Key Storylines
- AFRICA: The U.N. Security Council asked countries with troops and mercenaries in Libya to withdraw them “without delay” as required by the cease-fire agreement between the country’s warring parties.
- AMERICAS: The city of Minneapolis, Minnesota completed a 27-million-dollar settlement with the family of George Floyd, almost a year after the incident.
- ASIA: In Myanmar, at least two more people have died in protests from police fire, as activists called for more anti-coup protests on the anniversary of the death of a student whose killing in 1988 sparked protests against the government.
- EUROPE: President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky expressed support for the sanctions imposed by the United States against a businessman and former head of Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration Ihor Kolomoisky.
- MIDDLE EAST: A Houthis spokesman stated that the Houthi rebel group rejected the ceasefire plan proposed by the United States special envoy for Yemen, calling it an empty one that biased in favor of the Saudis.
- TECH & COMMUNICATIONS: A US judge demanded Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi be temporarily removed from a government blacklist banning American investment in the company.
Top Story
- United States: Effects of the 2021 American Recovery bill have started taking effect.
- The Treasury Department announced Americans will see the first direct deposits from President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package his weekend.
- The administration ordered another 100 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, growing a national surplus of doses later this year while much of the rest of the world deals with shortages.
- Internal Revenue Service reports that “Additional batches of payments will be sent in the coming weeks by direct deposit and through the mail as a check or debit card. The vast majority of these payments will be by direct deposit.”
- Reporting: Reuters, AP, Bloomberg,
Africa
- Gabon: The first units of China-donated Sinopharm vaccines arrived in Libreville on the first anniversary of the start of the pandemic in the Central African country. (Xinhua)
- Libya: The U.N. Security Council asked countries with troops and mercenaries in the nation to withdraw them “without delay” as required by the cease-fire agreement between the country’s warring parties. (AP)
- Rwanda: The Commonwealth Secretariat of the 54-member Anglophone association announced that the country is ready to host the forthcoming biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) after a one-year delay due to the impact of COVID-19. (Xinhua)
- Somalia: The U.N. Security Council demanded the national government to organize elections “without delay” in a resolution that stressed the rising threat to the country’s security from al-Shabab and other armed opposition groups. (AP)
Americas
- Mexico: President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s MORENA party approved the gubernatorial run of a candidate accused of rape, in a case that has fueled fiery protests and been a source of friction within the ruling party. (Reuters)
- United States: Health officials have recorded the first northern Nevada case of a COVID-19 variant that originated in the United Kingdom, and they are trying to determine if the case was linked to a large gathering in Washoe County that may have spread to others. (AP)
- United States: The city of Minneapolis, Minnesota completed a 27-million-dollar settlement with the family of George Floyd, almost a year after his death at the hands of the police. ( DPA)
Asia
- India: The nation will conduct a deeper review of post-vaccination side effects from the AstraZeneca vaccine next week; although no cases of blood clots have been reported so far. (AFP)
- Myanmar: At least two more people have died in protests from police fire, as activists called for more anti-coup protests on the anniversary of the death of a student whose killing in 1988 sparked protests against the government. (The Guardian)
- New Zealand: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said at an emotional memorial service marking two years since the Christchurch mosque attacks that the country had “a duty” to help its Muslim community. (AFP)
- Philippines: The nation has recorded its first case of the highly contagious COVID-19 variant first identified in Brazil, the health ministry reported. (Reuters)
- South Korea: The nation recorded a three-week high of 490 additional COVID-19 cases, with infections creeping higher as the authorities prepare for a broad vaccine rollout. (Reuters)
Europe
- Germany: Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats are expected to deal with a heavy defeat in the bellwether regional elections to the rival Greens. (Telegraph)
- Ukraine: President Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky expressed support for the sanctions imposed by the United States against businessman and former head of Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration Ihor Kolomoisky. (Interfax)
- United Kingdom: Ireland’s foreign minister Simon Coveney said that Britain was demonstrating “perverse nationalism” by working to reach a trade deal with the United States before the European Union was able to. (Reuters)
Middle East
- Iran: Protesters attacked a coast guard station in the South after a patrol from the force shot and killed a fuel smuggler, the semi-official Fars news agency reported. (AP)
- Yemen: A Houthis spokesman stated that the Houthi rebel group rejected the ceasefire plan proposed by the United States special envoy for Yemen, calling it an empty one that is biased in favor of the Saudis. (Xinhua).
Tech & Communications
- Cybersecurity: A US judge demanded Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi be temporarily removed from a government blacklist banning American investment in the company. (AFP)
World
- Cyclones:
- Tropical Storm Habana
- Location:20.7S 70.2E
- Movement: SW
- Wind:105 mph
- MAP
- Tropical Storm Habana
- Hurricanes: Nothing to report.
- Earthquakes: Nothing to report.
- Volcanoes: Nothing to report.
- Global Disease Outbreaks:
- COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease: Global (as of 13MAR21)
- Confirmed cases: 119,121,241
- Total recovered cases: 67,432,899
- Deaths: 2,640,657
- Countries with confirmed cases: 192
- Sourcing: John Hopkins University
- Ebola Virus Disease: Guinea (as of 07MAR21)
- Confirmed cases: 18
- Deaths: 9
- Sourcing: WHO
- Ebola Virus Disease: DR Congo (as of 07MAR21)
- Confirmed cases: 11
- Deaths: 4
- Sourcing: WHO
- COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease: Global (as of 13MAR21)
Tomorrow’s Outlook (14MAR21)
- Central African Republic: Parliamentary elections runoff.
- Honduras: Primary elections.
- Iran: UK-Iranian woman faces court case a week after sentence expiry.
- Germany: Baden-Wuertemberg and Rheinland-Pfalz state elections and Hesse municipal elections in Germany.
- United States: Daylight Saving Time begins.
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