Axios

The State Department is offering a $10 million reward for any information that could lead to the arrest of a Colombian national who officials say allegedly took part in a Venezuela bribery scheme.

Driving the news: The high-value reward comes after Colombian national Alvaro Pulido Vargas and four others were charged with allegedly bribing Venezuelan government officials to obtain contracts to import and distribute food and medicine through a state-run program, according to the Department of Justice.

Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa Jeffrey Feltman conveyed U.S. support for a democratic transition in Sudan during talks with the head of its ruling council and the prime minister, the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum wrote Saturday on Twitter.

Driving the news: "Feltman emphasized U.S. support for a civilian democratic transition in accordance with the expressed wishes of Sudan’s people," the embassy wrote.

A U.S. airstrike in northwest Syria on Friday killed senior al-Qaeda leader Abdul Hamid al-Matar, U.S. Central Command said in a statement.

Why it matters: Syria serves as a "safe haven" for the extremist group to plan external operations, according to U.S. Army Maj. John Rigsbee.

Dame Sandra Mason will be Barbados' very first president after she secured two-thirds of the vote in the country's two houses of Parliament this week.

Why it matters: Mason was elected as the first ever president of Barbados after the island announced in September 2020 that it would become a republic and Queen Elizabeth II would be removed as the island nation's head of state.

Florida businessman Lev Parnas was convicted Friday on charges of conspiracy to make foreign contributions to political campaigns, according to multiple outlets.

Why it matters: Prosecutors said Parnas, then an associate of former President Donald Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, funneled over $150,000 from a Russian businessman into U.S. campaigns as part of an effort to land licenses in the U.S.'s legal cannabis industry.

A Chinese government spokesperson on Friday said that there is "no room" for compromise over Taiwan after President Biden commented that the U.S. would defend the island if it were attacked, AP reports.

Why it matters: Biden’s comments were initially seen as undercutting the U.S. government’s long-standing position of “strategic ambiguity” toward whether it would defend Taiwan, which China views as a rebellious territory. A White House spokesperson quickly clarified that there is no change in U.S. policy.

U.S. intelligence officials responsible for protecting advanced technologies have narrowed their focus to five key sectors: artificial intelligence, quantum computing, biotechnology, semiconductors and autonomous systems.

Why it matters: China and Russia are employing a variety of legal and illegal methods to undermine and overtake U.S. dominance in these critical industries, officials warned in a new paper. Their success will determine "whether America remains the world’s leading superpower or is eclipsed by strategic competitors."