The closed Lithuanian Embassy in Beijing. China lashed out at the United States Thursday over its support for the European nation of Lithuania in its feud with Beijing over relations with Taiwan. Mark Schiefelbein/AP hide caption
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Many Stories, One WorldIn this photo taken from video, Russian peacekeepers board a Russian military plane at an airfield outside Moscow to fly to Kazakhstan on Thursday. A Russia-led military alliance, the Collective Security Treaty Organization, said early Thursday that it would send peacekeeper troops to Kazakhstan. Russian Defense Ministry Press Service/AP hide caption
This photo provided by the North Korean government shows what it says was a test launch of a hypersonic missile in North Korea Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022. AP hide caption
Some of Afghanistan's most talented young soccer players, members of what used to be the girls national team, gather for practice in Lisbon, Portugal, in November. Claire Harbage/NPR hide caption
An Afghan girls soccer team rebelled to play the game they love. Now they're refugees
Protesters rally in Almaty on Monday after fuel price hikes. Abduaziz Madyarov/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
The container ship Hyundai Hope is loaded in Norfolk, Va., on Dec. 1, 2021. Steve Helber/AP hide caption
The global supply chain is amazingly efficient. So why did it break down?
Dr. Peter Hotez and Dr. Maria Elena Bottazzi of Texas Children's Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine have developed a COVID-19 vaccine that could prove beneficial to countries with fewer resources. Max Trautner/Texas Children's Hospital hide caption
A Texas team comes up with a COVID vaccine that could be a global game changer
French President Emmanuel Macron during departures at the end of an EU Summit in Brussels, last month. Macron told a French newspaper this week that he wanted to "piss off" the unvaccinating, drawing the ire of opposition politicians. Stephanie Lecocq/AP hide caption
Novak Djokovic of Serbia plays a backhand against Marin Cilic of Croatia during the Davis Cup Semi Final match between Croatia and Serbia at Madrid Arena pavilion in December in Madrid, Spain. Juan Naharro Gimenez/Getty Images for Lexus hide caption
Passengers look out from the Spectrum of the Seas cruise ship docked in Hong Kong on Wednesday. Thousands of passengers were being held on the ship for coronavirus testing after health authorities said nine passengers were linked to a recent omicron cluster and ordered the ship to turn back. Vincent Yu/AP hide caption
A man receives his fourth dose of the coronavirus vaccine in a private nursing home in Petah Tikva, Israel, on Tuesday. Ariel Schalit/AP hide caption
Women wearing face masks to protect against COVID-19 look at their smartphones at a public park in Beijing Wednesday. China is reporting a major drop in local COVID-19 infections in the northern city of Xi'an, which has been under a tight lockdown for the past two weeks. Mark Schiefelbein/AP hide caption
Residents of Xi'an, China, react to COVID lockdowns with outrage and humor
People wait in line for a coronavirus test in Los Angeles on Tuesday. California is starting to feel the full wrath of the omicron variant. Hospitalizations have jumped nearly 50% since Christmas and models show that in a month, the state could have 22,000 people in hospitals, which was the peak during last winter's epic surge. Jae C. Hong/AP hide caption
An employee walks among the cars during the inauguration of a factory that will recondition used cars near Paris, on Nov. 30. Eric Piermont/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
A frozen section of the Ross Sea at Scott Base in Antarctica on Nov. 12, 2016. Britain's Preet Chandi made history by trekking 700 miles from Hercules Inlet to the South Pole in an unsupported expedition. Mark Ralston/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Novak Djokovic will play in the 2022 Australian Open, after getting an exemption from vaccine requirements. He's seen here removing his mask at the 2021 ATP Cup at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne last February. Darrian Traynor/Getty Images hide caption
French videogame giant Ubisoft's Montreal office is seen on July 18, 2020 in Quebec, Canada. ERIC THOMAS/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Tesla CEO Elon Musk arrives on the red carpet for the Axel Springer media award in Berlin in 2020. Activists are appealing to Tesla to close a new showroom in China's northwestern region of Xinjiang, where officials are accused of abuses against mostly Muslim ethnic minorities. Hannibal Hanschke/AP file photo hide caption
Members of Women of the Wall gather around a Torah scroll the group smuggled in for their Rosh Hodesh prayers marking the new month, at the Western Wall where women are forbidden from reading from the Tora. Maya Alleruzzo/AP hide caption