There has long been a debate over how COVID-19-related deaths are recorded. The Johns Hopkins University in the United States (US), which is widely accepted as a reputable source, puts the global death toll at more than 5.8 million people.

China on Sunday announced it had administered its one-billionth shot in the world's biggest coronavirus inoculation drive as Brazil's death toll from the pandemic passed 500,000.The global death toll from COVID-19 is now more than 3.8 million and many nations are still battling outbreaks, but vaccine drives in some countries are allowing activities that were unthinkable a few months ago.China's vaccine milestone comes after the number of shots administered globally passed 2.5 b

The global COVID-19 death toll passed three million on Saturday as the pandemic speeds up despite vaccination campaigns, leading countries like India to impose new lockdowns to fight spiralling infection numbers. It is the latest grim milestone since the novel coronavirus first surfaced in central China in December 2019 and went on to infect more than 139 million people, leaving billions more under crippling lockdowns and ravaging the global economy.An average of more than 12,000 dea

Clashes broke out in the Netherlands on Sunday as anti-curfew demonstrators protested against coronavirus restrictions, while France imposed new border controls with numerous countries under pressure to slow the spread of new variants.France introduced a requirement for incoming travellers from European Union (EU) neighbours to show a recent negative coronavirus test and Israel announced it would "close" its skies to almost all aircraft.In the United States (US), Johns Hopkins Unive

Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis:Muted New Year CelebrationsFireworks burst above eerily quiet landmarks from Sydney Harbour Bridge to Copacabana beach, as the world ushered in the New Year with muted celebrations.In New York's famous Times Square, the public were blocked from entry and the usual overflowing crowd replaced with a group of specially invited frontline workers, separated by barricades to enforce social distancing.Illegal RaveSome 2,500 partygoers a

When the world celebrated the dawn of a new decade with a blaze of firework parties and revelry on 1 January, few could have imagined what 2020 had in store.In the last 12 months, the novel coronavirus has paralysed economies, devastated communities and confined nearly four billion people to their homes. It has been a year that changed the world like no other for at least a generation, possibly since World War II.More than 1.6 million people died.

The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine was to begin leaving the company's Michigan factory on Sunday, ready to be injected into the arms of millions of the most vulnerable Americans as the global death toll topped 1.6 million.Doses will be shipped out in boxes containing dry ice that are capable of staying at -70 degrees Celsius (-94 degrees Fahrenheit), the frigid temperature needed to preserve the drug.General Gus Perna, who is overseeing the massive logistical operation as part of the g

The world passed the grim milestone of 1.5 million global coronavirus deaths on Thursday, as several nations planned to deliver much hoped-for vaccines early next year to break the cycle of lockdowns and restrictions.But even as the latest positive news about a vaccine was announced, with the Moderna candidate showing it confers immunity for at least three months, several countries marked new COVID-19 records.Italy registered 993 deaths, topping its previous record of 969 earlier in the year

The death toll in typhoon-battered Philippines has risen to at least 27, official figures showed Friday, after some of the worst flooding in years swamped villages and forced thousands to flee their homes.Torrential rain dumped by Typhoon Vamco – the third powerful storm to hit the country in as many weeks – inundated low-lying areas of Manila and surrounding provinces, trapping people on rooftops and balconies.As floodwaters receded and residents began to return home, the scale of the destru

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on 11 March that the outbreak of COVID-19 had become a pandemic. Six months on the virus has cost the lives of over 900,000 people.Back in March the death toll stood at 4,200 from 120,000 cases, with most of the fatalities in the Wuhan region of China where the virus first came to light last December.Those figures were enough to cause concern back then.