The two-day virtual summit will focus on “the challenges and opportunities facing democratic governments,” a Joe Biden administration official told reporters (White House). China and Russia were not invited to the summit, a move their ambassadors to the United States denounced (Guardian) as “a product of Cold War thinking.”
 
The event will cover issues such as protecting press freedoms, countering corruption, and defending election integrity. Several countries that were invited have worse “democracy index” scores from nongovernmental organization Freedom House than those that were excluded (Economist). The White House said it aimed to include a “regionally diverse set” of democracies and that participants will attend another summit next year (ABC) to take stock of their actions.

Washington cited concerns (AFP) about corruption and human rights abuses in Cambodia, as well as the Chinese military’s rising influence there. Separately, a U.S. diplomat will visit Cambodia this week to seek cooperation on pressing Myanmar’s junta to cease its violence.
 
CFR’s Joshua Kurlantzick looks at how Cambodia will handle the Myanmar crisis.
 
New Zealand: The government plans to change the legal age for tobacco purchases (Reuters) such that anyone who is fourteen years old in 2027 will never be able to buy tobacco.

Earlier this month, farmers’ mass protests led to the repeal of controversial agricultural reform laws. The protesters said they will leave the streets today after the government agreed to withdraw legal cases (Hindustan Times) related to the demonstrations and compensate the families of people who died during the movement.
 
Myanmar: Troops burned eleven civilians alive in apparent retaliation for an attack on a military convoy, the Associated Press reported.

Iraqi National Security Advisor Qasim al-Araji said that the approximately 2,500 U.S. troops will move to training and advisory roles (Reuters). Most have been in such roles for some time.
 
Algeria: France’s foreign minister visited Algeria (AFP) to call for a warming in ties, which soured in October after French President Emmanuel Macron accused Algeria of fomenting “hatred toward France.”

Demonstrators have protested (Bloomberg) against the government’s inability to contain rising violence from Islamist militants.
 
South Africa: A study based on South African genome data found that in its early stages, the coronavirus’s omicron variant is 4.2 times more transmissible (Bloomberg) than the delta variant.
 
For Foreign Affairs, Kelley Lee writes that omicron’s emergence shows that the world needs a better strategy for pandemic-related travel restrictions.

The draft legislation would require firms (Guardian) such as Uber to ensure workers receive at least the minimum wage and have access to sick pay, among other rights.
 
France: A Paris court will hear a case today in which four nongovernmental organizations seek to make Twitter disclose (Politico) how much money and effort it devotes to moderating illegal and harmful content.
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This In Brief discusses how countries should regulate online speech.

It joins the United States (Axios), Australia, Lithuania, and the United Kingdom in refusing to send federal government officials to the games.
 
El Salvador: The U.S. Department of the Treasury said El Salvador’s government secretly negotiated with gangs (AP) so that they would reduce violence in the country in exchange for financial benefits.