A Venezuelan opposition alliance and the Norwegian government urged President Nicolas Maduro’s government (Reuters) to return to talks it suspended following Colombian businessman Alex Saab’s extradition from Cape Verde to the United States. Saab, a Venezuelan envoy and ally of Maduro, is expected to appear (FT) in a Miami court today on money laundering charges.
 
The Norwegian-sponsored negotiations in Mexico were designed to ease (DW) Venezuela’s political and humanitarian crisis. In addition to walking out, the Maduro government revoked the house arrest of six former executives of a U.S. subsidiary of the country’s state oil company and moved them to a prison.

Powell died today (CNN), his family said. His four-decade career in public service included roles as national security advisor, under President Ronald Reagan, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, under Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, and secretary of state, under President George W. Bush. He was the first Black American to serve in those positions.

In this 2004 article for Foreign Affairs, Powell examined how U.S. foreign policy strategy focused on partnerships.

Greek police detained two protesters (Reuters) who displayed a Tibetan flag and a “Free Hong Kong” banner at the flame lighting in Athens.
 
This In Brief examines the debate over boycotting the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
 
Japan: An Osaka court will decide whether anti-Korean pamphlets distributed in an office amount to hate speech (Bloomberg), a rare pushback against ethnic discrimination in Japan.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) invited a nonpolitical representative (Reuters) from Myanmar, rather than the leader of the military junta, to attend a summit later this month. 
 
This Backgrounder explains ASEAN.
 
Afghanistan: The U.S. Department of Defense said it will pay (NYT) the relatives of the ten civilians mistakenly killed in the last U.S. drone strike before American troops withdrew from Afghanistan.

The Syrian government and opposition groups will meet in Geneva (Al Jazeera) this week with aims of drafting provisions for a new constitution.
 
Yemen: Houthi rebels seized five districts (Reuters) in the Marib and Shabwa Governorates, leaving the internationally recognized government in control of only one city and one district in the governorates.

The cabinet is meeting today (BBC) in response to demonstrations over the weekend in which protesters said the post-dictatorship interim government had failed them.
 
Cape Verde: Opposition candidate and former Prime Minister Jose Maria Neves won the country’s presidential election (Reuters) yesterday.

Peter Marki-Zay, a conservative mayor, won the second round of primaries (WaPo) against a left-wing opponent. He will face off next year against Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has been in power for more than a decade.
 
France: President Emmanuel Macron became the first French head of state to take part (AFP) in a ceremony commemorating the 1961 police killings of pro–Algerian independence demonstrators, saying the incident was “unforgivable.”

Five children were among (CNN) those kidnapped, a U.S.-based Christian charity organization said.