World

The speed with which new variants of the COVID-19 virus spread around the world can leave government’s scrambling to catch up. What is sometimes more remarkable is the speed with which those new variants are detected. It has taken barely two weeks from the initial testing of ‘patient zero’, before potentially the entire globe is

The Prince of Wales will reaffirm the “myriad connections between the people of our countries” as he flies to Barbados for a ceremony to remove the Queen as head of state and transition to a republic. Prince Charles, who said he believes it is “important” for him to attend the ceremony, arrived in Barbados late

Authorities in the Netherlands have detected 13 cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant among passengers from South Africa. Health officials said the infected people were on flights from the southern African nation earlier this week. A total of 61 people on the planes tested positive for the virus – and 21% of those had Omicron.

Global concern about the coronavirus pandemic is growing, with a number of countries detecting confirmed cases of the Omicron variant for the first time. Travel restrictions are also being imposed once again as governments suspend flights from southern Africa, the region where this strain was first detected. Here is a look at the latest COVID-19

Vaccine manufacturers have expressed confidence that they will be able to rapidly adapt their jabs if the Omicron variant spreads. The new strain – previously known as B.1.1.529 – features some “concerning” mutations, and early evidence suggests it brings an increased risk of reinfection. There are also fears that the variant could be more resistant

So the new variant has a name, but we’ve no idea about its reputation. On paper at least the Omicron variant looks terrifying. It has more mutations than any previously observed strain of COVID. And the mutations aren’t just a random jumble of genetic changes. A worrying number of them are in parts of the

The first victim of Wednesday’s tragedy in the Channel has been named as Mariam Nouri Hamadameen, a 21-year-old Kurdish woman from northern Iraq. She had travelled to Germany and on to France, hoping to join her fiance who already lives in Britain. Mariam was a student and recently engaged – she left her studies early

Boris Johnson has offered to work with France to “move further and faster” in order to tackle small boat crossings and avoid a repeat of the “appalling tragedy” in the Channel that left 27 people dead. The prime minister has written to President Emmanuel Macron and set out five steps he thinks both sides should

A mayday call by French coastguard requesting urgent help from “all ships” during yesterday’s Channel boat emergency has been obtained by Sky News. Twenty-seven people – 17 men, seven women and two teenage boys and a girl – died while trying to cross to the UK in a flimsy boat, which capsized near Calais. Two

At least 24 migrants have drowned while trying to get to the UK across the Channel in an inflatable dinghy, a French official has said. Several others are thought to be injured after their boat capsized off Calais this afternoon, as they tried to cross the world’s busiest shipping lane. “Strong emotion in the face

The World Health Organisation has said it is “alarmed” about the surge in COVID-19 infections across Europe as the continent battles a fresh wave of the virus. Cases are rising again in much of Europe – sharply in the case of countries like Germany, the Netherlands and Austria, with the latter going back into a

Fully vaccinated travellers will finally be able to enter New Zealand from 30 April 2022, easing border restrictions that have been in place since March last year. Meanwhile, fully vaccinated New Zealanders and residence visa holders in neighbouring Australia will be able to enter the country from 16 January. Fully vaccinated residents and visa holders

The EU could surpass two million coronavirus deaths by next March if further action isn’t taken to combat the virus, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned. More protective measures are needed to “help avert unnecessary tragedy and loss of life”, according to experts who fear the region is on course to pass another landmark

Germany’s health minister has warned that by the end of this winter “pretty much everyone” in Germany “will have been vaccinated, recovered or died”. Jens Spahn urged Germans to get vaccinated amid a rapid rise in COVID cases. Official figures showed more than 30,000 new coronavirus cases in Germany in the last 24-hour period, an