* The Russian and Chinese navies held military exercises in the Arabian Sea, the Interfax news agency cited Russia's defence ministry as saying on Tuesday.
* The International Monetary Fund lowered its economic forecasts for the United States, China and the global economy on Tuesday, and said uncertainty about the pandemic, inflation, supply disruptions and US monetary tightening posed further risks.
* An attempted coup in Burkina Faso and an earlier coup in Mali are no reason for France and its allies to end their security operation in the Sahel region against Islamist militants, French Defence Minister Florence Parly said in parliament on Tuesday.
* Expected interest rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve may delay emerging Asia's economic recovery and keep pressure on policymakers to guard against the risk of capital outflows, a senior International Monetary Fund official said on Tuesday.
* Iron ore futures in China and Singapore rose after miner Fortescue Metals Group raised concerns over a labour shortage in Australia because of COVID-19 curbs.
* European stocks opened higher after a downbeat Asian session, with world stocks set for their biggest monthly drop since the pandemic hit markets in March 2020.
* Britain should consider more support for the poorest households which will face a big increase in their energy bills when regulated prices rise in April, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday.
* Israel's top diplomat said on Tuesday it hopes to build on its 2020 US-brokered accords with four Muslim nations and establish diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia and Indonesia, but such deals would take time.
* West Africa's main political and economic bloc ECOWAS said in a statement on Tuesday that Burkina Faso's ousted President Roch Kabore resigned "under threat, intimidation and pressure from the
military".
* Pfizer and BioNTech said they have started a trial to test a new version of their vaccine specifically designed to target Omicron.
* Johnson & Johnson forecast up to 3.5 billion USD in revenue for its COVID-19 vaccine this year, compared to 2.39 billion USD it generated in 2021, even as it faces manufacturing issues and uneven demand.
* The US CDC elevated its travel warning for countries including Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Guadeloupe, Peru and Saint Barthelemy.
* German care companies said that mandatory COVID shots could worsen shortages due to resistance among some workers.
* Denmark's prime minister should on Wednesday announce removal of all COVID-19 restrictions by the end of this month, Jyllands-Posten reported.
* The Dutch government is expected to announce on Tuesday it will allow restaurants, bars and theatres to re-open despite record numbers of coronavirus infections.
* The Czech Republic reported a record number of daily infections.
* Spanish police said they had detained seven suspected members of an international criminal gang that created and sold forged COVID-19 passports and negative tests.
* Two years since its first infection, Australia recorded one of its highest number of COVID-related deaths in a day.
* An Israeli government advisory panel has recommended offering a fourth vaccine dose to all adults, on condition that at least five months have passed since they received the third or recovered from the illness.
* Some Istanbul Airport flights resumed on Tuesday after nearly 24 hours of cancellations as heavy snowfall clogged roads and stranded thousands of people across Turkey and Greece.
* Chile, which already boasts one of the world's highest COVID-19 vaccination rates, has agreed to purchase 2 million vaccine doses from Moderna.
* Bolivians are buying miniatures representing certificates of good health, negative COVID-19 tests and vaccination cards during this month's Aymara Festival of Alasita, where people buy miniatures related to personal wishes for the year.
* Air strikes last week on a detention centre in Yemen killed around 90 people and wounded more than 200, the Houthi administration's health minister said on Tuesday, providing an updated toll after rescue efforts ended.
* A tropical storm that made landfall in Mozambique on Monday has killed two people and injured 66, the southern African country's disaster institute said, citing preliminary information.
