The Sudanese Armed Forces announces that they are in "full control" of the disputed Al Fushqa District after clashing with Ethiopian forces in the border region.
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December 15, 2021 (Wednesday)
2.9 minutes to read
Armed conflicts and attacks
Disasters and accidents
A boat carrying Indonesian migrants capsizes off the southern coast of Malaysia, killing 11 people and leaving 25 others missing.
A fire occurs at the World Trade Centre Hong Kong, injuring 13 people and leaving 300 others trapped within the building.
A privately-owned Gulfstream GIVSP jet crashes near Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, killing all nine people onboard, including Puerto Rican music producer Flow La Movie.
Health and environment
South Korea reports a record 7,850 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 536,495.
Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark tests positive for COVID-19.
The United Kingdom reports a record 78,610 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours.
Hungary begins administering the COVID-19 vaccine for children between the ages of 5 and 11 years using the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.
The European Medicines Agency recommends that adults over the age of 18 years who received the Janssen COVID-19 vaccine should get a booster dose two months after receiving their first dose of the vaccine.
The number of people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in New Zealand surpasses 90%.
Auckland reopens its domestic borders to travellers who are vaccinated or who have tested negative in the previous 72 hours after closing its borders for four months due to an outbreak of the Delta variant.
Australia reopens its borders to vaccinated skilled migrants and foreign students without an exemption, after a closure of more than 18 months due to the pandemic, despite the worldwide spread of the Omicron variant.
California reimposes its indoor mask mandate due to fears of the spread of the Omicron variant. The mandate will last until at least January 15.
The NHS COVID pass begins to be implemented in England as a precondition in order to enter nightclubs, indoor events with more than 500 people, outdoor events with more than 4,000 people, and all events with more than 10,000 people as part of "Plan B" measures that are intended to reduce the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant.
The Philippines reports its first two imported cases of the Omicron variant in an overseas Filipino who travelled from Japan on December 1 and a Nigerian national who arrived in the country on November 30.
Kenya reports its first three cases of the Omicron variant.
Rwanda reports its first six cases of the Omicron variant in a group of travellers and their contacts, prompting the government to close all nightclubs and extend the quarantine for international travellers to three days.
France begins to require people aged above 65 years to receive a COVID-19 vaccine booster dose or lose their Health Pass validity status unless they show proof of a negative test in the previous 24 hours. The requirement will be extended to all age groups from January 15.
Law and crime
A court in Hanoi, Vietnam, sentences two Facebook users to lengthy jail sentences for "conducting propaganda against the state". One man was sentenced to 10 years in prison and five years of house arrest while another man was given a six-year prison term and three years of house arrest.
David Fuller, a double murderer who sexually abused the corpses of more than 100 women, is sentenced to a whole life tariff.
Malta legalizes the personal use and limited cultivation of cannabis, becoming the first country in the European Union to do so.
Politics and elections
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