We’re covering a breakthrough announcement from the U.S.on efforts to lift Covid vaccine patents, and new moves by Europe aimed at limiting Chinese competition.... More discussions are expected. Disparities: In much of the developed world, vaccine orders are soaring and life is roaring back to normal.... Good news: The German company CureVac’s new RNA vaccine, which could be ready next month, does not require that doses be kept in a deep freezer, like the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines....

California is bracing for another summer of destructive fires, and punishing drought conditions are gripping the American West. Excessive-heat warnings were in place.... Heat advisories were also in effect from Philadelphia to Boston in the Northeast. Deaths: British Columbia’s chief coroner said 233 deaths had been reported over four days, while typically about 130 deaths would have been reported in the same time frame.... Deaths were expected to increase, she said. Quotable: “ The big lesson

Biden said, in a speech that immediately laid out the contrast between himself and his predecessor.... Harris may find herself casting the decisive vote for many crucial pieces of legislation, as the vice president wields tiebreaking power. Highlights from the ceremony: Lady Gaga and Jennifer Lopez performed.... It was impossible to ignore the symbolism of the scene at the Capitol, so different from the attack on the building just two weeks ago....

We’re covering President Biden’s arrival in Europe on his first foreign trip, and the tiresome, recurring Covid restrictions in China.A high-stakes trip for Biden President Biden arrived in Britain on Wednesday to attend a Group of 7 summit, followed by meetings with NATO and European Union leaders.... We have live updates here. European leaders are relieved to be dealing with a president who values alliances after former President Donald Trump called the E.U.a “ foe ” and dismissed NATO as “ o

Putin wants more influence on Belarus, and Belarus’s leader wants an ever-tightening iron grip.... The decision represented a breakthrough in terms of a court’s willingness to dictate what a big business must do to protect the climate. Militants attacked a key town in Mozambique.... But then her husband vanished, his white car plunging into a river, after they racked up steep medical bills for their daughter. Twenty-two days after her husband disappeared, she walked to a pond and took her own

People across the nation felt outraged and scared. The gunman who shot and killed eight people at massage parlors in Georgia was charged with several counts of murder.... The police captured the 21-year-old as he was on his way to Florida, where he may have planned more violence.... Bee Nguyen, the first Vietnamese American to serve in the Georgia House, told The AP. Asking for help: Asian-Americans in the San Francisco Bay Area are calling for more police patrols after a string of attacks....

A conviction could be punishable by up to three years in prison. The military has a history of sidelining critics with bizarre and arcane charges like this one.... He was accused of greeting a car full of supporters during the electoral campaign season last year.Ms.... The vaccine deliveries would be among the first to reach low-and middle-income countries. Background: Covax was set up by international organizations to try to ensure that the scramble for vaccines among rich countries did not l

Those in the United States, who are facing the world’s worst outbreak, would receive the vaccine for free. The announcement came a day after the U.S. daily death toll surpassed 1, 000 for the first time.... President Trump has acknowledged that the outbreak will probably get worse, and for the first time urged Americans to wear masks. Details: Pfizer and BioNTech are developing a vaccine that uses genetic material from the virus, known as messenger RNA, to trigger the immune system.... The Sov

Officials have already moved ahead with plans to vaccinate 50 million people by mid-February, in time for the Lunar New Year holiday.On Wednesday, Britain became the first country to approve the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for emergency use, opening a path for a cheap and easy-to-store shot.... At$ 3 to$ 4 a dose, it costs a fraction of some other vaccines, and is likely to become the world’s dominant form of inoculation. Looking back: The first alarm over the coronavirus was sounded a year ago,

The country has added two million new cases in the past two weeks, a record, and reported more than 2, 200 virus-related deaths on Tuesday alone, the highest daily total since May 6.... “ I am more worried about the country if they are still using this 112 in politics like this.... This will cause the monarchy to deteriorate further.” Context: The revival of 112 came hours before a rally in Bangkok on Wednesday during which protesters urged King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun to r