WORLD

Genea, Switzerland | Xinhua | Despite the current uncertainty over the new Omicron COVID-19 variant, people should still get vaccinated because it will save lives, a World Health Organization (WHO) expert said on Wednesday. Maria Van Kerkhove, technical lead for the WHO’s Health Emergencies Program, said at a WHO press briefing …

Washington, U.S. | Xinhua | A U.S. federal judge issued a preliminary injunction on Tuesday to temporarily block President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate. The mandate requires certain health workers across the country to be vaccinated against COVID-19. The injunction was issued by Judge Terry Doughty of the U.S. District Court for …

New York, U.S. | Xinhua | United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres argued on Tuesday that “the only way out of a global pandemic and out of this unjust and immoral situation is through a global vaccination campaign.” The secretary-general was speaking at a meeting at the UN headquarters in New York …

Geneva, Switzerland | Xinhua | The World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Tuesday that blanket travel bans will not prevent the international spread of the COVID-19 Omicron variant, even as dozens of countries have already introduced such restrictions. Although labeling Omicron as a “variant of concern”, the WHO said blanket travel …

Omicron (B.1.1.529): SARS-CoV-2 Variant of Concern The Hague, Netherlands | Xinhua | The Omicron coronavirus variant has been detected in test samples taken in the Netherlands from Nov. 19 to 23 this year, the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) announced on Tuesday. “In a special PCR test, the …

Berlin, Germany | Xinhua | The message of Julian Nagelsmann, Hasan Salihamidzic, and Oliver Kahn didn’t fail to make an impact. The Bayern coach, the managing director, and the club’s chairman appeared like security protection for their goal-scoring star Robert Lewandowski while walking down the red carpet at this year’s Ballon …

Washington, U.S. | Xinhua | U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday sought to reassure the country about the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus, telling Americans that his administration was working with vaccine manufacturers to modify vaccines and booster shots should that prove necessary. “We’re throwing everything we have at this …

Paris, France | Xinhua | Argentina’s Lionel Messi has crowned the Ballon d’Or award for a record-extending seventh time on Monday, as his former club Barcelona’s Alexia Putellas clinched the women’s award after a stellar season with the Catalan club. Messi, 34, beat another favorite Robert Lewandowski of Poland to …

Washington, US | Xinhua | Republicans are locking in newly gerrymandered maps for the legislatures in several U.S. battleground states, The New York Times wrote in a report published recently. “In Texas, North Carolina, Ohio and Georgia, Republican state lawmakers have either created supermajorities capable of overriding a governor’s veto …

Omicron (B.1.1.529): SARS-CoV-2 Variant of Concern The Hague, Netherlands | Xinhua | The Dutch health authority said Sunday that it has found 13 cases of the new Omicron coronavirus variant among passengers on flights from South Africa. The cases were identified among 61 passengers who tested positive for coronavirus, the National Institute …