Copenhagen, Denmark | Xinhua | A senior official of the World Health Organization (WHO) has urged countries to take science-based precautionary COVID-19 entry restrictions that are proportionate and non-discriminatory. Hans Kluge, WHO’s regional director for Europe, made the appeal at a press conference here on Tuesday. “For those countries in our …
Read More »Classified documents found at Biden think tank
Washington, U.S. | Xinhua | A special counsel to U.S. President Joe Biden said on Monday that classified documents had been found at a private office he used while he was vice president. White House special counsel Richard Sauber said the documents were discovered “when Biden’s attorneys were packing files housed …
Read More »World Athletics publishes timetable for Paris 2024
Geneva, Switzerland | Xinhua | The timetable for athletics events at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games was published by the sport’s world governing body on Monday. According to the timetable, 48 events will be spread over 11 competition days, starting with the men’s and women’s 20km race walk races on August …
Read More »Iranian speaker holds Trump legally accountable for killing top commander
Tehran, Iran | Xinhua | The Iranian parliament speaker said on Monday that former U.S. President Donald Trump and all his “accomplices” must be held legally accountable for the assassination of top Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani, semi-official Tasnim News Agency reported. The “criminal act” of assassinating Soleimani was a “flagrant and …
Read More »8 African artists make Rolling Stones’ 200 Greatest Singers of All Time list
Updated for the first time since 2008, the new ‘200 Greatest Singers of All Time’ list includes Miriam Makeba, Tabu Ley, and Burna Boy, among others. SPEICAL FEATURE | BIRD AGENCY | Rolling Stone, one of the world’s leading music publications platforms, kicked off the new year with an update …
Read More »Challenges remain despite gas prices drop in Europe
Natural gas prices in Europe have tumbled to levels last seen before Russia sparked a global energy crisis by invading Ukraine Rome, Italy | Xinhua | Helped by mild winter weather and high storage, prices for natural gas in the European Union (EU) have now settled back to levels seen before …
Read More »Flexible working hours can benefit productivity, work-life balance: ILO report
Geneva, Switzerland | Xinhua | Reduced working hours and more flexible working time arrangements, such as those used during the COVID-19 crisis, can bring benefits for economies, businesses and workers, such as greater productivity and improved work-life balance, a new report released by the International Labour Organization (ILO) on Friday found. The …
Read More »Six global issues to resolve in 2023
Beijing, China | Xinhua | The year of 2022 saw a world in turmoil: the United States fueled one conflict after another, the Ukraine crisis dragged on, the COVID-19 pandemic lingered on with Omicron emerging as the new strain. Inflation, food crisis, energy security, a sluggish world economic recovery, a worrisome …
Read More »Norway becomes Germany’s top gas supplier in 2022
Berlin, Germany | Xinhua | Norway replaced Russia as Germany’s biggest gas supplier in 2022, accounting for 33 percent of its total gas imports, the Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) said on Friday. “Norway is our most important energy supplier today and should remain so as we move toward a carbon-neutral future,” Germany’s …
Read More »McCarthy is new US House Speaker
Washington, US | XINHUA | The U.S. House of Representatives elected Congressman Kevin McCarthy as speaker early Saturday morning after a historic and embarrassing deadlock that kept the lower chamber from being fully functional days after the new Congress convened. McCarthy finally quelled a fierce rebellion among his party’s ranks …
Read More »