New Zealand's government on Monday announced that it will transition away from its focus on completely eliminating COVID-19 and instead implement an approach that also takes into account vaccination rates, AP reports.
Why it matters: The announcement signals a change from New Zealand's prevailing policies throughout the pandemic — which have been dominated by a zero-tolerance approach to the virus through strict lockdowns and contact tracing.
North and South Korea restored communication hotlines on Monday in an attempt to improve the countries' relationship, AP reports.
State of play: North Korean officers answered calls from their South Korean counterparts for the first time in two months, per AP. The hotlines are communication channels between the Koreas used to schedule meetings, discuss border issues and avoid conflict.
In an interview in Rome for "Axios on HBO," Cardinal Peter Turkson — a close adviser to Pope Francis — told me the Catholic Church plans to be increasingly active on climate, refugees and racial equity.
Driving the news: Both Turkson and the popeplan to attend the UN Climate Summit that begins in Scotland on Oct. 31, bringing what Turkson, echoing His Holiness, calls "the cry of the poor and the cry of the earth."
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai will declare Monday that an extensive review found China isn't meeting its commitments under the Phase One trade deal — laying the groundwork for the Biden administration to keep in place Trump-era tariffs while considering other punitive actions.
Why it matters: American businesses and importers have waited months to hear what President Biden will do with the trade war he inherited from Trump, which has pitted the world's two largest economies against one another.
Tropical Cyclone Shaheen killed at least nine people as it slammed coastal areas of Oman and Iran Sunday, the BBC reports.
Of note: Shaheen is the first tropical cyclone to ever hit Oman's far north, as it triggered flash flooding and heavy rains — with some areas of the desert climate seeing over a year's worth of rain in one day, Yale Climate Connections notes.
Japan's Parliament elected Fumio Kishida as the country's new prime minister on Monday.
Why it matters: The former foreign minister faces immediate challenges, including reviving the world's third-largest economy and working with the U.S. and other key allies to address security threats, per the Wall Street Journal.
Over a dozen U.S. states have become "leaders" in "peddling financial secrecy," according to a global investigation of leaked documents, known as the "Pandora Papers," published this weekend.
Why it matters: "South Dakota, Nevada and other states have adopted financial secrecy laws that rival those of offshore jurisdictions," per the papers, obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) in Washington, D.C., and shared with major news outlets.
Three members of the Vatican's Swiss Guard have voluntarily left the corps after refusing to be vaccinated against COVID-19, defying the Vatican's mandate, AP reports.
Driving the news: Last week, the Vatican ordered all employees to get vaccinated or submit to testing, with the new policy going into effect on Oct. 1.
Afghanistan's ambassador to the United States, Adela Raz, has lost her country and her faith in the U.S. government — and her life's work of liberating women and girls is in shambles. She shared her despair with "Axios on HBO" in her first television interview since the fall of Kabul.
The big picture: Raz said, bluntly, she doesn't think President Biden cares about the fate of Afghan women and girls. She also revealed new details to Axios indicating former President Ashraf Ghani's secret escape was more premeditated than publicly known.
The head of an independent commission investigating child sexual abuse in the French Catholic Church said Sunday there have been between 2,900 and 3,200 pedophile priests or other members of the church since 1950, Le Monde reports.
What to watch: The revelation comes days before the commission releases its full 2,500-page report on Tuesday.
North Korea on Sunday accused the United Nations Security Council of applying a double standard over the country's missile program and warned of "consequences it will bring in the future in case it tries to encroach upon the sovereignty,” AP reports.
Driving the news: The statement followed an emergency closed-door meeting of the top UN body Friday, during which France expressed concern over North Korea's missile launches and proposed a ban on its ballistic missile firings.
Algeria has accused its former colonial ruler France of "genocide" and recalled its ambassador to Paris over comments by French President Emmanuel Macron it described as "inadmissible," AP reports.
Why it matters: The move, announced in a statement Saturday, comes after the newspaper Le Monde reported that Macron accused Algerian authorities of stoking hatred for France. Tensions had been growing over France's decision to reduce the number of visas issued to people in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia.
The kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard by a London police officer bring to the fore a "culture of misogyny" in British police forces, activists and policing experts say, per CNN.
Context: A police watchdog is investigating five serving officers and one former officer from London's Metropolitan Police for their alleged involvement in "misogynistic, racist and homophobic" WhatsApp group messages with Everard's killer, the Independent notes.
Tens of thousands of protesters marched in cities across Brazil on Saturday, calling for President Jair Bolsonaro's impeachment over his government's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, per Reuters.
Why it matters: Brazil's Senate is holding hearings that could lead to Bolsonaro's impeachment as the country's Supreme Court investigates his government’s handling of coronavirus vaccine contracts. Bolsonaro has threatened to reject the results of Brazil's October 2022 presidential election amid poor approval ratings.
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte said Saturday he will retire instead of seeking the vice presidency next year after his presidential term ends, according to the New York Times.
Why it matters: Duterte said he would not seek the vice presidency because national opinion polls indicated public opposition to his candidacy. The move would have allowed Duterte to remain in national politics, though his critics saw it as a means to shield himself from prosecution, according to the Times.
