Key Storylines
- AFRICA: Doctors Without Borders said healthcare facilities in Ethiopia’s embattled Tigray region have been “looted, vandalized and destroyed in a deliberate and widespread attack on health care.”
- AMERICAS: Bolivia’s former interim President Jeanine Anez was ordered to be kept in four months of preventative detention after her arrest over charges linked to the 2019 ouster of Evo Morales.
- ASIA: China’s capital city Beijing is dealing with its worst sandstorm in a decade, which has left the city covered in thick, yellow smog and dealing with alarmingly high pollution levels.
- EUROPE: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was “deeply concerned” by the footage that showed police detaining women during a vigil to remember Sarah Everard.
- MIDDLE EAST: Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif urged the US to rejoin the 2015 JCPOA deal soon, warning that the country’s upcoming elections could throw a wrench in any planned talks.
- TECH & COMMUNICATIONS: Twitter users who used the word “Memphis” in their tweets were banned over the weekend due to a bug on the social media platform.
Top Story
- Myanmar: Junta imposes martial law in parts of Yangon after deadliest day since coup.
- The country’s new junta has imposed martial law across several of Yangon’s districts, including districts where foreign factories, especially Chinese-owned factories, are located.
- The junta’s decision takes place after the deadliest day of the ongoing protests in the country and after several protesters burned down Chinese-owned factories in Yangon.
- Security forces killed at least 38 people on Sunday and left dozens of others injured.
- Additionally, Aung San Suu Kyi’s appearance in court scheduled for today has been delayed due to apparent internet issues.
- Reporting: BBC, Reuters, AP, DPA
Africa
- Ethiopia: Doctors Without Borders said healthcare facilities in the embattled Tigray region have been “looted, vandalized and destroyed in a deliberate and widespread attack on health care.” (AP)
- Libya: The swearing-in of new interim Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah will be conducted this week. (AFP)
- Nigeria: Around 30 soldiers were reportedly killed by Islamists in a series of clashes between them and the army in the country’s northeast last week. (Reuters)
- Somalia: The government received its first shipment of coronavirus vaccines, receiving 300,000 doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine through the WHO’s COVAX facility. (AFP)
Americas
- Region: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Paraguay’s government to cooperate with Taiwan to tackle the coronavirus pandemic amid ongoing protests in Paraguay over the government’s response to the pandemic. (Reuters)
- Bolivia: Former interim President Jeanine Anez was ordered to be kept in four months of preventative detention after her arrest over charges linked to the 2019 ouster of Evo Morales. (AP)
- Ecuador: A court has ruled against indigenous leader Yaku Perez’s appeal to hold a vote recount of the first round of the country’s recent presidential election. (AFP)
- United States: The Biden administration has directed the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help process the increase in children and teenagers in detention facilities at the country’s southwest border. (NYT)
Asia
- Afghanistan: The country’s ambassador to the United Arab Emirates Javid Ahmad said the country’s ongoing peace discussions should be rotated to other countries. (Reuters)
- Australia: Hundreds of people took to the streets of cities across the country to demand justice for women and call out misogyny and dangerous workplace cultures. (AP)
- China: Capital city Beijing is dealing with its worst sandstorm in a decade which has left the city covered in thick, yellow smog and dealing with alarmingly high pollution levels. (AFP)
- Japan: US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will hold “two plus two” diplomatic and security meetings in the country. (AP)
- Papua New Guinea: The country is facing a new wave of coronavirus infections around the capital Port Moresby. (Reuters)
Europe
- Denmark: The country’s Medicines Agency said the 60-year-old person who died after receiving a dose of AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine displayed “highly unusual” symptoms. (Reuters)
- Germany: Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative Christian Democratic Union party suffered heavy losses in the state elections of Baden-Wuerttemberg and the Rhineland-Palatinate. (AFP)
- Netherlands: The country is the latest to temporarily suspend the use of AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine over fears of the vaccine possibly triggering blood clots. (BBC)
- United Kingdom: Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was “deeply concerned” by the footage that showed police detaining women during a vigil to remember Sarah Everard. (BBC)
Middle East
- Iran: Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif urged the US to rejoin the 2015 JCPOA deal soon, warning that the country’s upcoming elections could throw a wrench in any planned talks. (AP)
- Israel: The Defense Ministry revealed its completion of a new guided mortar system aimed at assisting the army target enemies embedded in crowded urban environments. (AP)
- Syria: Three NGOs have launched a landmark legal case against Russia’s Wagner mercenary group over the torture of a detainee in the country. (AFP)
- Yemen: Houthi official Mohammed Ali al-Houthi called US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s comments about making the country free of foreign influence “positive”. (Reuters)
Tech & Communications
- Social Media: Twitter users who used the word “Memphis” in their tweets were banned over the weekend due to a bug on the social media platform. (AFP)
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 15MAR21)
- Confirmed cases: 119,913,953
- Total recovered cases: 67,917,891
- Deaths: 2,654,629
- 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 15MAR21)
Tomorrow’s Outlook (16MAR21)
- Global: US Vice President Kamala Harris will address the 65th session of the UN’s Commission on the Status of Women.
- Global: NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will release the alliance’s annual report.
- Europe: Joint Russian-Belarussian military exercises will be held. (to 19MAR)
- Europe: Azerbaijan will hold military exercises. (to 18MAR)
- Europe: Armenia will hold military exercises. (to 20MAR)
- Europe: The EU-Georgia Association Council will hold a meeting.
- Europe: Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili will visit Brussels. (to 17MAR)
- Europe: Turkey and Greece will discuss issues related to the Mediterranean sea. (to 17MAR)
- Europe: The finance ministers of European Union member-states will hold a virtual meeting.
- Europe: The European Court of Justice will deliver a verdict on progressive commercial tax in Poland and Hungary.
- Europe: The Health Ministers of EU member-states will hold an informal meeting.
- Asia: Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will visit South Korea and Japan. (to 19MAR)
- Germany: Israeli President Reuven Rivlin will visit and meet with President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
- Iran: The Foreign Ministry will hold the second Tehran Dialogue Forum virtually.
- Mexico: Colombian ambassador to the country Patricia Cardenas will visit Colombian migrants in Mexico City.
- Mexico: The country is expected to receive shipments of coronavirus vaccines from Pfizer/BioNTech and China’s Sinovac.
- Morocco: The country’s nighttime coronavirus curfew will end.
- Netherlands: General elections will be held. (to 17MAR)
- Nigeria: WTO Director Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala will visit and meet with President Muhammadu Buhari.
- Qatar: Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih will visit.
- Russia: Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe President Rik Daems will visit.
- Spain: Madrid’s top court is expected to deliver a verdict on whether the proposed snap regional elections for Madrid can go ahead.
- United Kingdom: The Defense Ministry will release its defense and foreign policy review.
- United States: President Joe Biden will visit Pennsylvania.
- Yemen: The UN Security Council will hold a meeting to discuss the situation in the country.
END
