The European Union and the United States have agreed to resume trade in mussels, clams and oysters from the end of February after they were halted more than a decade ago, marking another step in improved transatlantic relations.   

The mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine produced at the World Health Organization-backed vaccine hub in South Africa could take up to three years to get approval if companies do not share their technology and data, a WHO official said.

* A US extension of tariffs on solar products distorts international trade and hinders the development of clean, low-emission energy, China's commerce ministry said on Saturday.

* The first US troops reinforcing NATO allies in Eastern Europe amid the Russia-Ukraine crisis arrived on Saturday at Rzeszow military base in southeastern Poland.

* French President Emmanuel Macron spoke by phone to NATO'S Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Saturday ahead of his trip to Moscow next week to help defuse the crisis over Ukraine, the French presidency said.

* US Secretary of State Antony Blinken goes to Asia next week for talks with Indo-Pacific allies, including a meeting of foreign ministers of the four-nation Quad, the State Department said on Friday.

* The leaders of Germany, France and Poland will meet in Berlin on Feb. 8, Polish presidential aide Pawel Szrot told Reuters on Saturday, as part of diplomatic efforts to defuse the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

* Peruvian President Pedro Castillo said on Friday that he will reshuffle his Cabinet, named just three days ago, after his pick for prime minister was widely condemned over allegations that he beat his daughter and late wife.

* Ukrainian troops on Friday trained at the Yavoriv military base in western Ukraine, using anti-tank missiles, launchers and other military hardware delivered by the United States as part of a 200 million USD security package.

* Iran’s foreign minister said on Saturday that a US move to restore sanctions waivers to Tehran was not enough and Washington should provide guarantees for the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal with major powers.

* Islamic State has claimed responsibility for freeing about 20 prisoners during an attack in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo's North Kivu province this week, according to a statement published on Friday by the SITE Intelligence Group.

* South Africa is seeing more cases of the BA.2 sub-variant of the Omicron coronavirus variant and is monitoring it, but there is no clear sign that BA.2 is substantially different from the original Omicron strain, a senior scientist said.

* British researchers want to repurpose existing antiviral therapies to treat COVID-19, the University of Oxford said, in an attempt to sidestep lengthy development processes through readily available drugs.

* Malaysia reported 9,117 new COVID-19 infections on Saturday, the highest daily figure in four months, due to the highly transmissible Omicron variant.

* Japan hit a record single-day number of COVID-19 cases on Saturday, public broadcaster NHK said, as the Omicron variant continued to spread. The country's daily virus cases exceeded 100,000 cases, marking a fresh high, NHK reported.

* Spain will next week lift a requirement for people to wear masks outdoors, extending a wider rollback of restrictions as contagion slowly recedes in the country.

* Greece will allow tourists with a European vaccination certificate to enter the country without having to show a negative COVID test from Feb. 7, the government said.

* US health officials on Friday said they are considering lengthening the recommended interval between the first two doses of the most widely used COVID-19 vaccines to eight weeks to lower the risk of heart inflammation and improve their effectiveness.

* The director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) signed off on the US Food and Drug Administration's full approval of Moderna Inc's COVID-19 vaccine in those aged 18 and over, the agency said on Friday.

* Ottawa police vowed to crack down on an "increasingly dangerous" protest by hundreds of truckers who have shut down the center of the Canadian capital for eight days to demand an end to COVID-19 vaccine mandates.

* New Zealand reported a record 243 new COVID-19 community cases on Saturday, as officials warned more cases of the highly transmissible Omicron variant are expected but urged people in the highly vaccinated nation not to panic.

* Some 50 members of Iran’s 290-seat parliament have contracted COVID-19, a senior MP said on Saturday as the Omicron variant spreads unabated across the county.

* Kuwait Airways is resuming commercial flights to Iraq's Najaf city starting from Saturday, Kuwaiti state news agency KUNA reported.

Reuters