Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine showed promise against the Delta variant first identified in India in a lab study, while Indian drugmaker Cipla received regulatory approval to distribute the shot in the country.
DEATHS AND INFECTIONS
EUROPE
* The European Commission picked four antibody treatments and a repurposed rheumatoid arthritis drug by Eli Lilly for an initial portfolio of preferred drugs to treat COVID-19.
* Russia will fail to vaccinate 60% of its population by the autumn as planned due to sluggish demand for the shots, the Kremlin said, after the country recorded its highest number of daily deaths from the virus.
* The Netherlands will offer vaccinations to all children aged 12 to 17.
* Poland could make vaccinations obligatory for some people at high risk from COVID-19.
* Ireland will restrict indoor drinking and eating in bars and restaurants to those who are fully vaccinated or who have previously been infected, while Greece will allow fully vaccinated people inside restaurants without masks.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* Oxygen prices in Indonesia's capital had more than doubled, after a surge in cases that prompted the Red Cross to warn of a coronavirus "catastrophe" in Southeast Asia's biggest country.
* Taiwan will discuss easing the import and export of COVID-19 vaccines with the United States when it holds trade talks with Washington this week.
AMERICAS
* The United States said it will donate one million doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine to Paraguay.
* Colombia said it will receive a U.S. donation of 2.5 million doses of the vaccine developed by Janssen, the pharmaceutical unit of Johnson & Johnson.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* The African Union has criticised an EU decision not to include Covishield, a version of AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine used by the global COVAX facility, on a list of approved vaccines for a digital certificate meant to ease travel in the bloc.
* Zimbabwe imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew, banned inter-city travel and cut business hours with immediate effect.
* Oman said it was expanding its vaccination drive to anyone over the age of 18, as it accelerates what has been the slowest rollout in the Gulf.
MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
* Russia's Sputnik V vaccine is around 90% effective against the highly contagious Delta variant of coronavirus, its developers said.
* Members of the U.S. military who were vaccinated showed higher-than-expected rates of heart inflammation, although the condition was still extremely rare, according to a study.
* Five Indian generic drugmakers said they would jointly conduct a clinical trial in India for Merck & Co's experimental anti-viral drug to treat mild COVID-19 in non-hospitalised patients.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
* Global shares edged lower on Tuesday, as new coronavirus outbreaks in Asia vied with strong U.S. consumer confidence, and as investors speculated about whether the Federal Reserve would accelerate its timetable to end easy monetary policy.
* British consumers have resumed borrowing and house prices have jumped by the most in more than 16 years, data showed.
* French consumers are splurging on everything from clothes to cafes as the lifting of restrictions boosts confidence to pre-pandemic levels and unemployment concerns subside, data showed.
