The Venice Carnival festivities should have already started, but the COVID-19 pandemic has made its annual appointment impossible. Last year authorities shut down the Carnival on its third day, just before Italy became the first country in the West to face an outbreak. Now Italy has logged more than 2.5 million confirmed virus cases, including more than 88,000 deaths. A “surge” has taken on a different, more ominous context. Alleys are eerily empty. Italy’s current infection-control restrictions do not allow traveling between regions. Even if Carnival had been held, relatively ...

Le Yen Quyen is a pharmacist who works at a local health clinic in Vietnam's Mekong Delta. However, at night, she dances under the head of a lion on perilously high metal poles, practising her moves ahead of Lunar New Year festivities. The 27-year-old female is one of the first women to join the Tu Anh Duong lion and dragon dance troupe, where performers mimic the movements of the creatures to bring good luck and dispel evil spirits. Evening after evening in the southern city of Can Tho, she perfects ...

CEO is the highest-ranking executive in a company, whose primary responsibilities include making major corporate decisions, managing the overall operations and resources of a company. CEOs have the responsibilities of leading their companies towards success or failure regardless of the company's size. Here are the top 10th CEOs in the world:

US President has paid tribute on Tuesday, 3 February, at a solemn memorial on Capitol Hill to the policeman who was killed after injuries he suffered in an attack by Donald Trump's supporters. Joe and Jill Biden bowed his head. The president rested his hand on the tabletop bearing the ashes of officer Brian Sicknick, who was given the rare honor of lying at the building housing the United States Congress, according to AFP. Sicknick was reportedly struck in the head with a fire extinguisher while struggling with the rioters ...

Gone were the crowds -- but the lucky few who ventured to the reopened Vatican Museums yesterday, February 2nd, were treated to centuries' worth of sumptuous artworks, including inside the Sistine Chapel. Ahead of the closure for 88 days due to covid-19 restrictions, the collection of museums -- spread over seven kilometres (4.3 miles) within the Vatican -- opened its doors to a mostly local public, capitalising on the empty galleries and a dearth of tourists. "Today is a celebration," said Director Barbara Jatta, who welcomed photographers and television crews ...

The US has been hit by a harsh snowstorm especially on the country's east coast, on Monday 1 February. The huge amount of snow caused main streets closures, thousands of flights cancelled, schools closed and postponing of coronavirus vaccinations' appointments. New York, which was braced with almost two feet of snow due to the storm, announced a "state of emergency" with banning non-essential travel, while kids went back to online classes. Over 1,600 flights were canceled -- mostly at airports in New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Washington -- disrupting travel ...

Emirati songstress Ahlam Al-Shamsi has unveiled her 2021 album cover. The Emirati beauty sported a retro hairstyle as she dazzled in jewels and a yellow pencil dress. The 2021 album is titled 'Fadwa Oyounak' and is released today on February 1st. Here is a look back on Ahlam's iconic album covers.

Again in 2021! History is about to be repeated like in 1988. What's happening in Myanmar? This is a coup and cannot be justified. This is the moment Myanmar found out the military has seized control of the country after detaining de-facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other politicians. Military TV said a state of emergency has been declared for a year, announcing it will hold election at the end of that. They said once the election is held, the military would hand power to the winner. Suu Kyi’s ...

Mexico launches a set of baby Jesus dolls help raise awareness against Covid-19 in the country; the dolls appear in miniature face masks and clutching tiny bottles of hand sanitizer. Mexican Catholics usually celebrate Candlemas, on February 2, the day when according to their tradition Christ was presented in the temple in Jerusalem. Families on this special day try to dig deep into the imagination to create new outfits for baby Jesus dolls. However, this year Mexico has imagined Dr. Jesus in order to raise awareness and aim to curb ...

People in Lebanon torch rubbish and smashing surveillance cameras as rage grows over the government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Tripoli has seen four days of clashes between security forces and residents outraged by curfew measures they say are destroying their livelihoods. The pandemic has added to the misery of Lebanon's worst financial downturn since the 1975-1990 civil war and stoked simmering anger against a political class seen as corrupt and incompetent. That rage spilled onto Tripoli's streets on Monday, and on Thursday the violence claimed its first victim -- ...

Afghan security forces are struggling to hold off an increasingly powerful Taliban as international troops withdraw from the county, with peace talks between the warring sides slow-moving. Comprising roughly 10 to 20 percent of Afghanistan's 38-million population, Hazaras have long been persecuted for their largely Shiite faith by Sunni hardliners in a country wracked by deep ethnic divisions. Fearing the government will collapse and the country descends again into civil war, Hazaras are starting to prepare for the worst. The militia boasts of patrolling roads and launching brazen raids on ...