Following are the top foreign stories at 2000 hours

    FGN34 US-2NDLD OIL
US President Biden announces release of 50 mn barrels of oil from strategic reserve
    Washington: US President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced the release of 50 million barrels of oil from the country's Strategic Petroleum Reserve to lower energy costs for Americans, a decision taken in coordination with other major economies, including India, Japan and China. By Lalit K Jha
    
     FGN37 CHINA-PUTIN-OLYMPICS
Xi’s “good friend” Putin to attend Beijing Winter Olympics amid US diplomatic boycott plans
    Beijing: Russian President Vladimir Putin has accepted the invitation from his Chinese counterpart and “good friend” Xi Jinping to attend the Beijing’s Winter Olympics, days after the US President Joe Biden said he is considering a diplomatic boycott of the event to highlight China’s human rights violations. By K J M Varma
    
    FGN35 BANGLA-ZIA
B'desh govt to examine memo over Zia’s treatment abroad: Law Minister
    Dhaka: Bangladesh's Law Minister Anisul Huq said on Tuesday that the government will examine with "utmost importance" a memorandum seeking permission to allow ailing former prime minister Khaleda Zia to visit abroad for medical treatment. By Anisur Rahman
    
     FGN33 UK-ROYAL FAMILY-DOCUMENTARY
Britain’s Royal Family issues rare rebuke to BBC over documentary on Prince William and Harry
    London: Britain's Royal Family on Tuesday issued a rare joint statement against the use of unnamed sources in response to a new BBC documentary on Prince William and Harry’s relationship with the media. By Aditi Khanna
    
     FGN24 VIRUS-NEPAL-INDIA-MOU
Nepal & India sign MoU on reciprocal recognition of COVID vaccination certificate
    Kathmandu: India and Nepal on Tuesday inked a Memorandum of Understanding for reciprocal recognition of COVID vaccination certificate to significantly ease the travel woes for fully vaccinated people from the two neighbouring countries. By Shirish B Pradhan
PTI RS

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)