Key Storylines
- AFRICA: Former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan ended a two-day visit to Mali without an agreement on a date for elections to return the country to civilian rule.
- AMERICAS: US President Joe Biden added a stop in Poland to his upcoming trip to Europe for urgent talks with NATO and European allies.
- ASIA: Cambodia’s foreign minister arrived in Naypyitaw on his mission as a special regional envoy seeking to facilitate peacemaking in Myanmar.
- EUROPE: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on European leaders to cease all trade with Russia in an effort to pressure Moscow to halt its nearly month-long military assault on his country.
- MIDDLE EAST: Saudi Arabia’s energy minister met the Kuwaiti crown prince on Monday during an official trip to Kuwait.
- TECH & COMMUNICATIONS: Meta Platforms Inc asked a Russian court to dismiss proceedings in a case brought by state prosecutors demanding that the US tech giant be labeled an “extremist organization.”
Top Story
- China: China Eastern Airlines Boeing With 132 People on Board Crashes in China.
- A China Eastern Airlines passenger jet with 132 people including nine crew members aboard crashed in the mountains of southern China on Monday while on a flight from the city of Kunming to Guangzhou.
- Authorities said contact was lost with the flight over Wuzhou, in the Guangxi region, but the number of casualties is unknown.
- China’s Civil Aviation Administration said it had “activated the emergency mechanism and dispatched a working group to the scene.”
- Chinese President Xi Jinping called for an “all-out effort” to be made in the rescue operation, for post-crash arrangements to be handled appropriately and potential safety hazards investigated to ensure complete civil aviation flight safety.
- Flight tracking sites report the plane was in the air for just over an hour and was nearing its destination when it went down in Wuzhou.
- The website of China Eastern Airlines was later presented in black and white, which airlines do in response to a crash as a sign of respect for the assumed victims.
- Reuters, SCMP, NPR, AP, BBC, Straits Times
Africa
- Burkina Faso: The armed forces said thirteen soldiers have been killed in an ambush by suspected jihadists amid a surge of violence in the east. (AFP)
- Central African Republic: Opposition groups will not attend political reconciliation talks given the exclusion of rebel groups from the dialogue. (AFP)
- Mali: Former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan ended a two-day visit to the country without an agreement on a date for elections to return the country to civilian rule. (BBC)
- South Africa: A court halted construction of Amazon’s new Africa headquarters after some descendants of the country’s earliest inhabitants said the land it would be built on was sacred. (Reuters)
- Tunisia: Emergency services said A collision between two passenger trains injured 95 people in the Jbel Jelloud area of southern Tunis. (AFP)
Americas
- Brazil: The Supreme Court judge who ordered the blocking of the messaging app Telegram reversed the ruling after the tech company complied with an earlier decree to make changes to the platform. (AFP)
- Canada: Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) halted operations and locked out workers over a labor dispute with each side blaming the other for a stoppage that will disrupt shipment of commodities at a time of soaring prices. (Reuters)
- Mexico: President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador will inaugurate a new Mexico City airport, over three years after he scrapped a separate $13 billion hub under construction by the previous government. (Reuters)
- United States: President Joe Biden added a stop in Poland to his upcoming trip to Europe for urgent talks with NATO and European allies. (AP)
- United States: Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has been hospitalized with flu-like symptoms. (NBC News)
Asia
- Region: Indian Foreign Secretary Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said Australia understands India’s stance on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine following a virtual summit between the Prime Ministers of India and Australia. (Reuters)
- Hong Kong: The government said the city is ready to resume international flights from the United States, Britain and seven other countries, as it announced a loosening of some of the world’s toughest Covid-19 restrictions. (AFP)
- Myanmar: Cambodia’s foreign minister arrived in Naypyitaw on his mission as a special regional envoy seeking to facilitate peacemaking in the Southeast Asian nation. (AP)
- North Korea: A UN human rights investigator called on the country to reopen its borders to aid workers and food imports, saying that its self-isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic may have left many facing “hunger and starvation.” (Reuters)
- South Korea: The outgoing liberal government opposed a plan by conservative President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol to relocate the presidential office by his inauguration in May. (AP)
Europe
- Germany: Prosecutors said a knife attack on a train last year in which four people were injured is now being treated as Islamic extremism. (AFP)
- Russia: Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said the refusal by the United States and Britain to purchase oil would have a minor impact on Moscow because they only buy lesser amounts of crude. (Reuters)
- Turkey: Osman Kavala appeared before court for the first time in months, only to have his case adjourned and his detention extended. (AFP)
- Ukraine: President Volodymyr Zelensky called on European leaders to cease all trade with Russia in an effort to pressure Moscow to halt its nearly month-long military assault on his country. (AFP)
- United Kingdom: London and Washington will begin two days of meetings in Baltimore to discuss strengthening trade ties. (Reuters)
Middle East
- Region: Saudi Arabia’s energy minister met the Kuwaiti crown prince on Monday during an official trip to Kuwait. (Reuters)
- Israel: Prime Minister Naftali Bennett hoped for a change of political regime for the people of Iran, in a message marking the Persian New Year. (AFP)
- Lebanon: A judge charged central bank governor Riad Salameh with illicit enrichment days after she ordered his brother Raja arrested in the same case. (Reuters)
- Saudi Arabia: The US resupplied the kingdom with Patriot anti-missile interceptors in recent weeks as the Biden administration looks to ease what has been a point of tension in the increasingly complicated relationship between Riyadh and Washington. (AP)
- United Arab Emirates: Japan urged the country to pump more oil to calm markets rocked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)
Tech & Communications
- Technology: Meta Platforms Inc asked a Russian court to dismiss proceedings in a case brought by state prosecutors demanding that the US tech giant be labeled an “extremist organization.” (Reuters)
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 21MAR22)
- Confirmed cases: 470,858,002
- Deaths: 6,078,500
- Countries with confirmed cases: 192
- Sourcing: John Hopkins University
- COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease: Global (as of 21MAR22)
Tomorrow’s Outlook (22MAR22)
- Event: CSIS discussion with UK defense procurement minister.
- Event: CSIS discussion on parallels between Ukraine and Taiwan.
- Event: CAP discussion on foreign policy for Japan featuring Japan opposition leader Kenta Izumi.
- Global: Nowruz Holiday.
- Global: World Water Day.
- Argentina: Deadline for $2.8 billion maturity debt to International Monetary Fund.
- Asia: OECD Economic Outlook for Southeast Asia, China, and India launch.
- Germany: Elon Musk and Chancellor Olaf Scholz attend handing over the first Tesla car made at a new German factory to its new owners.
- Germany: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz speaks at German astronaut on the International Space Station.
- Italy: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to speak before Parliament.
- Jordan: Gubernatorial and Municipal Elections.
- Netherlands: Maxime Jeoffroy Eli Mokom Gawaka appears before the International Criminal Court.
- Pakistan: Organization of Islamic Cooperation conference. (to 23MAR)
- Puerto Rico: Emancipation Day.
- Russia: Duty on wheat exports to increase.
- United States: Senate Judiciary Committee continues nominations hearing for SCOTUS nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson. (to 24MAR)
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