Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is starting a two-day visit to Spain where he and his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sánchez will meet with other leaders, mostly of mid-to-small-sized countries, who are concerned with the fate of the democratic order and the rise of the populist far right.

Global Citizen NOW says it wants 2024 conference attendees to invest long-term in the African continent's fast-growing youth population and increase outreach to young changemakers.

European Union leaders have pledged to “keep up the pressure" on Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko to halt the flow of migrants entering the 27 member-nation bloc from his country.

Stefan Lofven, Sweden’s Social Democratic prime minister since 2014, is stepping down as head of government and the party in November.

Nearly 39,000 new cases were reported Wednesday and over 35,000 on Thursday, some of the highest daily increases to date. Some facilities have already suspended elective surgery, and the eastern city of Valencia has reopened a makeshift hospital used last year. Existing lockdowns or the prospect of mandatory confinement have not been questioned or turned into a political issue in other European countries. Ireland instituted a complete lockdown after widespread infections were found to be tied to the new variant. Italy has a color-coded system that activates a strict lockdown at its highest — or red — level, although no areas are currently at that stage.

European Council President Charles Michel, center, arrives for a round table meeting at an EU summit in Brussels, Thursday, Dec. 10, 2020. European Union leaders meet for a year-end summit that will address anything from climate, sanctions against Turkey to budget and virus recovery plans. From left, Latvia's Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins, Sweden's Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. “Regrettably, Turkey has engaged in unilateral actions and provocations and escalated its rhetoric against the EU, EU member states and European leaders,” they said in a statement from their summit in Brussels. “Any decision to impose sanctions against Turkey won’t be of great concern to Turkey,” Erdogan told reporters.

State health officials decline to identify which hospitals have expressed interest, but say there is need statewide. Hospitalizations have not yet reached their summer heights in Georgia, but beds are filling rapidly with COVID-19 cases. ___HARRISBURG, Pa. — States faced a deadline on Friday to place orders for the coronavirus vaccine as many reported record infections, hospitalizations and deaths. Ukraine, which is facing a rapid rise in coronavirus cases, tightened weekend restrictions last month but lifted them this week. ___ATLANTA — Vice President Mike Pence is trying to boost Americans’ confidence in the COVID-19 vaccines that are awaiting regulatory approval and distribution.

(Siphiwe Sibeko/Pool via AP)BEIJING — China has reported new coronavirus cases in the cities of Shanghai and Tianjin as it seeks to prevent small outbreaks from becoming larger ones. ___RENO, Nevada — The head of the Nevada agency promoting business growth has urged companies to embrace new restrictions as coronavirus cases soar. Kentucky continued setting records with 2,135 new confirmed coronavirus cases reported, the state’s highest daily number on a Monday since the pandemic again. Gary Herbert on Monday relaxed restrictions on social gatherings ahead of Thanksgiving weekend as coronavirus cases and hospitalizations continue to surge. Also on Monday, Spain’s 14-day cumulative number of COVID-19 cases per 100,000 population — a key metric in measuring the pandemic’s spread — has continued to fall.

Larry Hogan warned of a major surge in coronavirus cases and urged residents Thursday to wear masks to prevent the virus’s spread. State Health Officer and Department of Health Services Interim Division of Public Health Administrator Stephanie Smiley is the second state health officer to resign in the last six months. Lujan Grisham says people can’t get numb to the troubling data or the threat of the state’s health care system being overwhelmed. State health officials added 45 more coronavirus-related deaths Thursday, raising the overall toll to 4,511 including confirmed and presumed infections. Spain has a 14-day average of 527 coronavirus cases per 100,000 people, one of the highest in Europe.

A general view of the round table meeting at an EU summit at the European Council building in Brussels, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2020. European Union leaders are meeting to address a series of foreign affairs issues ranging from Belarus to Turkey and tensions in the eastern Mediterranean. “We have to decided today to implement the sanctions," European Council President Charles Michel told reporters after chairing the summit in Brussels. It is also unusual in that all 27 EU member countries, including Cyprus, reject the result of the Aug. 9 election that returned Lukashenko to power for a sixth term. “When a European Union member state is attacked, threatened, when its territorial waters are not respected, it’s the duty of Europeans to show their solidarity,” Macron said.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte arrives for an EU summit in Brussels, Monday, July 20, 2020. (Stephanie Lecocq, Pool Photo via AP)THE HAGUE Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte didnt win many friends with his tough negotiating over the course of a marathon four-day European Union summit in Brussels. That didnt bother the three-term leader who is a veteran of plenty of past EU negotiations. Hard-line Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban wondered out loud why Rutte hated his nation. Geert Wilders, whose Party for Freedom is a fierce EU critic, called the deal Crazy.

People enjoy the warm evening weather in Malmo, Sweden, Tuesday May 26, 2020 as a sign reads 'In Malmo everything is near. We say to all those who now mourn and suffer: You are not alone.Sweden has the most virus-related deaths in the Nordic region, with 5,041 reported as of Wednesday. However, the number of COVID-19 deaths recorded daily has declined, and weekly statistics show that mortality is now close to normal for this time of year after peaking in April. A number of European countries have maintained travel restrictions on visitors from Sweden due to the countrys rate of new confirmed cases. Unfortunately, it has been interpreted in international media as a new peak, (which) is completely wrong," he said.