India starts booster shots amid Omicron surge（在线收听）

India starts booster shots amid Omicron surge

Xi, Lukashenko exchange congratulations on 30th anniversary of diplomatic ties

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko have vowed to advance bilateral ties.

In a phone conversation, Xi Jinping called on the two countries to enhance mutual trust, deepen cooperation and enlarge the scale of bilateral trade.

The two leaders also discussed enhancing cooperation in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and Belarus.

Xi says China ready to work with Malta to promote greater development of bilateral ties

The Chinese President says China is ready to promote greater development of China-Malta relations as the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties approaches.

Xi Jinping made the remarks when he exchanged New Year greetings with Maltese President George Vella in a phone conversation on Monday.

The two leaders have agreed to strengthen cooperation between the two countries, including through the Belt and Road initiative.

China firmly supports Kazakhstan in maintaining stability, stopping violence: FM

Foreign Minister Wang Yi has reiterated China's firm support for Kazakhstan to maintain stability and end violence.

He made the remarks in a phone call with his Kazak counterpart, during which they discussed the current situation in the Central Asian country.

He says China is willing to do its best to provide necessary support and assistance to the Kazak side.

The Kazak foreign minister has expressed willingness to maintain close contact with China and strengthen cooperation on security.

China urges U.S. to lift unilateral sanctions on Afghanistan

The Chinese foreign ministry has urged the United States to unfreeze Afghanistan's assets and lift unilateral sanctions on the country as soon as possible.

The call comes as Afghan officials say the recent rain and snow have aggravated the plight of Afghan people in need of food and clothing.

Afghanistan is facing serious challenges due to the economic sanctions imposed by the United States.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin says although the U.S. military has withdrawn from Afghanistan, the suffering caused by 20 years of occupation continues.

China's Tianjin reports 31 new local COVID-19 cases

The city of Tianjin has reported 31 locally transmitted COVID-19 cases and 10 asymptomatic ones in the latest resurgence.

The city's health commission says all the positive cases were identified among close contacts under quarantine or those under closed-off management.

Over 9.6 million residents have been tested in the city.

India starts booster shots for the vulnerable amid Omicron surge

India has begun administering COVID booster shots to frontline workers and vulnerable elderly people.

The fast spread of the Omicron variant has been fueling an almost eight-fold rise in daily infections since the start of the year.

In recent days, hundreds of health care and frontline workers have contracted the virus.

The Indian government has administered 1.5 billion doses of vaccine.

U.S. forces in S.Korea tighten anti-virus rules amid COVID-19 cases surge

The command of U.S. forces in South Korea has tightened anti-virus rules due to surging COVID-19 cases among servicemen.

It says travel to Seoul is prohibited except for official duties or for individuals who live or work in the capital city owing to the associated risk of potential exposure to the virus.

The number of COVID-19 infections among U.S. Forces Korea has increased to over 3,000.

About 28,500 U.S. troops are currently stationed in South Korea.

UK minister: cutting quarantine to 5 days helpful

U.K. Education Minister Nadhim Zahawi says reducing the coronavirus isolation period from seven days to five would help reduce staff shortages in key areas.

Zahawi says the U.K. Health Security Agency will continue to review the situation as calls to reduce the quarantine period further grow.

"I would obviously always defer to the scientific advice on this. It would certainly help mitigate some of the pressures on schools, on critical workforce and others. But I would absolutely be driven by the advice from the experts."

Currently people who test positive in the U.K. can leave isolation after seven days if they test negative on day six and seven on lateral flow tests.

On Friday, 200 military personnel were deployed to hospitals and this week another 150 troops will help an ambulance service in northwest England.

Official data shows that more than 39-thousand National Health Service staff members were absent due to COVID-19 on January 2, up 59 percent from the previous week.