Experts caution that it’s not yet clear just how much of a factor that the variant, B.1.617, has played in the catastrophic rise in cases in India, which are likely undercounted.

The World Health Organization said Monday that the B.1.617 variant of the coronavirus, which has spread throughout India is now a “variant of concern,” and may be fueling a rise in infections.

The incident, in the Strait of Hormuz, was the third time in just over a month that vessels from the two countries have come dangerously close.

Growing violence between Israelis and Palestinians.

More than 330 Palestinians were injured on Monday after the Israeli police entered the Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem. The police fired rubber-tipped bullets and stun grenades, while Palestinians threw rocks at officers.

President Biden wants universal pre-K. A large new study examines its likely effects.

In the Russian republic of Kalmykia, the encroaching desert has transformed the landscape. “Nature,” one farmer said, “is forcing us to leave.”

In most of China, women are being urged to have more babies, to shore up a falling birthrate. But in Xinjiang, they are being forced to have fewer.