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The World Health Organisation (WHO) does not yet have enough data on the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus to say if it is more transmissible than the Delta variant, an official said on Wednesday (Dec 22), almost a month after South Africa first raised the alarm about its emergence.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged countries to learn from the past two years of the pandemic, calling again for greater vaccine equity, in the hopes of ending the pandemic in 2022.

"As we approach the new year, we must all learn the painful lessons this year has taught us. 2022 must be the end of the Covid-19 pandemic," he said.

He insisted that it was possible to halt the pandemic but said it would require using all the tools that are at our disposal, ranging from vaccines to mask-wearing and physical distancing.

Meanwhile, aircraft passengers are twice or even three times more likely to catch Covid-19 during a flight since the emergence of the Omicron variant, according to the top medical adviser to the world's airlines.

Back home, all available vaccinated travel lane bus tickets from Singapore to Johor Baru sold by bus operator Causeway Link for January have been snapped up, as Malaysians here rush to secure tickets to go home before Chinese New Year.

The scramble for tickets led to Causeway Link, one of two bus operators plying the route, to sell out tickets from Singapore to Malaysia between Jan 21 and Jan 31 within hours.

With Christmas around the corner, The Big Story brings a festive lineup in this week's Life Picks. STFood online editor Hedy Khoo shares her recipe for black forest trifle, while journalist Amanda Chai recommends Christmas gifts from Moleskine.

And film correspondent John Lui reviews The Matrix Resurrections, which is out in cinemas now.