Rates of transmission of omicron continue to rise a day after the United Kingdom announced its first death from this latest variant of COVID-19. We hear from a leading epidemiologist about what we've learned since omicron was first announced. Also, leaders in Iran want people to have more children. To reach this goal, they have passed new legislation that limits access to contraceptives and abortions. Plus, Yemen's junior national soccer team scored a victory in the West Asia Cup over Saudi Arabia. Although Yemenis remain divided over the Saudi role in their country's ongoing war, they were united in celebration over their team's win.

There is still time to support The World before our fundraising drive ends on Dec. 31. Your gift ensures that all our coverage on the air, on the web, and via the podcast remains free and accessible to everyone. With a donation of $130 (or $11/month), host Marco Werman will personally thank you on the podcast! Learn more and make your gift today.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the UK's first reported death from the omicron variant of the coronavirus and said restrictions were in place to help mitigate an upcoming tidal wave of cases. Now, Brits are lining up for booster shots and bracing for new restrictions during the holiday season. Also, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko has taken a hard line against his political opponents. That's led members of the Belarus Free Theater to conclude that they need to leave the country. Plus, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken dropped a playlist on Spotify for his Southeast Asia trip to Indonesia, Thailand and Myanmar. It includes a rock ballad called “Terlalu Manis,” or “Too Sweet,” by Slank, one of the most popular Indonesian rock bands ever.

There is still time to support The World before our fundraising drive ends on Dec. 31. Your gift ensures that all our coverage on the air, on the web, and via the podcast remains free and accessible to everyone. With a donation of $130 (or $11/month), host Marco Werman will personally thank you on the podcast! Learn more and make your gift today.

New Zealand's new smoking ban — for those who are 14 and under — is a step toward eventually ending all cigarette sales in the country. It impacts the nation's Maori and Pacific Island communities, in particular. Also, the tragic death of more than 50 migrants in a trailer-truck crash in southern Mexico highlights the dangers faced by migrants globally. And, we remember the Japanese video game pioneer who created Nintendo.

There is still time to support The World before our fundraising drive ends on Dec. 31. Your gift ensures that all our coverage on the air, on the web, and via the podcast remains free and accessible to everyone. With a donation of $130 (or $11/month), host Marco Werman will personally thank you on the podcast! Learn more and make your gift today.

To understand the new omicron variant, travel restrictions and how people can better prepare for the upcoming festive season, reporter Elana Gordon moderated a discussion with Stephen Kissler — who is a research fellow in the Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health — as part of The World's regular series of conversations about the pandemic.

The Biden administration received bipartisan criticism in the Senate this week over the fate of the Guantanamo Bay detention center. The camp has been open for nearly two decades and several US presidents have vowed to close it. But it remains open with some 39 prisoners still behind bars. And a Hong Kong court charged three prominent Hong Kong pro-democracy figures, including media mogul Jimmy Lai, with unauthorized assembly for taking part in a vigil to mark the Tiananmen Square massacre. Plus, if you’ve searched for a new TV series lately, perhaps you’ve stumbled upon Turkish dizis. Don’t call them telenovelas or soap operas, though — they’re in a category of their own.

There is still time to support The World before our fundraising drive ends on Dec. 31. Your gift ensures that all our coverage on the air, on the web, and via the podcast remains free and accessible to everyone. With a donation of $130 (or $11/month), host Marco Werman will personally thank you on the podcast! Learn more and make your gift today. 

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson denied that a Christmas party was held at 10 Downing street last December during a pandemic ban on indoor parties, despite new video evidence. It could undercut the impact of an announcement of new omicron-related restrictions in England. And US President Joe Biden is holding a virtual "Summit for Democracy" this week as part of a White House effort to advocate for democracy as a governance style recently on the decline. Plus, we hear new music from an ensemble of musicians from Iran, India and the US. Their project, “This Pale," features an open interpretation of the love poetry of Rumi, the 13th-century mystic and writer.

Every day, our incredible team brings you powerful human stories from diverse perspectives you can’t hear anywhere else. Without your support, none of it would be possible. Help us unlock a matching gift of $67,000 by giving $130, or $11 per month. Thank you for being a part of our fall drive, and making our work possible!

US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin met on Tuesday via video conference. At the top of their agenda: the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. In recent months, Russia has been building up its military presence on Ukraine’s border. And on Wednesday, Germany gets a new chancellor and a new coalition government. After 16 years, Angela Merkel will be replaced by Olaf Scholz as the country’s new leader. Plus, billionaire Michael Steinhardt has surrendered 180 stolen objects worth $70 million and has been barred for life from buying antiquities. This comes after a four-year multinational investigation found that his illegal purchases had been smuggled from 11 countries via 12 illicit networks.

Every day, our incredible team brings you powerful human stories from diverse perspectives you can’t hear anywhere else. Without your support, none of it would be possible. Help us unlock a matching gift of $67,000 by being one of 515 supporters giving $130, or $11 per month. Thank you for being a part of our fall drive, and making our work possible!

The White House has announced a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Olympics, slated to begin on Feb. 4. The decision was due to China’s “ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang.” Also, the most prominent political leader in Myanmar, 76-year-old Nobel prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, was given a four-year prison sentence on Monday. Hours later, the head of the military junta lowered her prison term to two years. Plus, before the Beatles invaded the United States, their record label attempted to get them to sing two of their big hits in German. They did well — it turns out they could speak passable German and French — but grudgingly.

Every day, our incredible team brings you powerful human stories from diverse perspectives you can’t hear anywhere else. Without your support, none of it would be possible. Help us unlock a matching gift of $67,000 by being one of 515 supporters giving $130, or $11 per month. Thank you for being a part of our fall drive, and making our work possible!

Efforts to vaccinate people to stop the spread of the pandemic in conflict zones, including Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan and Ethiopia — where even basic humanitarian aid is often hard to come by — continue to be hampered. The coronavirus pandemic has made the situation worse, with lockdowns and overstretched services affecting efforts to reach vulnerable populations. As part of The World's regular series of conversations on the pandemic with Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health, reporter Elana Gordon moderated a discussion with a panel of experts about the difficulties of vaccinating populations in conflict areas.

See more discussions in our series here: https://www.theworld.org/categories/coronavirus-conversations.

A UNICEF analysis of various studies has revealed “higher levels of depression, fear, anxiety, anger, irritability, negativity, conduct disorder, alcohol and substance use and sedentary behaviors, compared with pre-pandemic rates” among children and adolescents from mostly high and upper middle-income countries from around the globe. As part of The World's regular series of conversations about the pandemic, reporter Elana Gordon moderated a discussion with Karestan Koenen, Professor of Psychiatric Epidemiology at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, to discuss the challenges surrounding the mental health impacts of the pandemic on children.

See more of the Coronavirus Conversations series here: https://www.theworld.org/categories/coronavirus-conversations.