Citizen journalist Zhang Zhan is in a Chinese prison for reporting from Wuhan during the height of the city's coronavirus outbreak in 2020. Her family says she is on hunger strike and could be near death. All calls for her release have gone unheeded.

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.

For thousands of migrants, hitching a ride on a freight train is the fastest way to get to the USA. But this route is also one of the most perilous.

Governor Andy Beshear said there could be 80 or more people dead, as many people remain missing after a series of severe storms ripped through the state over the weekend. Thousands remain without heat or water.

A report by a US Senate Committee has raised concerns by whistleblowers about the safety approval process for new aircraft, in the wake of the deadly Boeing 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019. Senators spoke to whistleblowers at Boeing, its supplier GE, and engineers working for the Federal Aviation Administration. It found the FAA's certification process had been "eroded" and that the agency had "increasingly delegated away its authority". Our business editor Stephen Carroll tells us more.

The death of Black designer Virgil Abloh at the age of just 41 has served as a reminder that fashion still has a way to go when it comes to diversity. Abloh, an African American, studied civil engineering and architecture, but was increasingly drawn to the world of music and later set up his own streetwear label, Off White. In 2018 he was named head of menswear at Louis Vuitton, becoming the first Black man to become the lead designer of a major French fashion house. For Abloh, fashion was inherently political; a means of furthering the fight against racism. We took a closer look at his legacy.

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.

The UNHCR has said Sudanese security forces shot a man in the head and raped several women during protests against the country's military leaders. More protests are expected over the coming days.

The person who died was between the ages of 60 and 79, according to the Robert Koch Institute health body. Germany has also registered a spike in omicron infections in recent days.

Philippine authorities now say at least 388 people have been killed by Typhoon Rai, which hit the country nearly two weeks ago. Disease outbreaks are adding to the woes of local residents.

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.