The Take

Skyrocketing numbers, new variants, and shortages of every kind. India’s healthcare system is overwhelmed by a devastating second wave of the covid-19 crisis, and there’s no end in sight. Today, we take stock of how India’s doctors and patients are surviving this brutal health crisis. And what comes next.

Elected president one day, declared dead the next. The people of Chad were stunned after the army announced President Idriss Deby died while visiting soldiers fighting a rebel group in the country’s north. Now, a transitional military council has dissolved the constitution and his son has been named interim president. So what happened to Idriss Deby, and what comes next for Chad?

What do dugongs and whale sharks reveal about the pandemic? This mostly unexplored wildlife has been hidden off Qatar’s shores throughout years of development. While the pandemic brought most of Qatar to a halt, that wildlife was thriving. This Earth Day, we’re bringing you a story of natural beauty that had been waiting to be told for years, from a correspondent who was grounded in Doha.

The border region between Russia and Ukraine has been in a long-simmering conflict since 2014. But over the past few weeks, there have been signs things might be escalating. Russia's military has been moving thousands of troops towards the border, while Ukrainian forces prepare for potential action. Could the buildup at the border lead to a full-fledged war?

For the first time in six decades, Cuba is set to be governed without a Castro at the helm. Raul Castro, the brother of the late Fidel Castro, is expected to step down from his position as First Secretary of the Communist Party this weekend. However, the change comes in the middle of a devastating economic crisis and unprecedented anti-government protests.

As people in wealthy countries look toward a vaccinated future, shopping is on the rise, and for many, the tide of fast fashion is pulling in a way that can feel difficult to escape. Love it or hate it, many feel they can’t live without quick and cheap clothes from brands like H&M or Zara. But activist Hoda Katebi and a collective of garment workers in the US city of Chicago have a radical vision for a world without fast fashion, and they’re taking it on with their own worker-owned factory: Blue Tin Productions.

US President Joe Biden has promised every American adult they will be eligible for a COVID vaccination by April 19th. But what about the rest of the world? Only 0.01% of all vaccines distributed have gone to the developing world and now Kenya is being a hit by its 3rd wave of the virus. Many complain COVAX, the vaccine program run by the WHO isn’t distributing the vaccine quick enough and AstraZeneca has been peppered with problems. Meanwhile, hospitals are running out of oxygen, beds are filling up and people are dying without the vaccine.

Jordan’s King Abdullah II has tried to put to rest a week of royal scandal after his half-brother, former crown Prince Hamzah Bin Hussein, was accused of conspiring to destabilise the country. What does an internal fight reveal about a nation known for its stability? We speak to Al Jazeera’s Hoda Abdel-Hamid to get to the bottom of what sparked the unprecedented royal feud. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Threatened aid workers, an empty hospital, and questionable COVID testing. An exclusive investigation by The New Humanitarian and Al Jazeera has uncovered multiple allegations of corruption in South Sudan’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Kenya has hosted Dadaab refugee camp since the 1990s. And those camps have hosted hundreds of thousands of refugees, mainly from Somalia. Dadaab was meant to be temporary, and Kenya’s government is very aware of that. The government called for Dadaab to be shut down last month — something it’s asked for before. What does this mean for the refugees who call Dadaab home?

The United States Border Patrol estimates that up to 22,000 children could cross the border with Mexico in April. President Joe Biden promised a more humane treatment of migrants than his predecessor, but images of a crowded migrant processing center in Donna, Texas with thousands of children crammed in small spaces have many questioning his approach.

Australia is facing a reckoning on sexual violence, specifically within the field of politics. One woman says she was raped inside Parliament House. In a separate case, the now-former Attorney General has been accused of assault. And many Australians say the government isn’t doing enough to address a culture of toxicity for women in political spaces. The growing protest movement calls for change — in all communities, and for all women.

When France's President Emmanuel Macron announced a controversial bill on “Islamist separatism” last year, members of the country’s Muslim population worried about what would happen next. Now, the bill has reached the Senate. As France's politicians try to outmaneuver each other from the right, what impact will their politicking have on a community that's found itself at the heart of this debate?

Alexey Navalny is a man with many titles: Russian dissident, opposition leader, activist, investigator, lawyer. Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly refuses to say his name. But this larger-than-life persona leaves out a crucial part of Navalny’s past — his history of nationalism.

After nearly 20 years at Guantanamo Bay with no charges against him, Mohammed al-Qahtani has what some attorneys describe as ‘generations’ of lawyers defending him. Last year, he was the closest he’d ever been to going home. But Donald Trump’s administration changed that and this week, President Joe Biden will have a chance to reverse that decision. What this administration does will send a signal about their resolve to close the US military prison for good.