Key Storylines
- AFRICA: South Africa announced the ending of Covid restrictions, two years after they were imposed.
- AMERICAS: Peruvian President Pedro Castillo announced a curfew in the capital Lima and neighboring port city Callao, after demonstrations across the country over fuel prices caused roadblocks and “acts of violence”.
- ASIA: Twenty Ukrainians arrived in Tokyo on a government plane with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi after his trip to Poland.
- EUROPE: Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said the country expelled 30 Russian diplomats because of security concerns and Russia was set to retaliate.
- MIDDLE EAST: The Kuwaiti government resigned three months after it was sworn in amid escalating disputes with parliament.
- TECH & COMMUNICATIONS: The NGO Business for Social Responsibility issued a report promoting Meta’s planned expansion of end-to-end encryption on its messaging apps.
Top Story
- Ukraine: President Volodymyr Zelensky to Address the UN Security Council on War.
- Britain’s diplomatic mission announced that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will address the UN Security Council today.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky plans to speak to UN Security Council diplomats outraged by growing evidence that Russian forces deliberately killed civilians.
- Zelensky said that at least 300 people had been “killed and tortured” by Russian forces in Bucha, near Kyiv, before troops pulled out of the besieged town.
- The UN Security Council speech from the Ukrainian president marks the first to the body since Russia’s invasion and comes after an emotional trip to Bucha.
- The council remains paralyzed on taking any action on Ukraine because Russia has veto power, but the 193-member General Assembly condemned Russia’s invasion and demanded an immediate cessation of hostilities, withdrawal of Russian forces and protection for civilians.
- AFP, AP, NBC, Arab News, WaPo
Africa
- Region: Aid agencies said that West Africa is facing its worst food crisis on record driven by conflict, drought, and the impact of the war in Ukraine on food prices and availability. (Reuters)
- Mali: Authorities summoned opposition politician Oumar Mariko after he criticized the ruling junta and suggested the army “was murdering people.” (AFP)
- Somalia: The National Intelligence and Security Agency (Nisa) warned about an alleged plot by al-Shabab militants to attack the president and the prime minister. (BBC)
- South Africa: The country announced the ending of Covid restrictions, two years after they were imposed. (BBC)
- Sudan: The International Criminal Court will open its trial against Ali Muhammed Ali Abd-al-Rahman, the first person to be tried for atrocities committed in Darfur. (BBC)
Americas
- Colombia: Victims of landmines rallied outside the Special Jurisdiction for Peace tribunal to demand investigations into the rebel groups that planted them. (AP)
- El Salvador: President Nayib Bukele said that more than 6,000 gang members have been detained in the first nine days of a state of emergency in the country. (AFP)
- Mexico: The opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party announced they would not support President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s proposed power market reforms. (Reuters)
- Peru: President Pedro Castillo announced a curfew in the capital Lima and neighboring port city Callao, after demonstrations across the country over fuel prices caused roadblocks and “acts of violence”. (AFP)
- United States: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced a plan to strengthen and revamp itself. (Reuters)
Asia
- Australia: The government is urging Vietnam to free on health grounds a 72-year-old Vietnamese-born national serving a 12-year prison sentence for supporting a pro-democracy group. (AP)
- China: More than 10,000 health workers, including 2,000 from the military, have been sent to Shanghai to address the rapidly growing COVID-19 outbreak in the city. (AP)
- Indonesia: An appeals court sentenced an Islamic boarding school principal to death for raping at least 13 students over five years and impregnating some of them. (AP)
- Japan: Twenty Ukrainians arrived in Tokyo on a government plane with Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi after his trip to Poland. (AFP)
- North Korea: Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong-un, warned her country would retaliate with nuclear weapons if provoked by South Korea. (AP)
Europe
- France: Paris called for an international investigation into reports that hundreds of civilians have been killed by government troops and Russian mercenaries in Mali. (BBC)
- Hungary: Police said a train struck a vehicle in the south and derailed, leaving five people dead and others injured. (AP)
- Italy: Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said the country expelled 30 Russian diplomats because of security concerns and Russia was set to retaliate. (Reuters)
- Russia: Deputy Security Council head Dmitry Medvedev warned of a “symmetrical” response to the expulsion of Russian diplomats from several western countries. (Reuters)
- Ukraine: President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will address the UN Security Council today, council president Britain announced. (AFP)
Middle East
- Iran: Foreign Ministry spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh told reporters in Tehran that the country Iran will only return to Vienna in order to finalize an agreement to revive its landmark 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. (Al-Monitor)
- Israel: Police arrested eight suspected of throwing rocks, bottles, and fireworks at officers in a third consecutive night of unrest in Jerusalem. (AP)
- Kuwait: The government resigned three months after it was sworn in amid escalating disputes with parliament. (AFP)
- Palestinian Territories: Lawyer Salah Hamouri, who is in Israeli detention, filed a complaint in France against surveillance firm NSO Group for having “illegally infiltrated” his mobile phone with the spyware Pegasus. (Times of Israel)
- Yemen: Warring parties traded accusations of violating a ceasefire agreement, three days after it went into effect at the start of Ramadan. (AFP)
Tech & Communications
- Technology: The NGO Business for Social Responsibility issued a report promoting Meta’s planned expansion of end-to-end encryption on its messaging apps. (WaPo)
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 05APR22)
- Confirmed cases: 493,924,905
- Deaths: 6,171,092
- Countries with confirmed cases: 192
- Sourcing: John Hopkins University
- COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease: Global (as of 05APR22)
Tomorrow’s Outlook (06APR22)
- Event: CFR discussion on international economics with former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers.
- Global: International Day of Sport for Development and Peace
- China: Qingming Festival
- Europe: NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels (to 07APR)
- Ireland: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to virtually address parliament
- Moldova: Visit by USAID Administrator Samantha Power.
- Thailand: Chakri Day
- United States: House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on ‘restoring U.S. leadership in the Indo-Pacific’.
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