World

UK vaccine adviser says delay of Covid second dose will save lives

JCVI deputy chair defends extended gap between jabs as Hancock warns end of restrictions ‘long way off’

Grant Shapps faces fury over mass Covid outbreak at DVLA

Minister under fire for ‘shameful’ virus spread as staff told to work on with more than 500 cases at agency in Swansea

Ministers are at the centre of an explosive row over their failure to protect workers from Covid-19 as the Observer reveals the largest workplace outbreak of the virus has taken place at a top government organisation.

Miners lifted from Chinese mine after two weeks trapped underground – video

China mine rescue: 11 miners brought to surface alive after being trapped 580m underground

Met police officer faces new hearing over death of mentally ill black man

Fresh misconduct proceedings will be held into senior officer cleared over death of Kevin Clarke in south London

A senior police officer cleared of misconduct over the high-profile death of a mentally ill black man is to face fresh disciplinary proceedings because of failings in the original case, the Observer can reveal.

Mexico faces challenge to light-touch Covid approach as US restricts travel

Biden administration’s demand that travelers provide a negative test and self-quarantine could hit Mexico’s tourist industry hard

New US coronavirus travel restrictions are likely to have an outsized impact on Mexico, which is also struggling with an uncontrolled outbreak of the virus and record-breaking deaths.

Fabled ark could be among ancient treasures in danger in Ethiopia’s deadly war

Tigray’s rich heritage is ‘highly endangered’, experts warn, as the conflict escalates near key cultural sites

It has been hidden from view for thousands of years, and its whereabouts never proved. But if the Ark of the Covenant indeed rests in a chapel in northern Ethiopia, this extraordinary religious treasure could be at grave risk from fighting in the area.

The Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion, which reputedly houses the ark – a casket of gilded wood containing stone tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments, according to the Bible – was the scene of a recent massacre of 750 people, reports filtering out of the country say.

Jewish leaders use Holocaust Day to decry persecution of Uighurs

UK community speaks out in effort to pressure government to take stronger stance

Leading figures in the UK Jewish community are using Holocaust Memorial Day on 27 January to focus on the persecution of Uighur Muslims, saying Jews have the “moral authority and moral duty” to speak out.

Rabbis, community leaders and Holocaust survivors have been at the forefront of efforts to put pressure on the UK government to take a stronger stance over China’s brutal treatment of the Uighurs.

Lissie Harper: ‘We had a lot to look forward to’

The dreadful killing of her police officer husband, Andrew, led Lissie Harper to propose a new law to protect emergency workers. She explains why she had to take action

At first glance Lissie Harper’s artfully curated Instagram page reflects an idyllic life. Photographs of her cuddling her cat and walking in meadows sit alongside others featuring holidays abroad, her hen night and her wedding to her childhood sweetheart, Andrew. Yet, the words accompanying some of the posts reveal her true story, one of grief and loss which began 18 months ago when Andrew, a police officer, was killed in the line of duty.

Next to a picture of herself staring out to sea, Lissie notes: “Grief is like living two lives. One is where you pretend that everything is all right, and the other is where your heart silently screams in pain.” Accompanying a photo of her and Andrew kissing on their wedding day, posted on the anniversary of his funeral, she’s written: “‘I miss you’ doesn’t even come close to the hollowness that has encapsulated me these past 14 months. My life is missing its brightest spark.”

Netflix still several steps ahead in strategy for wooing subscribers

Many thought the streaming service would come unstuck with its debt-fuelled growth, but the pandemic changed all that

Only Frank Underwood could amass as much power in such a short space of time. Nearly eight years after Netflix used House of Cards as the launch of its global empire, the streaming service announced last week that it now had more than 200 million subscribers. The pandemic has hastened the company’s transformation from a debt-laden digital upstart into an essential part of the TV landscape in homes across the world.

In 2013, when Netflix’s first original series made its debut, the company had 30 million (mostly US) subscribers. This was six years after it moved from being a DVD-by-post business to a streaming pioneer. Since then it has added 170 million subscribers in more than 190 countries and its pandemic-fuelled results last week sent Netflix’s market value to an all-time high of $259bn.

Saxon church prays for deliverance from nuclear plant

Community says boom in renewable energy means Bradwell B in Essex is not needed

For the 55 years that Tim Fox has worshipped at St Peter-on-the-Wall, his only neighbours have been a farm and a birdwatchers’ shelter.

Now, the tranquil surroundings of the salt marsh and the Essex sea wall at Bradwell-on-Sea are threatened by a new arrival: a sprawling nuclear power station, Bradwell B.

‘No more monkey selfies’: scientists told images could drive illegal pet trade

New guidelines say pictures posted on social media by primatologists and researchers can inadvertently damage conservation efforts

Celebrity primatologists and scientists have been urged not to post selfies with chimpanzees, orangutans and other primates on social media to help conservation efforts for threatened species.

The pandemic one year on: 100,000 dead in the UK from coronavirus

The UK is set to reach a grim milestone by the end of January after a year of missed opportunities has led to one of the worst Covid-19 fatality rates in the world

The World Health Organization begins tracking the disease we now call Covid-19. On 14 January it finds its first case outside China, in Thailand. Human-to-human transmission seems likely, and on 30 January WHO warns this is a “public health emergency of international concern” – the highest level of alert that WHO can issue.

US news giants put more women in the White House

Women of colour included in press corps that seeks to rebalance the traditionally male preserve

US media organisations are taking steps to mirror Joe Biden’s gender-balanced cabinet appointments, with at least six major news networks assigning women to lead White House coverage.

Since Biden’s inauguration last week, CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, the public television station PBS and the Washington Post have assigned chief reporting duties to women.

Ethiopia’s leader must answer for the high cost of hidden war in Tigray

Abiy Ahmed should hand back his Nobel peace prize over his actions in the breakaway region that have raised the spectre of famine again

From Oliver! to Golda… new life for long-lost Lionel Bart musical

Songs from the composer’s doomed show about the Israeli stateswoman will make their debut online

The self-taught musical genius Lionel Bart was the Londoner who first successfully challenged the long-established dominance of Broadway shows. When he launched Oliver! on the West End in 1960 it took first Britain and then America by storm, breaking records and becoming a classic of musical theatre and then a beloved film. But Bart never reached such commercial heights again, despite his talent.

Now music from the lost show once set to relaunch Bart’s career as he struggled with ill health and debt is to be performed for the public for the first time.

US-UK trade deal: Joe Biden’s THREE red lines for talks with Boris – will anger Brexiteers

I’ve had my first vaccine jab. It gives me hope of liberation... but not yet

Exactly a year after his first story about coronavirus, our science editor received the Pfizer injection last week. Here he reflects on a remarkable scientific achievement

Is it time to leave WhatsApp – and is Signal the answer?

The Facebook-owned messaging service has been hit by a global backlash over privacy. Many users are migrating to Signal or Telegram. Should you join them?

Sworn enemies: the real story of Old Bailey clash that ruined Oscar Wilde

Playwright’s grandson reveals letter that tells of deep loathing felt for Wilde by lawyer in libel trial

War FEARS: North Korea could use Biden talks to ‘further nuclear programme’ claims expert

By the homes of Degas and Renoir, Paris street artists face a lonely struggle

A bustling Belle Epoque square has fallen silent, bringing hard times to today’s painters

In normal times Paris’s famous Place du Tertre – the “artists’ square” – is packed with tourists and visiting out-of-towners, even on a chilly January afternoon. In the time of coronavirus, however, the square, home to painters, portraitists, caricaturists and silhouette artists, is almost entirely deserted.

The cafes and brasseries are closed, their terrace chairs chained up, and only a handful of the more optimistic artists have braved the cold for a few hours before the 6pm curfew kicks in.