One of Russia's most prominent TV hostsfumed this week at what he saw as an act of defiance from allies in the Collective Security Treaty Organization, Russia's answer to NATO.
Driving the news: While Belarus voted against a UN resolution calling on Russia to pay Ukraine war reparations, Russia's other four treaty allies — Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan — all abstained.
The Biden administration is preparing for the possibility of mass migration from Haiti by expanding a migrant center on Guantanamo Bay and looking into the Bahamas or Turks and Caicos for temporary new holding sites, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: Haiti has been beset by gang violence, fuel shortages and a recent cholera outbreak. For months, the administration has held informal planning meetings on how to hold potentially hundreds of migrants at a time, before quickly returning them to the beleaguered island.
WNBA star Brittney Griner has begun serving her nine-year sentence at a penal colony outside Moscow, AP reports.
Driving the news: "Brittney is doing as well as could be expected and trying to stay strong as she adapts to a new environment," her lawyers said in a statement obtained by AP.
Several European countries are taking steps to protest Qatar's hosting of this year's World Cup, which has long been shrouded in controversy.
Driving the news: Since FIFA announced Qatar as the 2022 World Cup host, the Gulf nation has been repeatedly criticized for its human rights record and the environmental costs of holding the tournament in the region.
Latinos and Latinas were behind critical work that allowed NASA to launch the uncrewed Artemis I mission to the Moon this week.
The big picture: Only 5.7% of NASA's workforce identifies as Latino or Hispanic, but many have had a major influence on the agency in the past few years.
The International Atomic Energy Agency Board of Governors on Thursday passed a resolution censuring Iran for not with cooperating with the agency's investigation into traces of uranium found at three sites not declared by the Iranian government.
Why it matters: It's not the first resolution passed by the board against Iran over the issue, but it hints at possibly referring Iran to the U.N. Security Council for failing to fulfill its nuclear obligations, Reuters reports.
Mexico City is betting big on digital nomads despite concerns that they're driving up rental costs and pricing locals out.
State of play: Data from Mexico's National Institute of Migration shows a record number of Americans have migrated to Mexico since the pandemic began. Many come to work remotely because the cost of living is so much lower than in the U.S.
The initial draft for a COP27 agreement out this morning omits calls for phasing down all fossil fuels, which means the fraught meeting may not move beyond coal-focused goals from last year's summit.
Why it matters: The20 pages of preliminary text released by the Egyptian COP president in Sharm el-Sheikh are a blank slate on how to compensate vulnerable nations for climate damages.
Three men with links to Russia were convictedin a Dutch court Thursday over the 2014 downing of a passenger plane that killed all 298 people on board, AP reported.
The big picture: Investigators say Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 was shot down by a Russian surface-to-air missile system over rebel-held eastern Ukraine. The plane was en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on July 17, 2014. Most of the passengers on board were from the Netherlands.
A crucial grain deal allowing shipments of Ukrainian grain to leave the country's ports was extended on Thursday for another 120 days.
Why it matters: The deal — which was set to expire on Saturday — has been key to helping alleviate the deepening food crisis around the world that was further aggravated by Russia's blockade of Ukrainian ports in the first few months of the war.
ZAATARI REFUGEE CAMP, JORDAN — A whole generation of Syrian refugees are living out their lives — working, getting married, having children — in a camp that was supposed to be a temporary refuge while they fled their country’s civil war.
Why it matters: This camp is not a sustainable long-term option. It was never designed to be one, and the makeshift facilities here are nearing the end of their lifespan — but there are still roughly 80,000 Syrians with nowhere else to call home.
North Korea's military fired a short-range ballistic missile into the sea on Thursday and warned of a "fiercer" response to U.S. efforts to bolster defense ties with South Korea and Japan.
Driving the news: The warning was in response to President Biden's trilateral meeting last week in Cambodia with leaders of South Korea and Japan, whereafter a joint statement pledging deeper ties and condemning Pyongyang for its recent missile tests was issued.
