Key Storylines
- AFRICA: Nigerien authorities have reportedly arrested soldiers following an “attempted coup”, amid reports of gunfire near the presidency in the capital Niamey.
- AMERICAS: The US State Department called out China’s repression of Uyghurs and Russia’s suppression of political dissidents in its annual human rights report.
- ASIA: Kachin guerillas attacked a police station in Myanmar’s northern region, according to local media reports.
- EUROPE: Italian police arrested a Navy captain for allegedly providing secret documents to a Russian official in exchange for money.
- MIDDLE EAST: UNICEF said Yemen received its first shipment of coronavirus vaccines after 360,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine arrived in the southern port city of Aden via the WHO’s COVAX facility.
- TECH & COMMUNICATIONS: BBC journalist John Sudworth, who has won awards for his reporting on the treatment of the Uyghur people, has left China after receiving threats from Chinese authorities.
Top Story
- Brazil: Armed forces chiefs resign abruptly.
- The heads of all three branches of Brazil’s armed forces have jointly resigned a day after President Jair Bolsonaro’s cabinet reshuffle.
- The military leaders handed in their resignations after meeting with new Defense Minister Walter Souza Braga Netto.
- Bolsonaro had dismissed Fernando Azevedo e Silva as the country’s defense minister a day ago as part of a cabinet reshuffle.
- The Defense Ministry has offered no reasons for the reportedly unprecedented resignations, nor have any replacements for the military leaders been announced yet.
- Reporting: AP, BBC, NYT, WaPo, WSJ
Africa
- Region: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi warned that his country’s share of the Nile River’s waters was “untouchable”, in an apparent statement aimed at Ethiopia’s dam on the river Nile. (AP)
- Egypt: Formal investigations into the Ever Given blocking the Suez Canal have started. (Reuters)
- Ivory Coast: The International Criminal Court will rule on upholding the acquittal of former President Laurent Gbagbo. (AFP)
- Niger: Authorities have reportedly arrested soldiers following an “attempted coup”, amid reports of gunfire near the presidency in the capital Niamey. (AFP)
Americas
- Region: A judge in the US sentenced Juan Antonio “Tony” Hernandez, a former Honduran congressman and brother of the incumbent Honduran president, to life in prison for drug trafficking. (Reuters)
- Bolivia: The government said it will ramp-up its vaccination efforts in areas bordering Brazil, where a new variant of the coronavirus has emerged. (AFP)
- United States: The State Department called out China’s repression of Uyghurs and Russia’s suppression of political dissidents in its annual human rights report. (Reuters)
- Venezuela: Russia has given the country doses of the EpiVacCorona Russian coronavirus vaccine for use in trials. (Reuters)
Asia
- Region: The Philippines said hundreds of Chinese ships believed to be manned by militias have spread to a wider area in Manila’s 200-mile exclusive economic zone at Whitsun Reef. (Reuters)
- Australia: The government announced plans to build its own guided missiles in an effort to boost the country’s defense capabilities. (DPA)
- China: A senior health official said there was no factual basis for WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus’s claim that Beijing did not share data with WHO investigators looking into the origins of the new coronavirus. (Reuters)
- Myanmar: Kachin guerillas attacked a police station in the country’s northern region, according to local media reports. (AP)
Europe
- France: President Emmanuel Macron will deliver a televised address as the country faces another coronavirus surge. (AP)
- Germany: The government will restrict the use of AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine among people under the age of 60 due to reports of blood-clotting incidents. (WSJ)
- Italy: The police arrested a Navy captain for allegedly providing secret documents to a Russian official in exchange for money. (AP)
- Turkey: The Constitutional Court will deliberate an order to disband the opposition pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP). (DPA)
- United Kingdom: The country’s economy grew quicker than previously thought in the last three months of 2020 but still shrank by the most in more than three centuries during 2020. (Reuters)
Middle East
- Iraq: The US reportedly granted Baghdad the maximum extension to a sanctions waiver on importing gas from Iran. (AFP)
- Israel: The country’s fourth general election in two years has again given no party a clear path to victory, final results showed. (DPA)
- Saudi Arabia: Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said oil firm Aramco and petrochemical firm SABIC will invest $1.3 trillion into the country’s economy as part of the government’s economic diversification program. (Reuters)
- Yemen: UNICEF said the country received its first shipment of coronavirus vaccines after 360,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine arrived in the southern port city of Aden via the WHO’s COVAX facility. (AFP)
Tech & Communications
- Media: BBC journalist John Sudworth, who has won awards for his reporting on the treatment of the Uyghur people, has left China after receiving threats from Chinese authorities. (BBC)
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 31MAR21)
- Confirmed cases: 128,301,662
- Total recovered cases: 72,790,172
- Deaths: 2,805,972
- 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 31MAR21)
Tomorrow’s Outlook (01APR21)
- Global: WHO Director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and European Council President Charles Michel are expected to hold a press conference on a proposed pandemic control international treaty.
- Global: A G20 Finance and Central Bank Deputies meeting will be held virtually. (to 02APR)
- Global: The 15th OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting will be held.
- Global: Vietnam will assume the rotating monthly presidency of the UN Security Council.
- Global: A meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) will be held in Russia. (to 02APR)
- Global: An agreement between Israel and Cyprus to allow vaccinated citizens to travel between the two countries will take effect.
- Asia: The first Taiwan-Palau flight is expected to take place as part of a new travel bubble.
- Europe: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Italy’s Lega Nord leader Matteo Salvini will hold a meeting in Budapest to discuss strengthening ties between far-right parties in Europe.
- China: Malaysian Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein will visit and meet with counterpart Wang Yi.
- China: Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan will visit and meet with counterpart Wang Yi.
- China: The country will solicit proposals worldwide for astronomical observations using its FAST telescope.
- France: Finance Minister Bruno Lemaire will meet with WTO director-general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
- India: The country’s new foreign trade policy will take effect.
- Iran: Republic Day – 1979
- Japan: The country will begin a survey of coronavirus vaccine side-effects.
- Myanmar: The twice-postponed court hearing for ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi will reportedly be held.
- North Macedonia: The government will conduct the country’s first census in almost 20 years.
- Russia: The government’s permanent grain export mechanism is expected to be launched.
- Russia: Commercial flights from the country to Germany, Venezuela, Syria, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Sri Lanka will resume.
- San Marino: The biannual investiture of the country’s two Ruling Captains will be held.
- Vietnam: The ruling Communist Party is expected to announce the country’s new president.
END
