Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan are in Anchorage in the middle of their first meeting with their Chinese counterparts.
The big picture: After the tumult of the Trump administration, Chinese diplomats have gone into the meeting openly calling for the re-establishment of “strategic dialogue” and a more cooperative relationship. But the chances of that look slim.
Paris and other regions within France will enter a month-long lockdown starting Friday as coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths across the country spike, Prime Minister Jean Castex announced Thursday, according to Le Parisien.
Driving the news: The lockdown, the third for France's capital city since the start of the pandemic, will include the closure of nonessential businesses, a curfew and restrictions on outdoor trips.
The European Medicines Agency on Thursday declared that the COVID-19 developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University is "safe and effective," giving a nod of approval for European nations to resume using the inoculation.
Why it matters: It comes after vaccination was halted across much of Europe, following reports that a small number of patients who received the vaccine experienced blood clots. EMA Executive Director Emer Cooke said Thursday the vaccine benefits "outweigh the possible risks."
The UAE suspended plans for a summit in Abu Dhabi with Israel, the U.S. and Arab states in protest of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's attempts to use Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed (MBZ) as a prop in his election campaign, U.S. sources briefed on the matter told me.
Why it matters: This is the first big crisis between the UAE and Israel since the announcement of the normalization relations last August.
21 states filed a lawsuit against President Biden on Wednesday over his executive order to rescind permits for the Keystone XL oil pipeline.
Driving the news: The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Texas, aims to overturn Biden's decision, arguing that he overstepped his authority by ordering a cross-border permit for the Canada-U.S. pipeline to be revoked.
Tanzanian President John Magufuli has died at the age of 61, BBC Africa reports citing a statement made by the vice president on state TV.
Why it matters: The strongman president was re-elected in October in an election marred by crackdowns on critics. He was also perhaps the only world leader to reject coronavirus vaccines outright, falsely claiming they didn't work and that the country had already defeated the virus.
Israeli-Jordanian relations deteriorated into a crisis this week with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s election campaign helping to bring tensions to the brink of an explosion.
Driving the news: The crisis erupted on March 10 ahead of a visit by the Jordanian crown prince to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The unusual visit was intended to highlight Jordanian custodianship over the Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem.
Israelis will go to the polls next Tuesday for the fourth time in two years, with Netanyahu running an aggressive campaign against a splintered opposition.
Why it matters: Netanyahu's narrow path to a 61-seat majority would require him to form an ultra-right-wing government, dependent on the votes of Jewish supremacists and anti-LGBT and pro-annexation members of Knesset. With a majority, Netanyahu could pass a law or take other steps to delay or end his corruption trial.
Russia's ambassador to Washington has been recalled to Moscow for "consultations" to determine how to move forward with relations with the U.S., the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement Wednesday.
Why it matters: The news came hours after an interview aired in which President Biden agreed that Russian President Vladimir Putin is a "killer" and pledged to hold the Kremlin accountable for interfering in the 2020 election.
In the first round of U.S.-Israel strategic talks on Iran last week, senior national security and foreign policy officials laid down all they know about Iran's nuclear program, three senior Israeli officials familiar with the talks tell me.
Why it matters: Amid President Biden’s push for diplomatic reengagement with Iran, the U.S.-Israel strategic dialogue is intended to hash out differences in approach and coordinate on the path forward.
President Biden said in an interview with ABC Wednesday that he believes Vladimir Putin is a "killer," and promised that the Russian president will "pay a price" for interfering in the 2020 U.S. elections.
Why it matters: Biden has pledged to take a hard line against the Kremlin, which has a history of attempting to assassinate and imprison dissidents and political opponents.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced late Tuesday sanctions for 24 more Chinese and Hong Kong officials for further curtailing democracy in the Asian financial hub.
Why it matters: Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan are due to meet this week in Alaska with senior Chinese officials in the first face-to-face discussions between diplomats from the U.S. and China since President Biden took office.
Former first lady Michelle Obama told NBC Tuesday it "wasn't a complete surprise" to hear Prince Harry and Meghan Markle speaking to Oprah Winfrey last week about facing racism within the British royal family.
What she's saying: In an interview with Jenna Bush Hager on NBC's "Today" show, Obama said: "Race isn't a new construct in this world for people of color.
The Capitol riot's fallout is rippling beyond our shores.
What's happening: Public relations agents for the government of Haiti are drawing parallels between political unrest in that country and the Jan. 6 attack, based on public records.
