Ukraine defied Russia’s demand (RFE/RL) that it surrender the besieged port city of Mariupol, where residents face acute shortages of food, water, and heat (FT) amid Russian bombardments. At least ten million Ukrainians have been displaced internally (France 24) or have fled abroad as refugees.
 
In Mariupol, the deputy commander of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet became the latest high-ranking Russian officer to be killed (NYT) in Ukraine, while in central Kyiv, a Russian missile strike reduced a mall to rubble and killed more than eight people overnight. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appealed to Israel’s parliament for support over the weekend. U.S. President Joe Biden will speak to his counterparts from France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom today.

Hong Kong will lift flight bans and shorten the quarantine period for passengers on incoming flights in the city’s most dramatic shift yet (Nikkei) away from Beijing’s zero-COVID policy.
 
China: Rescue operations began after a Boeing 737-800 passenger plane with 132 people on board crashed (SCMP) in the southern Guangxi region.

Prak Sokhonn, Cambodia’s foreign minister and an envoy from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), begins a series of meetings (Reuters) with Myanmar’s junta today in hopes of facilitating a peace process the generals agreed to last year.
 
This Backgrounder looks at Myanmar’s troubled history.
 
Australia/India: Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met virtually (Hindustan Times) today. Modi said the countries agreed to hold annual summits, and Australia is expected to announce cooperation on areas including defense and producing rare earth minerals.

The move came after Spain backed Morocco’s plan (Bloomberg) to give Western Sahara more autonomy while still maintaining ultimate control over the territory. Algeria backs the Polisario Front independence movement, which claims control over Western Sahara.
 
Tunisia: Thousands of people in Tunis protested (Al Jazeera) against President Kais Saied, whose opponents accuse him of using the country’s political crisis to consolidate power.
 
For Foreign Affairs, Sarah E. Yerkes writes that Saied’s actions risk an authoritarian regression.

The two-day visit by former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) envoy, sought to plan a pathway to elections (AFP) to return the country to civilian rule.
 
Somalia: Said Abdullahi Deni, the head of oil-rich Puntland State and a critic of Somalia’s current president, announced his candidacy (Bloomberg) in the upcoming presidential election.

The deal is designed to partially replace (Guardian) Germany’s supply of liquefied natural gas from Russia.
 
This In Brief examines Russia’s energy role in Europe.

The messaging app has allegedly been used (MercoPress) to disseminate misinformation in Brazil. Telegram’s founder pledged to improve the app’s procedures, so the Supreme Federal Court judge revoked the ban shortly after it was implemented.
 
Mexico: A new Mexico City airport opens today (AP) amid concerns about its long distance from the city center. The airport is a hallmark project of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s administration.

If confirmed, Ketanji Brown Jackson would be the first Black woman (NYT) to serve on the Supreme Court. If Democrats are united, they can confirm Jackson without any Republican support.