
China scrapping mandatory quarantining for people arriving from abroad
CBSN
People in China reacted with joy and rushed to plan trips overseas Tuesday after Beijing said it would scrap mandatory COVID quarantining for overseas arrivals, ending almost three years of self-imposed isolation.
In a snap move late Monday, China said from January 8 on, inbound travelers would no longer be required to quarantine on arrival — in a further unwinding of hardline coronavirus controls that had that torpedoed its economy and sparked nationwide protests.
The new policy will make it much easier for people who go abroad to return home, the Reuters news agency points out.

Johannesburg — President Trump doubled down Friday on his offer to grant U.S. citizenship to White Afrikaner farmers in South Africa, accusing their government of treating them "terribly." Mr. Trump said the U.S. would offer them "safety" and that they would be given a "rapid pathway to citizenship."

Toronto — Canada's Liberal Party has chosen veteran central bank leader Mark Carney as its new leader, meaning he will quickly replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the country's top office. The transition, and Trudeau's political downfall, comes amid the chaotic trade war with Canada's closest ally launched by President Trump.

The death toll from two days of clashes between Syrian security forces and loyalists of ousted President Bashar Assad and revenge killings that followed has risen to more than 1,000, a war monitoring group said Saturday, making it one of the deadliest acts of violence since Syria's conflict began 14 years ago.

International Women's Day protests demand equal rights and an end to discrimination, sexual violence
Women across the world will call for equal pay, reproductive rights, education, justice and decision-making jobs during demonstrations marking International Women's Day on Saturday.