A legal case has been started by the European Commission against AstraZeneca over its “complete failure” to meet delivery and contractual agreements, Ireland’s health minister has said. Speaking to the Irish parliament, Stephen Donnelly said on Thursday: “With regard to AstraZeneca, a legal case has been initiated by the Commission and earlier this week I
World
US President Joe Biden will aim to kick-start a crucial year of action on climate change today as he hosts 40 world leaders at an Earth Day summit. The virtual White House meeting coincides with President Biden’s expected promise to slash America’s greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50% by 2030, nearly doubling its previous
Indonesia’s navy is searching for a submarine with 53 people on board which has gone missing in waters north of the island of Bali. The vessel was conducting a torpedo drill on Wednesday but failed to relay the results as expected, a navy spokesman said. A search is under way for the German-made submarine, KRI
The Turkish doctors treating her are calling her the “miracle baby”. The survival of just one Syrian child refugee against tremendous odds has astonished medics around the world. “She has cheated death at least three times,” one of her doctors at Mersin Hospital, Dr Cagatay Demirci, told Sky News. “Each one of those times might
The European Medicines Agency says it has found a possible link between the Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine and very rare cases of unusual blood clots. European regulators say that unusual blood clots with low blood platelets should now be listed as “very rare” side effects of the vaccine. But they stressed that the “overall
New Delhi is entering a week-long lockdown to prevent the collapse of the capital’s health system amid India’s nationwide surge in coronavirus cases. The restrictions come in on Monday night in a bid to help hospitals that are experiencing a shortage of beds, medicines and oxygen. Live COVID updates from UK and around world Image:
Thousands of people are being evacuated from Table Mountain in Cape Town where winds are continuing to fan forest fires towards neighbourhoods. Around 250 firefighters are trying to control the blaze as thick smoke obscures visibility throughout the city centre. Reports said up to 50,000 people were being moved to safety as helicopters continued to
Honduras has become one of the world’s most dangerous places for environmental land rights activists after a series of murders in the Central American country over the past two years. Last month, three indigenous leaders were shot dead in the north of the country – it follows the abduction and disappearance of four activists last
Alexei Navalny’s doctor has said the Russian opposition leader is on the verge of death as he continues his hunger strike in prison. Yaroslav Ashikhmin claims Mr Navalny‘s latest test results show extremely high potassium levels, which put him at risk of cardiac arrest. The physician also says he has high creatinine levels, which suggest
Myanmar’s junta has claimed to have pardoned and released more than 23,000 prisoners – but it is not known if the figure includes pro-democracy activists detained in the wake of February’s coup. The release was announced to mark the new year holiday. State broadcaster MRTV said Myanmar‘s military leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing pardoned
The global death toll from coronavirus has topped three million people amid repeated setbacks in the worldwide vaccination campaign and a deepening crisis in places such as Brazil, India and France. The number of lives lost, as compiled by Johns Hopkins University in the US, is about equal to the population of Kyiv, Ukraine; Caracas,
Raul Castro, Fidel’s brother, is resigning his leadership of Cuba’s Communist party. The 89-year-old made the announcement at the opening of the eighth congress of the party. Mr Castro said he was retiring with a sense of having “fulfilled his mission and confident in the future of the fatherland”. Image: Raul Castro, left, with Fidel
Billionaire Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai has been imprisoned over his role in pro-democracy protests. Mr Lai, founder of opposition newspaper Apple Daily, was one of several activists who appeared in court on Friday who had been earlier found guilty of taking part in “unauthorised assemblies” during mass pro-democracy protests in 2019. He was
Uighur people from Xinjiang working in other parts of China are subject to “political” checks and work under strict “half-military” style management, according to new evidence discovered by Sky News. The Xinjiang government runs an official “labour transfer programme”, according to its 2019 Five Year Plan, “so as to provide more employment opportunities for the
India has recorded more than 200,000 new coronavirus infections in a single day as hospitals report severe shortages of beds and oxygen and extra space is found in hotels. A doctor in New Delhi said he is treating 35-year-olds for pneumonia and the situation is “chaotic”. The record number of daily cases – 200,739 –
The Tokyo Olympics mascots were unveiled today to celebrate the 100 days-to-go milestone amid mounting public opposition to the Games taking place this summer. But British Olympic Association chair Sir Hugh Robertson said he believed it was not a matter of if the Games happen, but how. “I’m very confident it will go ahead,” he