U.S. President Joe Biden heads to Brussels today (NYT) in his first international trip since Russia invaded Ukraine. He is set to announce new sanctions on Russian lawmakers and meet with leaders from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and European Union.
 
Meanwhile, Ukraine and Russia agreed to try to evacuate civilians (Reuters) through nine humanitarian corridors, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister said. No corridor was agreed for the besieged port city of Mariupol, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said has been left in “ruins” (RFE/RL). Ukrainian forces said they drove Russian forces out of a Kyiv suburb. A Kremlin spokesperson said yesterday (CNN) that Russia will not rule out using nuclear weapons in the conflict if faced with an “existential threat.”   

The country will stop requiring (Guardian) vaccine passes and mandates for some workers in early April, when virus cases are expected to peak outside the capital city of Auckland.
 
South Korea: One in five South Koreans has been infected (Yonhap) with COVID-19 over the course of the pandemic, and a spike in cases prompted by the omicron variant could still have yet to peak, health officials said

At the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit in Islamabad, Pakistan, Prime Minister Imran Khan urged foreign ministers (Dawn) from OIC countries to help bring about a cease-fire in Ukraine. China’s foreign minister attended the summit (Al Jazeera) for the first time.
 
Afghanistan: The Taliban suspended a plan (Reuters) to open high schools for girls, saying schools would remain closed to girls until the Taliban plan an opening consistent with Islamic law and Afghan culture.
 
This Backgrounder explains sharia and the intersection of Islam and the law.

Secretary of Foreign Affairs Marcelo Ebrard will visit (Reuters) Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and India to discuss rising energy prices and food supply strains, as well as investment opportunities.
 
Israel: Police said an Arab citizen of Israel killed four non-Arabs (Times of Israel) and wounded two others at an outdoor shopping mall in the city of Beersheba before a civilian reportedly shot and killed him.

The announcement of what would be the world’s second-biggest urea fertilizer plant comes as the war in Ukraine threatens global fertilizer supplies (Bloomberg).
 
South Africa: Drivers for ride-hailing services such as Uber went on strike (News24) in cities across Gauteng Province, calling for more government regulation of their industry and support for their wages amid a rise in fuel prices.

The rollback of tariffs implemented by the Donald Trump administration is set to go into effect (BBC) on June 1. The United Kingdom (UK) will suspend retaliatory tariffs on U.S. products such as bourbon and Levi’s jeans.
 
This Backgrounder lays out the truth about tariffs.

The progressive New Democratic Party said it will back (CBC) the ruling Liberal Party on crucial confidence and budget votes, and the Liberals agreed to prioritize issues including health care and climate change.
 
Argentina: The country and Paris Club creditors agreed to extend a deadline (Bloomberg) for renegotiation of Argentina’s $2 billion of debt until July.

The subvariant had accounted for (NBC) only 23 percent of U.S. cases last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported. Top government infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci said Americans should expect a case “uptick” (AP) similar to the one happening in Europe.
 
This In Brief discusses when COVID-19 will become endemic.