Three UN peacekeepers were killed north of Bangui, the capital of Central African Republic, on Friday, just days before the country's presidential and legislative elections, Reuters reports.
Why it matters: The country has faced unrest and insecurity since former President Francois Bozize — who the UN accused of ordering assassinations and arbitrary arrest and torture — was ousted by a rebellion in 2013. Bozize has denied the allegations.
Japan announced Saturday that it will temporarily ban non-resident foreign nationals from entering the country starting on Dec. 28 after it discovered its first case of a new variant of the coronavirus that may be more transmissible, Reuters reports.
Why it matters: The new variant, found in passengers arriving from Britain on Friday, has set off concern in the country as Tokyo struggles with a surge in cases heading into New Year holidays.
Vaccinating the world will be perhaps the single greatest global challenge of 2021, and that process is now beginning in earnest.
The big picture: If you're reading this in Europe, the U.S. or one of several other wealthy countries, you will probably have access to a vaccine in 2021. But if you're in a lower-income country, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, you could be waiting until 2023.
Chile became the first country in South America to begin coronavirus vaccinations on Thursday after receiving its first 10,000 Pfizer-BioNTech doses, Reuters reports.
The big picture: The country bought 10 million doses from Pfizer-BioNTech and is expected to receive 240,000 doses in January, per Reuters.
The big picture:More than 50 countries have restricted air travel to the U.K., as concerns have continued to grow after the nation and the World Health Organization said they'd identified a new variant of COVID-19 within the country.
Pope Francis said in his Christmas Day message that coronavirus vaccines should be made available to everyone at no charge, and that nations should work together as they recover from the effects of the pandemic.
The state of play: Because of Italy's restrictions to stem the spread of COVID-19, the Catholic Church leader delivered the traditional Urbi et Orbi (to the city and the world) speech from the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican, instead of from a balcony overlooking St. Peter's Square to a usually large crowd.
