Dexter Filkins assesses the state of negotiations in Afghanistan amid an ongoing assassination campaign (possibly from both sides). / The New Yorker

Statistics reveal that the police in South Africa are substantially more violent than those in the US. / Africa Is a Country

In France, the Redouane case represents the agonizing futility of trying to investigate police violence. / The Ballot

In Belarus, a generation of entrepreneurs and artists are facing prison sentences. / Foreign Policy

Italy braces for widespread closures as a new wave of coronavirus infections puts hospitals under strain. / The Guardian

The World Health Organization says there’s no reason to stop administering the AstraZeneca vaccine after Bulgaria becomes the fourth country to suspend usage. / BBC News

President Biden directs states to ensure that all adults are eligible for a coronavirus vaccine by May 1, in order to celebrate our “independence from this virus” by the Fourth of July. / The Washington Post, The Associated Press

See also: In praise of the vaccine ’fit. / Vox

In case you missed it in February, Helen Branswell compares the vaccines developed by Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson. / STAT

Reflections of a New York City medic. "It was a terrible blessing to be an EMT at a time when the city was in desperate need." / The New York Times

Photographs of homelessness in Covid-era Los Angeles. / The Los Angeles Times

Meghan O’Rourke: Clinicians are having surprising early success in unlocking the mysteries of “long Covid.” / The Atlantic

Cellphones show that Americans have started leaving home even more than before the pandemic. / The Washington Post

Analyzing what happened at Gimlet Media while “Reply All” remains dormant: too fast a rise, too little attention paid to non-shareholders. / Vulture, The New York Times

Until October, the most the digital artist Beeple had sold a print for was $100. An NFT of his work just went for $69 million at Christie’s. / The Verge

The media narratives around prosthetic limbs are meant to be reassuring—“but actually using a bionic arm can really suck.” / INPUT

A new study provides the strongest evidence yet for a mysterious layer inside Earth, dubbed the inner-inner core. / Popular Mechanics

See also: What is the Hubble Telescope currently looking at? / Twitter

In today’s match at the Tournament of Books, presented by Field Notes®, a bestselling debut meets the winner of the National Book Award. / The Tournament of Books