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)
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)
Due to an increasing number of new cases and deaths, ChancellorAngela Merkel and the leaders of 16 states are expected to discuss new restrictions at a meeting on December 13. (Bloomberg)
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 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)
California reports 35,468 new cases in the past 24 hours, a new single-day record since the pandemic began. It also reports a record number of hospitalized patients: 2,013, and record number of 2,669 intensive care patients. (KABC-TV)
Nebraska GovernorPete 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)
The U.S. reports 3,309 deaths from COVID-19, a new one-day record. (Market Watch)
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)
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)
Pro-democracy tycoon Jimmy Lai is charged under the new national security law. Lai faces a lengthy prison sentence for allegedly "conspiring with foreign forces" to endanger national security. (BBC News)
Shinji Aoba, who is accused of killing 36 people by setting them on fire in last year's attack, is to be indicted on charges of murder after being found mentally competent to stand trial following a mental health evaluation. (The Japan Times)
Austria's Constitutional Court overturns a government ban on school children wearing specific religious head coverings, ruling it discriminatory, and saying that the ban could lead to the "marginalisation of Muslim girls". (BBC News)
After 51 years, a team of volunteer codebreakers solved a cipher by the infamous Zodiac Killer, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The cipher says "I hope you are having lots of fun trying to catch me", and "I am not afraid of the gas chamber because it will send me to paradice [sic] all the sooner because I now have enough slaves to work for me". (Reuters)