Parisians will be required to wear masks outdoors starting Friday as part of an effort to stymie the spread of COVID-19 driven by the Omicron variant, French police announced Wednesday.
Driving the news: France reported 208,000 new infections Wednesday, setting a new national and European record, Reuters reported.
World Health Organization director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned during a press conference Wednesday that the circulation of both the Omicron and Delta variants of COVID-19 "is leading to a tsunami of cases."
Why it matters: Surging caseloads will continue to put "immense pressure on exhausted health workers and health systems on the brink of collapse," Tedros said.
President Biden will speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday afternoon, ahead of a series of diplomatic talks in January over Russia's military buildup on its border with Ukraine.
Why it matters: The call — which was requested by Putin, according to a senior Biden administration official — will mark the second time the two leaders have spoken this month.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas visited the home of Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz on Tuesday for his first official meeting in Israel since 2010.
Why it matters: This was the second meeting between Abbas and Gantz in four months, and is part of a broader effort by Israel's new government and the Palestinian Authority to reset relations.
New Year's celebrations in Greece will look a little different this year amid surging COVID-19 cases, largely driven by the Omicron variant.
Driving the news: Standing customers and music will be banned at bars, nightclubs and restaurants, which will close at 2am on Jan. 1, Greece's health minister said Wednesday, Reuters reports.
The Russian Supreme Court ordered a prominent human rights group, the International Memorial Society, to liquidate, the group announced on Twitter on Tuesday.
The latest: The court on Wednesday ordered the closure of the Memorial Human Rights Center, a sister organization of Memorial International. The Memorial Human Rights Center was charged with violating Russia's "foreign agent" law and "justifying terrorism and extremism," an organization lawyer told CNN.
Drug regulators in India have authorized two COVID-19 vaccines, Corbevax and Covovax, for emergency use.
Why it matters: The Omicron strain of the coronavirus vaccine has led to global records of daily cases. These new vaccines could serve as potential lifelines for low- and middle-income countries that have been left behind in global vaccination, depending on how effective the vaccines are.
China, in a report filed to the United Nations earlier this month, accused SpaceX of endangering the country's new space station and taikonauts on board through close encounters with at least two of the company's Starlink internet satellites.
Why it matters: China also accused the U.S. of failing to meet its obligations under the Outer Space Treaty and said it isn't doing enough to ensure that the California-based company complies.
An international aid group Saturday accused Myanmar's military of killing more than 30 people, including women and children, during an attack in Kayah state on Christmas Eve.
Driving the news: Aid group Save the Children confirmed Tuesday that two members of its staff were killed in the attack.
U.S. and Russian officials have agreed to hold security talks on Jan. 10 amid escalating tensions over Ukraine, a National Security Council spokesperson confirmed Monday.
It may not be long before President Biden has to grapple with a North Korea crisis.
The big picture: Dictator Kim Jong-un has remained relatively quiet during Biden's presidency so far, keeping his threats and missile testing well below the “fire and fury” levels of the early Trump administration. But a quieter North Korea is not necessarily a less dangerous one.
