WORLD

Stockholm, Sweden | Xinhua | A rapid increase in the number of Omicron COVID-19 variant cases is imminent, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) warned on Wednesday. The European Union’s (EU) health watchdog also urged countries to rapidly intensify their vaccination efforts, and reintroduce and strengthen other measures …

New York, U.S. | Xinhua | U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. Tuesday said final results show that its novel COVID-19 oral antiviral tablets could reduce risk of hospitalization or death by close to 90 percent for high-risk patients. The results, based on an analysis of over 2,000 patients in a phase …

Washington, U.S. | Xinhua | A U.S. federal judge ruled Tuesday to dismiss former President Donald Trump’s bid to prevent the Department of the Treasury from turning over his tax returns to Congress. Made by Trump-appointed Judge Trevor McFadden who serves in the federal district court in Washington, D.C., the ruling …

London, UK | Xinhua | Given that the Omicron variant has already taken hold in Britain, all 11 countries on England’s COVID travel red list are to be taken off from 0400 GMT on Wednesday, British Health Secretary Sajid Javid said on Tuesday. Javid made the announcement in the parliament, adding …

United Nations | Xinhua | United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday warned against criminal exploitation of COVID-19 recovery resources. In a video message to the ninth session of the Conference of the States Parties to the UN Convention against Corruption (CoSP9) in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, the top UN official warned …

  Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Paris Saint-Germain will face Real Madrid in perhaps the pick of the 2021/22 UEFA Champions League round of 16 ties after the redone draw was made at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland on Monday. Who will play who in the UEFA Champions League last …

Nyon, Switzerland | THE INDEPENDENT |  The Champions League draw has been declared void and will be entirely redone at 5pm today, UEFA has said. Controversy arose when Manchester United was included in Villarreal’s pot, instead of Athletico Madrid’s, and was then drawn to face PSG, “Following a technical problem with the …

Jerusalem, Israel | Xinhua | Miss India Harnaaz Sandhu was crowned as the 70th Miss Universe at the pageant held on the night between Sunday and Monday at Israel’s southernmost resort city of Eilat. Sandhu, a 21-year-old actress and model, beat 79 other contestants and won a third title for her …

  The Omicron coronavirus variant partly escapes the protection offered by the Pfizer vaccine Johannesburg, South Africa | Xinhua | A laboratory research has suggested that the Omicron variant can partially escape antibody immunity induced by the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. The research, led by Professor Alex Sigal from the Africa Health …

Sao Paulo, Brazil | Xinhua | Brazil’s Federal Supreme Court (STF) determined on Saturday that all foreigners entering the country should present a certificate verifying that they have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The decision was made at the request of the Brazilian political party Sustainability Network given the federal …