The death of Archbishop and Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu yesterday at the age of ninety prompted a week of mourning (Guardian) in South Africa and homages from leaders around the globe. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Tutu was “an inspiration to generations” (AP), and the Dalai Lama called him a “true humanitarian.”

Tutu advocated for nonviolent mobilization (NYT) in South Africa’s anti-apartheid movement through his oratory as an Anglican preacher, winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for his work. He later helped preside over the country’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which investigated the crimes of apartheid. Known for his sense of humor as well as his global human rights advocacy, Tutu continued to criticize inequality in South Africa long after the apartheid era.

Ma Xingrui, the former governor of Guangdong Province, replaced Chen Quanguo (Bloomberg), whom Washington sanctioned for his role in the repression of Uyghurs and other Muslims in the Xinjiang region. Ma said he will not allow a reversal of the region’s “hard-won stability.”

Japan: Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Japan will not send a government delegation (Kyodo) to the Beijing Olympics, citing human rights issues in China. 

This timeline looks at the history of politics and protest at the Olympics.

At least thirty-five civilians were reportedly killed (Al Jazeera) in an attack in the country’s east. A monitoring group and local media said military troops were responsible. 

Afghanistan: The Taliban dissolved two election commissions (AP) and government ministries for peace and parliamentary affairs.

The Saudi-led coalition said Saturday that it hit a Houthi rebel camp (Al Jazeera) in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, and that it is preparing for a “large-scale military operation.” Three people were killed, medics said. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia blamed Houthis for an attack that killed two people in the Saudi region of Jazan.

Israel: Prime Minister Naftali Bennett unveiled a more than $300 million plan to double the population (AFP) of Jewish settlers in the Golan Heights.

An assistant information minister called the move an “indirect coup.” President Mohamed Farmaajo and Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble had accused each other (Reuters) of holding up ongoing parliamentary elections.

Washington and protesters in Poland opposed the bill (Bloomberg), which would have forced U.S. media giant Discovery Inc. to sell most of Poland’s most popular private television network.

Russia: Russia’s defense ministry said it will withdraw (AFP) ten thousand troops from near the border with Ukraine due to their completion of military drills. Kyiv estimates the number of Russian troops near the border to be around 104,000.

CFR’s Stephen Sestanovich grades U.S. President Joe Biden’s response to the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

More than thirty-five thousand people in northwestern Brazil have been displaced (CNN) from their homes, local officials said. 

Canada: Canada granted permanent residency (Bloomberg) to more than 401,000 people in 2021, its highest annual total on record.

The destruction in the United States cost at least $65 billion (Axios), according to the United Kingdom–based charity Christian Aid. The ten most costly climate disasters caused a combined $170.3 billion in damages.

This webinar discusses climate resilience strategies.