World News Roundup: Indonesia considers relocations after deadly volcanic eruption; BioNTech, Pfizer vaccine neutralises Omicron with three shots and more

In the first official statement from vaccine manufacturers on the likely efficacy of their shot against Omicron, BioNTech and Pfizer said that two vaccine doses resulted in significantly lower neutralising antibodies but that a third dose of their vaccine increased the neutralising antibodies by a factor of 25. Exclusive: Ukraine welcomes Biden-Putin call as path to deterrence and de-escalation Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told Reuters on Wednesday that talks between U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin had enabled "deterrence and de-escalation".

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Indonesia considers relocations after deadly volcanic eruption

Indonesia’s volcanology agency is sending a team of researchers to the Mount Semeru volcano to identify areas too dangerous for villagers to stay after it erupted on Saturday, killing dozens of people on the slopes of Java island’s highest mountain. In the days since the disaster, questions have been raised about the effectiveness of the disaster warning system and whether some villages should be moved.

BioNTech, Pfizer vaccine neutralises Omicron with three shots

BioNTech and Pfizer said on Wednesday a three-shot course of their COVID-19 vaccine was able to neutralise the new Omicron variant in a laboratory test and they could deliver an Omicron-based vaccine in March 2022 if needed. In the first official statement from vaccine manufacturers on the likely efficacy of their shot against Omicron, BioNTech and Pfizer said that two vaccine doses resulted in significantly lower neutralising antibodies but that a third dose of their vaccine increased the neutralising antibodies by a factor of 25.

Exclusive: Ukraine welcomes Biden-Putin call as path to deterrence and de-escalation

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told Reuters on Wednesday that talks between U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin had enabled "deterrence and de-escalation". In the first reaction by a senior Ukrainian official about Tuesday's video call between Biden and Putin, Kuleba welcomed U.S. efforts to bring Russia to the negotiating table.

Analysis: Omicron is a wake-up call for COVID-19 vaccine developers

Arrival of the highly-mutated Omicron variant is a wake-up call to develop vaccines less susceptible to the rapid changes of the coronavirus, leading virologists and immunologists told Reuters. Most first-generation COVID-19 vaccines target the spike protein on the outer surface of the SARS-CoV-2 virus used to infect human cells. Omicron has prompted alarm among scientists because it has far more mutations than earlier variants, including more than 30 on its spike.

Khashoggi murder suspect identified by passport, not name - French source

A Saudi man held at a Paris airport over suspected links to the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi was arrested because his passport triggered an alert, a police source said on Wednesday, after Saudi Arabia said it was a case of mistaken identity. French law enforcement sources have named the man arrested on Tuesday as Khaled Aedh Al-Otaibi - the same name as a former member of the Saudi Royal Guard listed in U.S. and British sanctions documents and a U.N.-commissioned report as having been involved in Khashoggi's killing in Turkey.

Russia says both sides to follow up quickly on Putin-Biden call

Russian and U.S. officials will urgently follow up Tuesday's two-hour call between presidents Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden on Ukraine with discussions on "this complex confrontational situation", the Kremlin said. Separately, a Russian foreign ministry official was quoted as saying the United States might be included for the first time in a group of countries working to end a seven-year war between Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian separatists.

UK PM apologises for video of staff joking about Christmas lockdown party

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson apologised on Wednesday after a video surfaced showing his staff laughing and joking about a gathering in Downing Street during a Christmas COVID lockdown last year when such festivities were banned. Johnson said he had been furious to see the clip and that, since allegations emerged in the media, he had been repeatedly assured that there had not been a party.

Australia joins diplomatic boycott of Beijing Winter Games

Australia will join the United States in a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Wednesday, as other allies weighed similar moves to protest China's human rights record. The United States has said its government officials will boycott February's Beijing Olympics because of China's human rights "atrocities", just weeks after talks aimed at easing tense relations between the world's two largest economies.

Scholz takes over as German chancellor, ending Merkel era

German lawmakers elected Social Democrat Olaf Scholz as chancellor on Wednesday, ending 16 years of conservative rule under Angela Merkel and paving the way for a pro-European government that has promised to boost green investment. Scholz, 63, who over the past four years served as vice chancellor and finance minister in coalition with Merkel, got a clear majority of 395 votes from lawmakers in the lower house of parliament, Bundestag President Baerbel Bas said.

Coffee crisis in Central America fuels record exodus north

The four sons of María Bonilla and Esteban Funes all embarked on the treacherous journey north, one of them aged 10, preferring the life of an unauthorized migrant in America to a coffee farmer in Central America. "If I didn't have my mom, I would also go to the U.S. It's better there. Here, no one is solvent," said 40-year-old Bonilla, who's still trying to beat the odds and turn a profit at her family farm in El Laurel, northeast Honduras.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)