Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador intensified his calls for election reforms after his victory in a self-imposed recall referendum Sunday, the first of its kind in the country.
Driving the news: López Obrador won with more than 90% of the vote. But turn out was less than 17% — well below the 40% threshold needed for it to be binding.
France has declared six Russian agents persona non grata after its domestic security agency uncovered a "clandestine operation" being conducted by Russian intelligence services, the France's Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs announced Monday.
French President Emmanuel Macron and far-right leader Marine Le Pen are headed into a run-off for the French presidency on April 24 after topping Sunday's first roundwith 27.8% and 23.2% respectively.
Driving the news: Both candidates hit the campaign trail on Monday, with Macron visiting towns in the north that voted heavily for Le Pen. He was criticized for neglecting campaigning prior to the first round, focusing instead on Ukraine while Le Pen toured the country, criticized the high cost of living and climbed in the polls.
Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko told AP during an interview Monday that at least 10,000 civilians died during Russia's siege of the port city that started in early March and warned that the death toll could pass 20,000.
The big picture: The city, once home to almost 500,000 people, has been utterly devastated after weeks of Russian military bombardment, and Ukrainian officials fear there are still thousands of civilians trapped in the city with food, water and medicine in short supply.
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at a virtual meeting with President Biden on Monday that he believes the U.S. will play an "integral part" in India's development over the next 25 years, hailing the world's two largest democracies as "natural partners."
Why it matters: The Biden administration has made strengthening the U.S. relationship with India a cornerstone of its strategy for confronting China in the Indo-Pacific, but has found itself at odds with the nationalist Modi government on a number of key issues.
Guangzhou, a major manufacturing city in China, has closed itself off to arrivals amidst a surge in COVID-19 cases in the country's big eastern cities, the Associated Press reported on Monday.
Driving the news: Guangzhou has not been put under a lockdown like the one in Shanghai, where many citizens are confined to their homes, but it is a major city with top companies and China's busiest airport, per AP.
France announced Monday it sent crime scene and forensic experts to help investigate possible war crimes in parts of Ukraine previously occupied by Russian forces, including the town of Bucha.
Why it matters: Formal war crime charges are notoriously difficult to prosecute, but they are investigated like any other criminal act: through witnesses interviews, the preservation of photos, videos or other digital evidence and collecting forensic evidence, like DNA.
Pakistan's parliament voted Monday to elect opposition leader Shahbaz Sharif as the country's new prime minister, after lawmakers from ousted leader Imran Khan's party walked out, AP reported.
Driving the news: Khan was removed as prime minister Sunday in a no-confidence vote after weeks of political turmoil.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked South Korean lawmakers Monday for arms and equipment to help it fight Russia, which he said was amassing "tens of thousands" of troops for a new offensive in eastern Ukraine, according to the Washington Post.
Why it matters: With Russia's invasion stymied in Ukraine's north, it has turned its attention to Ukraine's Donbas region, as indicated by newly released satellite images showing an eight-mile-long Russian military convoy comprised of armored vehicles and trucks moving in that direction.
Two former top officials in the Trump White House have secured billions of dollars from the Saudi government, in the form of investments in their new private equity funds, the New York Times reports.
Driving the news: Jared Kushner's firm, Affinity Equity, scored a $2 billion commitment from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, while former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin's Liberty Strategic Capital secured $1 billion.
Western sanctions and condemnations intended to pile pressure on Vladimir Putin instead seem to be rallying Russians behind him.
What they’re saying: The more horrific the allegations against Russia — such as the apparent massacre of civilians in Bucha— the stronger the impulse to reject them as lies, says Grigory Yudin, a sociologist at the Moscow School of Social and Economic Sciences.
Mexicans who voted in a recall election Sunday overwhelmingly cast their ballots in favor of Andrés Manuel López Obrador remaining in office — but turnout was low, according to preliminary results.
Why it matters: The unprecedented election was designed to bolster support for the leftist leader, known as "AMLO," who was on course to secure roughly 90% of the votes, per Reuters.
New Zealand will send 50 troops, eight logistics specialists and a C-130 Hercules aircraft to Europe as part of efforts to assist Ukraine with weapons and aid, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Monday.
The big picture: The country of 5 million will also donate NZ$13 million (US$9 million) in further support, "including a contribution via the United Kingdom to procure weapons and ammunition," per a statement from Ardern.
National security adviser Jake Sullivan told ABC's "This Week" Sunday that U.S. intelligence indicated "there was a plan from the highest levels of the Russian government" for its forces to commit atrocities in Ukraine.
What he's saying: "The images that we've seen out of Bucha and other cities have been tragic, they've been horrifying, they've been downright shocking, but they have not been surprising," Sullivan told ABC's Jonathan Karl.
Driving the news: "When everyone is telling you, you need to go, you need to think. Before I do something, I analyze the situation. I've always done it calmly, without any chaos," Zelensky told CBS' Scott Pelley in the interview via an interpreter. "I might not be the strongest warrior. But I'm not willing to betray anyone."
