World

Coronavirus was circulating in Italy as early as September 2019, scientists there have claimed. The World Health Organization says COVID-19 was unknown before the outbreak was first reported in Wuhan, in central China, in December. A few months later, the first official cases were detected in Europe. However, scientists in Italy say they have found

Tigray’s leader has admitted it fired missiles at the capital of neighbouring Eritrea, in another escalation of the fighting in Ethiopia. Earlier, at least three rockets appeared to have been aimed the airport in the Eritrean capital Asmara, hours after the Tigray regional government warned it might attack. The attacks on an international target represent

Russia was the first country to approve a coronavirus vaccine – and it also claims its vaccine is the best. Last week, two days after US drugs giant Pfizer announced that the vaccine it has developed alongside Germany’s BioNTech was 90% effective in protecting people against the virus, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) which

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

The suspect in an Islamic extremist knife attack that killed three people in a French church had a photograph on one of his mobile phones of the perpetrator of another deadly incident. French prosecutors said the Tunisian man had images of Abdoullakh Anzorov, the Chechen refugee identified as the killer of teacher Samuel Paty who

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

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

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian says he has ordered an end to fighting with Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Mr Pashinian said on Facebook that he signed an agreement with the presidents of Azerbaijan and Russia to halt the fighting that has raged since late September. Several thousand people are feared to have died since

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