A recent Delta flight from Seattle to Shanghai turned back midair due to new pandemic-related cleaning rules at the Shanghai airport, Delta confirmed Monday.
Driving the news: The new cleaning requirements, which Delta said were issued on Dec. 21, "require significantly extended ground time and are not operationally viable for Delta," the airline said in an emailed statement.
Israel started a trial of a fourth dose of a coronavirus vaccine Monday, becoming what's believed to be the first country to study an additional booster dose, according to AP.
Driving the news: Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett last week ordered the rollout of a fourth dose of the vaccine to certain individuals in response to the threat of the rapidly spreading Omicron variant.
Ten of 2021's most extreme weather events in the world were driven by climate change and caused a total of $170.3 billion in damage — with the deadly Hurricane Ida that struck the U.S. the most costly, per a new study.
Why it matters: Each of the 10 most destructive weather events caused at least $1.5 billion in damage, and Ida cost $65 billion, according to the study by U.K. charity Christian Aid.
Heavy rains and flooding in northeastern Brazil have killed at least 18 people, wounded 286 others and displaced some 35,000 residents, AFP reported Sunday.
The big picture: The Brazilian state of Bahia has been pummeled by heavy rains since early November, causing two dams to burst over the weekend as more deaths from the extreme weather were confirmed, Reuters notes.
Japan has decided not to send a government delegation to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, Reuters reported.
Why it matters: A number of countries, including the U.S., have announced diplomatic boycotts of the Beijing Games to protest human rights abuses committed by China's government.
