A group of parties spanning Israel's political spectrum has announced an agreement to form a new ruling coalition. If it holds, longtime leader Benjamin Netanyahu is out. And, Peruvians will head to the polls on Sunday to choose their next president. The election underscores how repeated corruption scandals have politically fractured the country. Also, Sri Lanka faces its worst human-made disaster after a container ship carrying oil, toxic chemicals and tons of plastic pellets sank off their coast on Wednesday. And, need a break? Take a moment to watch sea otters playing via livestream on Twitch.

The cyberattack that shut down JBS, the world's largest meat supplier, came within weeks of the Colonial Pipeline hack. Are ransomware attacks the new normal? And, ever since Myanmar’s army seized power in a coup four months ago, the country has descended into terror. Many protesters are fed up with peace marches and are ready to fight back. Also, a herd of wild elephants has gone rogue in China. A dozen or so left a nature preserve in Yunnan province months ago and are now approaching the city of Kunming, putting authorities on guard.

Top-ranking athlete Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from the French Open after controversy following her refusal to speak to the media after matches. And, a new report by the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention paints a grim picture of gun violence, which has gone from the lowest to highest rates in Europe. Also, it’s challenging to keep track of new variants of the coronavirus. After months of deliberation, an expert panel has put forward a new system for naming and referencing variants using the Greek alphabet.

Brazil continues to struggle with the coronavirus. Anger may have reached a tipping point there, with Brazilians taking to the streets in organized protests. Also, Western nations designated a Syrian rebel leader as a terrorist. Now, he's trying to soften his image by meeting with Western media. And, the offspring of a revered African freedom fighter, and a rapper delivering her vision of "Afrofuturism." The music and message of Sammus.

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Alexander Lukashenko, the leader of Belarus whose recent actions have drawn condemnation from other world leaders. Also, Germany has agreed to pay Namibia $1.3 billion to atone for its colonial-era genocide. And in Kenya, the first-ever national wildlife census, where every animal is counted, from elephants to anteaters.

A group of prominent scientists in the field of virology are calling for an independent investigation to explore the origins of COVID-19. This week, protesters in Iraq took to the streets again to demand an end to a wave of assassinations and intimidation by Iran-supported militia groups. Also, the Biden administration has redesignated Temporary Protected Status — or TPS — to Haitians living in the US. And, The World remembers Eric Carle, beloved author of the famous children’s book, “The Very Hungry Caterpillar,” who died this week.

Latin America and the Caribbean now register a million new COVID-19 infections about every six days. With the vaccine rollout lagging and lives and livelihoods hanging in the balance, what is next for the region? As part of The World's series of conversations on the pandemic with Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and as a special feature in our podcast feed, reporter Elana Gordon moderated a discussion with demographer Marcia Castro.

Find more of The World's Coronavirus Conversations series: https://www.theworld.org/coronavirus-conversations

Iran has approved a list of seven candidates for next month’s presidential election. Missing from the list are moderates and reformist candidates. In France, a debate on policing tactics and oversight have police calling for more protection, too. And, anti-Semitic attacks have reportedly soared in the UK and EU, in the wake of the conflict in Gaza. Also, Tasmanian devils have been born on the Australian mainland for the first time in 3,000 years.

In New Zealand, activists managed to stop plans to increase police powers that harm Maori communities. A year later, the government wants to expand police powers again. And in France, a group of generals recently published an open letter in a far-right magazine warning that the country could be headed toward civil war. Also, for the first time in nearly four months, Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of Myanmar's ousted government, was seen in person. Her lawyer sees little chance of a fair trial.

On Sunday, Belarusian authorities diverted a passenger flight carrying Roman Protasevich, a prominent dissident. He was then detained under the orders of Alexander Lukashenko, known as “Europe’s last dictator.” And, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will arrive in the Middle East tomorrow, following the start of Friday’s ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Also, 21 marathon runners have died in China after extreme weather struck an ultramarathon in a northwestern province. And, the Pacific Island nation of Samoa was set to swear in its first-ever female prime minister earlier today, but it didn't go as planned.