COVID-19 image

China braces for new COVID wave

Full Episode

This undated, colorized electron microscope image made available by the US National Institutes of Health in February 2020 shows the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, indicated in yellow, emerging from the surface of cells, indicated in blue/pink, cultured in a laboratory. The sample was isolated from a patient in the US. There’s less risk of getting long COVID in the omicron era than in the pandemic’s earlier waves, according to a study of nearly 10,000 Americans that aims to help scientists better understand the mysterious condition, published in JAMA on May 25, 2023.

NIAID-RML via AP

The latest wave of COVID-19 infections to hit China could see as many as 65 million cases per week by the time the surge peaks at the end of June. It’s being fueled by omicron XBB, a subvariant that’s been found widely in the US. Plus, Greek authorities have made some 200 beaches water accessible to people with disabilities. And the “Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll,” Tina Turner, has died at the age of 83. The iconic musician spent the last few decades of her life in Europe. What prompted that choice?


School is out for the summer! But we have one more assignment for you. If you are a student or a recent graduate from an American university, we’d like to know why you chose to study in the US. Was it what you hoped for? What do you like, what do you not like? When you graduate will you return home? Record a voice memo with your story. Include your name and location and email the voice memo to myworld@theworld.org. We might feature your story on the program. 

In This Episode

Chinese authorities unfazed as nation braces for new COVID wave
Rock ‘n’ Roll legend Tina Turner dies at 83
What to do with Japan’s nuclear waste
man outside
Ukrainian rock band Vopli Vidopliassova and fans rediscover an old hit 
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Rivalry between China and US fuels friction in tech sector
Women artists front and center in Tate museum’s latest makeover
Celebration for Mount Everest record
Greece builds infrastructure to make beaches accessible to people with disabilities
Iconic ‘Cotton Tree’ in Sierra Leone has fallen