The World

International aid is beginning to mobilize for Tonga after an underwater volcano erupted on Saturday. But officials are concerned that admitting aid workers will bring COVID-19 into a country that has remained almost entirely free of the coronavirus. And Cubans who took to the streets to demonstrate against their government last July are paying a heavy price. Dozens have appeared in court in recent weeks, and some are facing decadeslong sentences. Plus, do you have a doppelgänger somewhere out there in the world? When Francois Brunelle was younger, people told him he looked like the main character in the British sitcom, "Mr. Bean." He now captures photos of unrelated "twins" across the globe.

The island of Tonga's isolation is impacting efforts to meet humanitarian needs or to even assess conditions days after the volcanic eruption. The Tongan government has called the situation an "unprecedented disaster." And in Mexico on Monday, journalist Margarito Martínez Esquivel was shot dead outside his home in Tijuana. Authorities have launched an investigation, but details remain unclear. Plus, women in Malawi who don’t fit into social norms have sometimes been accused of witchcraft. Former colonial rulers attempted to curb witchcraft accusations by imposing laws, but citizens often don’t respect or legitimize these laws.

Pandemic trivia: Which country has the highest COVID-19 vaccination rate in the world? The answer is the United Arab Emirates. The UAE boasts a vaccination rate higher than 90%. We look into what's driven the country’s massive success. Also, in the Arctic, the ground is literally disappearing. Roads, bridges and infrastructure are built on permafrost. But with climate change, that's starting to thaw. Plus, tensions are on the rise in Bosnia. Experts are calling this its worst crisis in more than 25 year as Bosnian Serbs seem poised to pull out of the government that they share with Bosnian Croats and Muslims.

About 30 migrants are currently being detained in the same hotel where tennis star Novak Djokovic stayed, putting the spotlight once again on Australia’s controversial immigration policy. The migrants were transferred from the country’s offshore immigration detention camps to receive medical care, but will not be able to stay in Australia. Also, Japan is pointing fingers at the US military for its uptick in omicron cases, reigniting long-standing grievances over the impact of US soldiers stationed in Japan. And, the hit game Wordle has gone global as people around the world create versions in their own languages.

A German court has convicted former Syrian army colonel Anwar Raslan of crimes against humanity, handing him a life sentence. It’s the world’s first trial related to state-sponsored torture under Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. And after a seven-month ban, Nigeria has restored access to Twitter, after the social networking giant agreed to a number of conditions that may permit tighter government control of social media. Plus, the lights went out in Argentina this week after a heat wave led to a higher demand for power, putting a strain on the electrical grid. The power outages led to protests in several Buenos Aires neighborhoods.

Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Tuesday that he had a sore throat after testing positive for COVID-19 for a second time. He then downplayed the illness, saying “it’s like a cold.” And Russia has used an array of tools to destabilize its adversaries, including coercive cyberactivity. Yesterday, several US security agencies released an advisory report detailing specific cybertactics in the Kremlin's toolbox. Plus, we hear from the “lonesome yodeler” of Sudbury, Ontario. During the pandemic, he’s been sharing his vocal talents in the hopes of making lockdown a bit less lonesome for his city.

When it comes to global travel, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has four levels of COVID-19 risk advisories for countries, from low to very high. Omicron surges have put many more countries at level four, including Canada. And today marks 20 years since the first detainees filed into the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. US Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden vowed to shutter the facility, but more than three dozen men remain there in legal limbo. Also, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought Bulgarians back home after thousands emigrated abroad. Many are now wondering if the new returnees will stay and help bolster the EU's poorest country.

Tianjin, a large city near Beijing with 14 million people, reported 41 COVID-19 cases over the weekend. With the Winter Olympics less than a month away, the city is carrying out round-the-clock, mandatory COVID-19 tests. And students and teachers in Uganda reunited today, after nearly two years of COVID-19 shutdowns. We hear why many Ugandan students still won’t be returning to their classrooms. Plus, tango is one of the most famous musical genres coming out of Argentina, but its history is steeped in sexism. Now, some tango musicians are part of a movement to write songs with a feminist lens.

In Kazakhstan, protests, turmoil and violence continue after liquified gas prices recently doubled. The country’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said today that he gave orders to security forces to open fire without warning at people he’s calling "terrorists." And airlines are required to fly up to 80% of their schedule to retain their assigned slots, but reduced demand for air travel has led some airlines to fly “ghost flights” to keep competitors from securing the coveted spots. Also, before you put your Christmas tree on the curb, consider repurposing it in the kitchen. The concept may be new to some, but people around the world have been cooking with pine, fir and spruce for centuries.

Imagery from the Jan. 6 insurrection on the US Capitol has made for powerful propaganda in the hands of extremists abroad. We hear from an expert about how US insurrectionists have inspired neo-fascist groups around the world. And with just one month until the Winter Olympics begin in Beijing, China’s zero-COVID-19 policy will impact how the games run. Plus, the King Cake culinary tradition unites many French families on Jan. 6, Christianity's Epiphany Day. Whoever finds a small baby Jesus figurine in their slice becomes king for the day.