President Biden arrived in Europefor his first foreign trip bearing what could be a game-changing pledge: 500 million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines to be shared with low- and middle-income countries over the next year.
The state of play: The remaining G7 members — Canada, the EU, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and this year’s hosts, the U.K. — are set to pledge at least another 500 million to bring the total to 1 billion by mid-2021, per a draft communique seen by Bloomberg.
More than 350,000 people in Ethiopia's war-torn Tigray are experiencing "catastrophic" famine, with millions more at risk, according to the United Nations.
Why it matters: It is the highest number of people living in famine since 2011, when around 250,000 people died of hunger in Somalia, per a report from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification — responsible for evaluating food insecurity around the world.
Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) on Thursday praised the Biden administration's decision to purchase 500 million doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine to share with countries around the world, calling the decision the "right move."
The big picture: Their statements represent a rare moment of praise of Biden by Republicans.
Vice President Kamala Harris’ visit to Guatemala and Mexico ended with the promise to create groups to combat corruption in the Northern Triangle and to renew efforts against human trafficking and human smuggling organizations.
Details: The U.S. will send prosecutors to work with regional attorneys and to investigate and pursue cases with American links. The aim is to decrease migration in the long term by fostering better governance and accountability.
The U.S. Department of State condemned Nigeria's Twitter ban and its threat to arrest and prosecute Nigerians found using the app in a statement Thursday, saying the policy "has no place in a democracy."
Why it matters: The department requested that Nigeria's government respect its citizens’ right to freedom of expression and reverse the ban on the social media platform, which has been extremely popular in Africa's most populous nation.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party rejected on Thursday the comparisons being made in the U.S. between his efforts to block a transition of power and those of former President Trump after the November 2020 presidential election.
Why it matters: On the verge of being replaced after 12 years in power, Netanyahu has been working to delegitimize the incoming government and accusing its leaders of perpetrating “the fraud of the century." But Likud tweeted on Thursday that Netanyahu wasn't challenging the vote count and was committed to a peaceful transition.
The man who slapped French President Emmanuel Macron while he was shaking hands with members of the public Tuesday was sentenced to four months in prison on Thursday, Reuters reports.
The state of play: Damien Tarel, 28, was charged with assault of a public official and given a sentence of 18 months by the court, 14 of which were suspended, per Reuters.
The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) said Thursday it would allow Ukraine players to wear new jerseys that display a map of Crimea, despite Russia's objections, Reuters reports.
Why it matters: As of last month, Russia had only withdrawn a few thousand troops from its border with Ukraine, after the country amassed its highest number of troops in the region since annexing Crimea in 2014, per the New York Times.
The United States' image around the world has sharply improved since President Biden took office after dipping during the Trump administration, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in 16 countries.
The big picture: The high marks come as Biden embarks on his first overseas trip as president.Though opinions of the U.S. have broadly increased internationally, people in allied countries did not express great confidence in the U.S. as an ally and were also concerned about its domestic politics.
A group of Jewish Democrats in the House is publicly feuding with Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) after she tweeted about "unthinkable atrocities committed by the U.S., Hamas, Israel, Afghanistan, and the Taliban," in reference to investigations by the International Criminal Court.
Why it matters: The clash threatens to reopen a fault line within the party that could cost Omar her seat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, writes Punchbowl News.
The global vaccine supply is finally opening up for countries that desperately need the ammo in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
Driving the news: The Biden administration will buy 500 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine to share with countries around the world, with the option to buy an additional 200 million.
China's government announced late Wednesday that it had reached an agreement with U.S. commerce officials to press ahead with trade and investment ties.
Driving the news: Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and her Chinese counterpart Wang Wentao "agreed to promote the healthy development of pragmatic trade and investment cooperation and properly handle differences," according to a statement from China's government translated by the South China Morning Post.
The Biden administration will ship the first batch of 500 million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines to 92 countries and the African Union from August, the White House announced Thursday morning.
Details: "200 million doses will be delivered by the end of this year and the remaining 300 million will be delivered in the first half of 2022," the White House said in a statement.
Myanmar's deposed elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other detained officials have been formally charged by the military junta, state media reported Thursday morning local time.
Details: "The Anti-Corruption Commission has inspected corruption cases against ex-state counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. She was found guilty of committing corruption using her rank," the military said, per Bloomberg, which notes she could face up to 15 years in prison for the offense.
The State Department on Wednesday imposed new sanctions on several Nicaraguan officials associated with President Daniel Ortega.
Driving the news: Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the sanctions in response to the arrests of several presidential candidates and other civil society and opposition leaders over the past week in Nicaragua, as the country prepares for elections in November.
The number of children in child labor has risen to 160 million globally, an uptick of 8.4 million over the past four years, according to a report released Wednesday by the International Labour Organization and the United Nations Children’s Fund.
Why it matters: The report cautions that "global progress to end child labour has stalled for the first time in 20 years, reversing the previous downward trend that saw child labour fall by 94 million between 2000 and 2016."
As President Biden departed Washington, he told reporters he was going to use his first foreign trip to make "clear to Putin and to China that Europe and the United States are tight and the G7 is gonna move."
Why it matters: The problem is his statements regarding the allies' shared objectives are not supported by the statements and actions of the allies themselves.
