Key Storylines
- AFRICA: The Ethiopian Federal Ministry of Health reported 570 new COVID-19 cases over the last 24 hours, bringing the national count to 141,453.
- AMERICAS: The Biden administration announced it was immediately suspending Trump-era asylum agreements with El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, part of a bid to undo the Trump administration’s hardline immigration policies.
- ASIA: Thousands of Indian farmers cut off some of the country’s main highways to protest against new agricultural laws, alleging the new laws will benefit big businesses and leave agricultural workers at their mercy.
- EUROPE: Opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya has designated February 7 the Day of Solidarity with Belarus, calling on international leaders, activists, journalists, and all friends of the country to support protesters who have been demanding the resignation of strong man Alyaksandr Lukashenka and new elections.
- MIDDLE EAST: The United Nations special envoy on Yemen is visiting Iran for the first time to discuss Yemen’s crisis, Iranian state TV reported, days after Washington announced an end to its support for Saudi-led military operations in Yemen.
- TECH & COMMUNICATIONS: The lander and rover of the Chang’e-4 probe have resumed work for their 27th lunar day on the far side of the moon.
Top Story
- Myanmar: Anti-Coup protests continue in the aftermath of the military seizing power.
- Tens of thousands have protested for a second day in Myanmar’s main city, Yangon, thwarting the military’s attempt to stop anti-coup rallies by imposing an internet shutdown.
- Myanmar’s teleoperator MPT, jointly owned and controlled by the government, has temporarily reestablished internet connection in the country as demonstrations protesting this week’s military coup continued in Yangon.
- Myanmar’s State Administration Council changed the name of the President’s Office into the Office of State Administration Council, in a new order.
- The US Embassy called on the military to give up power and restore the democratically elected government, release those detained, lift all telecommunications restrictions, and refrain from violence.
- Reporting: BBC, EFE, Xinhua, Telegraph,
Africa
- Ethiopia: The Federal Ministry of Health reported 570 new COVID-19 cases over the last 24 hours, bringing the national count to 141,453. (Xinhua)
- Libya: The nation’s Central Committee for Municipal Council Elections (CCMCE) announced the holding of municipal elections in the capital city of Tripoli. (Xinhua)
- Tunisia: The Health Ministry recorded 1,064 additional COVID-19 cases, raising the total number of infections in the country to 216,176. (Xinhua)
Americas
- Region: The Biden administration announced it was immediately suspending Trump-era asylum agreements with El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, part of a bid to undo the Trump administration’s hardline immigration policies. (Reuters)
- Ecuador: Sixteen candidates are vying to succeed President Lenín Moreno, an ally turned-rival of former President Rafael Correa, as the next leader of the South American nation. (AP)
- Haiti: A group of U.S. lawmakers, including Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the current president pro tempore of the Senate, is asking the Biden administration to end support of President Jovenel Moïse and back a transition government to run Haiti. (Miami Herald)
- United States: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it had distributed 59,304,600 doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the United States and that 39,037,964 doses had been administered as of now. (Reuters)
Asia
- China: The nation’s National Medical Products Administration has approved the Covid-19 vaccine developed by Sinovac; the company announced in a statement. (EFE)
- India: Thousands of farmers cut off some of the country’s main highways to protest against new agricultural laws, alleging the new laws will benefit big businesses and leave agricultural workers at their mercy. (EFE)
- India: As many as 150 people were feared dead in the northern part of the nation after a Himalayan glacier broke and swept away a hydroelectric dam, with floods forcing the evacuation of villages downstream. (Reuters)
- Philippines: A strong earthquake with a 6.3 magnitude struck the southern province of Davao del Sur, with damage and aftershocks expected, the nation’s seismology agency reported. (Reuters)
Europe
- Belarus: Opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya has designated February 7th the Day of Solidarity with the nation, calling on international leaders, activists, journalists, and all friends of the country to support protesters who have been demanding the resignation of strong man Alyaksandr Lukashenka and new elections. (RFE)
- Russia: The nation’s COVID-19 cases rose by 16,048 in the past day, the lowest since October 22, and the total case tally hit 3,967,281, the anti-COVID-19 crisis center announced. (TASS)
- United Kingdom: The government plans to tax retailers and tech companies whose profits have soared during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Sunday Times reported, citing leaked emails. (Reuters)
Middle East
- Region: The United Nations special envoy on Yemen is visiting Iran for the first time to discuss Yemen’s crisis, Iranian state TV reported, days after Washington announced an end to its support for Saudi-led military operations in Yemen. (Reuters)
- Egypt: President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has announced support to a transitional government that would govern neighboring Libya through elections late this year. (AP)
- Iran: The foreign minister has asked Washington to act fast to return to the 2015 nuclear deal in an interview released in an Iranian newspaper. (RFE)
- Iraq: The Yazidi community in the northern region has brought home 104 of its members who were killed by the Islamic State group during its reign of terror in 2014. (BBC)
Tech & Communications
- Space: The lander and rover of the Chang’e-4 probe have resumed work for their 27th lunar day on the far side of the moon. (Xinhua)
World
- Cyclones:
- Tropical Cyclone Faraji
- Location:14.9S 79.9E
- Movement: ESE
- Wind:130 mph
- Map
- Tropical Cyclone Faraji
- Hurricanes: Nothing to report
- Earthquakes: Nothing to report
- Volcanoes: Nothing to report
- Global Disease Outbreaks:
- COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease: Global (as of 05FEB21)
- Confirmed cases: 105,829,290
- Total recovered cases: 58,948,931
- Deaths: 2,310,605
- Countries with confirmed cases: 192
- Sourcing: John Hopkins University
- COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease: Global (as of 05FEB21)
Tomorrow’s Outlook (08FEB21)
- Americas: IMF Latin America and the Caribbean Economic Regional Outlook Report press conference.
- Europe: Parliament plenary session starts.
- Israel: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears in a corruption trial.
- Somalia: Presidential elections.
END
