Berlin: German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday that people who aren't vaccinated will be excluded from nonessential stores, cultural and recreational venues, and parliament will consider a general vaccine mandate, as part of an effort to curb coronavirus infections that again topped 70,000 newly confirmed cases in a 24-hour period.

Washington: A person in California became the first in the U.S. to have an identified case of the COVID-19 omicron variant, U.S. officials said Wednesday as scientists continue to study the risks posed by the new strain of the virus.

Oxford Township (US): A 15-year-old sophomore opened fire at his Michigan high school, killing three students and wounding six other people, including a teacher, authorities said.

Geneva: The World Health Organisation warned Monday that the global risk from the omicron variant is very high based on the early evidence, saying the mutated coronavirus could lead to surges with severe consequences.

Copenhagen (Denmark): Magdalena Andersson, who last week was Sweden's first woman Prime Minister for a few hours before resigning because a budget defeat made a coalition partner quit, was on Monday elected again as head of government.

New York: Virgil Abloh, a leading designer whose groundbreaking fusions of streetwear and high couture made him one of the most celebrated tastemakers in fashion and beyond, has passed away due to cancer. He was 41.

Berlin: Australia on Sunday became the latest country to detect the omicron variant of the coronavirus in travelers who arrived from southern Africa, while Israel decided to bar entry to foreign nationals the toughest of a growing raft of curbs imposed by nations around the world as they scramble to slow its spread.

United Nations/Geneva: The new COVID-19 variant B.1.1.529, first detected from South Africa this week, was on Friday designated as a Variant of Concern by the World Health Organisation, which named it Omicron.