Global food prices have been rising for months, putting additional pressure on the world's poorest people.
Why it matters: Past spikes in the price of food staples have been connected to periods of social unrest, including the Arab Spring. If prices continue to rise — on top of the pain of the pandemic — the world could be in for a bumpy future.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken and White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan will meet with two top China officials next week in Anchorage, Alaska, the State Department announced Wednesday.
Why it matters: This will be the first in-person meeting between senior U.S. and China representatives since President Biden took office, at a time when tensions between the world's two largest economies have escalated to new heights.
State Department Iran envoy Rob Malley tells Axios the U.S. and Israel want to avoid the sort of public confrontation over Iran that took place during the Obama administration.
Why it matters: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly campaigned against Obama's attempts to reach an agreement with Iran between 2013 and 2015 — including in a highly controversial speech to Congress. This created a rift that scarred both sides.
Israel is encouraging the White Houseto host an official ceremony marking the establishment of diplomatic relations between Israel and Sudan, Israeli officials tell me.
Why it matters: The Trump administration brokered four normalization agreements between Israel and Arab countries, but the deal with Sudan is the only one that still needs to be anchored down.
The Palestinian Authority is trying to convincethe Biden administration to support the upcoming Palestinian parliamentary elections, planned for May 22, and not to object to the participation of Hamas.
Why it matters: The elections currently appear to be a low priority for the Biden administration — but that will change if they actually take place, and in particular, if they're won by Hamas, a U.S.-designated terror organization.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet tomorrow in Abu Dhabi with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, sources familiar with the matter tell me.
Why it matters: Netanyahu will use the trip — which comes less than two weeks before the Israeli elections — to rally his base and stress his foreign policy advantage over his less experienced rivals.
Iran's elections in June are not a factor in the Biden administration’s decision-making for how to proceed with nuclear talks, State Department Iran envoy Rob Malley told me in his first interview since taking office.
Why it matters: Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Mohammad Javad Zarif, who pushed for the 2015 nuclear deal and supported engagement with the U.S., are not running in June's elections and will finish their terms in August. The next Iranian president is likely to be more skeptical of nuclear diplomacy with the U.S.
Brazil is facing "overload and even collapse of health systems" because of surging COVID-19 cases, a report by the state-run Fiocruz institute warned Tuesday, as the country set a new daily coronavirus death record.
Driving the news: The institute said over 80% of intensive care unit beds are occupied in 25 of Brazil's 26 state capitals. In Rio de Janeiro, 93% of ICU beds are occupied and Brasília has only 3% available. The cities of Campo Grande (106%) and Porto Alegre (102%) have exceeded capacity.
