These are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis:

The European Medicines Agency says that it is set to decide whether to authorise Johnson & Johnson's single-shot coronavirus vaccine for the 27-nation EU on March 11.

The Covax scheme aimed at boosting access to coronavirus vaccines in poorer nations lays out plans for distributing some 238.2 million doses by the end of May, with Pakistan, Nigeria and Indonesia among the biggest recipients.

Nigeria and Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Cambodia become the latest countries to receive vaccines from the scheme.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel wants to allow more socialising between households from next week as part of plans to gradually loosen virus curbs, a draft text yet to be agreed by regional premiers shows.

The premiers are due to hold talks with Merkel on Wednesday.

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and his Danish counterpart Mette Frederiksen will travel to Israel on Thursday to discuss a plan for common production of future vaccines, as they seek to ease dependence on the EU.

Kurz makes the announcement as he criticises the EU's medicine regulator for being "too slow" in approving vaccines.

Iraq gets 50,000 Sinopharm vaccines donated by China and launches a long-awaited vaccination campaign.

Serbia donates 10,000 doses of vaccines to neighbouring Bosnia, which has yet to receive the jabs it was promised through the Covax scheme.

Northern Ireland becomes the final UK nation to agree an unwinding of its coronavirus restrictions, with sports and leisure, travel and worshipping restrictions to be eased in stages, but without setting dates.

Canada's pandemic-hit economy contracted 5.4 percent in 2020, its worst plunge on record, despite a strong rebound in the final three months of the year, the national statistical agency says.

More than 263 million doses of anti-Covid vaccines have been administered in at least 128 countries or territories, according to an AFP tally based on official sources on Tuesday at 1800 GMT.

The virus has killed at least 2,539,505 people since it emerged in China in December 2019, according to an AFP tally compiled from official sources.

The US is the worst-affected country with 514,657 deaths, followed by Brazil (255,720), Mexico (186,152), India (157,248) and Britain (122,953).

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