Almost a million people in China have taken an emergency Covid-19 vaccine that is still in its testing phase, the company that developed the vaccine has said. Chinese authorities released the vaccine, developed by China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm), to select groups of people in July including Chinese government officials…

A Chinese county has been forced to reassess a a ban on people walking their dogs in public after the extreme attempt to stop pet-related incidents and disputes triggered an angry backlash. The policy directive from authorities in Weixin, Yunnan province, said all dogs must be kept inside and repeated…

The successful uptake of any vaccine for Covid-19, a crucial step in returning a sense of normalcy after a year ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic, could be hindered by widespread contamination from a range of chemicals used in everyday products. Small amounts of per- and polyfluoroalkyl (or PFAS) chemicals are…

The UK government is reviewing England’s tiering system to decide which coronavirus restrictions should be put in place when the national lockdown ends on 2 December, the communities secretary has confirmed. Robert Jenrick said ministers wanted to see a “significant easing” of coronavirus controls to have “a somewhat more normal…

Young and previously healthy people with ongoing symptoms of Covid-19 are showing signs of damage to multiple organs four months after the initial infection, a study suggests. The findings are a step towards unpicking the physical underpinnings and developing treatments for some of the strange and extensive symptoms experienced by…

Paddling in a canoe through the flood waters left by Hurricane Eta in his rural village near the north coast of Honduras, Adán Herrera took stock of the damage. “Compared with Hurricane Mitch, this caused more damage because the water rose so fast,” said Herrera, 33, a subsistence farmer who…

It is being called the “great reversal”. After decades of progress, the international goal of eradicating extreme poverty by 2030 is in jeopardy, Gordon Brown has warned, as developing countries battling the coronavirus sacrifice their health and education systems to pay western and Chinese creditors. “We need a comprehensive new…

Donald Trump’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows, has tested positive for Covid-19, along with at least one other aide to the president. Two senior administration officials confirmed the diagnosis to the Associated Press. The news came just days after Meadows appeared with Trump at a White House event along with…

Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in London and the Lowry in Salford are among eight cultural organisations and venues that will benefit from the government’s latest round of coronavirus funding. The venue operator Academy Music Group, the Marlowe theatre in Canterbury and the London Venue Group, which is led by Ben…