The World

As India faces a devastating coronavirus surge, most hospitals and pharmacies in New Delhi, the capital, have run out of stocks. Now, people are turning to social media with desperate pleas for ICU beds, medicine and oxygen tanks to keep their loved ones alive. And, millions of people around the world are involved in forced labor. US Customs and Border Patrol has started to seize goods made through forced labor, but critics say they are not transparent enough. Also, an audio postcard about vaccine skepticism in China, by Shanghai author and resident Yashu Zhang.

India is in a coronavirus state of emergency. The Indian government says that they are seeing more than 300,000 new COVID-19 infections each day — more than anywhere else in the world — and those are just the reported cases. And, Denmark  has become the first country in the European Union to revoke the residency status of Syrian refugees. Also, while travel restrictions remain in place for many countries, those in Taiwan seeking an island getaway are in luck. The country has been operating a travel bubble with Palau since the beginning of April.

A center in Turkey near the border with Syria, which helped Syrian child laborers get therapy and education, has been shut down because of the pandemic. Now there are concerns about the fate of the children who benefited from it. And, Brazil's congress is starting an inquiry into President Jair Bolsonaro's handling of the pandemic, while the number of COVID-19 deaths in the country continues to set records. Also, beavers reminded Canadians of their national animal status last weekend when they gnawed through some fiber cables and shut down internet service in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia.

The Biden administration on Sunday lifted an export ban on raw materials for vaccines for India. The shift in policy comes amid an outbreak in India that is pushing that country’s health system to the brink. And, thousands of health care workers in Mexico have yet to get a coronavirus vaccine, even as government officials have moved on to giving shots to other priority groups. Also, three German gymnasts took a stand against sexualization in the sport this weekend — wearing full-body uniforms at the European championships.

India continues to record dizzying levels of coronavirus cases, setting the record two days in a row for the most daily infections around the world. And, researchers have found in preliminary results that a new vaccine for malaria is more than 77% effective in a clinical trial in Burkina Faso. Also, British Indian composer and pop musician Nitin Sawhney — whose music ties in deeply with politics, society, race and class — reflects on the Derek Chauvin trial.

With several vaccines approved, health authorities around the world are racing to inoculate populations before new, potentially more dangerous, variants of the coronavirus spread. What are the implications of the COVID-19 variants? As part of The World's regular series of conversations on the pandemic, and as a special in our podcast feed, reporter Elana Gordon moderated a discussion with Harvard epidemiologist Michael Mina.

Find more of our Coronavirus Conversations series here: https://www.theworld.org/coronavirus-conversations

At a US-hosted climate summit launched on Earth Day, the Biden administration hopes to prove what it's been saying for months: The US is back as a leader on climate action. And, in the wake of the Derek Chauvin trial, activists argue that increasingly militarized police shows that the US cannot solve its police brutality problems on its own. Also, a toaster-sized instrument on NASA’s Perseverance rover on Mars has taken the planet’s carbon dioxide atmosphere and has made oxygen with it.

Throughout 2020, Black Lives Matter protests swept the globe sending millions of people into the streets. Often, these protests prompted people to look inward and revive calls for justice where they live. And, a jury on Tuesday found ex-police officer Derek Chauvin guilty in the murder of George Floyd. The case has raised questions about police brutality and justice in the US. Also, A plan by 12 of Europe's top football teams to form an elite breakaway league has fallen apart just three days after it was announced.

In recent years, thousands of Afghans have been forced out of their country because of direct threats from the Taliban. Now, with the US troop withdrawal looming, many Afghans face an uncertain future. And, US and Russia relations have reached a new low point after news that the US ambassador to Russia, John Sullivan, will be returning to the United States this week. Also, Biden administration officials have been meeting with members of Brazil's Bolsonaro government to work out a multibillion-dollar deal to curb rampant deforestation in the Amazon rainforest.

French lawmakers passed a bill that could punish anyone sharing images or videos of police officers with the intent to cause "psychological or physical" harm. And, Russian dissident Alexei Navalny has been taken to a prison hospital following a three-week hunger strike and deteriorating health. Can the US intervene? Also, the long-awaited travel bubble between Australia and New Zealand is now open, allowing Aussies to travel to New Zealand without a required two-week quarantine.