FACTBOX-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

* U.S. crude stocks rose unexpectedly in the most recent week as production reached its highest level since before the outset of the coronavirus pandemic, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. * Activity in China's services sector contracted at the sharpest pace in two years in March as a surge in infections restricted mobility and weighed on demand, a private sector survey showed.

A panel of U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisers was meeting on Wednesday to discuss how and whether to use additional COVID-19 vaccine boosters after data from Israel showed a fourth dose lowered rates of severe illness among older people. DEATHS AND INFECTIONS

* Eikon users, see COVID-19: MacroVitals https://apac1.apps.cp.thomsonreuters.com/cms/?navid=1592404098 for a case tracker and summary of news. EUROPE

* EU health agencies said on Wednesday there was no evidence to support the use of a fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccines developed by Pfizer and Moderna in the general population, but they recommend a second booster for people aged 80 and above. * Ireland's unemployment rate rose to 5.5% in March from 5.2% in February as a separate benefits scheme for those who lost their job due to COVID-19 disruption ends, the Central Statistics Office said on Wednesday.

* Germany will not end mandatory isolation for most people who catch COVID-19, the health minister said, reversing course after concerns were raised that lifting quarantine restrictions would suggest the pandemic was over. ASIA-PACIFIC

* India's first case of coronavirus variant XE was detected in Mumbai, NDTV reported. * Japan plans to lift its entry ban for 106 countries including the United States, Britain and France on Friday, as Tokyo gradually eases restrictions.

* Taiwan is aiming for zero serious COVID-19 infections and an "effective" control of the virus, President Tsai Ing-wen said, responding to a gradual increase in the number of domestic cases as it pledges to keep its reopening on track. * Residents in Shanghai, with 26 million under lockdown, scrambled to secure food, with supermarkets shut and deliveries restricted amid another citywide COVID-19 testing programme.

AMERICAS * COVID-19 infections and deaths have dropped across most countries and territories in the Americas over the past few weeks but the risk of further surges cannot be ignored as restrictions are relaxed and 240 million people remain unvaccinated, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said on Wednesday.

* The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Wednesday that currently available COVID-19 vaccines are not well matched against the BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron, although booster doses help protect against severe outcomes. * Canada's Ontario province said on Wednesday it will start offering a fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccines to people aged 60 and over, as well as to all adults in indigenous households from Thursday.

AFRICA * COVAX, the global project to share COVID-19 vaccines, and the African Union have declined options to buy additional doses of Moderna's shot, as developing nations struggle to allocate supplies.

MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS * China's Kintor Pharmaceutical said its potential COVID-19 treatment proxalutamide effectively reduced the risk of hospitalization and death in a clinical trial involving outpatients with mild to moderate symptoms.

* A fourth dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine lowered rates of COVID-19 among the elderly but the protection against infection appeared short-lived, a large study in Israel found. ECONOMIC IMPACT

* China's cabinet held out the prospect of more measures to support an economy under pressure from a slowing global recovery, volatile commodity markets and COVID-19 outbreaks. * U.S. crude stocks rose unexpectedly in the most recent week as production reached its highest level since before the outset of the coronavirus pandemic, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.

* Activity in China's services sector contracted at the sharpest pace in two years in March as a surge in infections restricted mobility and weighed on demand, a private sector survey showed. * India's services sector expanded at its fastest pace so far this year in March as an easing of restrictions boosted demand, but elevated inflationary pressures clouded business confidence, a private survey showed.

(Compiled by Sherry Jacob-Phillips, Valentine Baldassari and Shinjini Ganguli; Editing by Arun Koyyur, Milla Nissi and Maju Samuel)