Former chancellor Sebastian Kurz is facing allegations that he used state money to pay for flattering polls to boost his image. Kurz has denied any wrongdoing.

The lockdown starting Monday is expected to last 10 days and a vaccine mandate is set to start in February. Data shows the seven-day incidence rate in the country at around 1,000 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants.

Austrians went back into lockdown after fierce protests over the weekend, for a period of at least 10 days and potentially 20. Elswhere, German logged its highest seven-day incidence of the pandemic. DW has the latest.

Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi son's hopes of running for president are dashed, as the country’s electoral commission disqualifies him.

Austria's ex-Chancellor Sebastian Kurz announced he is stepping back from politics. His successor, Alexander Schallenberg, has also announced his resignation.

DW's Biresh Banerjee spoke to Nalin Kohli, spokesperson for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), about coronavirus-related Islamophobia in India and allegations that the Indian government is exploiting the crisis to ramp up suppression of Muslims.

Pakistan hosted a conference of Muslim countries pledging financial assistance to stave off "chaos" in Afghanistan. They vowed to unlock frozen aid funds and set up a humanitarian trust.

Kurz will work as a "global strategist" at the California-based venture capitalist firm after resigning amid graft allegations. The former chancellor is under investigation for suspected bribery and breach of trust.

The Omicron variant of Covid-19 has brought a "tidal wave" of new cases, according to the WHO. France has seen record numbers of positive cases – as have several other EU states. This week, President Emmanuel Macron said he wanted to "piss off" the unvaccinated, limiting their access to certain social spaces like restaurants and cinemas as a means of convincing more of them to get their jabs. Meanwhile, more and more EU member states seem to be moving towards making vaccination mandatory. Austria is set to become the first EU country to make the jabs obligatory, as of February – with the measure valid until 2024.

Austria raises alarm over pandemic's impact on children

The Indian state of Karnataka has seen major tensions after the regional government approved of a decision by schools to ban the hijab. Amid those tensions, some old videos have been doing the rounds. Also, on Saint Valentine's Day, heart-shaped icons and landscapes are being shared... but not all of them are real.

The EU is proposing to put nuclear power on its list of sustainable energy sources. But Austria is threatening to file a case with the Court of Justice of the European Union to get that text annulled. The country has never embraced nuclear energy and is even home to the world's only power station to have been built but never fired up. Austria produces more than 75 percent of its electricity from renewable energy and is a leader of anti-nuclear advocacy in Europe. Our correspondents report.