday.
* The US Food and Drug Administration said GlaxoSmithKline and Vir Biotech's COVID-19 antibody treatment should not be used in places with circulation of variants that are not susceptible to the drug.
* AstraZeneca signed an agreement with Canada for 100,000 doses of its antibody therapy for prevention of COVID-19 in some high-risk patients.
* The International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday its Executive Board has approved a 116 million USD disbursement for Cameroon after completing an initial review of the country's loan programs.
