With new versions forcing vaccine makers to re-test jabs, the virus that causes COVID-19 has proven highly unpredictable. But the latest variant to sweep the globe has persuaded some experts that long-hoped-for collective immunity is in sight and that the virus may be evolving into a relatively benign seasonal illness.Omicron has proven particularly contagious, infecting people thought to have immunity conferred by vaccines or about with the disease itself.But while Omicron is drivin

The Philippines will expand coronavirus restrictions in Manila from Wednesday to include more than 11 million people living near the capital as cases surge, the government said.Daily infections have spiked to a two-month high in January and the health department warned of higher caseloads in the coming days following the detection of local cases of the highly contagious Omicron variant.The provinces of Bulacan, Cavite and Rizal surrounding Manila have been placed under the third-highest alert

Chen Kun was living in Indonesia with his wife and daughter when he learned from his brother Mei’s boss that he had been “taken away for investigation” by Chinese police.He immediately suspected it was to do with his brother’s website, a citizen news project called Terminus 2049.

Five global nuclear powers pledged Monday to prevent atomic weapons spreading and to avoid nuclear conflict, in a rare joint statement setting aside rising West-East tensions to reaffirm a goal of a nuke-free world."We believe strongly that the further spread of such weapons must be prevented," said permanent UN Security Council members China, France, Russia, the UK and the United States, adding: "A nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought."The statement was issu

Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis:US Boosters For KidsUS health authorities approve Pfizer's COVID-19 booster shot for children as young as 12, and reduce the wait time between initial vaccination and an extra dose from six months to five, for all ages.Cruise ChaosMore than 2,000 people on a cruise ship in Indian waters are prevented from disembarking, while some 3,000 passengers, mostly Germans, see their Canary Islands-bound cruise halted in Lisbon after COVID-

A growing body of evidence indicates that the Omicron COVID variant is more likely to infect the throat than the lungs, which scientists believe may explain why it appears to be more infectious but less deadly than other versions of the virus. Six studies - four published since Christmas Eve - have found that Omicron does not damage people’s lungs as much as the Delta and other previous variants of COVID.

Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis:'Unprecedented' US Case SurgeThe United States is experiencing "almost a vertical increase" in the number of new COVID cases but hospital admissions are not following suit, the White House's top pandemic advisor Anthony Fauci said."We are definitely in the middle of a very severe surge and uptick in cases," said Fauci, who called the situation "unprecedented" as the US reported more than 44

Desperate residents in China’s western Xi’an city are running out of food after they were barred from grocery shopping in a fierce lockdown.

Europe has recorded over 100 million coronavirus cases, more than a third of all infections worldwide, since the start of the pandemic, an AFP tally Saturday showed.The continent has once again become the pandemic's epicentre in recent months, and is battling an upsurge of cases spurred on by the highly transmissible Omicron strain of the virus.The European region, including 52 countries and territories from the Atlantic coast to Azerbaijan and Russia, has recorded 100,074,753 infections

Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis:New Year Celebrated Under Shadow Of COVIDThe world celebrates the New Year with festivities cancelled or severely curtailed, with the third year of the pandemic marked by an explosion of infections but timid signs of hope for 2022.Britain, the United States (US) and even Australia, long protected from the pandemic, break records for new recorded cases, while France announces that Omicron is now the dominant strain in the country.Europ