Colombians react to first case of COVID-19

Colombia's first leftist president, ex-guerrilla Gustavo Petro, is set to be inaugurated in Bogota. He aims to curb rampant inequality in the Latin American country.

Gustavo Petro, Colombia's newly elected president, hopes to end nearly 60 years of conflict. Petro himself is a former member of the M-19 insurgency.

Colombian Defense Minister Ivan Velasquez said the government wants to avoid the deaths of minors who have been forced to join. The government has indicated willingness to engage in peace talks with rebel groups.

German leaders are debating how to deal with a potential increase in coronavirus infections once the colder months begin. But COVID plans are controversial. DW's Thomas Sparrow has the details.

The World Health Organization (WHO) found that roughly 10% to 20% of Europeans who recovered from COVID-19 suffered from long-term health effects such as fatigue, breathlessness and cognitive dysfunction.

US President Joe Biden's claim in a TV interview that "the pandemic is over" has triggered a sell-off, wiping over $10 billion off the market value of the main Covid-19 vaccine makers. Investors are worried about public apathy towards Covid and the resulting impact on demand for vaccines and boosters.

Esteban Sinisterra, a young Black fashion designer from Colombia's largely-poor Pacific region, is dressing Vice-President Francia Marquez - the first Afro-Colombian woman to hold the post - in what he calls "resistance" fashion.

The reopening was a key campaign promise from the recently elected President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro. The Simon Bolivar international bridge had been closed for seven years.

US President Joe Biden has declared the pandemic to be "over," but hundreds still die in the US daily. Patient advocates and researchers warn that public health and the economy are still at risk.

Even today, our Neanderthal genetic ancestry plays a surprising role in our immune response to COVID-19 — but not everyone carries Neanderthal genes. What if you do? Does that make a difference in the severity of COVID-19 if you catch it?

Colombia and Venezuela have reopened their shared border after years of diplomatic deadlock and partial closures. Relations between the two countries have thawed since Colombia's first left-leaning president took office.

What can we expect in the Northern Hemisphere this fall and winter as temperatures start to drop? DW Reporter Hang-Shuen Lee asks immunologist Christine Falk, who has a message of hope.