Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned Belarus' diversion of a commercial plane and subsequent arrest of opposition leader Raman Pratasevich in a statement Sunday, and called for Pratasevich's "immediate release."
State of play: Blinken said the U.S. is working with its partners to coordinate a response and he supports the "the earliest possible meeting" of the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization to investigate the matter.
The Biden administration has not yet seen evidence that Iran will comply with the nuclear commitments needed to lift sanctions, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday.
Why it matters: A new round of indirect talks with Iranian officials will resume in Vienna in the coming days. President Biden has pledged not to lift sanctions unless the country first stops enriching uranium.
For the second time in a week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday the United States is looking to have a more "stable" and "predictable" relationship with Russia.
Why it matters: President Biden, who said in March that he believes Vladimir Putin is a "killer," has pledged to take a hard line against the Kremlin. The administration warned last month there would be consequences if jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny dies in custody.
Nearly two dozen ultramarathon runners died after hail, freezing wind and rain unexpectedly struck a race in northwest China this weekend, the New York Times reports.
Driving the news: Two of China's top ultrarunners were among those who died after enduring the extreme conditions during the 62-mile Huanghe Shilin Mountain Marathon. Eight of the participants ended up hospitalized and 151 were safely rescued, officials said.
The deaths are being investigated by the Gansu Province government following outrage in China and accusations that local officials were unprepared to host the event, the Times reports.
Iran's parliament speaker said that a three-month monitoring agreement with the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency has expired, so inspectors can no longer access images of nuclear sites, state media reported Sunday.
Two doses of the COVID-19 vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech or AstraZeneca are "highly effective" against variants first detected in India and the United Kingdom, health officials in England announced Saturday.
Why it matters: Some health experts have expressed concerns that contagious new variants could be more resistant against coronavirus vaccines, potentially prolonging the pandemic.
Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro has been issued with a fine for failing to follow pandemic health regulations at a public event in Maranhao state.
Driving the news: Maranhao's leftist governor, Flávio Dino, tweeted late Friday that the far-right president would be fined "for the promotion ... of gatherings with no sanitary safeguards," noting that masks are mandatory and gatherings of over 100 people are banned in the state.
Italian rock band Måneskin won Eurovision 2021 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, early Sunday, as the European song contest took place in front of a crowd of 3,500 and tens of millions of TV viewers worldwide.
Why it matters: The event was canceled last year due to the pandemic. Its return with strict testing and hygiene measures in place marks a "step toward a post-COVID-19 return to live entertainment," notes AP, as several European countries reopen their economies.
Mount Nyiragongo in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo erupted on Saturday, forcing thousands of people to evacuate the nearby city of Goma, per Reuters.
The state of play: Witnesses told AP that lava had "engulfed" a highway connecting Goma with the city of Beni and Reuters reports that lava has reached an area near Goma's airport, on the outskirts of the city, which has a population of about 2 million.
An attorney for the owner of the skyscraper-sized container ship Ever Given argued on Saturday that Suez Canal operators were at fault for the ship's grounding, according to Reuters.
Why it matters: The ship is currently detained in Egypt as the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) attempts to secure a $916.5 million claim against its Japan-based operator, Shoei Kisen. An Egyptian court is expected to make a decision the claim on Sunday, per Bloomberg.
Before 11 days of fighting in the Gaza Strip ended in a ceasefire, President Biden held six phone calls with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, one with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and one with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Behind the scenes: To get the inside story of those phone calls, President Biden's strategy, and the path to a ceasefire, Axios spoke to three U.S. and Israeli sources who were deeply involved in the diplomacy. They requested anonymity to speak freely.
A Mount Everest climbing expert on Saturday told the AP there are at least 100 active coronavirus cases at the base camp.
Why it matters: The remarks from Lukas Furtenbach contradict statements from Nepalese officials who have denied knowledge of active infections among climbers and support staff during this season, AP reports.
German authorities announced it will ban most non-essential travel from the United Kingdom starting Sunday to prevent the spread of new coronavirus variants.
The state of play: Germany classified Britain as "an area of variant of concern," saying that outbreaks are reemerging and more infectious variants, including the one dominant in India, have been detected.
Nepal's president on Saturday dissolved the country's parliament and scheduled new general elections for November, Reuters reports.
Driving the news: Opposition leaders protested the move, saying that planning new elections should not be the government's focus while the country continues to battle the COVID-19 pandemic, the New York Times reports.
At least three people died and another 36 people are injured after two separate earthquakes hit China on early Saturday, AP reports.
The state of play: The first earthquake had a magnitude of 6.1 and hit southern China, in the Yunnan province. Hours later, approximately 620 miles north, a 7.3-magnitude earthquake hit central China in Qinghai province, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
