Boris Johnson won't be on the ballot when British voters go to the polls for local elections on Thursday, but his party's performance could determine whether he survives the summer in Downing Street.
Why it matters: Johnson's reputation as an election winner, bolstered by his landslide general election victory in 2019, has helped Conservative Party members overlook a string of personal scandals.
Muslims worldwide have started celebrating the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.
The big picture: For many, it's the first Eid al-Fitr since COVID-19 pandemic restrictions began to ease. But for some, it also comes amid conflict, and as the world sees surging food prices and other economic challenges made worse by Russia's war in Ukraine.
They describe scenes of "terror," "hell" and total destruction. The reports quoting Mariupol residents who recently evacuated or escaped the Ukrainian port city are beginning to give a glimpse of the the terrifying conditions civilians experienced under Russia's weeks of intense bombardment there.
The latest: A group of more than 100 civilians who were sheltering in the maze of underground tunnels in Mariupol's Azovstal steel plantevacuated on Sunday tothe Ukrainian-controlled city of Zaporizhzhia, according to Ukrainian officials.
The leader of Russia's space agency on Saturday again warned that the country will pull out of the International Space Station over sanctions meant to punish the country for Vladimir Putin's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, but he did not give a timetable or say when the move will be announced, per Russian state media.
What he's saying: “The decision has been taken already, we’re not obliged to talk about it publicly,” said general director Dmitry Rogozin, the head of Russia's space agency Roscosmos, per state media outlets Tass and RIA Novosti via Bloomberg.
The Pentagon assesses that Russia's progress in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region has been "minimal at best," with Russian forces continuing to suffer from "poor" command and control, low morale and recurring logistical problems, a senior U.S. defense official told reporters Monday.
Why it matters: Russia launched a major offensive in the Donbas last month that both sides have characterized as a decisive "second phase" of the war. Two weeks in, the U.S. believes Russian forces are "behind schedule" and experiencing many of the same problems that forced them to retreat from Kyiv.
Mexican officials said last week that they would change plans for a trade railway to keep it from passing through Texas because of the governor's recently revoked inspection rule for truckers coming from Mexico.
Driving the news: Mexican Economy Minister Tatiana Clouthier said that the railway, known as the T-MEC Corridor, would go through New Mexico instead, saying: "We can't leave all the eggs in one basket and be hostages to someone who wants to use trade as a political tool," per the Dallas Morning News.
Israel on Monday condemned Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's false claim that Adolf Hitler had "Jewish blood," which he used to justify calling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a "Nazi."
Why it matters: It's the first time Israel has publicly condemned the Russian claim that Zelensky is a "Nazi."
Russian forces shelled the Azovstal steel plant soon after some civilians were evacuated from the besieged facility, Ukrainian military officials said ahead of fresh evacuations planned for Ukraine's final stronghold in Mariupol on Monday.
Details: Ukraine National Guard brigade commander Denys Shlega said in a TV address Sunday night that "as soon as the last civilian" from the group of evacuees left the plant it "came under fire again" as several hundred remaining civilians were sheltering, including up to 20 children, per Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform.
First lady Jill Biden will travel to eastern Europe this week to meet with U.S. service members, diplomats and displaced Ukrainian parents and children, her office announced late Sunday.
The big picture: Biden will visit the refugees in NATO member countries Romania and Slovakia, which both share borders with Ukraine. She will spend Mother's Day in Slovakia "with Ukrainian mothers and children who have been forced to flee their home country because of Putin's war," per the East Wing's emailed statement.
Qantas has ordered 12 Airbus A350s to be used for nonstop flights from Australia to cities such as New York and London from late 2025, the company announced Monday.
Why it matters: The planes are "capable of flying direct from Australia to any other city" in the world, per a Qantas statement.
United Nations officials have been "blocked" from accessing "besieged cities like Mariupol, Mykolaiv and Kherson" — raising concerns of mass starvation in the Ukrainian cities that have been devastated by Russia's military invasion.
Driving the news: That's according to UN World Food Program chief David Beasley, who told CBS' "60 Minutes" journalist Scott Pelley in an interview broadcast Sunday that denying civilians in the eastern Ukrainian cities access to food was "just wrong, evil."
A $33 billion Ukraine aid package will include provisions for the U.S. government to seize and sell Russian oligarchs' assets, and give the proceeds to the invaded country, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Sunday.
Why it matters: The U.S. and other governments are moving to financially squeeze oligarchs with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin with the aim of influencing his actions in Ukraine and, in the longer term, curtailing the power of Putin and his circle, per Axios' Emily Peck.
