Axios

The BA.2 subvariant of Omicron makes up over a third of COVID-19 variants in the U.S., according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Why it matters: While COVID has receded sharply since January, the BA.2 subvariant has caused a resurgence in COVID cases in Asia and Europe.

Removing the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) from a U.S. terror list would be “a dangerous capitulation," three former senior Trump administration officials, including former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, said in a joint statement exclusively shared with Axios.

Why it matters: The status of the IRGC is one of the last remaining sticking points in talks to revive the 2015 nuclear agreement.

Four Israelis were killed and two were seriously wounded on Tuesday in an attack in the city of Beersheba by "a terrorist known to security services," Israeli police said.

What happened: The attacker ran over and killed a cyclist and drove to a nearby shopping mall where he stabbed several people, police commander Peretz Amar said in a briefing at the scene. The attacker was shot and killed by a bus driver who was in the area.

The State Department helped transfer four Ukrainian children undergoing cancer treatment, along with their families, from Poland to the U.S. so that they could continue treatment at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

What they're saying: "Children are among the most vulnerable in a crisis, and these pediatric oncology patients need urgent and highly specialized medical care," State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a news release.

A woman who could be the first Latina to be executed in Texas asked for clemency Tuesday, saying she was wrongly convicted in the death of her two-year-old daughter.

The big picture: Melissa Lucio's attorneys say she is a lifelong victim of sexual abuse and domestic violence and that her confession was coerced by police after what her lawyers claim was the girl’s accidental death from falling down a flight of stairs.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk was in Germany on Tuesday to mark the opening of the company's new factory near Berlin, its first in Europe.

Why it matters: The plant is Tesla's third major plant — after plants in California and Shanghai — and is expected to eventually build 500,000 electric vehicles a year, per the New York Times.

President Biden intends to announce a new Russia sanctions package during his visit to Europe this week, including measures to crack down on sanctions evasion, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said at a press briefing Tuesday.

Why it matters: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has pleaded with the West to impose new sanctions "every week until the Russian military machine stops."

UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday called for an end to the "absurd war" in Ukraine, warning that it could lead to "a global hunger crisis."

Driving the news: The UN warned last week that there could be "collateral hunger" in some Middle Eastern countries that rely heavily on Ukraine for wheat.

Beijing's initially negative view of the Abraham Accords is improving, the founder of one of Israel's top China policy organizations told Axios in an interview focusing on the Israel-China relationship.

The big picture: Israeli officials want to balance the country's warm ties with China with growing U.S. demands to steer clear of some Chinese tech companies and investments.

Chinese officials are pushing a debunked conspiracy theory promoted by the Russian military that the U.S. is funding biological weapons research in Ukraine.

Why it matters: As the West has pushed to isolate Putin, "China has insistently sought to shift the focus to the question of U.S. biological weapons labs in Ukraine," David Bandurski at China Media Project writes.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said late Monday he would consider dropping Ukraine's requests for full NATO membership — a key Russian demand — in exchange for a cease-fire, the withdrawal of Russian troops and security guarantees, AP reports.

The big picture: Zelensky again called for direct talks with Putin, and said he would also be open to having discussions on Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, and parts of the Donbas region held by Russian-backed separatists.

A higher percentage of Latino and Black students planned to cancel their college plans in Fall 2021 than their white counterparts, a study found.

Why it matters: Latinos already lag behind in educational attainment, which stunts their upward mobility. The pandemic has likely made the Latino college gap even worse.

For U.S. restaurant brands, breaking up with Russia is just a matter of will and cash, according to Yale School of Management's Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, who argues that companies should seek to buy out master franchisees that decline to suspend operations.

What to know: Big U.S. chains often sell long-term, master franchise rights in foreign countries. The franchisee pays for the privilege, including a percentage of profit, in exchange for the brand and a variety of support services (e.g., marketing, training, etc.).

Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed held a trilateral summit in Egypt's Sharm el-Sheikh on Tuesday, the Egyptian presidency said.

Why it matters: The unprecedented meeting is the most significant diplomatic engagement between Israeli and regional leaders since the Abraham Accords, which normalized relations between Israel and the UAE, was brokered in 2020 by the Trump administration.

Alexei Navalny has been convicted of fraud and contempt of court and sentenced to nine years in a maximum security prison, Russian local media reported.

Why it matters: The prominent Russian opposition leader and Kremlin critic is already serving a prison sentence of about 2.5 years for violating parole, for which he was charged over his recovery in Germany after surviving a poisoning attempt by Russia's security forces in 2020.

In an emotional address to the Swiss people on Saturday — which was livestreamed at a solidarity rally outside the Federal Palace in the capital, Bern — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for tougher sanctions on oligarchs and asked, "Why can't we live like the Swiss?"

Why it matters: Switzerland is famously neutral, but not when it comes to the war in Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Pope Francis in a call on Tuesday that a "mediating role of the Holy See ... would be appreciated" as the Russian invasion enters its 27th day.

What he's saying: "Told His Holiness about the difficult humanitarian situation and the blocking of rescue corridors by Russian troops. The mediating role of the Holy See in ending human suffering would be appreciated," Zelensky said in a tweet.

Somaliland President Muse Bihi Abdi spent the past week in Washington making the case that the U.S. should become the first country to recognize his self-declared state’s independence — and he's leaving with some positive signals to show for it.

Why it matters: Somaliland has governed itself for three decades but is recognized internationally and by the U.S. as part of Somalia, a position the State Department reaffirmed this week. Unlike the remainder of Somalia and most of its neighbors on the Horn of Africa, though, it's democratic and relatively secure.

Ukrainian officials said Tuesday their troops have driven Russian forces out of the strategically important town of Makariv, near Kyiv.

Why it matters: If Ukrainian forces are confirmed to have retaken Makariv, some 30 miles west of Kyiv, it would prevent Russian troops from surrounding Ukraine's capital from the northwest, per AP.

New satellite images show the effects of days of Russia's attacks on key Ukraine cities Kyiv, Chernihiv and Mariupol as the Russian military invasion enters a 27th day.

Of note: Maxar Technologies' images, taken March 18-21, capture growing flooding at the Kyiv region's Irpin River, which Russian forces would need to cross in order to capture Kyiv from the west, CNN notes.

Russia's military has used a hypersonic missile in Ukraine, President Biden confirmed Monday night.

Driving the news: Ukrainian forces are "wreaking havoc" on Russia's military and Russian President Vladimir "Putin's back is against the wall," Biden said at a Business Roundtable event after the White House.

A Boeing 737-800 owned by China Eastern Airlines crashed in the mountains in southern China's Guangxi region on Monday with 132 people on board, AP reports.

The latest: "Wreckage of the plane was found at the scene, but up until now, none of those aboard the plane with whom contact was lost have been found," said state broadcaster CCTV, per AP.

Russian forces planned to storm Ukraine's major cities in a matter of days. After nearly four weeks, they're instead bombarding those cities from a distance.

The big picture: As Russia's military adjusts its tactics to a new battlefield reality, analysts are watching for signs that Vladimir Putin is shifting his end game as well.