As a child growing up in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gloire Ndongala didn’t know much about the wider world, with one exception: he adored US basketball star Michael Jordan. “Think about it, in the Congo we had hardly any technology back then, and we still heard of Michael Jordan,”

Fears of an uncontrollable winter wave of coronavirus infections have prompted a growing number of European governments to close schools, breaking with a previous consensus that face-to-face teaching must be maintained. The UK, Ireland, Germany, Denmark and some northern Italian regions have all ordered schools to shut for several weeks to

Signs that a relatively high number of healthcare workers are unwilling to receive the coronavirus vaccine in some parts of Europe and the US have alarmed politicians and health experts, as countries struggle to contain a surge in infections and carry out mass vaccination. A poll released in mid-December caused surprise

After Joe Biden won the US presidency in the November election, his victory was tempered by concern that he would have a Republican Senate majority blocking his agenda at every turn. But Mr Biden is now likely heading to the White House with many of his ambitions intact. His Democratic party

California reported its second-biggest one-day increase in coronavirus deaths on Wednesday, with hospitalisations hitting another record high and fast-approaching the 23,000-mark. A further 459 deaths in the country's most populous state were attributed to coronavirus by authorities, up from 368 on Tuesday. A total of 29 people suffered anaphylactic reactions after

Democracies around the world expressed horror at the mob storming of the US Capitol, in scenes some feared would empower the nation’s geopolitical rivals. There was universal condemnation of the violence in Washington on Wednesday night, during the certification of Joe Biden as the next US president, as politicians distanced themselves

As he sheltered in place in his office, Mike Gallagher, a 36-year-old Republican congressman from Wisconsin, fumed at members of his own party who were disputing Joe Biden’s win in the US presidential election. Staring into his computer screen, he blamed them for fanning the anger that caused Wednesday afternoon’s

Ninety minutes before rioters stormed Capitol Hill, US president Donald Trump addressed many of the same people using unequivocally inciteful language. “You’ll never take back our country with weakness,” Mr Trump said. “You have to show strength.” His personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, also called on the crowd to conduct “trial

Two of the most prominent Republicans in Washington defied Donald Trump’s last-gasp effort to nullify Joe Biden’s victory, with the party’s leader in the Senate warning that “democracy would enter a death spiral” if Congress overturned the result. Mitch McConnell, the Republican Senate majority leader, said the presidential election was “not

US lawmakers were forced to suspend the certification of Joe Biden’s election victory and leave parts of the Capitol in Washington after Trump supporters pushed past police and stormed the building on Wednesday. The Capitol was put on lockdown after protesters — some carrying pro-Trump paraphernalia as well as flags of