As families and friends reunite around China, the milestone is bittersweet for the coronavirus threat remains high and authorities have used the pandemic to develop a more efficient set of tools to crack down on society.

The German city of Winnenden is marking the first anniversary of a school shooting that shocked the nation. On March 11th 2009 a former student of Albertville High School killed 15 people before taking his own life. President Horst Köhler has addressed a memorial ceremony attended by family and friends of the dead. It was one of a number of commemorative events today.

The notable and experienced photojournalist succumbed to the cold hands of death on Thursday, January 5, 2023, after a brief illness. Popularly called ‘Eshin’ in the media community and outside, Kuti was an amiable journalist who nurtured and handled his craft with utmost diligence and professionalism.

The killing of the young former politician comes as women's rights across Afghanistan are chipped away by the Taliban. Police have not yet been able to name a suspect or a motive.

Huge open pits that were once mined for coal and metals are enjoying a sometimes fragrant, or even tasty, afterlife. DW looks at different ways old mines are being rehabilitated.

Find these stories and much more when you grab a copy of The Guardian on Thursday.⁣

The Ukrainian city of Bakhmut once had a population of 73,000. Around 8,000 people are still holding out there, despite offers to evacuate them. Why do they stay? Alexandra Induchova reports from Bakhmut.

Police are trying to confirm the identities and nationalities of the two men. They were caught in an avalanche in the Nagano region.

Police are searching for two gunmen who opened fire on guests at a birthday party in Gqeberha. There has been a growing number of mass shootings in South Africa in recent years.

Over 900 people have been confirmed dead in Turkey and hundreds were killed in Syria after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake. US Geological Survey records second quake registering 7.5 in magnitude.

2023 begins with many worries for the Rozentals, a family of weavers. Inflation has risen, as everywhere in Europe, as has the fear of the neighbor Russia.

In the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, child recruitment into armed groups is the most frequent children's rights violation. The minors work as scouts, aides, sex slaves for the leaders, fighters, or simply cooks. But what is life like after the trauma of being a child soldier?