Key Storylines
- AFRICA: Portuguese Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva said Lisbon will deploy 60 troops to Mozambique following the attack by Islamic State-linked jihadists on the northern town of Palma.
- AMERICAS: Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro reshuffled his cabinet, including the appointment of Carlos França as the country’s new foreign minister.
- ASIA: China has finalized its sweeping overhaul of Hong Kong’s electoral system.
- EUROPE: Russia blamed Ukraine for failing to implement peace agreements in Ukraine’s eastern region.
- MIDDLE EAST: A new government was sworn-in in Kuwait, after a months-long standoff between parliament and Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Khalid al-Sabah.
- TECH & COMMUNICATIONS: Google and Facebook revealed plans to construct two new undersea cables linking North America and the Asia-Pacific region.
Top Story
- Global: World leaders call for an international treaty to fight future pandemics.
- More than 20 world leaders have called for the creation of a new international pandemic treaty to help prepare better for future pandemics.
- The world leaders who endorsed the idea include British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, Premier Mario Draghi of Italy and President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, among others.
- First proposed by European Council President Charles Michel in November 2020, the mooted treaty will seek to create a framework for international cooperation on information exchanges and vaccine creation during any future pandemic.
- International health regulations that can be implemented by the WHO do currently exist, but they can be easily disregarded by countries without any consequences.
- Reporting: BBC, NYT, AP, Guardian, Reuters, DPA
Africa
- Egypt: Traffic has resumed in the Suez Canal after the Ever Given container ship was finally freed by salvage crews. (BBC)
- Madagascar: The IMF approved a $312.4 million extended credit facility arrangement for the country. (Reuters)
- Mozambique: Portuguese Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva said Lisbon will deploy 60 troops to the country following the attack by Islamic State-linked jihadists on the northern town of Palma. (AFP)
Americas
- Region: The prime ministers of Canada and Jamaica joined UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and urged for more action to prevent a coronavirus debt crisis. (AP)
- Brazil: President Jair Bolsonaro reshuffled his cabinet, including the appointment of Carlos França as the country’s new foreign minister. (AP)
- Honduras: The government will restrict the entry of arrivals from South America to prevent the spread of the so-called Brazilian variant of the new coronavirus. (Reuters)
- Mexico: President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador condemned the death of a Salvadoran woman who was killed while in police custody. (Reuters)
- United States: President Joe Biden and the CDC urged the continuation of coronavirus restrictions to stave off another wave of the new coronavirus. (AP)
Asia
- Region: US Ambassador John Hennessey-Niland is accompanying Palau’s President Surangel Whipps on his visit to Taiwan. (AFP)
- China: Beijing has finalized its sweeping overhaul of Hong Kong’s electoral system. (Reuters)
- Malaysia: The US has ordered the seizure of disposable gloves manufactured by the country’s Top Glove company due to its alleged use of forced labour in the production of disposable gloves. (BBC)
- Myanmar: Activists have launched a “garbage strike” in the country to oppose the country’s junta as the death toll of pro-democracy protesters killed by security forces surpassed 500 after another person was shot dead by security forces. (Reuters)
- Thailand: The police charged banned opposition politician Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit with defaming the monarchy for accusing the government of relying on a royal-owned company for coronavirus vaccines. (Reuters)
Europe
- Region: Russia blamed Ukraine for failing to implement peace agreements in Ukraine’s eastern region. (AFP)
- Belarus: Authorities opened a terrorism investigation against opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya. (RFE-RL)
- Italy: Prime Minister Mario Draghi was inoculated against the new coronavirus with AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine, in an apparent attempt to show support for the beleaguered but still widely used vaccine. (AFP)
- Turkey: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan fired a central bank deputy governor, Murat Cetinkaya, just days after his shock firing of the bank’s governor. (Reuters)
Middle East
- Iran: Tehran reaffirmed that it will not stop its 20% uranium enrichment before the US lifts its sanctions on the country. (Reuters)
- Israel: President Reuven Rivlin announced he will pick a candidate to form the country’s next government by April 7. (AFP)
- Kuwait: A new government was sworn-in after a months-long standoff between parliament and Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Khalid al-Sabah. (Reuters)
Tech & Communications
- Technology: Google and Facebook revealed plans to construct two new undersea cables linking North America and the Asia-Pacific region. (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 24MAR21)
- Confirmed cases: 127,720,218
- Total recovered cases: 72,470,915
- Deaths: 2,793,564
- Countries with confirmed cases: 192
- Sourcing: John Hopkins University
- Ebola Virus Disease: Guinea (as of 21MAR21)
- Confirmed cases: 18
- Deaths: 9
- Sourcing: WHO
- Ebola Virus Disease: DR Congo (as of 21MAR21)
- Confirmed cases: 12
- Deaths: 6
- Sourcing: WHO
- COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease: Global (as of 24MAR21)
Tomorrow’s Outlook (31MAR21)
- Global: The Intergovernmental Group of Twenty-Four on International Monetary Affairs & Development will hold a virtual meeting.
- Global: OPEC’s Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee will meet.
- Global: The WTO will release its annual trade statistics and forecasts.
- Global: The World Economic Forum will launch its annual Global Gender Gap Report.
- Global: A new US-Japan Host Nation Support agreement will take effect and will last for the next five years.
- Europe: Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe is expected to finish his trip to Europe with a visit to North Macedonia.
- Cape Verde: General elections will be held.
- Republic of the Congo: Presidential elections will be held.
- Israel: The chairperson of the Central Elections Committee will submit the results of the recent election to President Reuven Rivlin, triggering a one-week period to name a candidate to form the country’s next government.
- Tajikistan: Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi will visit.
- Turkey: The Constitutional Court will hear an indictment seeking the closure of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP).
- Turkey: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will participate in the Summit of the Cooperation Council of Turkic-speaking States.
- United States: President Joe Biden will visit Pittsburgh, PA.
- United States: Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen will host a Financial Stability Oversight Council meeting.
- United States: The Temporary Protected Status designation for Syria is set to expire.
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