While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Dec 30
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A nurse administers a Covid-19 test at a US testing site in Washington, DC, on Dec 29, 2021.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
World hits record Covid-19 cases as WHO warns over Omicron
The world smashed a record number of Covid-19 infections in a week, an AFP tally revealed on Wednesday, as the WHO warned that Omicron poses a "very high" risk and could yet overwhelm healthcare systems.
The highly transmissible variant propelled the United States, France and Denmark into fresh records on Wednesday.
The AFP tally showed registered infections were up 37 per cent to 6.55 million globally from Dec 22-28 compared to the previous seven-day period.
They were the highest figures since the World Health Organisation declared a pandemic in March 2020, underscoring the blistering pace of Omicron transmission, with tens of millions of people facing a second consecutive year of restrictions dampening New Year's Eve celebrations.
Biden and Putin to speak on Thursday amid Ukraine tensions
US President Joe Biden will speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, the White House said, as Washington crafts a common response to Russia's military build-up on the Ukraine border with European allies.
Biden and Putin will discuss a range of topics, including upcoming security talks between the countries, National Security Council spokeswoman Emily Horne said in a statement.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Reuters the call was planned for "late Thursday evening," without elaborating.
Russian court orders 2nd ban of a major rights group in 2 days
A Moscow court ordered the closure of one of Russia's most prominent human rights groups on Wednesday, a day after its parent organisation was also shut down in verdicts that, for many Russians, served as a painful coda to a year marked by the erosion of civil rights and freedom of expression.
The ruling by Moscow's City Court will close the Memorial Human Rights Centre, which keeps a tally of political prisoners.
On Tuesday, the country's Supreme Court ordered the shuttering of Memorial International, which was founded in 1989 by Soviet dissidents to preserve memories of Soviet repression.
Rebecca Welch first woman referee in FA Cup 3rd round
Rebecca Welch is set to become the first woman to referee in the FA Cup third round, the organisers of the world's oldest football competition said on Wednesday.
The 38-year-old will take charge of second-tier Birmingham City's home tie against third-tier Plymouth Argyle, which will be played at St Andrews on Jan 8, as the first female referee at that stage of the competition.
She became the first female referee to be appointed to an English Football League match earlier this year - Harrogate Town against Port Vale in the fourth tier.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Maria Shriver are finally divorced
Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver have officially finalised their divorce, more than 10 years after proceedings began.
Court documents showed that a final settlement had been reached between the Terminator star and the US journalist, formally ending their 35-year marriage.
The terms of the divorce settlement were not made public.
