* The Dutch government on Tuesday announced it is easing COVID-19 restrictions and will introduce a "corona" pass showing proof of vaccination to go to bars, restaurants, clubs or cultural events.

* Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was self-isolating after several members of his entourage fell ill, including someone he worked with in close proximity and had been in close contact with all of the previous day.

* Britain will begin a broad-based vaccine booster program for older and more vulnerable people soon as Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government relies on vaccines rather than further lockdowns to navigate a "bumpy" winter.

ASIA-PACIFIC

* Just two per cent of patients admitted to intensive care since Australia's vaccine rollout started were fully vaccinated.

* Japan said on Tuesday it will donate an additional 1.3 million AstraZeneca Plc vaccine doses to Taiwan and other Asian neighbours.

* Singapore's health ministry reported 837 new cases on Tuesday, the highest since August last year.

* New local infections more than doubled in China's southeastern province of Fujian, health authorities said, prompting officials to quickly roll out measures including travel restrictions to halt the spread of the virus.

* Indonesia plans to start opening its borders to foreigners in November once 70 per cent of its target population have received at least one vaccine shot, its health minister said.

AMERICAS

* The Biden administration said most federal employees must be fully vaccinated no later than November 22 as it drafts rules to require large employers to have their workers inoculated or tested weekly.

* The White House is advocating for state and local leaders to mandate vaccinations, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Tuesday.

* Mexico will send vaccines to Nicaragua in September, Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said on Tuesday, in a rare sign of international engagement with the administration of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega.

* The governor of Iowa has said she will appeal a temporary order by a federal judge that aims to allow schools to enforce use of protective face masks.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

* The African Union on Tuesday accused manufacturers of vaccines of denying African countries a fair chance to buy them, and urged manufacturing countries, in particular India, to lift export restrictions on vaccines and their components.

* Less than 3.5 per cent of Africans are vaccinated, far short of its official target of 60 per cent, John Nkengasong, director of Africa's Centers for Disease Control, said.

* Efforts to develop an African base for vaccine production will focus on trying to replicate Moderna's shot, but a lack of progress in talks with the US company mean the project will take time, a senior WHO official told Reuters.

MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS

* German biotech firm CureVac said on Tuesday it cancelled contract manufacturing deals for its experimental vaccine with two prospective partners, after rivals with approved shots have boosted production.

* Britain cancelled its contract for about 100 million doses of a vaccine being developed by France's Valneva in part because it was clear it would not be approved for use in the country, UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid said on Tuesday.

* Takeda Pharmaceutical Co, which distributes Moderna Inc's shots in Japan, expects vaccines to become a bigger part of its portfolio as shots for dengue fever and COVID-19 near regulatory approval, its chief executive said.

ECONOMIC IMPACT

* Global markets edged lower and the dollar fell on Tuesday after data showed US inflation rose by less than expected, raising renewed questions on when the US central bank will begin tapering its asset purchases.

* Oil prices turned negative on Tuesday after new data from the US Labor Department showed inflation cooling and the impact of tropical storm Nicholas on the energy sector began to improve.

GLOBAL

DEATHS 4,660,590

CASES 226,538,884

RECOVERED 203,185,666

Australian Associated Press