Our first stop in our new show FrancEurope is the Italian capital Rome and the prestigious setting of the Villa Medici. It's home to the Academy of France and each year a select group of contemporary artists receive a fellowship, allowing them to work on their dream project in a uniquely cossetted setting. Our reporters Luke Brown and Xavier Chemisseur were lucky enough to get a sneak peek of what the artists-in-residence have been working on.

The Omicron variant of the coronavirus has hit Berlin hard, yet despite rising numbers of new infections, businesses and markets remain open. DW visits some markets to ask vendors and customers what impact the danger has had on them.

It's Europe's most accessible, edgy and – often – political film festival. The Berlinale has kicked off in the German capital with François Ozon's "Peter von Kant", a gender-swapped reimagining of German director Rainer Werner Fassbinder's 1972 feature "The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant".

French filmmaker Claire Denis has won best director at the Berlin Film Festival for a film partly filmed in FRANCE 24's buildings. "Both Sides of the Blade" stars Juliette Binoche as a woman torn between two lovers in pandemic-era Paris. She plays Sara, a journalist who works at FRANCE 24's sister radio station RFI. Film critic Emma Jones speaks to Eve Jackson from Berlin about all the action from this year's festival.

Annette Young talks to Louisahhh, a Paris-based American techno artist about the musicians and DJs taking a stand to end a culture of sexual harassment and violence in the industry. Despite being outlawed by the government; female genital mutilation shows no sign of abating in Guinea. We take a look at the battle to end a deeply-rooted tradition. Plus born to be free; the Tunisian female bikers taking to the road to challenge stereotypes in the North African country.

Germany has urged Russia to come back to the negotiating table as Russian media reported "no concrete plans" were in place for Putin to meet Biden.

The Guest Artists Space (G.A.S.) Foundation, an initiative of renowned Nigerian-British artist, Yinka Shonibare CBE RA, recently welcomed key figures in the Lagos art scene to the opening of its residency and incubator spaces for artists and creatives.⁣

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett was the latest international leader in Moscow to sound out Russia's Vladimir Putin on the war in Ukraine. Some see Bennett as a potential mediator between Moscow and Kyiv.

The refugee exodus is seeing thousands of Ukrainians arrive in Berlin every day. It's caught the German capital off guard and is pushing resources to the limit. Berlin says it can't cope alone and has appealed for help from other parts of the country.

Khatia Buniatishvili was born in Georgia and has become one of the best-known pianists in the world. This week she led a concert in Paris with other artists in solidarity with Ukraine. She speaks to Eve Jackson about the conflict, why she stopped performing in Russia in 2008 after the country launched a ground assault against Georgia, and shares her thoughts about the world's boycott of Russian artists.

Tens of thousands of people spilled into the streets of Berlin to demand peace in Ukraine. Many waved Ukrainian flags or held banners with slogans opposing the Russian invasion.

Authorities in Berlin say they are struggling to cope with the massive influx of Ukrainian refugees arriving in the German capital. City officials called on the federal government to help transfer thousands of people to other parts of the country.