Netherlands brings in lockdown to combat omicron

London police chief Cressida Dick has said officers will investigate a spate of parties held at Prime Minister Boris Johnson's residence and office during COVID-19 lockdowns

With a slowly recovering economy, the recent spike in COVID-19 cases in India is affecting both the retail and service sectors.

Ottessa Moshfegh is routinely hailed as one of the most exciting American authors working today. Her award-winning, critically acclaimed books like "Eileen" and "My Year of Rest and Relaxation" contain an ensemble of drunks and dropouts, misfits and murderers, pervs and pill-heads – all of them loners. Her narrators are often angry, amoral and unpleasant and they challenge our assumptions about femininity in uncomfortable ways. More than anything, they're all incredibly human. Her new book "Death in her Hands" has just come out in French, focusing on Vesta, another character at home alone.

Could inflation prove more perilous to livelihoods than lockdown? The latest figures from France and its neighbours show light at the end of the public health crisis tunnel, but there's no time to celebrate. The recovery has spawned a bidding war over goods and raw materials that's cancelled out wage hikes for an in-demand labour force.

Could inflation prove more perilous to livelihoods than lockdown? The latest figures from France and its neighbours show light at the end of the public health crisis tunnel, but there's no time to celebrate. The recovery has spawned a bidding war over goods and raw materials that's cancelled out wage hikes for an in-demand labour force.

The omicron coronavirus variant is more infectious than less severe than previous ones. Experts think they know why it's so transmissible - but do they know why it's less deadly?

Hong Kong is facing its toughest test yet in its "Dynamic Zero Covid" strategy. The number of cases this year is now higher than the number of infections seen in both 2020 and 2021. The city's health system is under pressure, suffering from a lack of hospital beds, inadequate testing capacities and over-strained quarantine centers. But the health crisis is turning political. For more on this, we turn to Jean-Pierre Cabestan, a political scientist at Hong Kong Baptist University.

Volkswagen, key Apple suppliers and other factories shut down their operations as China grapples with record COVID-19 cases. Meanwhile, France lifted restrictions.

After first appearing in China more than two years ago, Covid-19 has returned to the Middle Kingdom. The country had largely succeeded in keeping infection and mortality rates in check. But in recent weeks, the Omicron variant has posed a significant challenge to the country's zero-Covid strategy. Once again, harsh lockdowns and restrictions are being enforced. We take a closer look.

China has imposed a COVID lockdown on half of its largest city and financial capital, Shanghai. Meanwhile, Israeli PM Bennett has tested positive for COVID-19.

More people could later face fines as the probe into gatherings at 10 Downing Street during COVID lockdown continues, police said.

You got omicron in January and you've felt protected. But it's a few months on and a subvariant called BA.2 is spreading fast. So can you get omicron twice?