Despite tensions in other parts of their relationship, the United States and China—the world’s top two carbon emitters—agreed to combat the climate crisis with “seriousness and urgency” (NYT), according to a joint statement. While the agreement included few specific commitments, the countries vowed to discuss further emissions reductions and help poorer countries develop low-carbon energy sources. 

The Saturday announcement followed talks (AP) between U.S. President Joe Biden’s climate envoy, John Kerry, and his Chinese counterpart, Xie Zhenhua, in Shanghai. It comes amid a climate diplomacy push by the Biden administration. Biden has invited forty world leaders for a two-day climate summit (Guardian) beginning on Thursday, which is Earth Day. Chinese President Xi Jinping is among the invitees, though it is still unclear if he will attend.

New Zealand’s foreign minister, Nanaia Mahuta, said the country would be “uncomfortable” (CNA) with expanding the ambit of the Five Eyes intelligence group, which has been criticized by China. The other Five Eyes members are the United States, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

The head of Myanmar’s military junta, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, is expected to attend a special meeting (Al Jazeera) of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Indonesia on Saturday. It will be his first foreign trip since Myanmar’s February 1 coup. Myanmar’s national unity government, recently created by ousted lawmakers and coup opponents, has called for a seat at the summit instead. 

CFR’s Joshua Kurlantzick explains ASEAN’s Myanmar crisis. 

Pakistan: Following talks with the government, Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), a far-right religious party, released eleven police officers (Dawn) it had taken hostage. TLP activists have violently clashed with police (WaPo) in recent days, demanding the release of the party’s arrested leader and the expulsion of the French ambassador to Pakistan.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced that Mohammad Hosseinzadeh Hejazi, a high-ranking officer responsible for Iran’s regional military efforts and internal security, died at sixty-five (RFE/RL) of heart disease. Hejazi had served as the deputy commander of the IRGC’s elite Quds Force.

Israel: The government ended its mandate (Haaretz) for people to wear face masks outside after extensive vaccination led to fewer than one hundred new COVID-19 cases per day.

Eritrea acknowledged for the first time that it has troops in Ethiopia’s Tigray region (Al Jazeera) who have been helping the Ethiopian federal government fight the Tigray People’s Liberation Front. Eritrea’s ambassador to the United Nations said the country agreed to withdraw its forces after a top UN official said they were committing atrocities in the region.

Uganda: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced visa restrictions (East African) on Ugandan officials believed to be involved in “undermining the democratic process.” A U.S. statement cited harassment of opposition candidates and violence by security forces around Uganda’s general election in January.

Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny will be transferred to a hospital (RFE/RL) in a prison near the one where he is currently being held, Russia’s prison service announced. People close to Nalavny have issued increasingly dire warnings about his health. He has been on a hunger strike for weeks to protest his treatment in prison. 

Czech Republic: The government blamed Russian operatives for explosions at a munitions depot near the village of Vlachovice in 2014 and expelled eighteen Russian diplomats (NYT). Moscow announced it would expel twenty Czech officials in response.

Raul Castro is expected to formally step down (NYT) as the head of the Communist Party of Cuba before the end of a party conference today following an announcement of his decision on Friday. His departure will leave Cuba without a member of the Castro family in power for the first time in more than sixty years.

Argentina: Protesters in Buenos Aires rallied against the government’s new COVID-19 restrictions (Buenos Aires Times), including school closures, for the city.

Just over half of U.S. adults (WaPo), about 130 million people, have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). About 84 million adults have been fully vaccinated. 

This CFR Backgrounder looks at global COVID-19 vaccine efforts.