U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (AFP) in Kyiv today and called on Moscow to maintain “a diplomatic and peaceful path” amid mounting fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine. Blinken will meet with envoys from France, Germany, and the United Kingdom (UK) tomorrow in Berlin and with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday in Geneva.
 
Lavrov met with (Politico) his German counterpart, Annalena Baerbock, in Moscow yesterday. Lavrov repeated his insistence that the West respond to Russia’s security demands, while Baerbock said Germany is ready for “a serious dialogue on mutual agreements.” Meanwhile, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Germany will consider halting (Politico) the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline if Russia attacks Ukraine.     

The mandatory app that athletes will use to register their health data has serious encryption flaws (NYT), according to the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab. The research lab said it notified the Beijing Organising Committee of the issues but received no response.
 
Thailand: Two former ministers formed a new political party (Bloomberg) focused on reviving the country’s economy in the wake of the pandemic, signaling that elections could occur later this year.

President Nursultan Nazarbayev led Kazakhstan for three decades and was a target of protesters’ ire earlier this month. In a video statement, he denied any conflict (RFE/RL) with his successor, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who publicly criticized his leadership last week.
 
India/Sri Lanka: Amid Sri Lanka’s mounting debt crisis, India offered the country a $400 million currency swap (Nikkei) and a two-month deferral on a $515 million loan that it owes a network of regional central banks.

The airline Emirates will suspend flights (Reuters) to nine U.S. destinations over safety concerns related to potential interference by 5G networks. Japan Airlines and Korean Air will temporarily stop using Boeing 777s after the company issued an advisory for the planes.
 
Palestinian territories: Israeli authorities evicted a Palestinian family (Times of Israel) in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah and demolished their home. Jerusalem’s deputy mayor said a school for Palestinians will be built on the plot.

South African–born billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong opened a plant (AFP) in Cape Town that aims to produce COVID-19 vaccines “within the year” and manufacture one billion doses annually by 2025.
 
This Backgrounder looks at global COVID-19 vaccine efforts.
 
Sudan: New U.S. Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa David Satterfield arrived in Sudan (Bloomberg) for talks. He is expected to urge the military to end its violent crackdown and respect freedom of expression.
 
CFR’s Michelle Gavin lays out what to know about the crisis in Sudan.

As many as eleven lawmakers from Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s party submitted no confidence letters related to Johnson’s attending parties during the pandemic lockdown, the Telegraph reported. Johnson was questioned in Parliament today.

Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley is expected to win (Guardian) today’s snap general elections, Barbados’s first since abandoning British Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state.
 
This In Brief examines Queen Elizabeth’s global role.
 
Colombia: Former Senator Ingrid Betancourt announced that she will run for president (NYT). Betancourt was captured by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) when she last ran for president in 2002 and was held for more than six years. 

President Joe Biden will hold his second-ever formal news conference (CNN) today at the White House, where he is expected to face questions about his administration’s pandemic response and the economy.