Coronavirus: Life under lockdown

The vaccine-maker's CEO says existing COVID-19 vaccines are unlikely to be as effective against omicron. Meanwhile, Japan detected its first case of the variant. Follow DW for the latest.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson apologised on Wednesday for a video showing his staffers joking about reports of a party in Downing Street during the COVID lockdown, saying he was furious but that he had been assured there was no party.

Here are a few reasons to pick up a copy of The Guardian on Thursday⁣ ⁣

Dresden's famous christmas market, the Striezelmarkt, has been around for centuries. This year, the planned opening was canceled due to the high incidence rate of coronavirus infections in the state of Saxony.

It began as one of Hitler's craziest ideas: to construct 4,000 kilometres of defences along the entire coastline of mainland Europe. Some 76 years later, local governments, private individuals and companies are trying to give a second life to sections of the infamous Atlantic Wall. In the Finistère department of Brittany in western France, a half-buried bunker now houses a museum featuring the voices of those who lived under German occupation. Meanwhile, an abandoned bunker on Brittany's Cap Fréhel peninsula is now home to a group of bats. FRANCE 24 takes a closer look at these sites and more.

What's it really like inside the new Afghanistan? Four months after the fall of Kabul to the Taliban, FRANCE 24 went to the capital and beyond to speak to citizens from all walks of life. What they heard was a mix: relief that the guns have gone quiet but worry over the prospect of a bleak winter, with more than half the population facing acute food shortages. Meanwhile, Afghanistan remains isolated on the world stage and its new rulers have yet to let women return to school and work. The Taliban also still have to prove that they can run a country.

The shutdown was initiated over fears of the rapid spread of the omicron variant. Meanwhile, Germany's health minister has ruled out a lockdown before Christmas. Follow DW for the latest.

As tensions simmer and troops amass along on both sides of the border, DW's Nick Connolly visited eastern Ukraine. Close to the Russian border, in the town of Milove, he spoke with locals about what it's like to live there.

As tensions simmer and troops amass along on both sides of the border, DW's Nick Connolly visited eastern Ukraine. Close to the Russian border, in the town of Milove, he spoke with locals about what it's like to live there.

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.

The Netherlands has become the first European country to enact a strict lockdown over Christmas. Omicron infections are spreading rapidly across the country. All nonessential businesses have been closed until at least mid-January.