On May 14, Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) elected the region’s agricultural minister Edwin Poots as party leader, The Guardian reported. Poots will replace Arlene Foster, who announced her resignation in April.Â
The 22 investor countries of the Paris Club are reportedly willing to delay the Argentine government’s $2.4 billion debt payment, originally due by May 30, in an effort to avoid a default, Bloomberg reported May 14, citing three unnamed sources with knowledge of Argentina’s negotiations with the Paris Club.Â
Five High Court judges in Kenya ruled the constitution amendment bill, commonly known as the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) bill, was unconstitutional since the process was not started by ordinary citizens, Standard Media reported May 13.
China released its 2020 census on May 11, which put the country’s population at 1.412 billion, up from 1.339 billion in 2010, Nikkei Asia has reported.
Hong Kong authorities froze all assets belonging to jailed pro-democracy figure and media tycoon Jimmy Lai, marking the first-time use of such powers under the city’s national security law, the South China Morning Post reported May 14, citing unnamed government officials.Â
The Japanese government made the surprise decision to add three more prefectures to the May 16-31 COVID-19 state of emergency, which now also includes Hokkaido, Okayama and Hiroshima, Asahi Shimbun reported May 14.
U.S. President Joe Biden signed an executive order to improve several areas of U.S. cybersecurity, including by setting software standards and modernizing encryption/authentication procedures, Politico reported May 12.Â
The Israeli military reported on May 13 that three rockets fired from Lebanon landed in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of northern Israel.
Several major Brazilian cities are facing vaccine shortages as shipments of raw materials needed to produce China’s SinoVac vaccine remain held up at Chinese ports, the AP reported May 12.
South Korean President Moon Jae In’s administration on May 13 revealed a $450 billion plan to boost semiconductor research and manufacturing over the next 10 years, during which the value of South Korean chip exports is expected to double to $200 billion, Bloomberg reported.
