British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told his Irish counterpart Micheal Martin on Wednesday that significant gaps remain between Britain and the European Union on trading arrangements for Northern Ireland.
The SARS-CoV-2 virus will continue to spread intensely as societies return to the social mixing and mobility of a pre-pandemic period, the World Health Organisation's (WHO) emergency director Mike Ryan said on Wednesday.
German Chancellor-designate Olaf Scholz on Wednesday hailed his Social Democrats' new so-called "traffic light" coalition with the Greens and liberal Free Democrats as a groundbreaking alliance that he said will modernise the country.
British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss warned Russia on Wednesday that it would be making a "grave mistake" if it attacked Ukraine and said London was working closely with its NATO allies to support Ukraine.
Russia announced progress in its Sputnik suite of COVID-19 vaccines on Wednesday, with a new version aimed at children and a nasal spray that President Vladimir Putin said he had taken as a booster.