Hong Kong authorities said they arrested (Reuters) 230 people at protests across the city (SCMP) that marked the reemergence of the country’s pro-democracy movement following a lull due to coronavirus restrictions. 

The protests at ten malls and in the working-class district of Mong Kok came on the heels of physical clashes (Guardian) between pro-Beijing and pro-democracy lawmakers in Hong Kong’s legislature on Friday. Police cited a ban on mass gatherings and used pepper spray on protesters and reporters in Mong Kok. Continuing the government’s hard line against the movement, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam vowed to overhaul school curriculums (Guardian) that she said fuel the protests and allow students to be “poisoned.”

Tokyo lodged a protest (Japan Times) on Monday after Chinese government ships allegedly chased a Japanese fishing boat in waters near the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands. 

This CFR Backgrounder looks at China’s modernizing military.

New Delhi is looking to further restrict investment from China (Times of India) to prevent Chinese investors from acquiring significant shares of Indian companies. 

Sri Lanka: Muslims are protesting a rule (Al Jazeera) that mandates the cremation of coronavirus victims, thus violating Islamic funerary traditions, and warning of growing anti-Muslim sentiment in the country.

At least nineteen sailors were killed and fifteen wounded when an Iranian missile fired during a training exercise in the Gulf of Oman accidentally hit another ship (Al Jazeera). 

Iraq: The judiciary on Sunday ordered the release of anti-government protesters (AP), carrying out a decision by newly inaugurated Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi.

An African Union (AU) report found that Ethiopian troops shot down (East African) a coronavirus aid plane over Somalia last week, killing six people, due to concerns that the flight could be a suicide attack. Somali authorities are investigating (NYT) the crash.

Mali: Three UN peacekeepers in Mali died and four were wounded after their truck hit a roadside bomb (AFP). The UN peacekeeping force in Mali includes some thirteen thousand troops.

The European Union is expected to push for priorities including access to British fishing waters in a new round (FT) of post-Brexit talks that begins today. The United Kingdom’s major concerns include electricity and gas trading and nuclear energy cooperation. These are the penultimate talks (Reuters) before the two parties are set to hold a summit in June.

This CFR Backgrounder looks at the UK’s post-Brexit future.

Hungary: The country’s foreign minister said he will summon the ambassadors (Reuters) of five Nordic countries over their criticism of his new powers for rule by decree. The EU’s human rights body warned Hungary about democratic backsliding after the measures were passed. 

In Foreign Affairs, Ruth Ben-Ghiat discusses how the coronavirus tempts would-be authoritarians.

Brazil’s Supreme Court overturned a requirement (Reuters) that men who have sex with men must wait twelve months after a sexual encounter to give blood. The ruling, which reversed a 1980s policy, was hailed as a victory by the country’s LGBTQ+ community.

Colombia: Bogota-based Avianca, Latin America’s second-largest airline, has filed for bankruptcy (BBC) amid the coronavirus crisis.

Three top officials leading the Donald J. Trump administration’s coronavirus response are self-isolating (NYT) after contact with a White House staff member who tested positive for the coronavirus. Though one of Trump’s personal valets and Vice President Mike Pence’s spokesperson also tested positive for the virus, neither Trump nor Pence said they are self-isolating.