WORLD

Washington, U.S. | Xinhua | U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday signed an executive order that requires the federal government to achieve a goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. “As the single largest land owner, energy consumer, and employer in the Nation, the Federal Government can catalyze private sector investment …

New York, U.S. | Xinhua | A booster shot of COVID-19 vaccine would provide enough protection against the Omicron variant while two doses may not be sufficient, said COVID-19 vaccine developers Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE on Wednesday. Three doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine would generate sufficient serum antibodies to …

Washington, U.S. | Xinhua | The U.S. Senate on Wednesday voted to overturn President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for businesses. Senators voted 52-48 on the resolution, which needed a simple majority to be approved. Democratic Senators Jon Tester and Joe Manchin voted with Republicans, giving it enough support to be …

Berlin, Germany | Xinhua | Olaf Scholz from Germany’s Social Democratic Party (SPD) was elected as the new Federal Chancellor on Wednesday. According to the German Bundestag, or the lower house of Parliament, Scholz got 395 of the 707 votes, well above the 369-vote majority required in the 736-seat Bundestag. The …

Geneva, Switzerland | Xinhua | Certain features of the Omicron variant, including its global spread and large number of mutations, suggest it could have a major impact on the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, said the chief of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday. With the Omicron variant now present …

New Delhi, India | Xinhua | India’s Chief of Defense Staff General Bipin Rawat and 12 others including his wife were killed Wednesday in a helicopter crash in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, officials said. “Deeply anguished by the sudden demise of Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat, his …

New Delhi, India | Xinhua | A helicopter carrying India’s Chief of Defense Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat and other officials crashed Wednesday in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, officials said. The helicopter crashed at Nilgiris district’s Coonoor area, about 538 km southwest of Chennai, the capital city of Tamil …

New York, U.S. | Xinhua | Oil prices rose on Tuesday, extending the gains they had scored in the prior session, as fears over the COVID-19 Omicron variant retreated. The West Texas Intermediate for January delivery added 2.56 U.S. dollars, or 3.7 percent, to settle at 72.05 dollars a barrel on …

United Nations | Xinhua | UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has been in self-isolation after coming in contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19, said Farhan Haq, his deputy spokesman. “He has shown no symptoms and has initially tested negative. Out of an abundance of caution, he has canceled all his …

Kabul, Afghanistan | Xinhua | The United States portrays itself as a model of democracy for the rest of the world, but its so-called “beacon of democracy” has long collapsed. Multiple countries that have been imposed the U.S. style of democracy have witnessed prolonged conflicts and insecurity, tattered national economy and …