Live updates: The world welcomes 2022 with muted celebrations as COVID-19 cases surge
CBSN
The world is ringing in 2022 with muted celebrations for another year, as the coronavirus pandemic — now fueled by the fast-spreading Omicron variant — continues to upset daily life across the globe. The new variant, which is now driving record case numbers in the U.S., forced many cities to tone down celebrations or cancel them altogether.
New York City's Times Square still plans to hold an event, but it will allow only a small fraction of the typical crowd, and all attendees over the age of 5 who do not qualify for an exemption are required to be fully vaccinated and wear face masks. Cities such as Atlanta and San Francisco have canceled typical celebrations.
In New Zealand, one of the first cities to kick off the new year, a light display replaced the traditional fireworks show. Australia proceeded with its seven-minute fireworks display over the Sydney Harbor Bridge and Sydney Opera House, but limited access to downtown Sydney, the Associated Press reported.
King Charles III knighted Brian May, co-founder of the rock group Queen, during a Tuesday investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace, the royal family announced. In addition to his fame as a rock guitarist, May is also an astrophysicist.
Researchers have discovered the oldest known remains of a giant ancient oceanic reptile, known as an ichthyosaur, on a remote Arctic island, offering new evidence of how the creature may have evolved.
Ten people were shot to death and another five were wounded in an attack at a bar in Mexico's central state of Guanajuato over the weekend, officials said.
A submarine with two dead bodies and nearly three tons of cocaine aboard was seized in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Colombia, the country's navy announced Sunday. Two survivors "in poor health" were also found on the vessel and given first aid.
Two men died Monday after a pickup truck plowed into pedestrians who were walking beside a road in the eastern Quebec town of Amqui, officials said.
President Biden and the leaders of two close U.S. allies formally announced Monday that Australia will purchase nuclear-powered attack submarines from the U.S. to modernize its fleet amid growing concern about China's influence in the Indo-Pacific region.
Iwao Hakamada, world's longest-serving death row inmate and former boxer, to get new trial at age 87
Tokyo's high court on Monday ordered a retrial for an 87-year-old former professional boxer who has been on death row for more than five decades after a murder conviction that his lawyers said was based on a forced confession and fabricated evidence.
The South African rapper Costa Titch died on stage while performing, police said Sunday, as they opened an investigation into the circumstances of the 28-year-old's sudden death.
Seoul, South Korea — The South Korean and U.S. militaries launched their biggest joint military exercises in years Monday, as North Korea said it tested submarine-launched cruise missiles in an apparent protest of the drills it views as an invasion rehearsal. North Korea's launches Sunday signal the country likely will conduct provocative weapons testing activities during the U.S.-South Korean drills that are to run for 11 days. Last week, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered his troops to be ready to repel its rivals' "frantic war preparation moves."
In what is now southern Italy, Pompeii was a bustling metropolis, until an eruption from the mighty volcano Vesuvius engulfed it in ash nearly 2,000 years ago. The stone skeleton of this ancient city has emerged through centuries of excavations – an intriguing glimpse of another time. Yet, at least one-third of the Roman city remains buried, and that means the tantalizing discoveries continue.
Israeli forces shot and killed three Palestinian militants Sunday who opened fire on troops in the occupied West Bank, the military said, the latest bloodshed in a year-long wave of violence in the region.