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Wednesday

Theory That COVID Came From A Chinese Lab Takes On New Life In Wake Of WHO Report

Members of the World Health Organization team investigating the origins of the coronavirus leave the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan, China, on Feb. 3. Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images

Coronavirus Updates

Theory That COVID Came From A Chinese Lab Takes On New Life In Wake Of WHO Report

Some scientists worry the possibility the coronavirus escaped from research facilities hasn't gotten enough scrutiny. Others say it appears far more likely to have emerged naturally.

Race To Immunize Tightens As Cases Rise; Promising Vaccine News Released

Pfizer says its COVID-19 vaccine is shown to be extremely effective in young teenagers. Esteban Felix/AP hide caption

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Esteban Felix/AP

Consider This from NPR

Race To Immunize Tightens As Cases Rise; Promising Vaccine News Released

Scientists are growing concerned the U.S. may be headed for a fourth wave. COVID-19 cases are rising rapidly, mirroring an increase in many countries around the world.

Race To Immunize Tightens As Cases Rise; Promising Vaccine News Released

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France Imposes 3rd National Lockdown As COVID-19 Again Surges

Young people gathered Wednesday by the Seine River in Paris, largely without masks and without social distancing. French President Emmanuel Macron has ordered the country into a third lockdown because of the continued spread of COVID-19. Eleanor Beardsley/NPR hide caption

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Eleanor Beardsley/NPR

Coronavirus Updates

France Imposes 3rd National Lockdown As COVID-19 Again Surges

President Emmanuel Macron, in a televised address to the nation, said he was left with no choice as deaths approach 100,000 and the country's hospitals are overwhelmed.

India Reports Its Highest Daily Number Of COVID-19 Deaths So Far This Year

Commuters wait to board a suburban train on Tuesday at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus prior to the night curfew that has been introduced to curb the spread of COVID-19 in Mumbai. Rajanish Kakade/AP hide caption

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Rajanish Kakade/AP

Coronavirus Updates

India Reports Its Highest Daily Number Of COVID-19 Deaths So Far This Year

Wednesday's death toll was 354. Scientists are investigating what's making cases of infection rise precipitously after a decline last fall. "This race is really against time," says one immunologist.

India Reports Its Highest Daily Number Of COVID-19 Deaths So Far This Year

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Italy Expels 2 Russian Embassy Officials, Arrests Navy Captain On Spying Charges

The Russian Embassy in Rome on Wednesda. Italy has ordered two Russian Embassy officials expelled and arrested an Italian Navy captain on spying charges after police caught the Italian allegedly giving classified documents to one of the Russians in exchange for money. Alessandra Tarantino/AP hide caption

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Alessandra Tarantino/AP

Italy Expels 2 Russian Embassy Officials, Arrests Navy Captain On Spying Charges

The captain, identified by Italian media as Walter Biot, was reportedly caught Tuesday evening as he handed over allegedly top-secret documents to one of the Russian diplomats in exchange for money.

Key Part Of Voice Recorder Found From January's Crash Of Indonesian Airliner

Indonesia's National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) officers carry the memory unit from a cockpit voice recorder recovered from the crashed Sriwijaya Air Flight SJ 182 at Tanjung Priok Port in Jakarta on Wednesday. Anton Raharjo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images hide caption

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Anton Raharjo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Asia

Key Part Of Voice Recorder Found From January's Crash Of Indonesian Airliner

The memory unit from the cockpit voice recorder belonging to the Sriwijaya Air Boeing 737-500 that crashed into the Java Sea has been recovered, investigators say. All 62 people aboard were killed.

Why Are We Here?

Joyette Jagolino (second from the right) in critical-care nurse training with her class at Saint Paul University in Manila Courtesy of Joyette Jagolino via The Atlantic hide caption

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Courtesy of Joyette Jagolino via The Atlantic

Code Switch

Why Are We Here?

Filipinos make up a small fraction of the nurses in the United States, but almost a third of the nurses who have died of COVID-19 in the U.S. have been of Filipino descent. So what exactly is going on? Our friends over at The Atlantic and WNYC tried to understand more about this troubling statistic by telling the story of one woman: Rosary Castro-Olega.

Why Are We Here?

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Tuesday

U.K., U.S. Working Closely On Countering 'Almost Gangsterish' Russia, U.K. Envoy Says

U.K. Ambassador to the U.S. Karen Pierce, pictured in a previous role in 2018, talked with NPR about the country's outline of its future foreign policy. Spencer Platt/Getty Images hide caption

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Spencer Platt/Getty Images

U.K., U.S. Working Closely On Countering 'Almost Gangsterish' Russia, U.K. Envoy Says

The two allies are "collaborating very closely" on a response to Russian-backed cyberattacks, Ambassador to the U.S. Karen Pierce says. And she says the U.K. is still powerful after Brexit.

U.K., U.S. Working Closely On Countering 'Almost Gangsterish' Russia, U.K. Envoy Says

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Brazil: Military Chiefs Replaced Amid Major Reshuffle Of Bolsonaro Government

Demonstrators show support for Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro in front of the presidential palace Monday in Brasilia. Bolsonaro reshuffled his Cabinet amid turmoil in his administration and dropping approval ratings over the coronavirus pandemic. Eraldo Peres/AP hide caption

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Eraldo Peres/AP

The Americas

Brazil: Military Chiefs Replaced Amid Major Reshuffle Of Bolsonaro Government

The moves come while President Jair Bolsonaro is under intense criticism as the country's coronavirus cases spin further out of control. Brazil is now seen as the epicenter of the pandemic.

Italian Mob Fugitive Caught In Caribbean After Posting Cooking Videos Online

A special courtroom in Lamezia Terme, Calabria, is shown on Jan. 13 as more than 350 people believed to be members of Calabria's 'Ndrangheta organized crime group and their associates went on trial. Marc Feren Claude Biart, suspected of being a member, was arrested in the Dominican Republic in March. Gianluca Chininea/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Gianluca Chininea/AFP via Getty Images

Italian Mob Fugitive Caught In Caribbean After Posting Cooking Videos Online

Authorities tracked down Marc Feren Claude Biart in the Dominican Republic after he posted videos that hid his face but not his tattoos. Biart is allegedly a member of the 'Ndrangheta crime syndicate.

Many World Leaders Call For Treaty On Future Pandemics

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson gives an update on the coronavirus pandemic during a virtual news conference Monday in London. Johnson and other world leaders signed a letter calling for greater international cooperation in fighting future pandemics. Hollie Adams/WPA/Pool/Getty Images hide caption

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Hollie Adams/WPA/Pool/Getty Images

Coronavirus Updates

Many World Leaders Call For Treaty On Future Pandemics

Given a lack of international coordination that has beset the current coronavirus pandemic, whether such a treaty could be reached or adhered to is an open question.

In Latest Power Move, Beijing Approves Electoral Overhaul For Hong Kong

China's President Xi Jinping (C) applauds with other leaders and delegates after they voted on changes to Hong Kong's election system during the closing session of the National People's Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 11, 2021. Nicolas Asfouri/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Nicolas Asfouri/AFP via Getty Images

Asia

In Latest Power Move, Beijing Approves Electoral Overhaul For Hong Kong

The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress unanimously approved a law that will cut the number of district representatives for Hong Kong residents.

Monday

4 Countries Dominate Doses As Pressure Grows For Global Vaccine Solutions

A nurse administers a shot at a COVID-19 mass vaccination site at Martinsville speedway in Ridgeway, Va., on March 12. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

Consider This from NPR

4 Countries Dominate Doses As Pressure Grows For Global Vaccine Solutions

More than half of worldwide vaccine doses have been administered in just four countries — India, China, the U.K. and the U.S. That kind of inequity will "extend the pandemic, globally," says Tom Bollyky, director of the Global Health program at the Council on Foreign Relations.

4 Countries Dominate Doses As Pressure Grows For Global Vaccine Solutions

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As COVID-19 Mostly Halted Filming In The U.S., Movie Magic Forged Ahead In Bulgaria

A golden arch marks the entrance to Nu Boyana Film Studios, nestled into the side of Vitosha Mountain in Sofia. Meghan Collins Sullivan/NPR hide caption

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Meghan Collins Sullivan/NPR

Movies

As COVID-19 Mostly Halted Filming In The U.S., Movie Magic Forged Ahead In Bulgaria

Frequent COVID testing and other safety measures at Nu Boyana in Sofia has allowed the studio — home to 300: Rise of an Empire and Rambo: Last Blood — to continue filming during the pandemic.

As COVID-19 Mostly Halted Filming In The U.S., Movie Magic Forged Ahead In Bulgaria

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Remembering Mama Sarah: Philanthropist And Obama Family Matriarch Dies In Kenya At 99

Sarah Obama holds a photograph of her grandson, Barack Obama in Kogelo, Kenya while awaiting the results of Super Tuesday's primary in Feb. 2008. She died on Monday after a brief illness, and is being remembered as a beloved matriarch and philanthropist. Paula Bronstein/Getty Images hide caption

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Paula Bronstein/Getty Images

Africa

Remembering Mama Sarah: Philanthropist And Obama Family Matriarch Dies In Kenya At 99

Sarah Obama, the former president's step-grandmother who helped raise his father, died Monday morning after a brief illness. She spent much of her life promoting education for girls and orphans.