We begin in Kazakhstan, where the country's president has given the green light to security forces to shoot to kill those taking part in the unrest that's been sweeping the Central Asian nation this week. Dozens of people have been killed in the violence which erupted after a sharp increase in fuel prices, reflecting wider discontent with authoritarian rule. In response to a call from President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Russian-led troops have already begun arriving in Kazakhstan.

Russia's President Putin is set to bask in the global limelight as a series of high-profile conferences on security in Europe kicks off this week. What could be better for an autocratic ruler, says DW's Bernd Riegert.

Is it better than Putin bargained for? Critics of Geneva talks between Cold War rivals say they reward the Kremlin for its massive troop build-up on the Ukrainian border. Would the United States be sitting down with Russia without the threat of an invasion? Is it better to talk or not to talk?

The conflict in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region continues to escalate one year after breaking out. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed called on civilians to take up arms against the Tigrayan forces and warned he would bury his enemies with blood.

Forces sent to help quell an outbreak of violence in Kazakhstan have returned to Russia. A Moscow-led alliance of six former Soviet states were sent after a request from the Kazakh president.

On January 13, in the first European trial against a high-ranking Syrian regime official, a former senior intelligence officer was sentenced to life in prison in Germany for crimes against humanity. Former head of interrogation at a detention centre in Damascus, Anwar Raslan was found guilty on 4,000 counts of torture and the murder of 27 detainees, less than a year after one of his subordinates was convicted by the same German court. It’s been a long road to justice for victims and their lawyers tracking down former torturers who have settled in Europe since 2013.

The West still doesn't know why war in Ukraine might happen, but it increasingly seems like it's happening. Kiev is trying to keep calm and rally support while being surrounded on three sides and being the recent victim of a cyberattack that feels like a dry run. Meanwhile, NATO countries are sending weapons and advisors while deploying fresh troops elsewhere in Eastern Europe. But that's small compared to the 100,000-plus forces amassed by Moscow.

Joe Biden says he isn't ruling out personal sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin if he invades Ukraine. The threat from the US president comes as tensions between Moscow and the West continue to heat up. On Tuesday, the third instalment of US military equipment landed in Ukraine and more than 8,000 American troops stationed in Europe have been placed on standby.

The threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine is rattling nerves across the West. But people living in Ukraine's eastern border region have already faced years of conflict. Now, schoolchildren and teachers are preparing for an escalation of fighting.

Is there no stopping all-out civil war in Myanmar? On the first anniversary of the coup that ended power sharing between Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy and a military whose candidates had just been trounced in a general election, a silent strike took place to protest the brutal crackdown against calls to return to civilian rule. Can peaceful protest still work?

Monday's meeting between the Russian and French presidents in Moscow gave rise to a lot of photoshopped content on social media - mostly sufficiently far-fetched so as not to be believable. We take a closer look. We also take a look at some convincing fake news stories that have been doing the rounds about Russia's current tensions with Ukraine and NATO.

The International Court of Justice orders Uganda to pay millions in reparations to Uganda over its role in the conflict in the eastern Congolese province of Ituri in the late 1990s. Also, relief workers struggle to help those caught up in the aftermath of Cyclone Batsirai in Madagascar. And key scientific, political and entrepreneurial voices head to the French city of Brest for the One Ocean Summit event, which is spotlighting the urgent need to protect international waters and marine life.