Key Storylines
- AFRICA: Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is set to meet with Moroccan King Mohammed VI during a two-day visit to Rabat that promises to mark an easing of diplomatic tensions centered on Western Sahara.
- AMERICAS: Argentina is in talks to potentially double natural gas imports from Bolivia amid rising prices related to the war in Ukraine.
- ASIA: India’s power sector has been targeted by hackers in a long-term operation thought to have been carried out by a state-sponsored Chinese group.
- EUROPE: A Turkish court suspended the trial in absentia of 26 Saudis accused in the gruesome killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi and ruled that the case be transferred to Saudi Arabia.
- MIDDLE EAST: Iran held a memorial service for a Shiite Muslim cleric stabbed to death a day earlier by a suspected Sunni extremist in the Imam Reza shrine in the northeastern city of Mashhad.
- TECH & COMMUNICATIONS: The White House held a classified briefing with lawmakers on dire risks to the American economy from semiconductor shortages.
Top Story
- Yemen: President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi Steps Aside Amid Efforts to End the War.
- President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi ceded his powers to a presidential council, as international and regional efforts to end Yemen’s long-running war enter a two-month truce.
- The move is meant to unify the anti-Houthi camp after years of infighting and disputes, and was certainly orchestrated in Riyadh, where Yemeni factions were meeting over the past week to discuss efforts to end the war.
- Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi announced that former interior minister Rashad al-Alimi would lead the eight-member council.
- Hadi also sacked Vice President Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, a powerful military figure, and also delegated al-Ahmar’s powers to the presidential council.
- In a televised address, the president said the newly created body will lead negotiations to establish a permanent cease-fire and political settlement with the Houthi rebels to end the nation’s yearslong conflict.
- Saudi Arabia urged the presidential council to embark on U.N.-led negotiations with the Houthis to find a “political, final and comprehensive” settlement to the conflict.
- Reuters, AP, BBC, AFP, DW, NYT
Africa
- Ethiopia: The country called a joint investigation by rights groups Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch (HRW) alleging war crimes in the Tigray region “unhelpful”. (BBC)
- Mali: The military opened an investigation into the alleged massacre of civilians committed by local forces and foreign fighters in the village of Moura. (AFP)
- Morocco: Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is set to meet with King Mohammed VI during a two-day visit to Rabat that promises to mark an easing of diplomatic tensions centered on Western Sahara. (AP)
- Somalia: The Prime Minister’s office declared Francisco Madeira persona non grata “for engaging in acts that are incompatible with his status as representative of the African Union Commission” and ordered him to leave the country within 48 hours. (AFP)
- South Africa: Police said a man was killed overnight in a mob attack in a northern Johannesburg township rocked by violent anti-crime protests. (AFP)
Americas
- Region: US Democratic party lawmakers called on the Biden administration to address the Mexican government’s targeting of political opponents and threat to the nation’s independent judiciary. (AP)
- Region: Argentina is in talks to potentially double natural gas imports from Bolivia amid rising prices related to the war in Ukraine. (Reuters)
- Colombia: The Supreme Court of Justice approved the extradition to the United States of accused drug trafficker and cartel leader Dario Antonio “Otoniel” Úsaga. (Reuters)
- Cuba: The government lifted all pandemic-related restrictions for foreign travelers in a bid to boost the flagging tourism industry. (Miami Herald)
- United States: The Senate is expected to confirm Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson, securing her place as the first Black woman on the high court and giving President Joe Biden a bipartisan endorsement for his historic pick. (AP)
Asia
- Hong Kong: National security police arrested six people on suspicion of committing acts with seditious intent while attending court hearings in December and January. (SCMP)
- India: The power sector has been targeted by hackers in a long-term operation thought to have been carried out by a state-sponsored Chinese group. (AP)
- Myanmar: Human Rights Watch slammed a meeting between Australia’s ambassador to the country and the military junta chief, saying it was “lending credibility” to a regime accused of war crimes. (AFP)
- South Korea: Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong held talks with his Swedish and Finnish counterparts on bilateral ties while at the NATO summit in Brussels. (Yonhap)
- Taiwan: Health Minister Chen Shih-chung said the island will move away from a zero-Covid policy and focus on tackling the most severe infections in an effort to live with COVID-19. (AFP)
Europe
- Region: Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev meet in Brussels for talks mediated by EU Council President Charles Michel amid fears of fresh conflict over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. (FP)
- Germany: Two former government ministers submitted a criminal complaint with federal prosecutors seeking the opening of a war crimes probe against Russian officials over the conflict in Ukraine. (AP)
- Russia: The UN General Assembly is voting on a resolution to suspend the country from the world organization’s leading human rights body over allegations that soldiers killed civilians while retreating from the region around Kyiv. (AP)
- Turkey: A court suspended the trial in absentia of 26 Saudis accused in the gruesome killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi and ruled that the case be transferred to Saudi Arabia. (AP)
- United Kingdom: The Ministry of Defense is preparing plans to send armored vehicles to Ukraine. (Reuters)
Middle East
- Iran: The country held a memorial service for a Shiite Muslim cleric stabbed to death a day earlier by a suspected Sunni extremist in the Imam Reza shrine in the northeastern city of Mashhad. (Al-Monitor)
- Iraq: Three rockets landed near the country’s northern Kurdish regional capital Erbil causing no casualties. (Xinhua)
- Jordan: The country welcomed a resolution adopted by UNESCO on Jerusalem which stated that all Israeli procedures aiming to change the identity of the holy city and its legal status quo are invalid. (Xinhua)
- Lebanon: Prime Minister Najib Mikati called on all political parties to cooperate to pull the country out of its crisis. (Xinhua)
- United Arab Emirates: Abu Dhabi’s education authorities have announced that students at private schools must return to in-person classes. (Al-Monitor)
Tech & Communications
- Technology: The White House held a classified briefing with lawmakers on dire risks to the American economy from semiconductor shortages. (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 07APR22)
- Confirmed cases: 495,187,810
- Deaths: 6,166,982
- Countries with confirmed cases: 192
- Sourcing: John Hopkins University
- COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease: Global (as of 07APR22)
Tomorrow’s Outlook (08APR22)
- Event: Atlantic Council conversation with Brazilian presidential pre-candidate Sergio Moros.
- Global: International Roma Day
- Africa: Visit by German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht to Mali and Niger
- China: President Xi Jingping commends role models of Beijing Winter Games
- Finland: Visit by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier
- Japan: Buddha’s Birthday
- United Kingdom: Visit by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz
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