Czech president appoints new PM from glass box

Czech President Milos Zeman, separated by a transparent wall after testing positive for the coronavirus disease, appoints Civic Democratic Party leader Petr Fiala as the new prime minister at the Lany Chateau near Prague, the Czech Republic, on Sunday. Zeman tested positive for the coronavirus earlier last week, and is currently recovering after a lengthy stay at a hospital for non-COVID related serious illness.Xinhua

Singapore, Malaysia

reopen land border

Singapore and Malaysia reopened one of the world’s busiest land borders on Monday, allowing vaccinated travelers to cross after nearly two years of being shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Although travelers welcomed the chance to reunite with family and friends, there were concerns the border might be closed again due to the new coronavirus variant Omicron.

At the Queen Street bus terminal in Singapore, a few dozen people waiting to board the first buses to Malaysia expressed caution. “The borders may close soon because of the new variant,” said Eugene Ho, a 31-year-old banker leaving Singapore for the first time in nearly two years. “I am actually very worried about getting stuck.”

Cambodia prince dies in France

Cambodia’s Prince Norodom Ranariddh, former prime minister and the son of the late King Norodom Sihanouk, died on Sunday in France, Information Minister Khieu Kanharith announced on his Facebook page. He was 77.

Ranariddh had been in ill health since an auto accident in Cambodia in 2018. An aide to Ranariddh said he went to Paris in late 2019 for medical treatment of a broken pelvis.

Ranariddh’s career was always in the shade of his father, Sihanouk, and his political rival, Hun Sen, with whom he shared power before being pushed aside. Hun Sen remains prime minister.

Ranariddh’s half brother, Norodom Sihamoni, became king in 2004 after the abdication of Sihanouk, who died in 2012. Ranariddh, a French-educated law scholar, entered public life in 1983, when he took over leadership of Funcinpec, an armed resistance movement against the Vietnamese-installed government.

More countries find Omicron cases

The newly discovered Omicron variant of COVID-19 in South Africa has raised fears about the global trajectory of the pandemic, while some countries including the United States have raced to impose travel restrictions on southern African countries.

On Friday, U.S. President Joe Biden announced that his country will impose travel restrictions on eight African countries including South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique and Malawi as the new coronavirus variant was detected on the continent.

Australia and Japan are also among the latest nations to either halt flights to the region or announce mandatory quarantines and screenings.

Sweden’s 1st female PM resigns after appointment

Shortly after Social Democrat leader Magdalena Andersson was elected Sweden’s first female prime minister on November 24, she tendered her resignation faced with the harsh reality of having to lead a minority coalition government.

Just hours after she was elected prime minister, Parliament (Riksdag) passed the opposition’s budget proposal prompting Andersson’s coalition partner the Green Party to pull its support. This, in turn, forced Andersson to announce her resignation.

Kremlin hopes Biden, Putin talk before year-end

The Kremlin said on Sunday it was hoping that U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin would speak via videolink before the end of the year.

“We are hoping that the communication will happen before the end of the year. There is no exact date. It is likely to be a video conference,” Russia’s RIA news agency quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying. His comments come as tensions are high over what the West says are unusual Russian troop movements close to Ukraine.

Some Russian sources have suggested they are a part of a Russian push to secure and frame the terms of another summit with Biden. Biden said on Friday that he would “in all probability” speak with Putin and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.(SD-Agencies)