Jan 28 (Reuters) - The German economy contracted over the last three months of 2021 while the French economy expanded, data published on Friday showed, pointing to contrasting fortunes for the euro zone's two largest economies during the pandemic.
DEATHS AND INFECTIONS
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ASIA-PACIFIC
* The Philippines will grant entry to visitors vaccinated against COVID-19 from Feb. 10, its government said, in an effort to boost a tourism sector decimated by the pandemic.
* India's capital Delhi lifted a weekend curfew and allowed restaurants and marketplaces to reopen, following a sharp drop in new infections.
* Australia suffered its deadliest day of the pandemic on Friday with nearly 100 deaths, but several large states said they expect hospital admissions to fall.
* The WHO said it is looking into allegations a regional director in Asia bullied staff, used racist language and leaked sensitive vaccine data to Japan, accusations the official denies.
* The Women's World Cup cricket event in New Zealand will go ahead as planned despite the spread of the Omicron variant in the country.
EUROPE
* The EU ombudsman accused the European Commission of maladministration for not disclosing text messages that the head of the EU executive Ursula von der Leyen exchanged with Pfizer chief Albert Bourla to seal a vaccine deal.
* Germany has the wave of infections from the Omicron variant "well under control" and may consider lifting some restrictions after a peak in late February.
* Russia reported record COVID-19 cases for the eighth consecutive day, while Ukraine saw a record daily high of 34,408 new coronavirus infections
* An inquiry into lockdown-breaking gatherings in Downing Street that might determine the future of the British prime minister could be further delayed after the police asked for the report to make only "minimal reference" to those events.
* Pope Francis said that spreading fake news and disinformation on COVID-19 and vaccines, including by Catholic media, is a violation of human rights.
AMERICAS
* The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has "persistent deficiencies" in its ability to respond to public health emergencies, the U.S. congressional watchdog warned in a report, citing concerns raised by the COVID-19 pandemic.
* Mexico's health ministry on Thursday reported 495 more fatalities from COVID-19 and 49,150 new infections.
AFRICA AND MIDDLE EAST
* Nigeria's vaccine rollout has slowly gained pace as public confidence increases and the government has assured citizens they will not receive expired doses.
* Morocco will reopen its airspace for international flights starting Feb. 7, the state news agency reported.
* Israel has signed a deal to buy 5 million COVID-19 vaccine doses from Novavax, its health ministry said
* A UAE medical convoy of one million COVID-19 vaccines reached the Gaza Strip, state news agency WAM said.
MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
* Merck and partner Ridgeback Biotherapeutics said six lab studies showed their experimental oral COVID-19 drug was active against the Omicron variant.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
* Europe's main bourses fell again as worries about a sudden stop to central bank stimulus and rising tensions between Western powers and Moscow continued to drive world stocks to one of their worst ever starts to a year.
* Morale amongst Italian businesses and consumers fell sharply in January as the coronavirus crisis persists and high energy prices weigh on companies and households.
* Singapore's manpower ministry said it expects the country's jobless rate to fall to pre-pandemic levels in the months ahead as the unemployment situation continues to improve, with borders slowly reopening and retrenchments declining.
(Compiled by Valentine Baldassari and Sherry Jacob-Phillips; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu, Kirsten Donovan)
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