Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said North Korea fired two ballistic missiles (WSJ) early this morning. He called the move a threat to regional security and a violation of UN resolutions. South Korea’s military confirmed the launches and said the projectiles were short-range ballistic missiles. U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said the incident illustrates the threat posed by North Korea’s weapons program and pledged to defend Japan and South Korea (NYT).

The launches were North Korea’s first firings of ballistic missiles in nearly a year and came days after it reportedly tested cruise missiles, which was not a violation of UN resolutions and which U.S. President Joe Biden played down. Recent U.S.-South Korea military exercises rankled North Korea, which has rejected talks with the Biden administration. Japan lodged a formal complaint (Kyodo, Reuters) over today’s actions, while the South Korean and Russian foreign ministers expressed concern and urged dialogue (AP).

Facebook revealed that Chinese hackers used its platform (AFP) to target hundreds of people, mostly Uyghur Muslims, with malware that allowed surveillance. Separately, some Chinese people are boycotting foreign apparel brands (Nikkei) that refuse to use cotton produced in China’s Xinjiang region, where the government has committed human rights abuses against Uyghurs.

India suspended exports of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by the Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine maker, foreign ministry officials told Reuters. The move is likely to hurt the nearly two hundred countries in the COVAX vaccine distribution program.
 
This CFR Backgrounder explains global COVID-19 vaccination efforts.
 
Afghanistan: U.S. Representative Adam Smith (D-WA) said the Biden administration is exploring an agreement (Reuters) with the Taliban that would allow U.S. counterterrorism forces to stay in Afghanistan to fight the self-proclaimed Islamic State. The United States faces a deadline to withdraw its troops by May 1 under a deal it made with the Taliban last year.

Saudi Human Rights Commission President Awwad Alawwad denied threatening (National) Agnes Callamard, the UN special rapporteur who investigated the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Callamard accused an unnamed Saudi official of threatening her, an account the United Nations confirmed.
 
Israel: The head of the Central Elections Committee said she expects the counting of votes from Tuesday’s parliamentary elections to be completed today (TOI). Early results showed no group, including supporters of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, gaining enough seats to form a majority coalition (WaPo).

The aid group Doctors Without Borders said some of its staff witnessed Ethiopian troops executing at least four men in the Tigray region. It also alleged that soldiers beat a member of its staff. Earlier, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission reported that Eritrean troops committed human rights violations (Addis Standard) in Tigray. 
 
CFR’s Michelle Gavin explains the conflict in Tigray.
 
Rwanda: A Kigali court ruled to continue the trial (East African) of Paul Rusesabagina, whose actions during the Rwandan genocide inspired a Hollywood film, without him present. Authorities said Rusesabagina elected not to attend. He is charged with terrorism, among other offenses.

Leaders from the European Union will meet virtually today (Euronews), with President Biden set to make a guest appearance. EU officials are expected to discuss various topics, including Russia, Turkey, and a proposal that would expand EU members’ powers to prevent COVID-19 vaccine exports (WSJ).
 
Russia: The Federal Penitentiary Service said imprisoned opposition leader Alexey Navalny’s health is “stable” (RFE/RL), in response to concerns from his allies. Yesterday, Canada sanctioned (CBC) nine Russian officials over alleged human rights abuses, including the attempted assassination of Navalny.

Argentina confirmed it will withdraw (Buenos Aires Times) from the Lima Group, a bloc created in 2017 to foster democracy in Venezuela. The foreign ministry cited several disagreements with the Lima Group’s approach and said the body’s efforts to isolate Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s government have “led to nothing.”
 
Brazil: Bowing to pressure, President Jair Bolsonaro announced that an expert committee will meet weekly (MercoPress) to discuss how to confront the country’s worsening COVID-19 outbreak. New Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga pledged to implement fresh coronavirus protocols and strengthen the public health system.

President Biden put Vice President Kamala Harris in charge of his administration’s response to the increasing number of migrants arriving at the United States’ southern border. He said Harris is the “most qualified person” (WaPo) to head negotiations with Latin American partners on the issue.
 
CFR’s Paul J. Angelo explains why Central Americans are arriving at the U.S. border.