Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the northeastern city of Kharkiv on Sunday, as Russian forces continued their bombardment of eastern Ukraine.
Why it matters: It was Zelensky's first official appearance outside of the Kyiv region since the war began in February.
New Zealand Prime MinisterJacinda Ardern, who successfully oversaw the implementation of gun control measures in her own country, will meet with President Biden on Tuesday at the White House to discuss a range of issues, including countering "radicalization to violence both off and online."
Why it matters: This is the first time a New Zealand leader has visited the White House since 2014, with Biden and Ardern slated to discuss their bilateral relationship, their shared vision for the Indo-Pacific region, and the climate crisis, according to a statement from White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
"We don't have to worry about the f---ing monkeypox, do we?"
— Al Gore, overheard in the Davos conference center
At the first annual meeting since the pandemic brought the global economy to its knees, COVID-19 was largely ignored as a clear and present risk to the assembled delegates and hangers-on.
Delegates trusted that their mRNA boosters and the testing protocols would protect them, along with modern therapeutics, should they end up catching the virus.
Wherever the world's attention might be focused right now, it's not Davos, Switzerland.
Driving the news: When a major new trade pact was announced on Monday — encompassing 13 countries including the U.S., Japan, India, South Korea, and Australia — it was at a summit in Tokyo, 6,000 miles from Davos.
The premise of the World Economic Forum is that if you bring powerful people together across borders, they can solve some of the world's thorniest problems.
But if this year's forum is any indication, the biggest geopolitical players can't even gather in the same room anymore.
Good afternoon, and welcome to our deep dive from Davos, Switzerland, where Team Axios — Dave Lawler, Felix Salmon, Ina Fried, and Axios publisher Nicholas Johnston — covered the World Economic Forum's annual meeting of heads of state, CEOs, activists and celebrities.
Independent legal scholars and human rights experts in a report Friday accused Russia of inciting genocide and perpetrating atrocities that reveal an "intent to destroy the Ukrainian national group."
Driving the news: There is "a very serious risk of genocide" and states have a legal obligation to prevent it, warned the the report signed by more than 30 experts and published by the New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy and the Montreal-based Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights.
The U.S. Army awarded Raytheon Technologies a $624 million contract to produce 1,300 Stinger anti-aircraft missiles to replenish its stock after sending around 1,400 of the missile systems to Ukraine in response to Russia's unprovoked invasion.
Why it matters: U.S. lawmakers voiced concerns in April that the diversion of Stinger and Javelin anti-tank missiles to Ukraine could leave the U.S. militarily vulnerable and called on President Biden to replenish supplies.
