Category Archives: World News

Coronavirus live news: EU wants 70% of adults vaccinated by end of summer; Israel extends Covid lockdown

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EU aims to vaccinate 70% of adults by the end of summer; WHO mission at ground-zero Wuhan market; Israel extends lockdown as Covid variants offset vaccination drive

A World Health Organization team has visited the Huanan food market in Wuhan as part of its fieldwork in a politically sensitive mission to investigate the origins of the pandemic, AFP reports.

Their visit is being tightly controlled, and the WHO has already lowered expectations of pinpointing the source of the virus, which is known to have infected more than 102 million people so far with over 2.2 million deaths.

AstraZeneca will increase its coronavirus vaccine deliveries to the EU by 30%, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said Sunday as the bloc sought to claw back time lost rolling out the jabs, AFP reports.

The British-Swedish company had announced last week that it could deliver only a quarter of the doses originally promised to the bloc for the first quarter of the year because of problems at one of its European factories.

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Coronavirus live news: UK variant behind ‘half of new Dutch cases’; concern at Italy reopening

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Dutch minister’s comments come as country says primary schools still to reopen next week; experts say easing could cause spike in cases

Elderly people in Poland will not be given the AstraZeneca Covid-19 jab, the vaccination minister said on Monday, adding that the final call will be made following advice from medical experts.

Europe’s medicines regulator approved AstraZeneca/Oxford University’s jab for over-18s on Friday, but said there were not yet enough results for people over 55 to determine how effective the vaccine will be.

“If we are talking about the decision of the medical council, we expect it in the coming days or possibly hours, but it is clear that elderly people will not be vaccinated with this shot,” Michal Dworczyk, the prime minister’s top aide, who has been put in charge of vaccinations, told a news conference. “We are waiting for a clear recommendation from the medical council and then... we will take a decision,” he added.

South Africa's first batch of lifesaving #COVID19 #Vaccine doses have officially touched ground! #IChooseVaccination #VaccineRolloutSA #WeChooseVaccination pic.twitter.com/V8ztEmdSKo

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Myanmar army takes power in coup as Aung San Suu Kyi detained

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Military has previously threatened to ‘take action’ over alleged fraud in a November election

Myanmar’s military has taken power in a coup and declared a state of emergency, hours after detaining Aung San Suu Kyi and other senior figures from the ruling party.

Phone and mobile internet services in the city of Yangon were down on Monday morning and military trucks, one carrying barbed-wire barriers, were parked outside City Hall. The state-run MRTV network said it had been unable to broadcast. Banks were closed across the nation.

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‘That hurricane is coming’: expert warns US to brace for virulent Covid strain

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Leading infectious disease expert predicts that deadlier British strain will become dominant this spring

A leading infectious disease expert predicted on Sunday that the deadlier British variant of Covid-19 will become the dominant strain of the virus in the US and could hit the country like a hurricane.

The worrying forecast came as the total of confirmed infections in the US passed the 26m mark, with the death toll advancing steadily towards the grim milestone of half a million after on Sunday surpassing the total of 440,000, by far the highest in the world according to data gathered by the Johns Hopkins University coronavirus research center.

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Biden presidency ‘may herald new start for Saudi-Iranian relations’

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Existing quiet cooperation has been under way for months, say authors of Guardian comment article

An opportunity for a new beginning between Saudi Arabia and Iran has been presented by Joe Biden’s presidency, two leading Saudi and Iranians close to their diplomatic leaderships are proposing in an article in the Guardian today.

The article is co-written by Abdulaziz Sager, the Saudi Arabian chairman and founder of the Gulf Research Center, and Hossein Mousavian, a former senior Iranian diplomat and now a nuclear specialist based at Princeton University.

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Alexei Navalny protests: Moscow in lockdown as police detain thousands

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Riot police and national guard troops close central metro stations and block off streets

Police have paralysed the centres of Russia’s largest cities, including Moscow, as the Kremlin sought to beat back rallies in support of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, the country’s most significant protests in a decade.

Supporters of the Kremlin critic took to the streets to protest against his jailing, despite the biting cold and threat of arrest. At least 4,700 people, including Navalny’s wife, Yulia Navalnaya, were detained as the rallies across the country entered a second week.

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Swedish nurse to be sole attendee of film festival on remote island

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Lisa Enroth was chosen from 12,000 applicants to be Gothenburg film festival’s castaway on Pater Noster

Scandinavia’s biggest film festival is going ahead this year despite the coronavirus pandemic, but will be hosted on an isolated island and admit only one attendee – a healthcare worker, who has been selected from 12,000 applicants.

Lisa Enroth, a Swedish nurse and film fan, was chosen to be the 2021 Gothenburg film festival’s castaway who will spend a week on the remote island of Pater Noster watching film after film.

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Libyan delegation heads to Geneva to pick interim prime minister

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UN-overseen process will also chose a three-person presidency council, before national polls in December

About 70 Libyans are travelling to Geneva in an effort to end their country’s political divisions by picking a new interim prime minister and a three-person presidency council.

The process, overseen by the UN, is being held amid rumours of bribery and allegations that it is being imposed on the country by the UN.

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Dogs’ barking prompts owners’ rescue from Swiss avalanche

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Two people caught in avalanche in Switzerland were rescued after their dogs barked for help

Two people caught in an avalanche in Switzerland were rescued after their dogs barked for help, attracting the attention of nearby snow-shoers who were able to dig them out, the air ambulance service Rega said on Sunday.

The avalanche swept the pair off a hiking trail in the Avers Valley of south-western Switzerland, near the Italian border and west of St Moritz, shortly after 3pm on Saturday, Rega said in a statement.

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Crushing costs of Covid care leave grieving Mexican families facing ruin

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As the death toll mounts, even for those with health insurance medical bills can run into tens of thousands of dollars

For more than 50 years, Pedro Martínez would drive his truck through the mountains of Jalisco state, carrying stock for clothing business in the week, and taking his family on excursions at the weekend.

Martínez, 90, was long retired when he was admitted to hospital in early October with coronavirus-linked complications. His family prayed he would soon recover and return home, but 33 days later he died, leaving them emotionally and financially ruined.

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Leave Hong Kong before it’s too late, say those who now call Britain home

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Former residents who have chosen to take their chances in the UK after Beijing’s clampdown speak out

Aragon starts work on Monday as an estate agent in London, focused on finding clients who want to move to Britain’s capital from his home city of Hong Kong, a move he made himself four months ago.

His job is one of the first created by a new visa scheme that opens today, giving millions of Hong Kong residents the right to move to Britain and eventually seek citizenship, in response to a Chinese government crackdown in the city.

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Hundreds arrested in Belgium and Hungary protests – as it happened

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This blog is now closed. We’ve launched a new blog at the link below:

We’ve launched a new blog at the link below – head there for the latest:

Related: Coronavirus live news: EU wants 70% of adults vaccinated by end of summer; Israel extends Covid lockdown

Here is a quick re-cap of recent events from the UK and around the world:

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Missing Guatemalan woman’s family urges Mexico to solve killings of 19 suspected migrants

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The family is providing DNA samples to Mexican authorities to help investigators identify the remains found in Tamaulipas

The family of a young Guatemalan woman believed to be among 19 victims of a massacre in northern Mexico is urging the Mexican government to bring those responsible to justice.

State prosecutors in Mexico’s Tamaulipas state said there were at least two Guatemalans among the bodies found. The attorney general’s office said in a statement that investigators had so far genetically identified four of the dead with the aid of their families.

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EU’s vaccine blunder reopens Brexit battle over Irish border

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Tory MPs use short-lived announcement of export ban to call for overhaul of trade deal, as EU chief is attacked over U-turn

The European Union’s threat to impose a vaccine border between Northern Ireland and the Republic risks reigniting one of Brexit’s bitterest disputes, as senior Tories said the move proved the need for an immediate overhaul of the bloc’s treatment of Northern Ireland.

The renewed demands emerged with the EU facing an extraordinary backlash over its bungled announcement of potential export controls on vaccines produced within the bloc. The World Health Organization (WHO) condemned the move and the pharmaceutical industry warned that the measures would damage their vaccination efforts.

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Putin’s former judo partner says he owns palace linked to Russian leader

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Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny alleges that the mansion belongs the Russian president

The Russian businessman Arkady Rotenberg said on Saturday he owns a palace in southern Russia which jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny has linked to Vladimir Putin.

Navalny and his anti-corruption foundation have published a video in which they allege the opulent mansion belongs to the Russian president. The video has been viewed more than 103m times.

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Malawi sex workers protest at ‘targeted police brutality’ after Covid-19 curfew

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Petition urges government to extend closing times for bars as women go hungry and are forced to skip HIV medication

Dozens of sex workers took to the streets of Malawi’s capital Lilongwe on Thursday to protest against what they described as “targeted police brutality” following new Covid-19 restrictions.

The protests were led by the Female Sex Workers Association (FSWA), which has about 120,000 members across the country, according to its national coordinator, Zinenani Majawa.

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Coronavirus live news: Coachella festival cancelled; fears over Australian vaccine

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Shock and anger at EU’s move to invoke Brexit clause on Irish border; Fauci says ‘virus will continue to mutate’ as Democrats aim to fast-track Covid relief plan; Johnson & Johnson one-dose Covid vaccine shown to work

Hello everyone, I’m Molly Blackall, taking over the blog in London. I’ll be bringing you all the key updates in the coronavirus pandemic around the world over the next few hours.

If you spot something you think we should be reporting on in this blog, please feel free to drop me a message on Twitter. Tips and pointers always much appreciated!

The former Northern Ireland secretary Julian Smith has weighed into the row over the EU’s threat to override part of Northern Ireland Protocol under its coronavirus vaccine controls, calling it “almost Trumpian.”

The Tory MP told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Years have been spent trying to ensure goods will flow freely and there will be no hard border and last night the EU pulled the emergency cord without following any of the process that are in the protocol if one side wants to suspend it.

And they did that, in my view, without anywhere near the understanding of the Good Friday Agreement, of the sensitivity of the situation in Northern Ireland, and it was an almost Trumpian act.

It is not just a backdoor for goods going to Britain, it is a very sensitive place and we have a duty of care between the EU and the UK to preserve no hard border and stability in Northern Ireland.

Related: EU in U-turn over move to control vaccine exports to Northern Ireland

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Myanmar military vows to abide by constitution amid coup fears

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Armed forces release statement saying remarks by general about political system were misinterpreted

Myanmar’s armed forces have said they will protect and abide by the country’s constitution and act according to law, amid concerns in the country that the military might attempt to seize power.

In an official statement on Saturday, the military said recent remarks by its top general about abolishing the constitution were misinterpreted by media and some organisations.

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WHO’s Covid warnings were not heeded. Now the world has a new chance to beat the virus

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If nations make vaccine delivery equitable, step up testing and study variant genomes, the pandemic could be under control by January 2022

A year ago, on 30 January, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of the new coronavirus a public health emergency of international concern – the highest level of alarm at our disposal under international law.

At the time there were 98 confirmed cases and no deaths reported outside China. The WHO repeatedly urged all countries to capitalise on the “window of opportunity” to prevent widespread transmission of this new virus.

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From lockdowns to pool parties: how Covid rules vary around the world

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Countries have adopted different rules on business activity, education, socialising and travel

Curfews and lockdowns Restrictions have largely been relaxed in most of Brazil’s 26 states, although several continue to limit opening hours for bars, restaurants and shops. A round-the-clock curfew was imposed this week in Brazil’s biggest state, Amazonas, after hospitals were overwhelmed.

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