November 30, Tuesday, 2021 (1:30 p.m.) Newsline

1. Japan has confirmed its first case of the Omicron coronavirus variant. The government says the infected person recently arrived from the southern African country of Namibia. The man in his 30s tested positive for the coronavirus, on Sunday, at Narita Airport near Tokyo. He has been quarantined at a designated facility since his sample was sent for analysis.
2. The head of US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer says the company could have a new vaccine for the Omicron variant of the coronavirus in less than 100 days. Pfizer’s CEO Albert Bourla said if the current coronavirus vaccine protects less, Pfizer needs to create a new vaccine. He noted that the company has already started work for the vaccine.
3. Indirect talks between the United States and Iran on salvaging the 2015 nuclear agreement have resumed following a 5-month hiatus. The latest round of negotiations kicked off in Vienna on Monday, with European Union officials and others serving as mediators. The talks are the first since Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi—an anti-US hardline conservative—took power in August.