LONDON, RAW - ASIA-PACIFIC

* Automakers in China may have to suspend production in May if suppliers in Shanghai and surrounding areas are not able to resume work, said He Xiaopeng, the CEO of Chinese electric-car maker Xpeng.

* The Chinese city of Shanghai is converting residential buildings into quarantine centres to house a mounting number of COVID-19 cases, sparking anger and protest from neighbours worried they are being put at increased risk of infection.

* South Korea is set to drop most restrictions next week as a surge in cases there subsides.

EUROPE

* Britain has approved Valneva's COVID-19 vaccine, becoming the first European country to clear the use of the French firm's shot. It also approved the use of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine in children between six and 11 years.

* Vaccines against COVID-19 have roughly halved the death toll from the disease in Italy, preventing some 150,000 fatalities and 8 million cases last year, the National Health Institute estimated.

AMERICAS

* The US State Department said it will sharply cut back on "Do Not Travel" advisories for international destinations after public health officials announced a change in how they will assess COVID-19 concerns.

* Canada's total greenhouse gas emissions fell nearly 9 per cent in 2020, the first year of the pandemic, as Canadians along with the rest of the world were forced to change their lifestyles and restrict movement to curb the spread of COVID-19.

* Brazilian meat exports to the Chinese port of Shanghai have been disrupted by a lockdown there, a person with knowledge of the matter told Reuters, in one example of how China's aggressive steps are hitting commodity markets.

AFRICA AND MIDDLE EAST

* Africa is experiencing its longest-running decline in weekly COVID-19 infections since the start of the pandemic, the World Health Organisation said.

* Sub-Saharan Africa's economy is set to grow 3.6 per cent this year, down from 4 per cent in 2021, the World Bank said, adding that the war in Ukraine would worsen the factors holding back Africa's recovery from the pandemic.

MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS

* A fourth dose of the COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech provided significant added protection against severe disease, hospitalisation, and death for at least a month in older individuals, according to a study from Israel conducted when the Omicron variant was dominant.

* The US Food and Drug Administration has extended by three months its review of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc's application for the full approval of its COVID-19 antibody therapy, the US drugmaker said.

ECONOMIC IMPACT

* Wall Street stocks finished lower while bond yields and the dollar rose on Thursday, as investors worried about the potential for aggressive US policy tightening as other central banks moved to reduce support.

* Growth in new home prices in China was flat again in March versus the previous month, government data showed on Friday, pointing to fragile demand as growing COVID-19 lockdown measures dampened consumer confidence.