“The Biden administration said Monday that Russia has abruptly and without explanation postponed the scheduled resumption of arms control talks this week,” the AP reports.

“Iran’s supreme leader on Saturday urged a unit of the country’s plainclothes militia to step up action against protesters, in remarks that could escalate a crackdown on months-long anti-regime unrest,” Bloomberg reports.

“The protests that erupted against China’s Covid Zero strategy represent one of the most significant challenges to Communist Party rule since the Tiananmen crisis more than 30 years ago. How Xi Jinping responds to it may end up being just as pivotal for the country’s future,” Bloomberg reports.

“From the capital Beijing to the far western outpost of Kashgar, Chinese residents frustrated by lockdowns and mass-testing campaigns have taken to the streets in recent days to urge change. In Shanghai — stricken by a grueling two-month Covid clampdown earlier this year — one crowd called for Xi to step down, defying the risk of a long prison term. Demonstrations ranged from a few people to street rallies of hundreds.”

Yuan Yang: “Beijing could wait out the protests. But on everything else, time is against it. The healthcare system is creaking under the mass testing of millions of people every day, and people’s livelihoods are eroding as the economy stalls. Yet lifting restrictions could lead to more than 1mn Covid deaths, due to the low vaccination rate among the elderly.”