Orthodox Christians in Russia, Serbia and other countries began Christmas observances Thursday amid restrictions aimed at dampening the spread of the coronavirus, but few worshipers appeared concerned as they streamed into churches.

The majority of Orthodox believers celebrate Christmas on Jan. 7, with midnight services especially popular. The churches in Romania, Bulgaria, Cyprus and Greece mark it on Dec. 25 along with other Christian denominations.

The U.S., Britain, France and Australia have all announced record numbers of daily Covid-19 cases as the WHO warned that Omicron's dizzying spread increased the risk of newer, more dangerous variants emerging.

Britain breached 200,000 cases for the first time on Tuesday, Australia posted almost 50,000 and France registered more than 270,000, all three countries easily topping their previous records.

President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday faced anger from opponents and chaos in parliament after warning French people not yet vaccinated against Covid-19 that they would be squeezed out of key aspects of life.

More than one in 20 people in Britain had Covid-19 in the last week of 2021, the highest infection rate recorded during the pandemic, official data showed Wednesday.

Lebanon recorded 5,087 new Covid-19 cases and 19 deaths over the past 24 hours, the Health Ministry said on Tuesday.

The country has witnessed a major surge in cases in recent weeks, amid the spread of the highly transmissible Omicron variant of the virus and the gatherings that accompanied the holidays period.

A top World Health Organization official says low hospitalization and death rates in South Africa due to the omicron variant cannot be considered a template for how the variant will fare as it surges in other countries.

Dr. Abdi Mahamud, COVID-19 incident manager at the U.N. health agency, notes a “decoupling” between case counts and deaths in the country, which first announced the emergence of the fast-spreading new variant.

The centrist party of French President Emmanuel Macron was left red-faced on Tuesday after opposition parties joined forces to hold up a bill tightening measures against Covid-19.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said Tuesday that an Israeli study indicated fourth coronavirus vaccinations were "safe" and increased antibodies "fivefold", as the country expands its inoculation campaign amid rising infections. 

An EU ban on tattoo ink and permanent make-up containing chemicals feared to cause cancers or other health risks went into effect on Tuesday, officials said.

Britain on Tuesday faced warnings of an impending hospital crisis due to staff shortages caused by a wave of Omicron infections, as the country returned to work after Christmas.