The United States sets in motion a complete military withdrawal from Afghanistan, dozens of world leaders are invited to a U.S.-led climate summit, and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga meets with President Joe Biden at the White House.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is slated to travel to Israel; talks on reviving the Iran nuclear deal continue in Vienna, Austria; and Peru holds a general election.

Top security officials from Japan and South Korea meet with the new U.S. national security advisor, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank host their annual Spring Meetings virtually, and European Union officials convene with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Extreme weather events ramp up in Australia and the United States; Myanmar’s military junta marks Armed Forces Day; and leaders from Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay convene for a virtual trade summit.

Israel holds its fourth election in two years, the United States faces a mounting migration crisis at its border with Mexico, and Germany’s chancellor, Angela Merkel, meets with regional premiers.

Syrians mark the tenth anniversary of the start of the civil war; leaders from Australia, India, Japan, and the United States convene virtually for the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue; and the United Kingdom reviews its defense and foreign policy after Brexit.

China’s national legislature and its top political advisory body meet in tandem, Pope Francis travels to Iraq as the country deals with COVID-19 and security concerns, and International Women’s Day is celebrated around the globe.

The United States assumes the presidency of the UN Security Council, with Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield newly confirmed as the U.S. permanent representative to the United Nations; the U.S. intelligence community releases a report on the Jamal Khashoggi killing; and a political crisis deepens in the country of Georgia.

The COVID-19 death toll approaches five hundred thousand in the United States. Also, President Biden formally rejoins the Paris Agreement on climate and addresses world leaders at the virtual Munich Security Conference.

Defense ministers of NATO countries meet virtually to discuss withdrawing from Afghanistan; the UN Security Council debates the war in Yemen following the Biden administration’s policy shift; and spacecraft from China, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States enters Mars’s orbit.