Malaysia reports a new single-day record of 2,234 cases in the last 24 hours, bringing the nationwide number of confirmed cases to 78,499. (Malay Mail)
Moderna announces that they will begin testing their vaccine candidate, mRNA-1273, on adolescents aged 12–17 years. (CNBC)
Netherlands–Russia relations The Netherlands expels two Russian diplomats based in The Hague, who it accuses of being part of a Foreign Intelligence Service-led "espionage network" targeting the high-tech sector. Russia describes the Netherlander accusations as "unfounded", and says that the expulsion of its citizens was "provocative". (BBC News)
North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum announces that the state has extended their mask mandate and limits on gatherings until January 18. (WCCO-TV)
Ontario reports a new single-day record of 1,983 cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the province to 134,783. (CFTO-DT)
Saudi Arabia approves Tozinameran as a safe vaccine. (Arab News)
South Korea surpasses 40,000 total cases of COVID-19. (KBS World)
Sweden reports a record 7,935 new cases in the past 24 hours. (Reuters)
The European Council agrees on a compromise deal to unlock €1.8 trillion for the budget of the European Union and for the Next Generation EU recovery plan. (The New York Times)
The Japanese Agricultural Ministry reports new cases of a highly pathogenic strain of avian influenza (H5N8) at poultry farms in Saiki, Oita and Kinokawa, Wakayama. Authorities have started culling 56,000 chickens at the farm in Saiki as well as about 67,000 chickens at the farm in Kinokawa. (Nippon.com)
The Netherlands expels two Russian diplomats based in The Hague, who it accuses of being part of a Foreign Intelligence Service-led "espionage network" targeting the high-tech sector. Russia describes the Netherlander accusations as "unfounded", and says that the expulsion of its citizens was "provocative". (BBC News)
Tokyo reports a record 602 new cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the prefecture to 45,529. (Nikkei Asia)
TV personality Ellen DeGeneres announces that she has contracted COVID-19. Her contraction of the virus prompts production of her show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, to be halted until January 2021. (NBC News)
Assassination of Rafic Hariri The United Nations-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon sentences a Hezbollah operative to five concurrent life terms in absentia for his role in the 2005 assassination of Rafic Hariri. (Al Jazeera)
Belarus reports 1,967 cases, a new single-day record. (Xinhua News Agency)
Climate change mitigation The European Council agrees to lower greenhouse gas emissions in the European Union, compared to levels in 1990, by at least 55% before 2030. (AP)
Due to an increasing number of new cases and deaths, Chancellor Angela Merkel and the leaders of 16 states are expected to discuss new restrictions at a meeting on December 13. (Bloomberg)
Egypt receives its first shipment of 50,000 of Sinopharm's vaccine, making it the first African country to receive COVID-19 vaccines. The shipment was provided as a gift from the United Arab Emirates, which recently announced that the vaccine had an 86% efficacy based on Phase III testing results. (Egyptian Streets)
Germany reports a record 29,875 new cases and 598 deaths in the past 24 hours, according to data from the Robert Koch Institute, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 1.27 million and the death toll to 20,970. (DW)
Indonesia reports a record 175 new deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide death toll to 18,511. (Kompas)
John E. Jones III, a federal judge for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, announces that he has rejected a bid to temporarily block Governor Tom Wolf's statewide mask mandate and contact tracking system. (The Patriot-News)
Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts announces that the state will lift their restrictions on indoor gatherings after hospitalizations in the state dropped to 20%. However, he also urges people to stay vigilant to prevent the spread of COVID-19. (Omaha World-Herald) (KETV)
New Zealand creates its first "travel bubble" with the Cook Islands, citing low COVID-19 infection rates and their "special ties". The travel bubble will allow citizens to travel between both countries without having to quarantine in early 2021. (Reuters)
Portugal reports a record 95 new deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide death toll to 5,373. (Yahoo! News)
Restaurants, cafés, non-essential shops, and other venues that serve food, reopen in Northern Ireland after two weeks of lockdown. However, pubs that do not serve food will remain closed. (BBC News)
Russia reports a record 613 new deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide death toll to 48,593. (The Moscow Times)
Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline announce that their COVID-19 vaccine candidate will not be ready until the end of 2021. (France 24)
Switzerland orders restaurants, bars and shops in most parts of the country to close at 7pm, as the country faces a persistently high level of new cases and deaths. (Reuters)
The European Council agrees to lower greenhouse gas emissions in the European Union, compared to levels in 1990, by at least 55% before 2030. (AP)
The Food and Drug Administration announces that they have formally approved Tozinameran, the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech. (CNBC)
The number of confirmed cases in South Korea increases by 689, the highest single-day increase reported in the country since late February, bringing the nationwide total to 40,786 cases. (Yonhap News Agency)
The United Nations-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon sentences a Hezbollah operative to five concurrent life terms in absentia for his role in the 2005 assassination of Rafic Hariri. (Al Jazeera)
Tozinameran The Food and Drug Administration announces that they have formally approved Tozinameran, the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech. (CNBC) Mexico approves the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. (AP)
Ukraine reports a record 285 new deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide death toll to 14,755. (Kyiv Post)
Bangladesh surpasses 7,000 total deaths from COVID-19. (Dhaka Tribune)
Belarus reports 1,975 cases in the past 24 hours, a new single-day record. (The Star)
Bhutan and Israel agree to establish full diplomatic relations for the first time. (The Jerusalem Post)
Boko Haram kill 28 people and burn down hundreds of homes in Toumour, Diffa, Niger. (Reuters)
COVID-19 vaccine Peru temporarily suspends Phase III trials of Sinopharm's vaccine after detecting neurological problems in one of its volunteers. Peru's trials for the vaccine were due to conclude this week, after testing around 12,000 people. (CNA)
International recognition of Israel, Foreign relations of Bhutan Bhutan and Israel agree to establish full diplomatic relations for the first time. (The Jerusalem Post)
Italy reaches 64,036 total deaths from COVID-19, surpassing the United Kingdom to have the highest death toll in Europe. (Newsweek)
Japan records a new single-day record of 3,041 cases. The Japan Self-Defense Forces are deployed to Asahikawa, Hokkaido, where hospitals are facing shortages of medical staff to treat COVID-19 patients. (Kyodo News)
Peru temporarily suspends Phase III trials of Sinopharm's vaccine after detecting neurological problems in one of its volunteers. Peru's trials for the vaccine were due to conclude this week, after testing around 12,000 people. (CNA)
South Korea issues a 48-hour standstill order on all poultry farms across the country following a series of highly pathogenic bird flu (H5N8) cases. (Yonhap News Agency)
South Korea reports a new record of 950 cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total to 41,736 cases. 928 of the new cases are locally transmitted and more than 70% of these are from the Seoul Capital Area. (CNA)
Victoria reports a new case in a person currently quarantining in a hotel. It is the first time that the state has reported a COVID-19 case in more than 40 days. (7 News)
Alberta reports 22 deaths from COVID-19, a new single-day record. (Edmonton Journal)
Authorities vow to crack down on workers who went on a violent rampage at a Wistron iPhone factory near Bangalore, India over allegations of unpaid wages and exploitation. Over 100 people have been arrested. Videos of the violence show glass panels smashed with rods and cars flipped on their side. (CTV)
Cleveland Indians name and logo controversy The Cleveland Indians announce that they will change their name after the 2021 season. (Newsweek)
Electronics industry in India Authorities vow to crack down on workers who went on a violent rampage at a Wistron iPhone factory near Bangalore, India over allegations of unpaid wages and exploitation. Over 100 people have been arrested. Videos of the violence show glass panels smashed with rods and cars flipped on their side. (CTV)
North Dakota reports zero deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, making it the first time since September 20 that this has occurred. (AP)
Pfizer and BioNTech announce that they have started shipping their vaccine from a Michigan facility to all 50 states. (The Wall Street Journal)
The Cleveland Indians announce that they will change their name after the 2021 season. (Newsweek)
The first doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine arrive in Canada. (CBC)
Uruguay reports a new single-day record of 528 cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 9,708. (gob.uy)
A total solar eclipse is seen in Chile, Argentina, and the South Pacific Ocean. (EclipseWise)
Amid controversy over alleged illegal content, Pornhub removes all non-verified user-uploaded videos, which make up the majority of the videos on the platform. Pornhub says that its new measures are now "more strict than any social media platform". (BBC News)
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh announces that the city will rollback to phase 2 and tighten their restrictions as an effort to stop the spread of COVID-19. (AP) (WCVB-TV)
Capital punishment in Singapore The judicial commissioner of Singapore sentences a Bangladeshi national to death after he was found guilty of murdering his Indonesian girlfriend two years ago. In Singapore, a charge of murder carries the mandatory death penalty. (The Straits Times)
Delhi surpasses 10,000 total deaths from COVID-19. (India Today)
Solar eclipse of December 14, 2020 A total solar eclipse is seen in Chile, Argentina, and the South Pacific Ocean. (EclipseWise)
The BW Group says the crew of one of their ships saw an oil tanker suffer an explosion after being hit by "an external source" off the coast of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. They also say that oil may have leaked from the site of the blast. (The Times of Israel)
The judicial commissioner of Singapore sentences a Bangladeshi national to death after he was found guilty of murdering his Indonesian girlfriend two years ago. In Singapore, a charge of murder carries the mandatory death penalty. (The Straits Times)
The United Kingdom discovers a new variant of COVID-19 which is growing faster in some parts of England. (BBC)
Boko Haram insurgency Kankara kidnapping Jihadist group Boko Haram claim responsibility for Friday's mass kidnapping in Kankara, Katsina, Nigeria. (BBC News)
Jihadist group Boko Haram claim responsibility for Friday's mass kidnapping in Kankara, Katsina, Nigeria. (BBC News)
Kankara kidnapping Jihadist group Boko Haram claim responsibility for Friday's mass kidnapping in Kankara, Katsina, Nigeria. (BBC News)
Ontario reports 2,275 cases, a new single-day record. (National Post)
Rena Lalgie is sworn in as Governor of Bermuda, making it the first time that the British territory has a black woman as governor. (ABC News)
South Korea reports a record 13 new deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide death toll to 600. (Anadolu Agency)
Turkey reports a record 235 new deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide death toll to 16,881. (Reuters)
About 32,000 birds will be slaughtered and buried in Sukumo in Kochi Prefecture after a highly pathogenic avian influenza was discovered at an poultry farm. (The Japan Times)
Germany reports a record 952 new deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide death toll to 23,427, according to data from the Robert Koch Institute. (DW)
Gretchen Whitmer kidnapping plot Six men are indicted by a federal grand jury in the failed plot to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. (Detroit Free Press)
History of bitcoin The cryptocurrency bitcoin hits an all-time high of US$20,440 after jumping more than 4.5% amid high demand from large investors. (BBC News)
