The United States plays a leading role in the global response to disease threats and pandemics. But the momentum for addressing COVID-19 worldwide is slowing down, according to the director of USAID’s pandemic task force, while global leaders warn that the world remains vulnerable. And one of Ukraine’s leading artists, Pavlo Makov, has become a spokesperson for Ukraine’s cultural resistance at this year’s Venice Biennale. Makov was able to escape from the eastern city of Kharkiv just in time. Plus, the US Army has delivered a birthday cake to Italian woman Meri Mion on her 90th birthday. The cake replaces the one stolen by US soldiers in 1945.

Explosions this week rocked Moldova's breakaway region of Transnistria, which borders Ukraine. A Russian military commander has said that the Kremlin plans to set up a corridor through southern Ukraine, connecting it to the separatist region. And Ukrainian families who fled to Poland are finding ways for their children to continue their education in Ukrainian, help them learn Polish and ease the trauma of war. Plus, France said it was leaving Mali in February, after French troops spent a decade in the region fighting militant groups like ISIS and al-Qaeda. But two months on, 5,000 French troops still remain in Mali and neighboring countries.

Moscow has cut off natural gas supply to Poland and Bulgaria because they have failed to make their payments in rubles, a demand of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The European Union has countered that Russia is just trying to blackmail countries that support Ukraine. And, in a rare form of diplomacy between the US and Russia, the two nations agreed to an unexpected prisoner swap: Russia released former US marine Trevor Reed while the US released a Russian pilot. Both men were facing long prison sentences. Plus, when the American band Sonic Youth played for a crowd in Kyiv in 1989, it changed teenager Eugene Hutz’s life, inspiring him to find his own musical voice.

The letter Z has become a symbol of support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, appearing on T-shirts, billboards and social media accounts in defense of the war. Now, some European countries have decided to ban public displays of the letter altogether. And Twitter is one of the world's most influential public spaces. Its purchase by Elon Musk, who calls himself a “free speech absolutist” is likely to shake up Twitter’s role on the global stage. Plus, the oldest-known person in the world, Kane Tanaka of Japan, has died at the age of 119.

An explosion at an illegal oil refinery in Nigeria killed over 100 people this past weekend. The government vowed to crack down on these illegal operations, which it says steals over 150,000 gallons of oil each day. Also, roughly three months after ISIS fighters attacked a prison in northeast Syria, the United Nations says the fate of more than 100 minors who were held at the prison remains unclear. Plus, after a weekend visit to Kyiv, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced that US diplomats will return to Ukraine. They emphasized, however, that the US military will not get directly involved in the war in Ukraine.

Voters in France go to the polls to either reelect French President Emmanuel Macron or propel far-right challenger Marine Le Pen into office. Macron was comfortably ahead in the polls. But Le Pen has worked to soften her image and appeal more to the center. And after two years, Brazil’s Carnival returns with glitz, glamor and a serious message: Rio de Janeiro’s samba groups are turning the world’s biggest festival into a platform to protest against violence and racism faced by Black Brazilians. Plus, leaders across Mexico are remembering Rosario Ibarra, the country’s most visible champion of Mexico’s disappeared people, who died on Saturday.

President Joe Biden has announced that the US is sending $800 million in military aid, including weaponry suited for fighting in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, as Russia prepares to launch a new offensive. And American and Cuban officials are meeting in Washington on Thursday to discuss migration concerns in the highest-level US talks with Havana since Biden took office. Plus, we hear from Bill Browder, a former investor in Russia and one-time nemesis of Vladimir Putin, about the impact of sanctions on Russia.

The besieged port city of Mariupol has become a symbol of resistance during the war, as Ukrainian troops continue to push back against Russia's assault on the city. And, amid an ongoing debate in the European Union over an immediate ban on Russian energy imports, one German parliament member says the time is now. Germany has advocated for a gradual ban. Also, ahead of elections in France, the Muslim community fears Marine Le Pen’s campaign of Islamophobia and right-wing nationalism.

Over the last 24 hours, Russia has expanded its artillery and bombing campaign in Ukraine, hitting cities, towns and villages — including civilians. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that Russian troops have begun the battle for the eastern Donbas region. And in China, 20 cities and regions are now experiencing some degree of lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus. In China’s most populous city, Shanghai, most residents have remained under strict lockdown for three weeks. Plus, Istanbul band Şatellites pays homage to Turkey’s psychedelic rock movement. 

Ukrainian forces holed up at a steel plant in the besieged port city of Mariupol have ignored a “surrender or die” ultimatum from Russian forces and continue to fight. Meanwhile, new cyberattacks targeting the Ukrainian electrical grid indicate a new phase in the digital war between Russia and Ukraine. Plus, some foods — like Champagne — can come only from one region, but for others, the rules aren't so clear. Just ask cheesemakers all over the globe who say they are also making Gruyère.