Portal:Current events/2021 December 8

December 8, 2021 (Wednesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Russo-Ukrainian War
- War in Donbas
  - U.S. President Joe Biden rules out deploying American troops unilaterally to Ukraine in order to deter a potential Russian invasion, saying that the option "was not on the table". (Reuters)

Arts and culture

The bones of over 100 Indigenous Australian Kaurna people are repatriated from the South Australian Museum and buried in a ceremony in Adelaide. (The Guardian)

Disasters and accidents

2021 Indian Air Force Mil Mi-17 crash
- Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat and 12 other people are killed when their Indian Air Force Mi-17V-5 crashes near Coonoor, Tamil Nadu, while flying from Sulur Air Force Station to Wellington. Another person was injured. (BBC News)
2021 Semeru eruption
- The death toll from the eruption of the Semeru volcano in Indonesia increases to 39. (France 24)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China, COVID-19 drug development
    - China's National Medical Products Administration approves the use of the neutralizing antibody cocktail developed by BRII Biosciences to treat COVID-19 in adults and teenagers. (Financial Post)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in India, COVID-19 vaccination in India
    - India's Serum Institute announces that it will halve the production of its COVID-19 vaccine because it has no new orders for the vaccine. (BBC News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Kuwait
    - Kuwait reports its first case of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant in a fully vaccinated European citizen who travelled from an African country. (Anadolu Agency)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea
    - South Korea reports a record 7,175 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 489,484. (The Japan Times)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
    - COVID-19 pandemic in England
      - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announces new "Plan B" restrictions that include working from home for those who can beginning on December 13, and an extension of mandatory face mask wearing to more indoor venues beginning on December 10. The restrictions also include usage of the mandatory NHS COVID pass in order to enter nightclubs and other venues with large crowds, as well as daily tests for people who had contact with a person who tested positive for the Omicron variant. (Sky News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Denmark
    - The Danish government announces that schoolchildren will be sent home early from December 15 and nightlife establishments will close on December 10 due to persistently high number of COVID-19 cases. (Daily Sabah)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Romania
    - Romania lifts its nighttime curfew and mandatory outdoor face mask policy, allows shops and restaurants to close at 10 p.m. and allows entry to non-essential venues for those with a negative COVID-19 test as the number of cases declines. (Reuters)
- COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa, COVID-19 vaccination in South Africa
  - The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority approves the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine booster dose for people over the age of 18 that can be administered six months after their second dose, as well as immunocompromised people aged above 12 years that can be administered 28 days after their second dose. (BusinessTech)

Law and crime

1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal
- The Court of Appeal of Malaysia upholds the conviction against former Prime Minister Najib Razak of all seven counts of abuse of power, money laundering and criminal breach of trust for his involvement in the 1MDB scandal. (CNA)

Politics and elections

Aftermath of 2021 German federal election
- The Bundestag elects Olaf Scholz as the new Chancellor of Germany, replacing Angela Merkel after 16 years in office. (BBC News)

Sports

Concerns and controversies at the 2022 Winter Olympics
- Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom join a U.S.-led diplomatic boycott of the upcoming Winter Olympic Games in Beijing citing China's human rights abuses in the Xinjiang region and Beijing's ongoing freeze on ministerial contact with Canberra. (Yahoo! News) (Politico) (The New York Times)