Chinese President Xi Jinping is signaling solidarity with his "dear friend" Vladimir Putin this week in Moscow — a visit that also underscores Russia's reliance on China to keep its economy and war machine running.
Why it matters: China has helped shield Russia from Western efforts to isolate it following the invasion of Ukraine, significantly increased imports of Russian oil, and become an even more crucial source for Russia of key inputs like microchips.
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Moscow on Monday for his first visit since Russia's invasion of Ukraine began.
Why it matters: The three-day state visit is a major display of solidarity with Russia from its most important global partner. It comes amid warnings from Washington that Xi might back the Russian war effort more directly by providing arms — claims China has denied.
Jeff Woodke, an American aid worker who had been held hostage for more than six years, has been released, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan confirmed Monday.
The big picture: Woodke was kidnapped from his home in Niger by jihadists in October 2016 and was believed to have been taken to neighboring Mali, according to the New York Times.
Jordan accused far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich of violating the peace agreement between the two countries after he gave a speech in Paris at a podium featuring a map that included Jordan and the occupied West Bank as part of Israel and said the Palestinian people were "an invention."
Why it matters: Smotrich's speech increased tensions at a time when the Biden administration, Jordan and Egypt are trying to de-escalate the violence between Israelis and Palestinians in the occupied West Bank ahead of the historically sensitive period of the holy month of Ramadan and Passover.
President Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in their call on Sunday that he was concerned about the Israeli government's judicial overhaul plan because in all the years he has followed Israel, he has never seen such a high level of domestic anxiety over the political situation in the country, two U.S. sources briefed on the call told Axios.
Why it matters: Sunday's call was the first time Biden directly discussed the controversial judicial overhaul plan with Netanyahu. It is rare that a U.S. president weighs in on domestic issues of one of the country's closest allies.
Former Taiwanese President Ma Ying-Jeou will make a landmark visit to China next week — the first such trip by a former Taiwanese leader since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949.
The big picture: Ma will not visit Beijing and didn't arrange any political events, but he will "suit the convenience of the host" if Chinese officials wish to meet him during his 12-day trip, Hsiao Hsu-tsen, the director of the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation told reporters on Monday.
An estimated 43,000 people, half of them children under the age of 5, died last year due to prolonged drought in Somalia, a report released Monday by the UN and Somali government estimates.
Driving the news: The Horn of Africa, which includes much of Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia, is experiencing the worst drought in 40 years. The region faces a sixth straight rainy season this year.
COVID-19 has killed millions and caused widespread disruptions to people's lives and global economies — but a major new study finds people are slightly happier than before the pandemic began.
The big picture: The 11th annual World Happiness Report, published Monday to coincide with the International Day of Happiness, surveyed over 100,000 people and found that Finland was the happiest country for the sixth straight year. The U.S. was ranked the 15th happiest nation.
China's leader Xi Jinping described his upcoming meeting Monday with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin as a "journey of friendship, cooperation and peace" in an op-ed carried by the two countries' state media.
The big picture: Xi's first Moscow summit with Putin since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began comes three days after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Russia's leader for war crimes charges.
