Key Storylines
- AFRICA: Libya’s east-based army rounded up at least 50 people in the coastal city of Derna following a prison escape earlier this year.
- AMERICAS: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced the resumption of talks with the opposition, which were halted five months ago after the extradition of a presidential ally.
- ASIA: Chinese President Xi Jinping described the situation in Ukraine as worrying and called for “maximum restraint,” saying the priority should be preventing the situation there from spinning out of control.
- EUROPE: Russia threatened to close its main gas pipeline to Germany if Western countries institute a ban on Russian oil.
- MIDDLE EAST: Iran successfully placed a military satellite in orbit, as talks on reviving a 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and major powers reach a critical stage.
- TECH & COMMUNICATIONS: Google reported that Belarus conducted widespread phishing attacks against Ukrainian and Polish officials ahead of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Top Story
- Ukraine: Ukrainians escape Sumy in the first evacuation corridor agreed with Russia.
- Ukrainians boarded buses to flee the besieged city of Sumy, the first evacuation from a Ukrainian city through a humanitarian corridor agreed with Russia.
- An airstrike killed at least twenty-one people, including two children, in the Ukrainian city of Sumy, where a humanitarian corridor was set up for evacuation purposes.
- Ukraine has confirmed that the corridor out of Sumy is open and that buses are en route to collect evacuees from Mariupol.
- Ukrainian officials said that strikes overnight in Sumy hit residential buildings, killing civilians.
- Ukraine also accused Russia of violating a humanitarian corridor aimed at enabling civilians to leave the beleaguered southern port city of Mariupol.
- The UN said that more than two million people have fled Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion less than two weeks ago.
- Reuters, AFP, DW, NBC News, AlJazeera, Axios
Africa
- Libya: The east-based army rounded up at least 50 people in the coastal city of Derna following a prison escape earlier this year. (WaPo)
- Nigeria: A separatism activist who fled the country to avoid arrest was given conditional release from prison in neighboring Benin eight months after he was detained there. (AFP)
- South Sudan: The UN and US urged national leaders to do more to prepare for elections due to be held in less than a year or risk “catastrophe.” (AFP)
- Tunisia: Ennahda party leader Noureddine Bhairi was released from house arrest, where he had been detained since December under suspicion of terrorism. (Reuters)
- Uganda: The United States is shipping 840,000 doses of Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine to the country through an international initiative for humanitarian crises. (AFP)
Americas
- Region: A delegation of US officials visited Venezuela this weekend to discuss the possibility of easing sanctions on Venezuelan oil as the Biden administration weighs a ban on Russian fossil fuels. (WaPo)
- Nicaragua: UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelett urged the government of President Daniel Ortega to re-establish fair elections and said she was “concerned” about the country’s lack of accountability for repeated human rights violations. (Reuters)
- United States: Guantanamo Bay prisoner Mohammad Ahmad al-Qahtani was repatriated to Saudi Arabia after 20 years in custody. (AP)
- United States: Congress gave final approval to legislation that would make lynching a federal hate crime in the US. (AP)
- Venezuela: President Nicolas Maduro announced the resumption of talks with the opposition, which were halted five months ago after the extradition of a presidential ally. (AFP)
Asia
- China: President Xi Jinping described the situation in Ukraine as worrying and called for “maximum restraint,” saying the priority should be preventing the situation there from spinning out of control. (Reuters)
- Japan: The Ministry of Finance announced an asset freeze on an additional 32 Russian and Belarusian officials and oligarchs. (Reuters)
- North Korea: Commercial satellite imagery shows construction at the Punggye-ri nuclear testing site for the first time since it was closed in 2018. (Reuters)
- Pakistan: Police said a bomb exploded near a government building in Balochistan, killing at least three people and wounding 28 others. (AP)
- South Korea: The country’s number of critical and severe cases of COVID-19 reached a two-month high, while the daily caseload remained above 200,000 for the fifth day in a row. (Yonhap)
Europe
- Region: Russia threatened to close its main gas pipeline to Germany if Western countries institute a ban on Russian oil. (BBC)
- Russia: The ruling United Russia party proposed nationalizing the facilities of companies that have left the country following the invasion of Ukraine. (Interfax)
- Spain: Authorities say around 1,000 migrants tried unsuccessfully to climb over the barrier separating Morocco from one of the country’s African enclaves. (AP)
- Ukraine: Military intelligence sources reported the death of Major General Vitaly Gerasimov, the second Russian general killed during the invasion. (Reuters)
- United Kingdom: London police investigating the 2008 murder of a Norwegian student said they made an arrest, as they urged a Yemeni suspect who fled the country to give himself up. (AFP)
Middle East
- Region: Israeli President Isaac Herzog will visit Turkey on Wednesday at the invitation of President Tayyip Erdogan, the most senior Israeli visit since 2008 as the regional rivals work to mend years of strained ties. (Reuters)
- Afghanistan: The country marked International Women’s Day in muted fashion with activists cowed by the threat of arrest or detention at the hands of the country’s new Taliban rulers. (AFP)
- Iran: The country successfully placed a military satellite in orbit, as talks on reviving a 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and major powers reach a critical stage. (AFP)
- Israel: The military demolished the homes of two Palestinians accused of carrying out a deadly shooting attack in the occupied West Bank last year. (AP)
- Syria: The United States reported that Russia is trying to recruit Syrians to fight in Ukraine. (The Guardian)
Tech & Communications
- Cybersecurity: Google reported that Belarus conducted widespread phishing attacks against Ukrainian and Polish officials ahead of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. (WaPo)
World
- Cyclones: Nothing to Report.
- Hurricanes: Nothing to Report.
- Earthquakes: Nothing to Report.
- Volcanoes: Nothing to Report.
- Global Disease Outbreaks:
- COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease: Global (as of 08MAR22)
- Confirmed cases: 448,030,162
- Deaths: 6,008,440
- Countries with confirmed cases: 192
- Sourcing: John Hopkins University
- COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease: Global (as of 08MAR22)
Tomorrow’s Outlook (09MAR22)
- Algeria: Visit by US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman. (to 10MAR)
- China: Beijing Winter Paralympic Games. (to 13MAR)
- China: National People’s Congress.
- Europe: Visit by US Vice President Kamala Harris to Poland and Romania. (to 11MAR)
- Germany: Visit by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
- Israel: 30th anniversary of former PM Menachem Begin’s death.
- South Korea: Presidential elections.
- Turkey: Visit by Israeli President Isaac Herzog. (to 10MAR)
- United States: Visit by UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss for talks on Russia and Ukraine.
- United States: House Committee on Foreign Affairs closed briefing on Russia and Ukraine.
- United States: First Lady Jill Biden visits Nevada and Kentucky.
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