The COVID-19 vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca is under new scrutiny after the European Medicines Agency confirmed that the jab has a “possible link” to “very rare” instances of blood clots (Politico). Still, the regulator said, the benefits of receiving the vaccine exceed the risks. The United Kingdom’s advisory body on vaccines recommended that young people be offered different COVID-19 vaccines (FT), potentially complicating Britain’s vaccination efforts. Other countries, including Australia and Belgium, have also moved to limit (FT) use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine in certain age groups.

The vaccine has previously faced concerns about its effectiveness and possible side effects. However, because it is cheaper and easier to store than other shots, it is a pillar of a global initiative known as COVAX that seeks to distribute vaccines to poorer countries (Axios). Dozens of countries have signed off on the jab, though it has not been granted emergency use authorization in the United States.

U.S. State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said an attack on the Philippines would “trigger” U.S. obligations (CNA) under a joint defense treaty and echoed Philippine concerns about a buildup of Chinese vessels in the contested South China Sea. Price also said the United States would “resist” Chinese coercion of Taiwan, which yesterday reported incursions of its airspace by China.

South Korea: The country’s ruling Democratic Party (DP) suffered an overwhelming defeat (BBC) by the People Power Party in mayoral elections in Busan and Seoul, where both former DP mayors had been accused of sexual misconduct. DP leaders stepped down en masse today (Yonhap) to accept responsibility.

Myanmar’s ambassador to the UK, Kyaw Zwar Minn, was locked out of his country’s embassy in London after breaking ranks (Reuters) with Myanmar’s military junta, which seized power in February. Today, he called on the UK to reject the military’s envoy.
 
India: Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry in New Delhi. India’s Ministry of External Affairs said that Modi affirmed (Hindustan Times) his country’s commitment to the Paris Agreement and that Kerry pledged U.S. help for India’s climate efforts, including assistance accessing green technologies.
 
This CFR Backgrounder explains the Paris Agreement and other global climate accords.

The Joe Biden administration announced it will restore $235 million in aid (WSJ) to the Palestinians, a move welcomed by the Palestinian Authority and rebuked by the Israeli government. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the decision reflects U.S. support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and for the prosperity and security of both sides.
 
This CFR Backgrounder explains U.S. policy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
 
Iraq: U.S. and Iraqi delegates held a third round of discussions (WaPo), the first under President Biden, on the United States’ troop presence in Iraq. In a joint statement afterward, they said U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq are now “focused on training and advisory tasks” and that U.S. combat troops can be redeployed on a to-be-established timeline.

Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi will meet (AFP) with the presidents of five countries in southern African today to discuss insecurity in Mozambique and potential counterterrorism measures. Nyusi said that “terrorists” have been driven out of the town of Palma, the site of a brutal attack by insurgents last month.
 
CFR’s John Campbell explains the growing foreign involvement in countering Mozambique’s insurgency.
 
Rwanda: The country marked the twenty-seventh anniversary of the beginning of its 1994 genocide, in which some eight hundred thousand people were killed (AFP). President Paul Kagame welcomed a recent report that acknowledged France’s partial responsibility for the crisis. France is opening archives that shed light on its role in the genocide.

A lawyer for jailed Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny said her client is losing sensation (RFE/RL) in his hands and has two spinal hernias. The United States emphasized Russia’s responsibility for Navalny’s well-being, Germany urged his release, and watchdog group Amnesty International alleged that he is being held in torturous conditions (DW). Russian officials have maintained that he is receiving adequate care.

The director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Carissa Etienne, said that over half the global COVID-19 deaths reported in the last week had occurred in the Americas (Al Jazeera). Etienne warned that the pandemic has exacerbated long-standing regional inequities.
 
Bolivia: Justice Minister Ivan Lima Magne announced that the country will seek the extradition (MercoPress) of former President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada, who is living in the United States. Sanchez de Lozada is wanted in connection to extrajudicial killings that occurred in 2003—for which U.S. courts have ordered that he pay damages—as well as for corruption.

A court filing by the Justice Department and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) revealed that the parents of 445 migrant children separated from their families under the Donald Trump administration have yet to be located (NYT). Most of the parents are believed to have been deported.