Situation Reports

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.

Azeri soldiers early on May 12 crossed approximately two miles into southern Armenian territory before trying to surround Sev Lake, which straddles the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, bne IntelliNews has reported.

Colonial Pipeline restarted its main pipeline system at 5 p.m. Eastern time, the company announced in a statement late May 12. The company added that it would take "several days" for normal service to resume, and that the system may experience intermittent outages during the startup period.

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido on May 11 proposed an agreement that would see Caracas agreeing to hold free and fair elections in exchange for the lifting of U.S. sanctions, Reuters reported May 11.

The governments of the Indian states of Maharashtra, Odisha, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Telangana, among others, have placed global tenders for COVID-19 vaccines as domestic supplies fail to meet growing demand, Asian Age reported May 12. 

Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez on May 11 said that despite having formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, the country could open a trade office in China in a bid for a "diplomatic bridge" that could incentivize China to send vaccines to Honduras, the South China Morning Post reported May 12.

Israel and Hamas continued to exchange rocket fire and airstrikes on May 11-12, with Israel targeting office buildings and militant leaders, and Hamas and other militant groups launching barrages of rockets against central and southern Israel, according to various reports.

The U.S. Department of Defense has agreed to seek a settlement with Xiaomi to remove the Chinese tech company from a government blacklist it was recently added to over the firm’s alleged connections to the Chinese military, Reuters reported May 11.

The European Union, led by France, is preparing sanctions that target Lebonese politicians deemed to be holding up their country’s government formation process, Reuters reported May 12, citing six unnamed diplomats.