New York

Dec 28 (Reuters) - The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it raised COVID-19 related travel warnings for Malta, Moldova, Sweden and Argentina.

For Malta, Moldova and Sweden, the travel warning was raised to level four or "very high" while for Argentina, it was raised to level 3 or "high", the CDC said on Tuesday.

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. health officials on Monday cut isolation restrictions for asymptomatic Americans who catch the coronavirus from 10 to five days, and similarly shortened the time that close contacts need to quarantine.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials said the guidance is in keeping with growing evidence that people with the coronavirus are most infectious in the two days before and three days after symptoms develop.

The decision also was driven by a recent surge in COVID-19 cases, propelled by the omicron variant.

NEW YORK (AP) — Flight cancellations that disrupted holiday travel, stretched into Monday as airlines called off more than 1,000 U.S. flights because crews were sick with COVID-19 during one of the year’s busiest travel periods, and storm fronts added to the havoc.

NEW YORK (AP) — Airlines continued to cancel hundreds of flights Saturday because of staffing issues tied to COVID-19, disrupting holiday celebrations during one of the busiest travel times of the year.

FlightAware, a flight-tracking website, noted nearly 1,000 canceled flights entering, leaving or inside the U.S. Saturday, up from 690 flights scrapped on Friday. Over 250 more flights were already canceled for Sunday. FlightAware does not say why flights are canceled.

NEW YORK (AP) — Airlines canceled hundreds of flights as the omicron variant jumbled schedules and drew down staffing levels at some carriers during the busy holiday travel season.

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York judge has upheld an order preventing The New York Times from publishing documents between conservative group Project Veritas and its lawyer and ruled that the newspaper must immediately relinquish confidential legal memos it obtained.

The decision Thursday by State Supreme Court Justice Charles D. Wood in Westchester County, released Friday, comes in a defamation lawsuit Project Veritas filed against the Times in 2020.

UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- The General Assembly on Friday approved an annual regular budget for the United Nations (UN) of about 3.122 billion U.S. dollars.

The 2022 budget is slightly lower than that of the previous year.

The regular budget covers UN activities across a range of areas, including political affairs, international justice and law, regional cooperation for development, human rights and humanitarian affairs, and public information.

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 23 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Abdulla Shahid, president of the 76th session of the UN General Assembly, said yesterday that, he has tested positive for COVID-19, and is self-isolating.

“I have tested positive for COVID-19 today. I am isolating at home with mild symptoms,” Shahid tweeted.

“I was privileged to have been fully vaccinated, including a booster. My prayers are with the millions suffering from COVID-19, and the billions without access to vaccine! I Stand for #VaccineEquity,” read the tweet.

NEW YORK, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.0 jolted 217 km SW of La Cruz de Loreto, Mexico at 23:22:58 GMT on Wednesday, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The epicenter, with a depth of 8.56 km, was initially determined to be at 18.8988 degrees north latitude and 107.1694 degrees west longitude.

22 Dec 2021; MEMO: Following interviews with migrants and refugees in Poland fleeing Belarus after being forced to cross the border, the UN Human Rights Office on Tuesday called on both countries to urgently address the "appalling situation", reports Anadolu Agency.

Belarus has refused to allow officials of the UN Rights Office to visit the border area, office spokeswoman Liz Throssell told a press conference.