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Friday

How India's COVID-19 Outbreak Got So Bad, And Why It May Be Even Worse Than We Know

Indians who lost their lives to COVID-19 are cremated in funeral pyres in New Delhi. The aerial photo was taken on Monday. Jewel Samad/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Jewel Samad/AFP via Getty Images

Consider This from NPR

How India's COVID-19 Outbreak Got So Bad, And Why It May Be Even Worse Than We Know

Things have gone from bad to worse in the pandemic's global epicenter. India reported nearly 400,000 new COVID-19 cases on Friday — and the death count is likely higher than current estimates. Lauren Frayer, NPR's correspondent in Mumbai, explains why. Follow more of her work here or on Twitter @lfrayer.

How India's COVID-19 Outbreak Got So Bad, And Why It May Be Even Worse Than We Know

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Protesters March In Colombia Against Plan To Raise Taxes In Pandemic-Wracked Economy

Protesters wearing Guy Fawkes masks carry empty coffins during a national strike to protest a government proposal that would raise taxes, in Bogotá, Colombia, on Wednesday. Fernando Vergara/AP hide caption

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Fernando Vergara/AP

The Coronavirus Crisis

Protesters March In Colombia Against Plan To Raise Taxes In Pandemic-Wracked Economy

Even though COVID-19 deaths are spiking and the country is climbing out of a deep economic downturn, the president has proposed new taxes. Colombians are defying restrictions by protesting.

Protesters March In Colombia Against Plan To Raise Taxes In Pandemic-Wracked Economy

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The Americas

Hurricanes, Pandemic And Falling Economy Prompt Hondurans To Leave For The U.S.

After being hit by back-to-back hurricanes on top of the pandemic, families from Honduras are leaving the country in waves to cross the Southern border into the U.S. for a better life.

Hurricanes, Pandemic And Falling Economy Prompt Hondurans To Leave For The U.S.

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U.S. Will Impose New Ban On Travel From India As Coronavirus Rages

Funeral pyres burn in a disused granite quarry repurposed to cremate the dead due to COVID-19 on Friday in Bengaluru, India. The U.S. is set to impose new travel restrictions against travelers from the country. Abhishek Chinnappa/Getty Images hide caption

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Abhishek Chinnappa/Getty Images

Coronavirus Updates

U.S. Will Impose New Ban On Travel From India As Coronavirus Rages

The travel ban is being imposed due to "extraordinarily high COVID-19 caseloads and multiple variants circulating" in India, the White House says.

What Is An 'Internal Wave'? It Might Explain The Loss Of An Indonesian Submarine

An image taken by NASA's Aqua satellite as it passes over Indonesia, captures evidence of an internal wave in the same general area where the KRI Nanggala submarine disappeared earlier this month. Jeff Schmaltz/, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC hide caption

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Jeff Schmaltz/, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC

Science

What Is An 'Internal Wave'? It Might Explain The Loss Of An Indonesian Submarine

No cause has been established for the sinking earlier this month of the KRI Nanggala with 53 people aboard, but officials have suggested that it may have been due to an undersea wave.

Germany Will Repatriate Benin Bronzes, Plundered From Africa In The 19th Century

Benin Bronze artifacts on display in the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe in Hamburg, Germany. An international consortium is working on repatriating artifacts which were looted in the late 19th century. Daniel Bockwoldt/picture alliance via Getty Images hide caption

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Daniel Bockwoldt/picture alliance via Getty Images

Germany Will Repatriate Benin Bronzes, Plundered From Africa In The 19th Century

German officials announced they have reached an agreement with Nigeria to return artifacts looted from the ancient Kingdom of Benin and now housed in German museums; other nations also hold bronzes.

Portugal Opens World's Longest Pedestrian Suspension Bridge, And It's A Trip

The 516 Arouca, the longest pedestrian suspension bridge in the world, hangs above the Aguieiras Waterfall in the Paiva Gorge in Arouca, Portugal. It is opening to the public next week. Octavio Passos/Getty Images hide caption

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Octavio Passos/Getty Images

Architecture

Portugal Opens World's Longest Pedestrian Suspension Bridge, And It's A Trip

The record-breaking bridge measures roughly 1,692 feet long and is suspended more than 570 feet above a rushing river. Officials in the town of Arouca called it "frighteningly beautiful."

Dozens Crushed To Death, Scores Injured In Stampede At Israeli Religious Festival

Ultra-Orthodox Jews look at the scene where dozens of people were killed and some 150 injured in a stampede during the Lag BaOmer festival at Mount Meron in northern Israel on Friday. Sebastian Scheiner/AP hide caption

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Sebastian Scheiner/AP

Middle East

Dozens Crushed To Death, Scores Injured In Stampede At Israeli Religious Festival

At least 45 people were killed and some 150 injured in a crush at the gathering of ultra-Orthodox Jews in northern Israel, where tens of thousands had convened.

Maeve Higgins: Why Is The 'Good Immigrant' Narrative Dangerous?
Marla Aufmuth/TED

TED Radio Hour

Maeve Higgins: Why Is The 'Good Immigrant' Narrative Dangerous?

Irish comedian Maeve Higgins moved to the U.S. with a visa for artists with "extraordinary abilities." But the myth of the "good immigrant," she says, perpetuates harm and discrimination.

Maeve Higgins: Why Is The 'Good Immigrant' Narrative Dangerous?

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Asia

As India's COVID-19 Cases Rise, Americans Are Encouraged To Leave

The number of new COVID-19 cases in India has hit another record. Now the State Department is urging Americans to leave.

As India's COVID-19 Cases Rise, Americans Are Encouraged To Leave

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The Americas

Thousands March In Colombia To Protest Plans To Raise Taxes

Protesters are taking to the streets of Colombia demonstrating against the government's mishandling of the pandemic, and its proposal to raise taxes at a time of deep economic pain.

Thousands March In Colombia To Protest Plans To Raise Taxes

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Health

News Brief: India's COVID-19 Surge, Religious Stampede, Kamala Harris' Role

The death toll in the pandemic continues to rise in India. Dozens of people have died in a stampede in Israel. Examining Kamala Harris's role in these first 100 days of the Biden administration.

News Brief: India's COVID-19 Surge, Religious Stampede, Kamala Harris' Role

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Middle East

Grim Picture Emerges After Stampede At Religious Festival In Israel

A stampede broke out at a Jewish religious gathering attended by tens of thousands of people in northern Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it a "great tragedy."

Grim Picture Emerges After Stampede At Religious Festival In Israel

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