The World Trade Organization announced Monday that Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a Nigerian economist and former finance minister, has been selected as the global trade body's next director-general.
Why it matters: Okonjo-Iweala was named to the position by representatives from the WTO's 164 member countries, becoming the first woman and first African to take the helm.
The World Health Organization on Monday granted emergency authorization to the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine.
Why it matters: WHO's authorization "should trigger the delivery of hundreds of millions of doses to countries that have signed up for the U.N.-backed COVAX effort, which aims to deliver vaccines to the world’s most vulnerable," AP writes.
Myanmar anti-coup protesters gathered for a 10th day on Monday despite fears of a crackdown after the military deployed armored vehicles in city streets overnight, per the BBC.
The big picture: Additional troops were seen in the capital Yangon as civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi's detention was extended for two days, the Guardian notes. She and other officials from her National League for Democracy have been detained since the Feb. 1 coup.
Guinea's Ministry of Health on Monday declared an Ebola epidemic after three people died from the virus and four others became infected in the West African country.
Why it matters: West Africa is still struggling with COVID-19 cases. Guinea's Ebola epidemic follows fresh cases of the disease in the Democratic Republic of Congo, three months after the DRC's last outbreak was declared eradicated, per the New York Times.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Monday it was "absolutely right" for New Zealand's most populous city to lock down, after genome sequencing linked a COVID-19 outbreak in an Auckland family to a more virulent strain.
Why it matters: It's the first time the B.1.1.7 variant first detected in the U.K. has been found in NZ. Auckland locked down late Sunday for three days over the three community cases amid concern it might be a more contagious strain.
President Biden will join fellow G7 leaders for a virtual meeting Friday to discuss the pandemic response, economic recovery, China and the climate crisis, the White House said.
Why it matters: This will be Biden's first meeting with Group of Seven leaders as president. It's the first gathering of G7 leaders from the U.S., Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom since last April.
A recent study by Israel’s largest healthcare provider found that after both doses of the Pfizer vaccine, people are 94% less likely to have symptomatic COVID-19 infections and 92% fewer cases of severe illness due to the virus, Reuters reports.
Why it matters: Israel has been rapidly vaccinating its population, and the new study underscores how effective the vaccine is, as the data nearly matches Pfizer's Phase three clinical trial that showed the vaccine to be 95% effective.
There were 13 different strains of the coronavirus in Wuhan, China in December 2019, World Health Organization scientist Peter Ben Embarek told CNN in an exclusive interview.
Why it matters: Data gathered during the WHO scientists' first trip to investigate the origins of COVID-19 could point to an outbreak that was more widespread than previously understood.
China on Sunday accused the U.S. of "pointing fingers," following a statement from the Biden administration alleging that Beijing may have meddled into the World Health Organization's probe into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.
What they're saying: "What the U.S. has done in recent years has severely undermined multilateral institutions, including the WHO," China wrote in a statement from its embassy in D.C. It added that the U.S. has "gravely damaged international cooperation on COVID-19."
A magnitude 7.3 earthquake on Saturday hit off the coast of Japan's Fukushima prefecture, injuring at least 120 people and causing widespread power outages, per Japanese broadcaster NHK.
The big picture: The Japan Meteorological Agency believes the quake was an aftershock from the deadly quake and tsunami that triggered a nuclear disaster at a Fukushima power plant on March 11, 2011.
President Biden's National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said in a statement on Saturday that the administration is concerned by the World Health Organization's (WHO) probe into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Why it matters: Sullivan said the administration fears the Chinese government may have intervened or altered the findings of the investigation.
Myanmar's military leaders on Saturday suspended a law that limits security forces and ordered the arrests of prominent backers of the anti-coup protests taking place across the country, Reuters reports.
Driving the news: The move came as mass protests against the coup that ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected civilian government entered their second week.
