The best photos from the international wire agencies as chosen by our picture editors

As residents prepare for another Chinese New Year under COVID-19 restrictions, Omicron seems to have gotten the better of the city’s defences.

Taiwan’s Foreign Minister is determined to keep international leaders talking about Taiwan’s situation. There are lessons for Australia’s politicians.

German paedophile and suspect Christian Brueckner often carried out repairs at the complex in Portugal where the McCann family stayed, a witness claims.

Families of the 14 peaceful protesters shot dead by British soldiers in 1972 say Britain is still afraid that the truth will come out.

After seven inconclusive rounds of voting, the leaders of Italy’s warring coalition parties on Saturday all but begged Sergio Mattarella to come back, asking him to reconsider for the sake of the country.

With Russian troops massed on the border of Ukraine, the security situation in the Baltic Sea is now more tense than at any time since 1981.

On Sunday, she received her most recent email from the New Zealand government, this one telling her to apply as a person in danger and that this will get her home, she said.

Malik reached the Nordic region and northern Germany on Sunday after moving in from Britain where it caused havoc with material damage and transport chaos.

Harry and Meghan have signed a series of deals to produce and host podcasts for Spotify as part of their efforts to make a living after splitting with the royal family.

On the streets of the Ukrainian capital, most locals still believe Russia won’t invade just because it can, and will meet stiff resistance if it does.

In his first newspaper interview of the year, Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said that China’s military incursions were “becoming more intimidating than ever”.

The upbeat tone echoes similar messaging from the government, which has complained that the West is spreading hysteria about the Ukraine crisis.

South Korea says this month’s flurry of missile tests is reminiscent of the heightened tensions in 2017, when North Korea conducted multiple nuclear tests.

As the West strives to take a united stance on possible sanctions, Britain is struggling to shake off its reputation as the place to be for wealthy Russians looking to park their billions.

Due to demand brought by relatively high COVID-19 case loads, New Zealanders are being forced into a lottery for about 4500 available quarantine rooms, which cost about $2000 for a couple for 10 days.

The families of the murdered UN experts have challenged the court outcome, saying it fails to hold to account the senior figures who gave ordered the killings.

The former president has given every indication he plans to seek the Republican nomination in 2024.

Since November, the US has been warning European allies that Russia may be preparing to invade Ukraine.

Two nurses from New York are accused of forging COVID-19 vaccination cards and pocketing more than $US1.5 million from the scheme, prosecutors and police said.

Vladimir Putin’s highest-stakes use of the military looks intended to muscle Russia back into the global relevance it lost with the ending of the Cold War.

The former Greens member has been the first person to “come out” as bisexual on the floor of the Arizona state legislature. Now in the US Senate, she’s winning praise from Republicans.

Senior Serbian health officials have previously said that Djokovic’s test was valid and issued by a relevant institution.

Colder regions may experience more cases during winter, while warmer regions may see higher transmissions in the summer.

How to blunt China’s bid to dominate the vital Indo-Pacific region is now a first-order question in global diplomacy.

Visibly moved, Biden gazed across a ravine over the buckled sections of the half-century-old Fern Hollow Bridge, flanked by Pennsylvania emergency workers as he surveyed the damage.

A former British ambassador to Russia says few Kremlin advisers would contradict the Russian President if he decided to invade Ukraine.

“We have already repeatedly stated that our country does not intend to attack anyone,” said Alexei Zaitsev, a ministry spokesman.

The Winter Olympics will mark the high point of China’s latest public relations campaign.

At least 150,000 children have been forced to flee their homes since last February’s military coup and others who remain fear for their lives.

In the graphic novel “Maus”, Jews are drawn as mice and the Nazis are drawn as cats. The school board reportedly took issue with the language and nudity.

The best photos from the international wire agencies as chosen by our picture editors.

The tiny eastern Baltic state angered Beijing when it said that the Taiwanese office in Vilnius would bear the name ‘Taiwan’ instead of ‘Chinese Taipei’, which is used by nations to avoid offending China.

Biden said that Vice President Kamala Harris, who also made history by being the first black woman to serve in her role, would help to advise him on a potential replacement for Breyer.

A national guard soldier in Ukraine opened fire on Thursday at a missile and rocket factory in the eastern part of the country, killing five people, police said.

The lawsuit was announced by Detroit-area attorney Ven Johnson on behalf of the parents of one student who was slain on November 30 and others who witnessed the shootings.

The US and Germany say they are prepared to halt the multibillion Nord Stream 2 dollar pipeline project if Russia invades.

Why do symptoms linger for months for patients such as John Gillotte? A new study identifies why some people may be more susceptible.

Scientists think the massive 555.55 carat diamond could have been forged in outer space. It’s expected to sell for up to $8 million.

One year into his first term, the groundbreaking pick may be exactly what the US president needs to reinvigorate his Democratic base after months of policy setbacks.

The battle between a Kurdish-led militia and Islamic State for control of a prison in northeastern Syria has exposed the plight of the nearly 700 boys detained there.

The best photos from the international wire agencies as chosen by our picture editors.

Pixie Shmigel says the mood in Ukraine is calm and the people are determined to defend their country.

Andrew wants a jury to decide a lawsuit by a sexual assault accuser if he can’t get the case dismissed altogether, his lawyers said in court papers.

The reluctance to issue clear warnings to the Kremlin is a fundamental failure of deterrence and increases the likelihood that Putin will try to overthrow the European strategic order, said one expert.

The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says millions of Afghans are suffering extreme hunger and that education and social services are on the brink of collapse.

The large mammals make loud noises, and in a carefully constructed experiment scientists have worked out what some of them mean.

The Lebanese man has been hailed a hero by some after taking staff hostage in country where people are being denied access to their savings.

The new rules drop cannabis from the ministry’s list of controlled drugs, permitting people to grow the plant once they notify their local government.

Others who have faced similar personal sanctions include Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro, Syria’s Bashar al-Assad and Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi.