The death toll from COVID-19 in Brazil topped four hundred thousand (LAHT) as a slow vaccine rollout hampers the country’s ability to control its outbreak. Brazil trails only the United States in total deaths from the disease and now accounts for about 13 percent of global deaths, despite having only 3 percent of the world’s population. Less than 7 percent of people in Brazil are fully vaccinated (NPR), partly due to a shortage of vaccine supplies.

President Jair Bolsonaro has faced criticism for dismissing the severity of the disease and opposing lockdown measures; a legislative panel investigating his pandemic response convened today (MercoPress) for the first time. The continued devastation in Brazil, India, and other countries has increased pressure on the Joe Biden administration to expand global COVID-19 vaccine access. Some U.S. lawmakers have called on Biden to support a waiver for vaccine intellectual property (Bloomberg) that India and South Africa proposed at the World Trade Organization (WTO). The WTO is slated to hold a meeting on the issue today.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in will meet with President Biden (Yonhap) in Washington on May 21, the countries announced. A spokesperson for the South Korean government said the leaders will discuss the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, trade, climate change, and the pandemic.

CFR’s Scott A. Snyder explains the recent U.S.-South Korea cost-sharing deal and the challenges that remain for the alliance.

Hong Kong: Pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong and three others pleaded guilty (SCMP) to participating in an illegal assembly last June that commemorated the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. Wong is already serving a prison sentence after being convicted for his involvement in Hong Kong’s 2019 protests.

India reported more than three thousand deaths (Hindu) from COVID-19 for the third consecutive day, and its daily case count is nearing four hundred thousand. Dozens of countries are supplying India with aid (Straits Times), including oxygen and medicine. 

This photo essay illustrates India’s crisis.

Pakistan: The government recalled its ambassador (AP) to Saudi Arabia after Pakistani workers there complained about mistreatment from Pakistan’s embassy in Riyadh.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas postponed parliamentary elections (Al Jazeera) scheduled for next month due to a dispute over voting in Israel-controlled East Jerusalem and tensions within his Fatah party. The delay of the elections, which would have been the territories’ first in fifteen years, sparked protests and is opposed by Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza.

Israel: Dozens of people were killed and more than 150 were injured in a stampede (Haaretz) at a massive religious gathering in northern Israel. 

The Kenyan government informed the UN refugee agency that it will close two refugee camps (Al Jazeera) by next June. The Dadaab and Kakuma camps house more than four hundred thousand refugees and asylum seekers who are mostly from Somalia and South Sudan. 

This interactive explores the global refugee crisis. 

Nigeria: A bandit chief responsible for kidnapping hundreds of schoolchildren has reneged on an amnesty deal, sources told AFP, striking a blow to Nigeria’s efforts to control crime and violence in its northwest.

The eurozone economy shrank by 0.6 percent (NYT) in the first quarter of this year, officially reentering recession, as the pandemic forced governments to prolong lockdown measures. The U.S. economy, meanwhile, grew 1.6 percent over the same period.

Germany: The Federal Constitutional Court ruled that Germany’s 2019 climate law was partly unconstitutional (Politico) because it placed much of the burden of emissions cuts on future generations. Climate activists celebrated the ruling.

Pedro Castillo Terrones, the left-leaning front-runner in Peru’s presidential race, suspended his campaign (Bloomberg), citing health issues. Castillo tweeted that he was diagnosed with a throat infection. He tested positive for COVID-19 in January and stopped campaigning for a month.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it will move to ban menthol cigarettes (AP) and flavored cigars, responding to pressure from groups that argue that they harm young people and minorities. A ban will likely take years to implement and could be challenged by tobacco companies.