WORLD

Washington, U.S. | Xinhua | Scientists have speculated that the compound polyethylene glycol, also known as PEG, could cause allergic reactions to the COVID-19 vaccine developed by U.S. company Pfizer and German company BioNTech, media reported. This comes after the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention identified six reports of …

Washington, USA | THE INDEPENDENT |    The Democrats-held House of Representatives on Monday passed a bill to boost the second round of federal direct payments to 2,000 U.S. dollars for individuals, up from the 600 dollars for individuals in the new relief package. The vote came after President Donald Trump …

Jerusalem, Israeli | THE INDEPENDENT |    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin talked on Monday by phone over regional developments. “The two discussed the situation in Syria, developments in the region and the actions necessary to increase regional stability,” said a statement issued by the Israeli …

NewYork, USA | THE INDEPENDENT |    Shirley Young, a legendary business executive and long-time promoter of bilateral exchanges between the United States and China, died on Saturday at 85 at a hospital in New York, according to a release from Young’s family on Monday. Young served as vice president of …

London, England | THE INDEPENDENT |    British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Monday that the post-Brexit trade deal is a new starting point for Britain and the European Union (EU). “I welcomed the importance of the UK/EU Agreement as a new starting point for our relationship, between sovereign equals,” Johnson …

Houston,USA | THE INDEPENDENT |    U.S. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner on Sunday urged community leaders to work together to bring down violence in the city. Joining community leaders at a “Stop the Violence H-Town” rally, Turner said the number of violent crimes in Houston has been on the rise in …

New York, U.S. | Xinhua | Wall Street’s major averages posted mixed results in the holiday-shortened week as investors weighed the fate of additional U.S. fiscal stimulus and impact of a new coronavirus variant. For the week, the Dow rose 0.1 percent, the S&P 500 lost 0.2 percent and the Nasdaq …

Washington, U.S. | Xinhua | The 900-billion-U.S.-dollar relief plan is up in the air over Christmas after House Republicans rejected President Donald Trump’s demand to raise direct payments to Americans. Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday blocked an attempt from House Democrats to raise the bill’s 600-dollar direct …

Buenos Aires, Brazil | Xinhua | A second autopsy has shown that Argentine football legend Diego Maradona did not consume alcohol or narcotics in the days before his death, a local prosecutor’s office said on Wednesday. The 1986 World Cup winner died of a heart attack aged 60 on November 25, …

Moscow, Russia | Xinhua | Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that the situation will not get worse for Russia during the Biden administration. “With regard to the statement that the leadership in the United States is changing and it will be more difficult for us, I don’t think this …