Xinhua world news summary at 0100 GMT, Feb. 7

BAGHDAD -- Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi confirmed Tuesday that an agreement has been signed with the United States to gradually reduce the number of U.S. troops in Iraq.

"There is a plan agreed upon by the states of the international coalition to reduce their forces in Iraq gradually to avoid possible vacuum, especially with the threat of the Islamic State (IS) in Syria, and the need to safeguard the borderline (with Syria)," Abadi said in a televised press conference after the weekly cabinet meeting. (Iraq-US-Troop Reduction)

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MALE -- The Maldivian Supreme Court late on Tuesday rescinded its landmark ruling issued last week ordering the release of nine opposition leaders including self exiled former president Mohamed Nasheed.

A statement from the President's Office said the government welcomed the court's revision. (Maldives--Supreme Court-Ruling Revision)

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RIO DE JANEIRO -- The regional government of Minas Gerais, the second most populated state in Brazil, raised the number of deaths caused by an outbreak of yellow fever to 61 on Tuesday, 25 more than on Jan. 30.

According to a statement by the state health secretariat, there have been 164 confirmed cases of yellow fever, including 151 men and 13 women. (Brazil-Health)

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WASHINGTON -- The private U.S. space flight company SpaceX on Tuesday launched the world's most powerful operational rocket into space in a much-hyped demonstration mission deemed to have the potential to bring a revolution in the space industry.

The Falcon Heavy blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center in the U.S. State of Florida at 3:45 p.m. EST (2145 GMT), carrying something just for fun: a red Tesla Roadster belonging to SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk. (US-Space) Enditem