Axios

The United States will require travelers from China to show a negative COVID-19 test result before flying to the country amid China's recent uptick in cases, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday.

The big picture: The CDC's decision comes amid a surge in COVID-19 cases in China, which recently loosened its travel restrictions and opened its borders for overseas travel.

A former Kosovo Serb police officer, whose arrest earlier this month prompted fellow Kosovo Serbs to protest and erect road blockades, was released from jail on house arrest Wednesday, AP reported.

Driving the news: Since Dejan Pantić was arrested on Dec. 10 for allegedly assaulting a Kosovo police officer, Kosovo Serbs had demanded his release — a request reiterated by Serbia's President Aleksandar Vučić — as a precondition for taking down the barricades.

People in China — slammed for years by heavy COVID travel restrictions — are suddenly rushing to book overseas trips before the country's borders reopen early next year.

The big picture: Air travel ticket sales have soared in the immediate days after China loosened quarantine requirements for international travel, paving the way for vacationers to hit the open skies.

Pope Francis said Wednesday that his predecessor, 95-year-old Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, is "very sick" and asked his audience to pray for the former pontiff.

Driving the news: The Vatican said in a statement Benedict's condition was "worsening due to advanced age" and that Francis had gone to visit his predecessor.

The Chinese government no longer appears as invulnerable as it did at the height of the global pandemic, and Beijing's major policy changes could alter the calculus in U.S.-China competition.

What's happening: Facing economic headwinds at home and increasingly unified opposition abroad, Beijing appears to be softening its tone and offering some concessions to the international community. China is also emerging from three years of self-imposed COVID lockdowns, following widespread protests.

The United Nations Security Council condemned the Taliban on Tuesday for banning women from Afghanistan's universities and non-governmental organizations.

Driving the news: The Security Council members in a statement called on the Taliban to "reopen schools and swiftly reverse these policies and practices, which represent an increasing erosion of the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms."

Taiwan will extend and reform its period of mandatory military service to one year as the country continues to contend with heightened tensions with China, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen announced at a press conference Tuesday.

Why it matters: Taiwan's current four-month mandatory military service program is no longer sufficient to meet the country's combat readiness "in terms of quantity and quality of training," Tsai said.

Several U.S. Jewish leaders during a meeting with Israeli officials earlier this month warned that racist and extremist moves by the new Israeli government could seriously hamper support for Israel among Jews in the U.S., six sources who either attended the meeting at the Israeli embassy in Washington or were briefed on it told Axios.

Why it matters: The incoming Israeli government is expected to be the country's most right-wing ever. A senior Israeli official said the meeting at the embassy represented the anxiety the organized U.S. Jewish community has about the incoming Israeli government over its expected policies towards Jews in the diaspora and against democratic values.