South Asia
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the seventh edition of the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi on Monday. The theme of the event is titled “Terra Nova: Impassioned, Impatient, and Imperilled.” The three-day conference will witness discussions on multilateralism, international cooperation on health, and green energy transition. [Hindustan Times]
The Taliban’s acting foreign minister, Mullah Mohammed Yaqoob, warned that the group would not “tolerate the invasion” of Afghanistan by its neighbours, condemning Pakistan’s recent airstrikes in the Kunar and Khost provinces. The attacks, which took place on April 16, killed 20 children. [NDTV]
Central Asia and the Caucasus
Kyrgyzstan has banned the use of the ‘Z’ symbol during the May 9 Victory Day celebrations to mark the Soviet victory against the Nazis during World War II. The letter has come to represent support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and is used to mark Russian military vehicles. [Eurasianet]
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Friday issued an ultimatum to Armenian Prime Minister (PM) Nikol Pashinyan that Azerbaijan will “refuse to recognise the territorial integrity of Armenia” unless Yerevan agrees to the peace deal proposed by Baku. Aliyev said it was Armenia’s “only and last chance.” Earlier this month, Pashinyan and Aliyev met in Brussels and agreed to restart peace talks, with Aliyev stressing that any negotiation must include a mutual recognition of each other’s territory. While Pashinyan has stated that such a conditionality is acceptable, he has faced immense domestic opposition over fears that he may recognise Azerbaijan’s sovereignty over Nagorno-Karabakh. [RFE/RL]
East and Southeast Asia
Japan and Russia signed an agreement regarding Tokyo’s fishing quota to catch salmon and trout born in Russian rivers, Japan’s fisheries agency said on Saturday. Despite worsening ties over the invasion of Ukraine, both countries agreed on Japan’s quota of 2,050 tons of salmon and trout within its own exclusive economic zone for this year, the same level as last year. [The Straits Times]
North Korean state media on Sunday boasted of the country’s “invincible power that the world cannot ignore and no one can touch” under Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un. The apparent reference to its nuclear arsenal comes as Monday marks the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People’s Revolutionary Army. [Channel News Asia]
Europe
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will meet with Indian Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Monday and urge the PM to reduce India’s ties with Russia. She is also expected to seek an increase in sales of European military equipment and relaunch talks on a free trade deal. [Reuters]
Polish authorities on Sunday confirmed that four miners died and a further six are missing following an accent in the southern Zofiówka coal mine. The JSW mining conglomerate, which owns the mine, said “high methane concentrations and high temperatures” are slowing down rescue efforts. Separately, four miners and one worker were killed last week at the nearby Pniówek coal mine, which is also owned by JSW. [The First News]
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the reopening of the United Kingdom’s embassy in Kyiv, which was previously relocated to Lviv in anticipation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He said that this would allow envoys to assess the ground situation and allow the British government to take necessary action against Russia. [Politico]
Latin America and the Caribbean
On Friday, Brazilian Health Minister, Marcelo Queiroga announced an end to the country’s COVID-19 public emergency of national interest status, which allowed local authorities to enact certain health restrictions at their discretion. At this stage, 74% of citizens are fully vaccinated. Queiroga, however, said the government is not certain about the path it will take forward in terms of booster doses, which vaccines will be prioritised, and which groups will be targeted. Brazil has recorded well over 30 million cases of the virus and 663,000 deaths, though many health experts believe this is a gross underestimate. [MercoPress]
Nicaragua has shut down the local offices of the Organization of American States and expelled its staff from the country due to the regional bloc’s repeated assertions that the re-election of President Daniel Ortega back in November was “not free, fair, or transparent, and lack[ed] democratic legitimacy.” Foreign Minister Daniel Moncada has called the OAS a “diabolical instrument” of “intervention and domination” by the United States. Late last month, Nicaragua’s ambassador to the Organization of American States, Arturo McFields, resigned from his post by condemning Ortega as a ‘dictator.’ Ortega has jailed a number of political opponents and critics, reduced media freedoms, and ordered the seizure of a number of private universities. [Associated Press]
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
On Sunday, what would have been the first commercial flight from Yemeni capital Sana’a in six years was cancelled as government officials blamed the Houthi rebels for trying to smuggle onboard members of Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. The flight, which was destined for Jordanian capital Amman, was meant to be one of the outcomes of the recent two-month truce reached between the rebels and the internationally recognised Yemeni government. [The National]
Iran and Saudi Arabia resumed the fifth round of normalisation talks in Baghdad on Saturday after Tehran suspended negotiations last month over Riyadh’s execution of 81 men. The talks are being mediated by Iraqi and Omani officials. [Associated Press]
North America
50-year-old Wynn Bruce set himself on fire on Earth Day to seemingly express his disappointment over Washington’s lack of commitment to resolving the climate crisis. A friend of Bruce’s called his death “a deeply fearless act of compassion to bring attention to [the] climate crisis.” However, she warned that young climate activists should not start considering self-immolation. [The Denver Post]
On Sunday, the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Christopher Wray, warned that threats of espionage and cybersecurity breaches from China have reached “unprecedented.” Wray accused Beijing of stealing intellectual property, trade secrets, and other American innovations. In this regard, he noted that the FBI opens a new counterintelligence investigation on China every 12 hours. [The Hill]
Oceania
Australian Defence Minister Peter Dutton on Sunday reiterated Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s accusations that China has a history of bribing countries into signing bilateral agreements, referring to the Asian giant’s newly-signed security arrangement with the Solomon Islands. “The Chinese don’t play by our rules. If you look at what has happened in Africa, there are corrupt payments being made. We can never compete with that sort of playbook. We have values and we have the rule of law that we abide by,” Dutton said. [The Straits Times]
Experts speculate that a second COVID-19 wave might be underway in New Zealand, as the country recorded 7,930 new cases on Saturday and 19 new deaths. 494 people have also been hospitalised, while 15 remain in intensive care. The country’s officials also announced on Saturday that they had detected the first case of the new Omicron XE subvariant. [New Zealand Herald]
Sub-Saharan Africa
On Sunday, an explosion at an illegal oil refining depot in Yengao, Nigeria killed over 100 people. President Muhammadu Buhari said the “national distaster,” which took place on the border of the Rivers and Imo states, had laid bare the need to crack down on illegal refineries, which have become lucrative sources of income in a region beset by unemployment and poverty. The crude oil at these illegal facilities is stolen from pipelines owned by major oil companies and has led to several deaths and oil spills. A similar explosion killed at least 25 in the River state back in October. [Reuters]
Former Guinean President Alpha Condé, 84, who was ousted via a military coup led by Col. Mamady Doumbouya last September, has been released from house arrest. Doumbouya continues to resist international pressure to announce a date for elections. [Africanews]