Key Storylines
- AFRICA: African Union (AU) chairperson Moussa Faki has condemned an attack by al-Shabab militants on a military base in central Somalia staffed by Burundian soldiers.
- AMERICAS: Two blocs of Central American and Caribbean countries condemned Russia’s attack on Ukraine and warned about the impact of the conflict on the region.
- ASIA: South Korean and Japanese officials said North Korea launched a ballistic missile toward its eastern waters.
- EUROPE: The French Socialist Party and the hard-left La France Insoumise (LFI) party reached an agreement in principle to form an alliance for June’s parliamentary election.
- MIDDLE EAST: CIA director William Burns had an unannounced meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman last month.
- TECH & COMMUNICATIONS: Elon Musk floated the possibility of Twitter charging a fee to commercial and government users.
Top Story
- Belarus: Ex-leader Stanislav Shushkevich dies at 87.
- Former Belarus leader Stanislav Shushkevich, the man who broke the news to Mikhail Gorbachev that the Soviet Union was being dissolved, died at the age of 87.
- According to his wife, Shushkevich, who later became a critic of Belarus’s strongman leader Alexander Lukashenko, died of complications from coronavirus.
- Shushkevich, a university professor, became a lawmaker in Belarus during Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev’s political reforms.
- On December 8, 1991, Shushkevich met with Russian President Boris Yeltsin and Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk in Belarus and signed the Belavezha Accords, which effectively dissolved the Soviet Union.
- Shushkevich led Belarus from independence until he was defeated in a 1994 election by Lukashenko, becoming a prominent member of the opposition.
- Reuters, AFP, AP, RFE/RL, VOA
Africa
- Region: African Union (AU) chairperson Moussa Faki has condemned an attack by al-Shabab militants on a military base in central Somalia staffed by Burundian soldiers. (BBC)
- Nigeria: Abidemi Rufai, an official of Ogun state until his arrest last year in the United States, pleaded guilty to pandemic relief fraud in Washington state. (AP)
- Senegal: President Macky Sall has said he plans to regulate social media in the West African nation, describing it as “a real cancer of modern societies”. (BBC)
- Somalia: Al-Shabaab jihadists stormed an African Union northeast of Mogadishu, killing an unknown number of Burundian peacekeepers. (AFP)
- Uganda: Police say 20 people have been killed after a passenger bus crashed into a tea estate off a highway in the country’s west. (AP)
Americas
- Region: Two blocs of Central American and Caribbean countries condemned Russia’s attack on Ukraine and warned about the impact of the conflict on the region. (Reuters)
- Dominican Republic: The army increased surveillance on the border with Haiti and announced an urgent search for a diplomat who disappeared there last week. (Reuters)
- Haiti: Germine Joly, a leader of the 400 Mawozo gang responsible for last year’s kidnapping of 17 missionaries, was extradited to the United States. (BBC)
- Mexico: The government announced an information-sharing arrangement between the National Guard and telecoms company America Movil. (Reuters)
- United States: J.D. Vance, a Republican candidate for the Senate who had received former president Donald Trump’s endorsement, won his party’s hotly-contested primary in Ohio. (AFP)
Asia
- China: Beijing closed dozens of subway stations as Covid restrictions constrict movement around the capital despite it recording only dozens of cases daily. (AFP)
- India: Government data showed that the country registered about 475,000 more total deaths in 2020 than the previous year. (Reuters)
- North Korea: South Korean and Japanese officials said Pyongyang launched a ballistic missile toward its eastern waters. (AP)
- Philippines: Presidential frontrunner Ferdinand Marcos Junior has warned supporters to protect their votes in next week’s national elections to avoid the result being “stolen from us again”. (AFP)
- South Korea: The state arms procurement agency announced the production of a new long-range radar prototype in a project to replace existing decades-old systems. (Yonhap)
Europe
- Armenia: Opposition parties resumed street protests in Yerevan in a bid to oust Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan over his handling of a territorial dispute with Azerbaijan. (AFP)
- Belarus: The country launched “surprise” military maneuvers to test the reactive capacity of its army. (AFP)
- France: The Socialist Party and the hard-left La France Insoumise (LFI) party reached an agreement in principle to form an alliance for June’s parliamentary election. (Reuters)
- Moldova: European Council President Charles pledged to increase EU military aid to the country, after a series of attacks in Transnistria. (AFP)
- Ukraine: Russia continued rocket strikes on Mariupol as the EU announced new sanctions on Russian oil and banks. (Reuters)
Middle East
- Iran: A Swedish national sentenced to death in the country on charges of spying for Israel is to be executed this month. (Reuters)
- Iraq: US military intelligence believes Iran-backed militias have been coordinating with Kurdish guerrillas to launch attacks on Turkey’s military presence in the country’s north. (Al-Monitor)
- Israel: The country honored its soldiers and civilians with air raid sirens wailing nationwide for two minutes and citizens pausing for a moment. (AP)
- Palestinian Territories: The government called on the United Nations Security Council to stop Israel from escalating tensions against citizens after Jewish activists decided to break into a holy mosque in East Jerusalem. (Xinhua)
- Saudi Arabia: CIA director William Burns had an unannounced meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman last month. (The Hill)
Tech & Communications
- Social Media: Elon Musk floated the possibility of Twitter charging a fee to commercial and government users. (Reuters)
World
- Cyclones: Nothing to Report.
- Hurricanes: Nothing to Report.
- Earthquakes: Nothing to Report.
- Volcanoes: Nothing to Report.
- Global Disease Outbreaks:
- COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease: Global (as of 04MAY22)
- Confirmed cases: 514,949,273
- Deaths: 6,241,184
- Countries with confirmed cases: 192
- Sourcing: John Hopkins University
- COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease: Global (as of 04MAY22)
Tomorrow’s Outlook (05MAY22)
- Global: OPEC and non-OPEC ministerial meeting, virtual.
- Global: World Portuguese Language Day.
- Central America: Visit by Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Belize, and Cuba. (to 09MAY)
- Chile: Visit by US Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights Uzra Zeya.
- Ethiopia: Patriots’ Victory Day.
- Europe: Visit by US First Lady Jill Biden to Romania and Slovakia. (to 09MAY)
- Europe: European Union to launch a trust fund for solidarity with Ukraine.
- Europe: Europe Day.
- Germany: Visit by Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala.
- Guyana: Indian Arrival Day.
- Kyrgyzstan: Constitution Day.
- Mexico & United States: Cinco de Mayo.
- Netherlands: Liberation Day.
- Russia: Ban on foreign depositary receipt programs enters into effect.
- Ukraine: President Volodymyr Zelensky to hold a conference with financial donors.
- United Kingdom: Northern Ireland Assembly election.
- United Kingdom: Visit by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
- United States: Secretary of State Blinken outlines administration’s China policy.
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