Russia’s Foreign Ministry announced that the country recalled its ambassador (AFP) to the United States for the first time in more than two decades after U.S. President Joe Biden agreed that Russian President Vladimir Putin is a “killer” in a television interview. Biden also said Putin will soon “pay a price” (ABC) for a U.S. intelligence finding that Russia sought to influence the 2020 U.S. presidential election. A Kremlin spokesperson called the comments “very bad,” and Russia’s embassy in Washington warned that bilateral relations are “under the threat of collapse.”
 
U.S.-Russia ties have been strained under the Biden administration, which recently sanctioned Russia over the poisoning and imprisonment of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny. The United States announced yesterday that it is expanding those restrictions (RFE/RL). Nonetheless, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said it hopes to avoid an “irreversible deterioration in relations.”

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said today that the United States is weighing pressure and diplomacy (Reuters) toward North Korea. Hours earlier, a senior North Korean diplomat, Choe Son-hui, said Pyongyang will not dialogue (Yonhap) with Washington unless the United States “rolls back its hostile policy.”
 
CFR’s Scott A. Snyder explains what kind of North Korea Biden faces.
 
Canada/China: China will hold court hearings (CNN) for two Canadians detained in 2018, Canada’s foreign minister said. Michael Spavor’s hearing will occur tomorrow, and Michael Kovrig’s will be on Monday. They face espionage charges.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appointed veteran diplomat Jean Arnault (UN News) to serve as his personal envoy on Afghanistan. Meanwhile, President Biden signaled that he could prolong (NYT) the United States’ military presence in Afghanistan beyond a May 1 deadline.
 
Myanmar: Detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi faces new charges (AFP) for allegedly violating an anticorruption law, military media reported. A businessman claimed that he made several illegal payments totaling $550,000 to Suu Kyi. Her lawyer denounced the charges.

A U.S. State Department memo obtained by the National reportedly details a plan to reset U.S.-Palestinian relations, including by providing coronavirus aid and backtracking on positions espoused by the Trump administration that were seen as favoring Israel. Sources told Reuters the plan is at an early “working stage.”
 
This CFR Backgrounder explains U.S. policy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
 
Iran: A report by the country’s Civil Aviation Organization said (Al Jazeera) human error and uncalibrated equipment led to the military’s downing of a Ukraine International Airlines flight in Tehran last year. Ukraine accused Iran of hiding the truth, and Canada said the report lacked facts.

Tanzanian President John Magufuli died of a heart attack (Nation) at a hospital in Dar es Salaam, Vice President Samia Suluhu said. Suluhu is slated to succeed him, making her the first female head of state in Tanzania and in the East African Community intergovernmental organization.
 
On CFR’s Africa in Transition blog, Nolan Quinn looks at Magufuli’s denial of COVID-19.
 
Ethiopia/Sudan: Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head of the Sovereignty Council of Sudan, said Khartoum will not work (National) with Addis Ababa to settle their burgeoning border dispute until Ethiopia recognizes certain farmlands as part of Sudan. He also accused Ethiopia of encroaching on Sudanese territory and urged it to withdraw its forces.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte claimed an “overwhelming vote of confidence” as projections showed (BBC) that his party, the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), won this week’s parliamentary elections. If Rutte remains prime minister, he will become (FT) the Netherlands’ longest-serving leader.

Brazil reported 90,303 COVID-19 cases (LAHT) yesterday, a daily record. Outgoing Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello and his successor, Marcelo Queiroga, said the country has improved COVID-19 vaccine production and that vaccination is central to controlling the outbreak.
 
Venezuela: The Supreme Court of Cape Verde ruled to permit (Reuters) the extradition of Colombian businessman Alex Saab to the United States, which has accused Saab of laundering money for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s government. His defense team said it will appeal the decision.

A white man was charged yesterday (WaPo) for the killings of eight people, including six Asian women, at three spas in the Atlanta, Georgia, area earlier this week. The man denied that the attacks were racially motivated, but police said they had not ruled out that possibility. Law enforcement agencies are under fire (Guardian) for their handling of hate crimes against Asian Americans nationwide.