WORLD

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 …

  Brussels, Belgium  | Xinhua | A complete vaccination against COVID-19 will grant European Union (EU) citizens free movement within the bloc for nine months, starting from the date of the last shot, said Didier Reynders, European Commissioner for Justice on Thursday. Reynders was presenting a proposal of the European …

United Nations | Xinhua | UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday called for policy change to eliminate violence against women and girls. Violence against women is not inevitable. The right policies and programs bring results, he told a UN event marking the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women …

Rome, Italy | Xinhua | Governments need to make their agrifood systems more connected, diversified, and resilient to sudden shocks, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) stressed in a major report on Tuesday. Unveiled at a virtual conference at the FAO headquarters in Rome, “The State of Food and Agriculture …

EU to blacklist any transport company involved in helping move migrants from accessing EU airspace, landing at airports, arriving at ports or crossing EU territory Brussels, Belgium | Xinhua | The European Commission has proposed targeted measures to hit transport companies that are said to have helped smuggle people into the …

United Nations | Xinhua | UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed on Monday called for renewed global action against human trafficking. “Renewed and reinvigorated global action against this crime (of human trafficking) is needed more than ever, as economic hardship, conflict, and health and climate emergencies are increasing and compounding vulnerabilities to …

Jerusalem, Israel | Xinhua | A key prosecution witness in former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial began testifying on Monday. Nir Hefetz, a former media adviser to Netanyahu, delivered his testimony at the Jerusalem District Court. Hefetz described Netanyahu as a “control freak” obsessed with his public image in …

Doha, Qatar | Xinhua | The 2022 Qatar World Cup marked one year to go to the big kick-off of the soccer extravaganza as it unveiled the official Countdown Clock at Doha’s Corniche Fishing spot on Sunday. The curves of the Countdown Clock were inspired by the unbroken loop of the …