The highly contagious Delta variant of COVID-19 is expected to become the dominant strain of the virus over the coming months, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Wednesday.Delta, which was first detected in India, has now been recorded in 124 territories – 13 more than last week – and already accounts for more than three-quarters of sequenced specimens in many major countries, the WHO said."It is expected that it will rapidly out-compete other variants and become the dominant circu

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday that the second stage of an investigation into the origins of COVID-19 should include further studies in China and lab audits.In a closed-door briefing to member states, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus proposed five priorities for the next phase of the investigation.They included "audits of relevant laboratories and research institutions operating in the area of the initial human cases identified in December 2019", according to

As healthcare systems brace for damage inflicted by the quick-spreading Delta variant, G20 finance ministers warned Saturday that it could also slow global economic recovery."The recovery is characterised by great divergences across and within countries," and "remains exposed to downside risks, in particular the spread of new variants of the COVID-19 virus", they said in a final statement.The ministers also warned of the dangers of the "different paces of vaccination&

On 1 July, the Communist Party of China (CPC) celebrated its centenary anniversary.

As ambitious declarations go – even for Boris Johnson – it was a big one. At the weekend, the United Kingdom (UK) prime minister said he would urge the G7 leaders to vaccinate the world against COVID by the end of 2022. But is this feasible? That rather depends on your definition. No country will vaccinate every adult. Vaccinating enough to achieve herd immunity, which could be 60 percent or 70 percent, is the real aim.

As more developed countries begin to feel as though they have made it to the other side of the COVID-19 crisis, two striking realities are coming into view. First, one can clearly see just how vulnerable many developing countries still are to rapidly escalating outbreaks of the type we are witnessing in India. The results of failing to distribute the most effective vaccines equitably and strategically are being laid bare.

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday called for COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers to give COVAX first refusal on new doses, or commit half of their volumes to the global jab equity scheme.WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said manufacturers should turn their attention to the COVAX facility, which has struggled to get donation-funded doses to poorer countries.Tedros voiced his frustration that several poor countries have been unable to immunise their health workers, the eld

A global summit aimed at tackling pressing climate change concerns must go ahead in-person, the event's president said, as fears mount that delegates will pull out because of surging coronavirus cases.The 26th edition of the UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties – COP26 – marks the biggest climate summit since the 2015 Paris negotiation.COP26 will involve negotiators from 196 countries and the European Union (EU), along with businesses, experts and world leaders, and is scheduled t

Envoys from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) arrived in Myanmar Thursday for talks with junta leader Min Aung Hlaing, as the coup-stricken nation enters its fifth month of crippling unrest.Myanmar has been in chaos and its economy paralysed since the February coup, with more than 800 people killed in a brutal military crackdown on dissent, according to a local monitoring group.Erywan Pehin Yusof, Brunei's second minister for foreign affairs, and ASEAN Secretary-General

Israel’s attempt to justify its latest brutal assault on Gaza rings hollow to anybody familiar with events in Israel, where the government of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, backed by anti-Arab racists, has systematically, cruelly, and persistently violated the basic human rights of the Arab population. Human Rights Watch (HRW), a global non-governmental organisation (NGO) with many Jewish leaders, has recently condemned Israel for crimes against humanity.