Year of Variants: Stubborn virus marks momentous 2021 (December)

ANKARA (AA) - More cases of the omicron COVID-19 variant across the world are being reported as WHO says the variant seen in 57 countries so far, Nicaragua officially ending diplomatic relations with Taiwan and US aerospace company SpaceX launching Turkey's new telecommunication 5B satellite into space marked the top news stories globally in December.

DECEMBER

Dec. 1

- European Union unveils strategy to mobilize up to €300 billion (some $340 billion) global infrastructure plan to counter China.

- International Energy Agency forecasts new renewable power capacity additions to rise by 290 gigawatts globally, surpassing the previous all-time high set in 2020.

- Brazil announces two citizens testing positive for the omicron COVID-19 variant, marking the first confirmed cases in Latin America.

- US reports its first case of the omicron coronavirus variant in the state of California.

Dec. 2

- Hong Kong's imprisoned media mogul Jimmy Lai and the staff of his Apple Daily newspaper receive the Golden Pen of Freedom award.

- Germany's federal and state governments agree on tougher coronavirus restrictions for the unvaccinated as the country battles the fourth wave of the pandemic.

Dec. 3

- Austria's Interior Minister Karl Nehammer was tapped to become the country's next chancellor following former government head Sebastian Kurz's earlier resignation.

- Brazil's Supreme Court opens probe into remarks by President Jair Bolsonaro, who argued that coronavirus vaccines might raise the chance of contracting AIDS.

Dec. 4

- Turkish pool player Semih Sayginer wins 3-cushion Sharm El Sheikh World Cup 2021.

- At least 34 people were killed and 16 went missing after Indonesia's Semeru volcano erupted, belching out thick clouds of smoke and ash that blanketed villages.

- Police in Pakistan arrest close to 120 people believed to be involved in the lynching of a Sri Lankan factory manager over allegations of blasphemy.

- More than 40,000 people in the Austrian capital protest against the ongoing lockdown and plans to make COVID-19 vaccination compulsory from next year.

Dec. 5

- Tensions running high in India's northeastern state of Nagaland after over a dozen civilians were gunned down by soldiers who mistakenly believed some of them were militants.

- Gambia's incumbent leader Adama Barrow secures landslide victory in his bid for a second term.

Dec. 6

- Military court in Myanmar sentences Aung San Suu Kyi, the country's deposed leader, for four years in prison.

- Authorities require all private sector employers in New York City to implement a COVID-19 vaccine mandate by Dec. 27.

- France orders nightclubs and discotheques to close for one month beginning Dec. 10 to stem a surge in coronavirus cases.

Dec. 7

- Car bomb explosion kills at least seven civilians in the southern Iraqi province of Basra.

- A fire ravages Burundi central prison in the capital Gitega, leaving at least 38 people dead and 69 others wounded.

- US President Joe Biden threatens to respond with "strong" economic measures if Russia escalates military aggression against Ukraine.

Dec. 8

- Deqa Dhalac becomes the first Black-Muslim American mayor in South Portland, a small city on Maine's southern coast with a 90% white population.

- Olaf Scholz swears in as Germany's new chancellor, ending Angela Merkel's historic 16-year tenure.

- WHO says the new omicron variant of the coronavirus has been detected in 57 countries so far.

Dec. 9

- At least 55 migrants killed and dozens injured after the cargo truck they were traveling in crashes into a bridge in Chiapas, southern Mexico.

- New Zealand unveils a plan to end tobacco smoking in the country with some truly unique measures, including a lifetime ban for youngsters.

- The omicron variant of the coronavirus spreads to seven more countries on the African continent, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announces.

Dec. 10

- Death toll stands at 74 from a wave of tornadoes that hit the US state of Kentucky last week, with 100 people still missing, authorities report.

- Nicaragua officially ends diplomatic relations with Taiwan and announces that it had switched allegiance to Beijing.

- The US won an appeal case against a decision that blocks the extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

- Fire in Western Australia's Margaret River region destroys over 6,000 hectares of forestry area.

Dec. 11

- Special court in Benin's capital Porto-Novo sentences Reckya Madougou, opposition leader and former justice minister, to 20 years in prison over terrorism charges.

- Turkey reports the first six cases of the new omicron variant of coronavirus.

Dec. 12

- Red Bull's driver Max Verstappen becomes the F1 world champion for the first time after winning the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

- Iconic Mexican singer Vicente Fernandez, known as the "King of Rancheras," died at the age of 81.

- Four Hamas members killed in an armed attack during a funeral at a Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon.

Dec. 13

- Time Magazine names electric carmaker Tesla and space technologies firm SpaceX CEO Elon Musk as "Person of the Year" for 2021.

- EU passes sanctions against Russian paramilitary company the Wagner Group for its actions in Syria, Libya, Ukraine, and the Central African Republic.

- Four more bodies found in the rubble of buildings wrecked in an earlier explosion in Sicily, raising the death toll to seven.

Dec. 14

- World Meteorological Organization announces a temperature of 38 degrees Celsius (100.4 F) in Verkhoyansk, Russia, on June 20, 2020, which has been recognized as a new Arctic temperature record.

- At least 75 people die when a gasoline tanker overturns and explodes in Haiti.

Dec. 15

- NASA spacecraft enters the solar atmosphere, making a piece of human technology touch the sun for the first time in history.

- A South African court rules former President Jacob Zuma to be returned to prison because his medical parole was granted unlawfully.

- The former Minneapolis police officer, convicted in the murder of George Floyd, facing the prospect of more years behind bars after pleading guilty to separate federal charges in Floyd's death.

Dec. 16

- Super Typhoon Rai hits the eastern Philippines with winds of 195 kilometers (121 miles), killing at least 375.

- Seven passengers and two crew members killed when a private aircraft crashes in the Dominican Republic's capital of Santo Domingo.

- EU drug regulator says an experimental pill developed by Pfizer to treat COVID-19 can be used in bloc's countries despite its full review is still pending.

Dec. 17

- At least 24 people die in a fire at a medical clinic in western Japan.

- The conflict in Ethiopia's Tigray region expands to other areas and forces at least 2 million people from their homes.

- European countries accelerate vaccination of children aged 5-11 amid surging cases of the coronavirus.

Dec. 18

- The Netherlands announces a four-week lockdown amid concerns over the omicron coronavirus variant.

- Voters in Taiwan begin to cast ballots amid that country's first standalone national referendums.

- At least 11 people killed in Pakistan and more than a dozen injured in an explosion that shakes the southern port city of Karachi.

Dec. 19

- US aerospace company SpaceX launches Turkey's new telecommunication 5B satellite into space.

- Thousands of Sudanese rally in the capital Khartoum to mark the third anniversary of a popular uprising that swept long-serving President Omar al-Bashir from power.

- Gabriel Boric wins Chile's presidential election, becoming the country's youngest leader at the age of 35 after his rival conceded defeat.

Dec. 20

- French police say two women were taken hostage by a knife-wielding man at a shop in Paris.

- More than 3.3 million people lost their lives to COVID-19 this year – more deaths than from HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis combined in 2020, WHO head says.

- First legislative elections in Hong Kong, with the poll taking place under new "patriots only" rules imposed by China.