WORLD

Washington, U.S. | Xinhua | U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday sought to reassure the country about the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus, telling Americans that his administration was working with vaccine manufacturers to modify vaccines and booster shots should that prove necessary. “We’re throwing everything we have at this …

Paris, France | Xinhua | Argentina’s Lionel Messi has crowned the Ballon d’Or award for a record-extending seventh time on Monday, as his former club Barcelona’s Alexia Putellas clinched the women’s award after a stellar season with the Catalan club. Messi, 34, beat another favorite Robert Lewandowski of Poland to …

Washington, US | Xinhua | Republicans are locking in newly gerrymandered maps for the legislatures in several U.S. battleground states, The New York Times wrote in a report published recently. “In Texas, North Carolina, Ohio and Georgia, Republican state lawmakers have either created supermajorities capable of overriding a governor’s veto …

Omicron (B.1.1.529): SARS-CoV-2 Variant of Concern The Hague, Netherlands | Xinhua | The Dutch health authority said Sunday that it has found 13 cases of the new Omicron coronavirus variant among passengers on flights from South Africa. The cases were identified among 61 passengers who tested positive for coronavirus, the National Institute …

United States imposed travel restrictions on southern African countries New York, U.S. | Xinhua | The newly-discovered Omicron variant of COVID-19 in South Africa has raised fears about the global trajectory of the pandemic, while some countries including the United States have raced to impose travel restrictions on southern African countries. …

Omicron (B.1.1.529): SARS-CoV-2 Variant of Concern London, UK | Xinhua | Two cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant have been detected in Britain, British Health Secretary Sajid Javid said Saturday. He said the cases, detected in Chelmsford and in Nottingham, are “linked” and the two individuals are now self-isolating along with …

Brussels, Belgium | Xinhua | The European Union (EU) wants to activate the so-called “emergency brake” to stop air travel from the southern African region to delay the spread in Europe of a new COVID-19 variant, the European Commission said on Friday. “The European Commission will propose, in close coordination with …

Brussels, Belgium | Xinhua | The European Union will not renew its mandatory approval system for COVID-19 vaccine exports when it expires at the end of the year, the European Commission said on Friday. This means that vaccine producers will no longer have to request authorization to export vaccines outside the …

Washington, U.S. | Xinhua | U.S. President Joe Biden announced Friday that the United States will impose travel restrictions on eight African countries as a new variant of the coronavirus has been detected on the continent. Per advice from his chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci, Biden said that starting Monday, his …

Omicron (B.1.1.529): SARS-CoV-2 Variant of Concern Geneva, Switzerland | Xinhua | The World Health Organization (WHO) classified on Friday the latest variant B.1.1.529 of SARS-CoV-2, which was first reported from South Africa, as a “Variant of Concern” (VOC), and asked countries to enhance surveillance and sequencing efforts. South Africa has seen …