Coronavirus digest: US could have avoided most COVID-deaths, says former Trump official

Government critics said the proposed media law was aimed at silencing dissent. President Andrzej Duda said it would have dealt a blow to Poland's reputation as a place to do business.

Omicron is now the dominant variant in the United States, accounting for nearly three-quarters of all cases. In New York, once the epicenter of the pandemic, omicron cases are surging.

Three BTS members — Suga, RM and Jin — have tested positive for COVID-19. The superstar group had recently returned to South Korea from the United States where they held their first in-person concerts since the pandemic.

Pfizer's anti-COVID treatment has already received emergency approval in the US. Now, Germany is hoping the drug will reduce the burden on intensive care units.

SpaceX launches first rocket for US military

Children have been out of school for over a year, raising worries about students falling behind. In India this month, some states have started allowing schools to reopen. But in Delhi, many are choosing to stay away, over fears of a third wave.

US coronavirus cases on the rise: Epidemiologist Peter Chin-Hong speaks to DW

The total number of omicron cases detected in Germany rose sharply with the latest figures, which were the first to provide testing results and data from a working day after the Christmas break.

German police are running "at full capacity all the time" and struggling to cope with stress as they deal with violent and aggressive protesters, the police union has said.

Although Germany isn't logging record cases like its neighbors, Health Minister Lauterbach said current figures don't show the whole picture. Data reporting has slowed over the holidays — but the omicron variant has not.

Wolfgang Preiser, the virologist who first discovered omicron, has spoken to DW about the rapid rise in cases. He predicts that most people will catch the new variant.

The year 2021 didn’t get off to a great start, to say the least. The Covid-19 pandemic had already brought the world as we knew it to a standstill, and this year – once again – fashion weeks from London to New York were struck from calendars in the same of social distancing. But nevertheless, fashion has always known how to adapt. A new-found focus on inclusive casting and sustainable processes has been the result. FRANCE 24 takes a look back at some of the year's fashion highlights.