World

Ten people have died after a fire broke out on an intensive care ward treating coronavirus patients in Romania. Seven others are critically injured following the fire at a hospital in the city of Piatra Neamt on Saturday. Apart from one person, all those killed or injured are COVID-19 patients, according to emergency services spokesperson

Two rockets have hit Ethiopia’s Amhara state, amid fierce fighting in the neighbouring region of Tigray, the government says. The explosions occurred in Bahir Dar and Gondar late on Friday, according to Amhara’s communication office and state news. One of the rockets hit the airport in Gondar and left it partially damaged, according to a

Measles infections surged to a global 23-year high in 2019, and millions more are at risk this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new report. The United States’ Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and World Health Organisation (WHO) said nearly 870,000 people contracted measles last year and more than 207,000

Dozens of people have been stabbed and hacked to death in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, according to Amnesty International. The claims come as federal troops claimed major advances in their offensive against local forces. “This is a horrific tragedy,” Amnesty said in a statement, citing witnesses as blaming local rulers, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF),

France’s R number has fallen below 1 but the number of people in hospital has hit a new high – with the prime minister saying someone is admitted every 30 seconds. Prime Minister Jean Castex said it would be “irresponsible” to ease the country’s strict second lockdown despite the fall in the R number. The

The government has summoned China’s ambassador to register “deep concern” after Beijing ordered the expulsion of four opposition MPs from Hong Kong’s parliament. Kwok Ka-ki, Alvin Yeung, Dennis Kwok and Kenneth Leung were banished from the territory’s assembly for allegedly endangering national security. Hong Kong authorities expelled the four politicians under a Chinese law banning

Pro-democracy politicians in Hong Kong say they are resigning en masse after four of them were disqualified under a law imposed by China banning independence campaigners from holding office. Authorities in Hong Kong said in a statement the four legislators – Kwok Ka-ki, Alvin Yeung, Dennis Kwok and Kenneth Leung – were expelled from the

Countries around the world are working out ways to vaccinate their populations against COVID-19. But India, with its massive population of 1.3 billion, faces a bigger challenge than most. The country has set aside $7bn (£5.3bn) and the Union government has created a task force to plan for the distribution of the vaccine throughout the

An “incel” who killed 10 pedestrians by driving a van into them in a busy Toronto neighbourhood has pleaded not guilty of murder. Alek Minassian’s lawyer Boris Bytensky said he will argue his client was not criminally responsible because of his state of mind during the killings on 23 April 2018. When asked by a

Veteran Palestinian peace negotiator Saeb Erekat has died aged 65 after contracting coronavirus, it has been confirmed. Dr Erekat was Palestine’s chief negotiator and international spokesman for more than three decades. He died in an Israeli hospital on Tuesday, weeks after testing positive for COVID-19, his party Fatah confirmed. Live updates on coronavirus from UK

News that a Pfizer vaccine is 90% effective against COVID-19 has been heralded as a turning point in the global fight against the virus. But while the vaccine has been bankrolled by the American pharmaceutical giant, the science itself is the work of BioNTech, a German company founded by married couple and dedicated physicians Ugur

The coronavirus vaccine being developed by Pfizer and BioNTech has been found to be 90% effective in preventing people from getting the virus, it has been confirmed. Phase 3 of Pfizer’s trial involved 43,538 participants from six countries. They received two doses of either the immunisation or a placebo, with 90% protected from the virus

People have set off firecrackers and offered prayers in Kamala Harris’ ancestral village in southern India after she and Joe Biden won the US presidential election. Locals gathered on the streets in Thulasendrapuram, Tamil Nadu, as they sang and danced, and also held placards featuring Ms Harris. They gave out sweets and delicacies to celebrate

Joe Biden has vowed to unify Americans and heal deep divides across the country in his first speech since being named US president-elect. He pledged to “work with all my heart to win the confidence of all of you”, admitting to those who did not vote for him that “I understand the disappointment”. “But now

Up to 150 people are feared to have been killed in a landslide in Guatemala after Storm Eta lashed central America with torrential downpours. Many of those who lost their lives in the remote mountain village of Queja in the country’s central region of Alta Verapaz were buried in their homes under mud, according to

Has the coronavirus shape-shifted just as we’re about to roll out the first vaccine? It’s such a nightmarish scenario that Danish authorities are taking no chances. They’ve been dealing with a mutated strain of the virus that has been spreading through mink fur farms for a while. But the stakes were raised when it was