Axios

South Africa stopped the distribution of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine on Sunday, after researchers found that the vaccine "provides minimal protection" against infection from the new strain first identified in the country, Reuters reports.

Why it matters: A halted vaccine rollout is a huge setback for South Africa as it struggles to curb the spread of the virus and its variant and the country approaches 50,000 deaths.

Israel intends to ask dozens of allies to convey a "discreet message" to Fatou Bensouda, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), tomorrow and urge her to not move forward with an investigation against Israel on alleged war crimes in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, two Israeli officials tell Axios.

Why it matters: Israel is very concerned any investigation could lead to international arrest warrants against Israel officials and military officers. The Israelis are also concerned such an investigation will boost BDS campaigns against Israel.

President Biden told "CBS Evening News" in an interview set to air Sunday that the U.S. will not lift sanctions against Iran unless the country first stops enriching uranium.

Driving the news: The comments were revealed hours after Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a televised address that the U.S. must first lift all sanctions for Iran to comply with the commitments under the 2015 Iran nuclear accord, which President Trump withdrew the U.S. from in 2018.

Tens of thousands of protesters on Sunday rallied in cities across Myanmar for a second day of anti-coup demonstrations despite an internet shutdown, per Reuters.

The big picture: Myanmar's army declared a one-year state of emergency after seizing power and detaining leader Aung San Suu Kyi last Monday. Monitoring group NetBlocks Internet Observatory said a nationwide internet blackout that began Saturday was continuing.

Pope Francis has appointed 52-year-old French Sister Nathalie Becquart as an undersecretary of the Synod of Bishops, the Vatican announced on Saturday.

Why it matters: She's the first woman to be appointed to the synod, which advises the pope and has voting rights. The pontiff has expressed support for women playing a more leading role in the Catholic Church, though he hasn't advocated to overturn the Vatican's female priesthood ban.

Myanmar's military appeared to have broadened its crackdown on internet access Saturday amid protests over the coup that ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected civilian government, AP reports.

What's happening: Netblocks, a U.K.-based site that tracks internet disruptions worldwide, tweeted Saturday that “a near-total internet shutdown is now in effect” in Myanmar. The broad outages followed the military's order to block Facebook, Instagram and Twitter earlier this week.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken told top Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi Friday that the U.S. will stand up for human rights and democratic values, and "hold Beijing accountable for its abuses of the international system."

The big picture: Blinken's phone call with Yang comes just days after President Biden said the U.S. would confront Beijing over its "economic abuses," "coercive actions" and "attack on human rights, intellectual property and global governance."

Egyptian authorities have released Al Jazeera journalist Mahmoud Hussein after detaining him since December 2016, the network announced Saturday.

Why it matters: Egypt’s Ministry of Interior accused Hussein of defaming the government by disseminating false news while receiving monetary funds from foreign authorities, but never brought formal charges against him. Hussein and Al Jazeera repeatedly denied the allegations.

China's health regulator has approved the two-shot coronavirus vaccine developed by domestic drugmaker Sinovac Biotech Ltd. for general public use.

Why it matters: Sinovac's CoronaVac is the second vaccine to receive authorization in the country. State-owned pharmaceutical company Sinopharm produced the first vaccine to receive approval in China last December.