Sixteen United Nations staff members and some dependents are detained in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, while another six have been released, UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric confirmed at a press briefing Tuesday afternoon.
Driving the news: The yearlong fight between government and opposition forces has intensified in recent weeks. Last week, Ethiopia declared a state of emergency as rival forces from the northern region of Tigray moved toward the capital.
The American Civil Liberties Union has filed an administrative complaint to the U.S. Departments of Commerce and Justice, asserting claims of false arrest and civil conspiracy on behalf of a Chinese American scientist who was cleared of espionage-related charges in 2015.
Why it matters: Hydrologist Sherry Chen's ordeal has spanned three presidential administrations and is adding to growing concerns about U.S. government profiling of Chinese American scientists.
"I can't and won't quit China." That was a prominent U.S. growth equity investor, when I asked if Beijing's business crackdown was causing him to reconsider his firm's China strategy.
Driving the news: It's the same message I've heard repeatedly over the past 24 hours, albeit not usually so pithy. My questions came after SoftBank reported a $3.5 billion third-quarter loss, plus a $54 billion dip in net asset value, that it largely pinned on China.
One criticism of new pledges at COP26 is that they're vague and squishy, but a U.S.-led push to help decarbonize several major industries features specific commitments by corporate giants.
Driving the news: The burst of announcements included the First Movers Coalition.
A report released today by the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum states the museum is "gravely concerned" the "Chinese government may be committing genocide against the Uyghurs."
Why it matters: A growing number of governments and other institutions are concluding the Chinese government's policies toward the Uyghur ethnic minority aren't just repression, but in fact constitute genocide.
A billion people will endure extreme heat stress if global temperatures were to increase by 2°C (3.6°F), research announced Tuesday by the U.K.'s Met Office at the COP26 climate summit warns.
Why it matters: Current targets being discussed at COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland, would see global average temperatures overshoot the Paris Agreement's most ambitious target of 1.5ºC of warming, compared to preindustrial levels, per Axios' Andrew Freedman.
Four astronauts on the SpaceX Crew-2 mission splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico near Pensacola, Florida, Monday night after a six-month stay on the International Space Station.
The big picture: The return of NASA's Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide and the European Space Agency's Thomas Pesquet comes ahead of another SpaceX launch to the ISS of four more crew members that's scheduled for Wednesday.
Two weeks after the European Parliament voted 580-26 on a resolution to strengthen EU-Taiwan relations, an official delegation of lawmakers traveled to Taiwan for the first time to deliver a simple message: "You are not alone."
Why it matters: Taiwan is an industrialized democracy that has faced growing military intimidation from the Chinese government, which views the self-governing island as a breakaway territory that must be brought under its control.
The international community's top representative in Bosnia is sounding the alarm over the "very real" possibility of a return to conflict, citing secessionist maneuvers by the Serb member of the country's tripartite presidency.
Catch up quick: The end of the Bosnian war in 1995 was marked by the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement, which established two regional entities in Bosnia — the Republika Srpska and the Bosniak-Croat Federation, linked by a central government.
The Singaporean government will no longer cover medical bills for people who are "unvaccinated by choice" after Dec. 8, the country's Ministry of Health announced Monday.
Why it matters: "We have to send this important signal to urge everyone to get vaccinated if you are eligible," Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said at a news conference. 82.47% of Singapore's population is fully vaccinated, per Johns Hopkins University.
Spyware from the Israeli intelligence company NSO Group was found on the cellphones of six Palestinian human rights activists, Front Line Defenders, an Ireland-based rights groups, said in a report Monday.
Why it matters: It's the first reported instance of Palestinian activists being targeted by the military-grade Pegasus spyware, AP notes.
Several hundred top members of the Chinese Communist Party are meeting behind closed doors this week in Beijing, where they will map out key plans for the nation's future.
Why it matters: It's the last major meeting before next year's party congress, when Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to be appointed for a third term after he successfully pushed to abolish term limits in 2018.
Top House Republicans are calling on the Biden administration to provide the questions and answers to a survey in which U.S. allies reportedly expressed grave concerns about a potential policy shift limiting the conditions under which the U.S. might use nuclear weapons.
Why it matters: The Biden administration is conducting a major nuclear posture review. It will have implications for both allies and strategic competitors like Russia and China, which are modernizing and expanding their nuclear arsenals.
The U.S. reopened its land and air borders Monday for nonessential travel to visitors from over 30 countries who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
France's Catholic Church announced on Monday it would financially compensate those who were sexually abused by French clergy and other church officials.
Driving the news: The decision comes a month after an independent commission, established at the request of the Catholic Church, released a report that found more than 200,000 minors have been sexually abused by Catholic clergy members in France since 1950.
GLASGOW, Scotland — By the time many of the pledges made in Glasgow this week are met (or not), some of the participating countries may no longer exist.
Driving the news: The world’s 40-some small island states have used COP26 to plead for more urgent action — while there's still time — and to confront world powers like the U.S. and China with the devastation their emissions have caused.
The CEO of the world's biggest vaccine maker told "Axios on HBO" he expects low-income countries will start receiving much-needed exports of his COVID-19 vaccines this week, now that India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi is lifting restrictions.
Why this matters: Billionaire Adar Poonawalla's Serum Institute of India is the biggest supplier of vaccines to low-income countries. But for months, he was blocked from meeting his commitments to supply vaccines to the world's poor, putting him “on the verge of a nervous breakdown.”
China's military has built targets that resemble U.S. Navy warships in the Taklamakan desert in the northwestern Xinjiang region, according to satellite images captured by Maxar.
Why it matters: The mock-ups of a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier and destroyer reflect the Chinese government's efforts to expand anti-carrier capabilities, "specifically against the U.S. Navy," per Reuters.
Foreign hackers are suspected of compromising organizations in the technology, defense, healthcare, energy and education industries in the U.S. and other countries, cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks said late Sunday.
Why it matters: The National Security Agency contributed to Palo Alto Networks' report amid ongoing efforts to crack down on hackers who've been trying to steal critical data from targets including U.S. defense contractors, notes CNN, which first reported the breach.
What he's saying: "We're going to enter a more endemic phase and as things improve, cases may pick up. ... But that doesn't mean that we're entering into another wave of infection," Gottlieb said during his interview on CBS' "Face the Nation."
President Biden called Nicaragua's elections a "sham" Sunday evening, ahead of the expected win of President Daniel Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo.
Details: Biden said the "pantomime election" was "neither free nor fair, and most certainly not democratic," as he pointed to the imprisonment of nearly 40 opposition figures since May — "including seven potential presidential candidates, and the blocking of political parties from participation rigged the outcome well before Election Day."
