Briefly

AUSTRALIA

1st community case of Omicron confirmed

Authorities on Tuesday confirmed a person with COVID-19 had the new Omricon variant after disclosing that the person had been active in the community, but urged calm as they weighed up the severity of the strain. The fully vaccinated person visited a busy shopping center in Sydney while likely infectious, officials said. All passengers on the person's flight were asked to self-isolate for 14 days regardless of their vaccination status. The additional case brings Australia's total number of infections with the new variant to six. Meanwhile, Japan had also confirmed its first case of the Omicron variant, the Kyodo news agency reported on Tuesday, citing unidentified government sources. G7 health ministers on Monday called for "urgent action" to combat Omicron as US President Joe Biden said the strain is "not a cause for panic".

FRANCE

Police dismantle Dunkirk migrant camp

Police on Tuesday tore down a makeshift camp near the northern French port of Dunkirk where scores of migrants who say they are fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East were hunkered down with hopes of reaching Britain. Armed officers entered the camp, which runs along a disused railway line, before workers in protective suits pulled down tents and plastic shelters. Charity workers said the 27 migrants who drowned in the English Channel last week had stayed in the same area before they attempted the perilous sea crossing from France to Britain. Their dinghy deflated in the open sea.

MALDIVES

Ex-leader freed after conviction overturned

Maldives' former president Abdulla Yameen was freed from house arrest on Tuesday after a top court overturned a money-laundering and embezzlement conviction, allowing him to potentially make a return to politics. After an appeal by Yameen, a three-member Supreme Court bench ruled on Tuesday that there was insufficient evidence in the original case. Two previous appeals at lower courts had been rejected. Hundreds of supporters of Yameen gathered outside his residence in the capital Male after the verdict was announced.

Agencies Via Xinhua