The global economy is in "less dire" shape than it was in June but risks crashing again if governments end fiscal and monetary support too soon, fail to control the coronavirus and ignore emerging market debt problems, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said.
DEATHS AND INFECTIONS
AMERICAS
* Defying critics, U.S. President Donald Trump said Americans were learning to live with COVID-19, a day after he returned to the White House. Trump was undergoing further intensive treatment after being hospitalized with the disease, which as caused over 209,000 deaths in the United States - the highest death toll of any country.
* Mexico on Monday reported a record jump of 2,789 deaths and 28,115 cases due to what the government said was a change in methodology.
* Argentina has the world's highest rate of positive tests, according to Oxford-linked tracker Our World In Data, with nearly six out of 10 yielding an infection.
EUROPE
* European countries face shortages of COVID-19 drug remdesivir, officials said, with cases surging after the United States bought up most of drugmaker Gilead's output.
* Finland reported its highest daily number of infections since the pandemic began, exceeding the rate Helsinki sets for citizens of other countries to visit without quarantine.
* Poland said it would enforce restrictions more strictly as it reported a daily record of deaths, as well as sharp increases in the number of ventilators and hospital beds used by COVID-19 patients.
* Italy is considering making masks outdoors mandatory nationwide, its health minister said.
* Moscow is restricting transport for students and the elderly, as cases jump.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* Malaysia's prime minister said targeted lockdowns would be imposed in areas with high infection rates as the country grapples with a sharp spike.
* Japan plans to conduct stress tests on its five major financial institutions this year that look into how the pandemic could affect their earnings and capital.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* The United Arab Emirates surpassed 100,000 recorded cases.
* Undeterred by the virus, Iraqi volunteers are providing free food, shelter and even clothes for thousands of Arbaeen pilgrims in Baghdad.
* Organisers of an annual religious festival in Touba, Senegal expected 3 million to 5 million pilgrims this week, even after the main ceremony was cancelled to mitigate risks.
MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
* A COVID-19 vaccine may be ready by year-end, the head of the World Health Organization said.
* The EU health regulator has launched a real-time review of a vaccine developed by U.S. drugmaker Pfizer and Germany's BioNTech.
* Private contractors hired by Moderna to recruit trial volunteers failed to enroll enough Black, Latino and Native American participants to determine how well the vaccine works in these populations, sources said.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
* World stock markets climbed on Tuesday to the highest in more than two weeks after Trump's return to the White House and on hopes of a giant new U.S. stimulus package.
* The pandemic has intensified a price war between recycled and new plastic, made by the oil industry - one recyclers are losing, price data and interviews with over two dozen businesses worldwide show.
* The European Commission is considering bond auctions as it prepares to ramp up debt issuance to finance EU recovery programmes, a commissioner said.
