We were looking forward to a summer of relative normality, then along came a new coronavirus variantFollow our Australia news live blog for the latest updatesVaccine rollout tracker; Cases and data trackerGet our free news app; get our morning email briefingIt was meant to be Australia’s summer of hope.With vaccination rates against Covid-19 high, international travel restarting, and most states...

As new strain dampens idea pandemic might be diminishing, what does the future hold for coronavirus?Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageWhen scientists predicted, months ago, that Covid-19 could be entering an endemic phase, many felt ready for the crisis period of the pandemic to be over. The tantalising suggestion that coronavirus might, at some foreseeable point, be...

Rich nations are again raising barriers to ending the pandemic – politicians, globally, must follow the science and act togetherDr Ayoade Olatunbosun-Alakija is the co-chair of the African Union’s Africa Vaccine Delivery AllianceThe advent of the Omicron variant has given us a glimpse of an alternative future in which, had the Sars-CoV-2 virus been initially identified in Africa in early 2020,...

Growing number of countries are exploring making jabs compulsory, but is it the right approach?Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageA growing number of countries are exploring making Covid jabs compulsory for the general population, but is it the right approach? Continue...

Oliver Dowden says people should keep going to pubs and restaurants, claiming the government has taken ‘sufficient’ action against OmicronBooster shots significantly strengthen immunity, trial findsBlack and south Asian people urged to get boosters amid higher deathsHow the NHS could be hit by Covid this winterHow probable is it that Omicron will take hold in UK?Global coronavirus updates –...

Orbit dropped by 310 metres briefly to avoid collision with fragment from vessel launched in 1994 The International Space Station performed a manoeuvre to swerve from a fragment of a US launch vehicle, the head of Russia’s space agency has said.Dmitry Rogozin, the director general of Roscosmos, said the station’s orbit dropped by 310 metres for almost three minutes to avoid a close encounter...

Disparity with white people who have lower death rate relative to infection rate suspected to be due to slower vaccine uptakeCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageDoctors have urged unvaccinated Black and south Asian people to get their Covid jabs after new data revealed hospitalisations and deaths are higher in those groups, despite infection rates being lower than in...

Chair of committee points out unpreparedness for Covid shows better anticipation of future threats is neededAssessment and planning by the government relating to risks facing the UK are deficient and “veiled in secrecy”, a report has found.The 129-page report, entitled Preparing for Extreme Risks: Building a Resilient Society, was produced by the House of Lords select committee on risk...