Briefly

UNITED STATES

Isolation period halved amid soaring cases

The United States halved the isolation period for asymptomatic COVID-19 cases on Monday in an effort to blunt mass Omicron induced disruption, as infections hit new highs in many US states and in Europe, wreaking havoc on global air travel. About 11,500 flights have been scrapped worldwide since Friday and tens of thousands more delayed during one of the year's busiest travel periods. To open the way for more people to return to work sooner and minimize the prospects of mass labor shortages, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cut the isolation period for asymptomatic COVID-19 cases from 10 days to five.

Pioneering biologist Wilson dies at 92

Edward O. Wilson, the trailblazing scientist, professor and author whose study of insects and clarion call to protect Earth earned him the nickname "Darwin's natural heir", has died aged 92. Wilson, whose death was announced on Monday by his foundation, was an award-winning biologist and longtime Harvard University research professor. He was also considered the world's leading authority on ants and their behavior. Though he was an entomologist early in his career, he broadened his scope immensely, studying not just insects but also the social interactions of birds, mammals and humans. He effectively－and controversially-established a new field of science known as sociobiology.

DPRK

Kim convenes key ruling party meeting

Kim Jong-un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, presided over a ruling party plenary meeting on Monday, the official Korean Central News Agency reported on Tuesday. The fourth plenary meeting of the eighth Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea reviewed the implementation of main party and state policies for this year and decided on strategic and tactical policies for the coming year, it said. The plenary meeting "approved the agenda items and went into the discussion of them", the KCNA report said, without giving further details.

Agencies - Xinhua