The Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) held a 1.6 percent lead (FT) over the ruling center-right Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) and another party the CDU is allied with in preliminary results of the country’s parliamentary elections. Strong showings by the Greens and the pro-business Free Democratic Party suggest lengthy coalition talks could be in store (Economist) for the biggest economy in the European Union (EU). Until a new government is formed, Angela Merkel, of the CDU, will remain Germany’s chancellor.
 
Merkel’s alliance earned the worst national result in its history, while the Greens earned their best, at 14.8 percent of the vote. Both the CDU and the SPD said they will try to form a government (DW).

A foreign ministry spokesperson said President Xi Jinping personally gave orders (Bloomberg) regarding the case of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou, who Canada released from house arrest on Friday after Meng’s nearly three-year extradition fight with the United States. Shortly after her release, China released two Canadians it had detained on spying charges.
 
China: Health authorities announced that they aim to reduce abortions (WaPo) in a new policy document on women’s health, which comes as China seeks to revive its birth rate. It was not immediately clear whether they aim to improve access to contraception or restrict access to abortion.

An umbrella body of over forty farmers unions organized nationwide protests (India Today) to mark the one-year anniversary of Parliament approving contentious agricultural reform laws (BBC).
 
For Foreign Affairs, Surupa Gupta and Sumit Ganguly argue that the agricultural reforms were long overdue.
 
Afghanistan: Ghulam Isaczai, the UN ambassador for the Afghan government that the Taliban ousted last month, is set to address the UN General Assembly (Reuters) today.

U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan is traveling to Riyadh today (AP) to meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman about ongoing efforts to support a cease-fire in Yemen.
 
This Backgrounder looks at the war in Yemen.
 
Syria: Russia escalated air strikes against Turkey-backed rebels in northwestern Syria, killing at least five fighters, Reuters reports. Moscow backs President Bashar al-Assad’s government in Syria’s civil war. Iran, Russia, and Turkey are due to meet (Bloomberg) about Syria on Wednesday.

The protesters, who objected to the terms of a peace deal signed last year, reached a tentative agreement with the transitional government and said they will stop blocking (BBC) two pipelines that handled oil imports and exports.
 
Rwanda: Theoneste Bagosora, a former senior military officer serving a life sentence for his role in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, died at age eighty (AFP).

The move aims to facilitate the supply of fuel (BBC) to gas stations after a shortage of truck drivers prompted panic buying.

The two countries reportedly agreed to a six-month deal (Reuters) in which Venezuela will swap heavy oil for Iranian condensate.
 
This Backgrounder explains how dependence on oil has fueled a crisis in Venezuela.
 
Chile: The United Nations condemned arson attacks (MercoPress) that occurred during an anti-immigrant march in northern Chile and called on the country to respect immigrants’ rights.

Tens of thousands of health-care workers could lose their jobs (NYT) if they do not receive a COVID-19 vaccine by today.