Armed conflicts and attacks

• ADF insurgency
  • Uganda launches airstrikes against Allied Democratic Forces and Islamic State – Central Africa Province positions in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. (ABC News)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
      • COVID-19 pandemic in England
        • England begins to implement mandatory mask wearing in shops, banks, post offices and hairdressers, as well as on public transport as part of targeted measures to reduce the spread of the Omicron variant. (The Guardian)
        • Nottingham reports its second case of the Omicron variant in a student who attends the University of Nottingham. (BBC News)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Andorra
      • The Executive Council of Andorra announces the closure of nightlife after midnight, the reintroduction of the mandatory wearing of face masks outdoors for those over 6 years of age, and the reduction of capacity at sporting events, gyms, stores, spas, churches, recreational sites and public transport. (Diari d'Andorra)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Greece
      • COVID-19 vaccination in Greece
        • The government announces that anyone over the age of 60 who is not vaccinated will face a monthly fine of €100 beginning on January 16. (Kathimerini)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Japan
    • Travel during the COVID-19 pandemic
      • Japan closes its border to all newly arrived foreigners and requires its citizens to quarantine on arrival from countries where cases of the Omicron variant have been detected due to fears of the variant. (Bloomberg News)
    • Japan reports its first case of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant in a man in his 30s who travelled from Namibia. (Radio France Internationale)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil
    • Brazil reports its first "preliminary" cases of the Omicron variant in two people who travelled from South Africa. (AFP via Barron's)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Réunion
    • Réunion reports its first case of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant in a 53-year-old man who travelled from Mozambique on November 19. (Voice of America)
  • COVID-19 vaccine, Variants of SARS-CoV-2
    • BioNTech CEO Uğur Şahin and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla both say that their vaccine is likely to be effective against severe disease resulting from the Omicron variant. (Reuters)

Law and crime

• 2021 Oxford High School shooting
  • Four students are killed and seven others injured in a mass shooting at a high school in Oxford, Michigan, United States. (Detroit Free Press)

Politics and elections

• 2022 Philippine presidential election
  • Bong Go withdraws his candidacy from the presidential election, stating that he is waiting for "a sign from God". (GMA Network)
• Republicanism in Barbados
  • Dame Sandra Mason is inaugurated as the first president of Barbados, as the country becomes the 34th republic in the Commonwealth of Nations. (The Guardian)
• 2021 Honduran general election
  • The ruling centre-right National Party concedes victory to leftist Xiomara Castro, marking a return for the left to power after Castro's husband Manuel Zelaya was overthrown in a 2009 coup. (Reuters)

Sports

• Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports
  • 2021–22 NBA season
    • Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James tests positive for COVID-19 and will miss the team's matchup against the Sacramento Kings. (CNBC)