Key Storylines
- AFRICA: Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame held talks with Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni in his first visit to the northern neighbor after tensions in 2019 led to border closures for three years.
- AMERICAS: The Nicaraguan government is closing the offices of the Organization of the American States and expelling the staff.
- ASIA: Japan is sending Vice Foreign Minister Kentaro Uusugi to the Solomon Islands amid worry over a security agreement it struck with China that could increase Beijing’s military influence.
- EUROPE: French president Emmanuel Macron pledged to address deep divisions within the country as results showed a clear presidential election victory over Marine Le Pen.
- MIDDLE EAST: Iranian authorities foiled massive cyberattacks that sought to target public services, both government and privately owned.
- TECH & COMMUNICATIONS: Twitter Inc kicked off deal negotiations with Elon Musk after he wooed many of the social media company’s shareholders with financing details on his $43 billion acquisition offer.
Top Story
- Ukraine: US Officials Blinken and Austin Meet President Zelensky in Kyiv.
- United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
- Blinken and Austin told Zelenskyy and his advisers that the United States would provide more than $300 million in foreign military financing and had approved a $165 million sale of ammunition.
- Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said the US wants Russia “weakened” so it cannot invade again, and Ukraine can win the war if it has the right equipment.
- The United States promised to reopen its embassy in Kyiv soon, as Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Ukraine’s capital and hailed its success so far against Russia’s invasion.
- Reporters who accompanied Austin and Blinken to Poland were barred by Pentagon and State Department officials from reporting the Kyiv visit until the two men physically left Ukraine.
- Austin and Blinken hailed Ukraine’s success in fending off Russia’s initial attack on Kyiv and maintaining its sovereignty.
- USA Today, AP, AFP, Reuters, NY Post, WSJ
Africa
- Region: African Union Commission chief Moussa Faki Mahamat congratulated French President Emmanuel Macron over “his brilliant re-election” and hoped to continue building mutually beneficial relations between Africa and France. (AFP)
- Region: Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame held talks with Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni in his first visit to the northern neighbor after tensions in 2019 led to border closures for three years. (BBC)
- DR Congo: The World Health Organization said it has identified more than 100 people who came into contact with a new case of the Ebola virus in the country. (BBC)
- Kenya: Mourners are gathering at parliament to view the body of the country’s third post-independence President Mwai Kibaki, who died last week at the age of 90. (BBC)
- Mali: The military said it has restored control at three bases in the country’s central region after they were simultaneously attacked by jihadists. (BBC)
Americas
- Brazil: TIM SA expects its purchase of part of Oi SA’s mobile operations in the country to create up to 19 billion reais ($4 billion) of value for the enlarged company. (Reuters)
- El Salvador: Lawmakers extended a state of emergency for another month at the request of President Nayib Bukele, after it was imposed in late March to stamp out a wave of deadly gang violence. (AFP)
- Mexico: Hundreds of women marched through downtown Mexico City and its suburbs to protest the horrifying death of an 18-year-old in the northern city of Monterrey. (WaPo)
- Nicaragua: The government is closing the offices of the Organization of the American States and expelling the staff. (AP)
- United States: Former US senator Orrin Hatch, who retired in 2019 as one of the chamber’s longest-serving lawmakers, has died at 88. (AFP)
Asia
- Region: Crowds of Australians and New Zealanders joined Anzac Day services to honor their armed forces as the countries’ leaders pointed to new global threats and the war in Ukraine. (AFP)
- India: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is visiting Himalayan Kashmir for his first public event since New Delhi stripped the disputed region’s semi-autonomy and took direct control in 2019. (AP)
- Japan: The country is sending Vice Foreign Minister Kentaro Uusugi to the Solomon Islands amid worry over a security agreement it struck with China that could increase Beijing’s military influence. (AP)
- Myanmar: A junta court postponed giving its first verdict in the corruption trial of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi. (AFP)
- South Korea: A delegation dispatched by president-elect Yoon Suk-yeol met Japan’s foreign minister in Tokyo hoping to lay the groundwork for warmer ties after years of tensions. (AFP)
Europe
- France: President Emmanuel Macron pledged to address deep divisions within the country as results showed a clear presidential election victory over Marine Le Pen. (Reuters)
- Russia: Seventeen people have died in a fire at a Russian military research institute last week in the western city of Tver. (AFP)
- Slovenia: Political newcomer liberal Robert Golob defeated three-time Prime Minister Janez Jansa in elections in a country split by bitter political divisions over the rule of law. (AFP)
- Spain: Nobel literature laureate Mario Vargas Llosa has “beaten” Covid and will leave the Madrid clinic where he was being treated to complete his recovery at home. (AFP)
- United Kingdom: Police arrested a man on suspicion of murder after three women and a man were found dead at a property in south London. (AFP)
Middle East
- Region: Regional rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia held a fifth round of “positive” talks in Baghdad last Thursday on normalizing bilateral relations. (Reuters)
- Egypt: The country will cooperate with Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) on the production of green hydrogen. (Reuters)
- Iran: Authorities foiled massive cyberattacks that sought to target public services, both government and privately owned. (AP)
- Israel: The military struck southern Lebanon with artillery fire after a rocket was fired into the country. (AP)
- Israel: US President Joe Biden will visit the country in the coming months following an invitation from Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. (Reuters)
Tech & Communications
- Social Media: Twitter Inc kicked off deal negotiations with Elon Musk after he wooed many of the social media company’s shareholders with financing details on his $43 billion acquisition offer. (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 25APR22)
- Confirmed cases: 509,566,779
- Deaths: 6,218,338
- Countries with confirmed cases: 192
- Sourcing: John Hopkins University
- COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease: Global (as of 25APR22)
Tomorrow’s Outlook (26APR22)
- Event: AEI discussion with Lithuanian Finance Minister Gintare Skaiste.
- Event: Stimson Center discussion on the UN in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion in Ukraine.
- China: Shanghai to reexamine COVID-19 lockdown measures after recent curbs on movement of medical staff and delivery drivers.
- Kazakhstan: The ruling Amanat (formerly Nur Otan) party will hold an extraordinary congress.
- Russia: President Vladimir Putin to meet UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in Moscow.
- Somalia: Speaker and deputies of Senate to be elected.
- Tanzania: Union Day.
- Ukraine: IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi to visit Chernobyl.
- United States: Supreme Court to hear oral arguments in a case that could end the revival of the “Remain in Mexico” policy for asylum-seekers.
- United States: Secretary of State Blinken testifies to Senate Foreign Relations Committee on FY’23 budget.
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