Hong Kong waste paper mounts amid China ban

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega is poised to win a fourth consecutive term in Sunday's presidential elections. But there's mounting pressure from the US and the EU who are using economic sanctions to promote change.

China will have 6.5 million more affordable rental housing units during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), an official of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development said on Tuesday.

Health authorities in the territory have said the animals are to be "humanely" put down after coronavirus infections were traced back to hamsters at a pet shop.

Marie-Hélène Poisson is the only craftswoman to be entirely dedicated to Boulle work. This French technique, invented at the end of the 17th century, consists of inlaying antique furniture with decoration made of brass or tortoiseshell. Marie-Hélène learned the trade from her father and is now passing it on to her daughter. The future of Boulle inlay is safe in their hands. FRANCE 24 takes you to the town of Vendôme, in France's Loir-et-Cher region, for a closer look at this special craft.

Journalism teachers in Hong Kong can no longer teach freely amid an ongoing crackdown on free press by the government. Some are adapting to the new situation and changing their strategy.

Authorities enraged pet lovers with an order to cull more than 2,200 hamsters after tracing an outbreak to a worker in a shop where 11 hamsters tested positive. Imported hamsters from Holland into the Chinese territory had been cited as the source. All hamster imports remain banned.

We take a look at the business of this year's Winter Olympics. A report suggests the true cost is 10 times more than the official $3.9 billion price tag, but Beijing is banking on other benefits. Also, Amazon reports another strong sales quarter, with its advertising business playing an increasingly significant role.

In the past year authorities have used the law to close independent media and arrest or jail leaders of the pro-democracy protests. Many have left Hong Kong. Of those who remain, few are willing to speak out. DW's Phoebe Kong met one of them.

Authorities in Hong Kong have called in building teams to construct isolation units as hospitals there grapple with a new spike in cases. Meanwhile, Australia is opening to tourists once again. DW has the latest.

Hong Kong is facing its toughest test yet in its "Dynamic Zero Covid" strategy. The number of cases this year is now higher than the number of infections seen in both 2020 and 2021. The city's health system is under pressure, suffering from a lack of hospital beds, inadequate testing capacities and over-strained quarantine centers. But the health crisis is turning political. For more on this, we turn to Jean-Pierre Cabestan, a political scientist at Hong Kong Baptist University.

French car giant Renault announced Wednesday it was immediately suspending operations at its Moscow factory after Kyiv called for a boycott of the company for remaining in Russia.