Omicron Spreads

President Biden on Monday described the Omicron variant of the coronavirus as a “cause for concern, not a cause for panic,” as cases continue to emerge around the globe and the WHO has designated it a “variant of concern,” as the Washington Post reports.

Omicron South Africa

The emergence of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus in South Africa has driven a sharp increase in Covid-19 hospitalizations in the country’s hot-spot province over the past two weeks, although fewer patients are being treated for severe disease than in previous surges, as the WSJ reports.

Iran Talks Revived

After a break of more than five months, talks on reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal resumed Monday in Vienna, and, as the NYT reports, Iran is insisting that the U.S. and its allies promise never to impose sanctions on Iran again.

CSIS and DINSN Announce the 2021 U.S. National Security & Foreign Affairs Leadership List

The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), in partnership with the Diversity in National Security Network (DINSN), is pleased to announce the 2021 U.S. National Security & Foreign Affairs Leadership List.

Executive Education

Register for "The Defense Enterprise Today" course to learn about the current state of and future challenges facing the defense enterprise, including classic defense activities as well as the intelligence community, irregular warfare, and gray zone competition.

Video Shorts

Check out CSIS’s new series of video shorts: “Data Unpacked,” Testify,” “What's Happening,” “Preview,” and “High Resolution.” And don’t forget to subscribe to the CSIS YouTube Channel!

In That Number

32

In a technical briefing note to member countries, the WHO warned that the new Omicron variant of Covid-19 contains a “high number of mutations”—including up to 32 variations in the spike protein—that could lead to future Covid-19 surges.

Source: NYT

Critical Quote

“This variant is a cause for concern, not a cause for panic.”

— President Joe Biden

iDeas Lab

The latest Testify video is out now, featuring CSIS's Daniel F. Runde discussing his testimony on vaccine diplomacy in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The Andreas C. Dracopoulos iDeas Lab at CSIS enhances our research with the latest in cutting-edge web technologies, design, and multimedia.

Optics

(Photo credit: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images.) U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the Omicron Covid-19 variant following a meeting with his Covid-19 response team.

This Town Tomorrow

At 8:30 a.m., the CSIS Energy Security and Climate Change Program hosts a discussion about the First Movers Coalition, a new initiative the United States launched at this year’s UN Climate Change Conference (COP26).

Then, at 11:00 a.m., Foreign Policy hosts a virtual dialogue on independent media and its role in advancing democracy.

And, at 1:30 p.m., join the Atlantic Council for a conversation on the evolution of the Chinese commercial footprint in African markets.

Video

Last week, the CSIS Americas Program was joined by Secretary General of the Organization of American States H.E. Luis Almagro for an armchair discussion on the organization's goals and possible reforms over the next five years.

Podcasts

On the latest episode of The Asia Chessboard, Mike Green discusses AUKUS and changing dynamics in the Indo-Pacific with Rory Medcalf, head of the National Security College at Australia National University.

Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts.

Smiles

“I’d like to dream/My troubles all away
On a bed/Of California stars
Jump up from my star-bed
Make another day
Underneath
My California stars”

Before we adjourned for Thanksgiving, I mentioned that Wilco is one of my favorite American bands. Wilco is often described as an Alt-Country outfit. Whether you think of them that way, or as a progressive rock band, folk band, roots band, or just a plain old rock and roll band, they incorporate just about the entire DNA of American music into their sound.

In 1998, Wilco teamed up with British folk singer Billy Bragg to record an album (“Mermaid Avenue”) of previously unheard lyrics written by Woody Guthrie. “Mermaid Avenue” proved to be an instant classic, and “California Stars” is one of the album’s standout tracks. Here’s Wilco performing it in 2016 with Jason Isbell.

I invite you to email me at [email protected] and follow me on Twitter @handrewschwartz

The Evening is my daily guide to key insights CSIS brings to the events of the day. It is composed with the External Relations team: Kendal Gee, Paige Montfort, and Christopher Healey.