World

DENVER, (Reuters) – A Colorado judge on Friday ruled that a man accused of killing 10 people in a supermarket shooting in March is incompetent to stand trial.

(Reuters) – A Michigan judge set bail at $500,000 each for the parents of a teenager accused of murdering four fellow high school students, after authorities arrested the couple yesterday following a high-profile manhunt.

WASHINGTON/MOSCOW, (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold a video call on Tuesday to deal with military tensions over Ukraine among other topics.

SAO PAULO, (Reuters) – The mayor of Rio de Janeiro canceled New Year’s Eve celebrations after Brazil confirmed the first known cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant in Latin America’s biggest country.

(University of Minnesota Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy) – Survivors of severe COVID-19—especially those younger than 65 years—may be at more than twice the risk of dying within the next year than those who had mild or moderate illness or were never infected, according to a study published last Wednesday in Frontiers in Medicine.

(SciDev.Net) – Countries must step up their monitoring of resistance to antiretroviral drugs for HIV to ensure that lifesaving therapies remain effective, a World Health Organization (WHO) report urges.

(University of California, Davis) – Dog breeds are often recognized for distinctive traits — the short legs of a dachshund, wrinkled face of a pug, spotted coat of a Dalmatian.

MIAMI, (Reuters) – Financing from multilateral lenders such as the IMF will be critical to mitigate the effects of climate change that pose grave threats to the future of small island nations, Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley said yesterday.

(Reuters) – Authorities searched for the parents of a Michigan teenager accused of murdering four fellow high school students, after they were charged with involuntary manslaughter yesterday for buying their son the weapon as a Christmas gift and ignoring warning signs as late as the day of the shooting.

NEW YORK,  (Reuters) – The Omicron variant of the virus that causes COVID-19 likely acquired at least one of its mutations by picking up a snippet of genetic material from another virus – possibly one that causes the common cold – present in the same infected cells, according to researchers.

BRASILIA,  (Reuters) – A Brazilian Supreme Court justice ordered yesterday that a probe be opened into President Jair Bolsonaro for having said during a live broadcast on multiple social media platforms in October that COVID-19 vaccines may raise the chance of contracting AIDS.

CARACAS, (Reuters) – Venezuela’s government – subject to sanctions by the United States and others – is increasingly paying providers in U.S.

 (Reuters) – The World Health Organization’s chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan said the new coronavirus variant Omicron is very transmissible but that people should not panic about it.

COLOMBO,  (Reuters) – The Sri Lankan government today suspended distribution of all gas cylinders following an alarming rise in unexplained cooking gas explosions and fires that have injured many people across the island nation in recent weeks.

]President Joe Biden yesterday laid out his strategy to fight the Omicron and Delta coronavirus variants over the winter, including free and insurer-funded at-home COVID-19 testing and new requirements for international travelers.

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – The Democratic-controlled U.S. Senate yesterday passed a bill to fund the government through mid-February, averting the risk of a shutdown after overcoming a bid by some Republicans to delay the vote in a protest against vaccine mandates.

GUATEMALA CITY, (Reuters) – A U.S. State Department official yesterday expressed concern over reporters, corruption fighters and activists in Guatemala who have recently come under fire from the government.

LONDON, (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell said yesterday it had scrapped plans to develop the Cambo oilfield in the British North Sea, which became a lightning rod for climate activists seeking to halt the development of new oil and gas resources.

VIENNA, (Reuters) – Austrian Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg is stepping down to make way for whoever takes over as leader of his conservative party, he said yesterday, just hours after party strongman Sebastian Kurz said he was leaving politics altogether.

TORONTO,  (Reuters) – Canada’s plan to require novel coronavirus tests for all but U.S.