Washington, USA | THE INDEPENDENT | A group of House Democrats and former President Donald Trump’s lawyers respectively filed legal briefs on Tuesday in an impeachment case. The Democrats, known as the impeachment managers, accused Trump of inciting the chaotic and deadly violence on the U.S. Capitol last month, while …
Read More »Malaysia extends movement restrictions to curb COVID-19 spread, 3,455 new cases reported
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | THE INDEPENDENT | The Malaysian government said on Tuesday that it will extend the Movement Control Order (MCO) in force over most of the country till Feb. 18 in order to control the spread of COVID-19. Defense Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who coordinates the implementation of …
Read More »Real Madrid president Florentino Perez tests positive for coronavirus
Madrid, Spain | THE INDEPENDENT | Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has tested positive for the coronavirus, COVID-19, the club informed on Tuesday. “Real Madrid C. F. would like to inform that our president Florentino Perez has tested positive in the COVID-19 tests that he periodically undergoes, although he is …
Read More »EU prepares for rapid development of vaccines against COVID-19 variants
Brussels, Belgium | THE INDEPENDENT | The European Union’s (EU) top health officials held discussions on Sunday with drug giants about rapid development and production of vaccines specially against the new variants of the coronavirus. The emergence of variants of concern “raises the imminent threat of reduced efficacy of recently …
Read More »Germany’s electrical industry expects growth in 2021
Berlin, Germany | XINHUA | After a seven percent drop in production last year, Germany’s electrical industry is expecting production to increase by five percent in 2021, the German Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers’ Association (ZVEI) said on Thursday. “This would make up for around two-thirds of last year’s losses,” …
Read More »Germany sees positive trend in COVID-19 infections after second lockdown
Berlin, Germany | XINHUA | The number of new COVID-19 infections in Germany remained below the previous week’s levels, with another 14,022 cases reported within one day, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) said on Friday. So far, more than 2.19 million infections have been registered in Germany since the …
Read More »Why the EU has authorized AstraZeneca – Oxford COVID-19 vaccine
Brussels, Belgium | XINHUA | The European Commission granted conditional marketing authorization for the COVID-19 vaccine developed by British company AstraZeneca and Oxford University on Friday, although the bloc seems unlikely to get the amount of doses as agreed for the moment. “Securing safe vaccines for Europeans is our utmost …
Read More »UN chief urges making vaccine solidarity top priority
United Nations, USA | THE INDEPENDENT | United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday called on member states to make vaccine solidarity a top priority. “Our first priority for 2021 is to respond to COVID-19. Vaccines are the first great moral test before us,” the UN chief told the …
Read More »Aussie Internet watchdog flags crackdown on social media abuse
Canberra, Australia | THE INDEPENDENT | Australia’s eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant has called for social media giants to take responsibility for the content on their platforms. Under changes to the Online Safety Act proposed by the Australian government, Inman Grant would have the power to prevent cyber abuse, identify …
Read More »Gavi hopes to deliver 150 mln doses of COVID-19 vaccines in first quarter of 2021
Geneva, Switzerland | Xinhua | The CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, said on Tuesday that they hope to deliver 145 to 150 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the first quarter of 2021 and 500 million doses in the second quarter, and then 1.5 billion in the second half of …
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