WORLD

Los Angeles, U.S. | Xinhua | The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) passed a resolution preemptively denying any potential re-admission applications by former U.S. President Donald Trump, said the union Sunday. The resolution, passed in a Zoom videoconference on Saturday by the union’s National Board, cites …

Washington, U.S. | Xinhua | George Shultz, who severed as U.S. secretary of state in the Ronald Reagan administration, died Saturday at the age of 100. His death was announced on Sunday by the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, where Shultz had worked for more than three decades. “Our colleague was …

New York, U.S. | Xinhua | U.S. stocks advanced considerably in the week as retail trading frenzy cooled and Wall Street expected that a slew of downbeat data could boost the possibility of additional stimulus. For the week ending Friday, the Dow increased 3.9 percent, while the S&P 500 index and …

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia |  XINHUA  |  The 34th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union (AU) kicked off virtually on Saturday amid COVID-19 concerns and a joint commitment in the fight against the pandemic. The AU summit is being held under the theme of “Arts, Culture and Heritage: Levers …

Islamabad, Pakistan | THE INDEPENDENT |    Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan launched COVID-19 vaccination drive with China-donated vaccines on Tuesday as part of the country’s efforts to bring the pandemic under control. The first batch of the Sinopharm vaccines reached Pakistan early Monday from Beijing on a special Pakistan Air …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

  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,” …