South Asia
On Sunday, police in Jammu and Kashmir found around 150 Rohingya refugees who had illegally immigrated to the region, and shifted them to a “holding centre” in the Hira Nagar jail. According to official sources, the process to initiate their deportation back to Myanmar has been launched. [Reuters]
The Supreme Court in Nepal ruled against the validity of the unification of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist), which is led by the current Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre), which is headed by the leader of the warring faction of the party, Pushpa Kamal Dahal. This comes as a major blow to both leaders, who have been engaged in a power tussle, as the unified party would now need to re-register their alliance before the Election Commission. [India Today]
Central Asia and the Caucasus
Police in Turkmenistan has tightened control over information as the government attempts to crack down on growing dissent against the ruling administration and its refusal to acknowledge the spread of the coronavirus within the country. In the city of Turkmenabat, police have been reportedly spying on people’s phones to check who has been in touch with the media. [RFE/RL]
Representatives of The Homeland Salvation Movement, an umbrella organization of more than a dozen opposition groups in Armenia, announced plans to meet with President Armen Sarkisian on March 7. The opposition has set a March 9 deadline for their demands to be met, which include allowing for the constitutional court to decide whether the President’s dismissal of General Staff chief Onik Gasparian was constitutional. [RFE/RL]
East and Southeast Asia
On March 7, voters in Switzerland narrowly voted to pass a controversial free trade deal with Indonesia. The FTA, which has been criticised over the lack of a sustainability clause for palm oil production in Indonesia, was approved by 51.7% of voters. [Channel News Asia]
Major trade unions in Myanmar have called for the economy to be shut down starting today in order to intensify pressure on the military junta that forcefully took power on February 1. “To continue economic and business activities as usual...will only benefit the military as they repress the energy of the Myanmar people… The time to take action in defence of our democracy is now.” the union said in a statement. [Reuters]
Europe
The US State Department on Sunday said that its Global Engagement Center had identified three online outlets directed by the Russian intelligence services that were working to undermine COVID-19 vaccines used in the US. Publications like the New Front, New Eastern Outlook, and Oriental Review “spread many types of disinformation, including about both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, as well as international organizations, military conflicts, protests, and any divisive issue that they can exploit,” a State Department spokesperson said. [Reuters]
The First Minister of Northern Ireland, Arlene Foster, said that the Irish Government and the European Union should take responsibility for the tensions surrounding the Northern Ireland protocol. She said that this had affected the closely balanced power-sharing agreement, stirring tensions in the Northern Executive and Assembly. [The Irish Times]
Latin America and the Caribbean
On Saturday, Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benítez asked all of his Cabinet ministers to resign amidst escalating demonstrations against the administration’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, which resulted in violent clashes between protesters and the police last week. Paraguay has recorded around 167,000 COVID-19 cases and more than 3,200 deaths from the virus. Protesters, though, are continuing to demand that Benítez step down from his post. [Telesur]
Brazilian Foreign Minister Ernesto Araujo and chair of the Congress’ Foreign Affairs Committee Eduardo Bolsonaro met with Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi in Jerusalem on Sunday. The two parties discussed the effectiveness of the Israeli-made COVID-19 nasal spray, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described as a “miracle”. Meanwhile, Brazil voiced its opposition against an International Criminal Court investigation into war crimes committed by Israeli troops against Palestinians. The Brazilian delegates also denounced Iran’s nuclear ambitions and the threat it poses to Israel. [The Times of Israel]
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
On Sunday, on his visit to Iraq, Pope Francis spoke to Muslim and Christian citizens in Mosul, where he declared, “How cruel it is that this country, the cradle of civilization, should have been afflicted by so barbarous a blow, with ancient places of worship destroyed and many thousands of people – Muslims, Christians, Yazidis and others – forcibly displaced or killed.” He added, “Today, however, we reaffirm our conviction that fraternity is more durable than fratricide, that hope is more powerful than hatred, that peace more powerful than war.” [Middle East Monitor]
Following last Wednesday’s rocket attack on the Ain al-Asad coalition airbase in the Anbar province in western Iraq, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said, “We’ll strike, if that’s what we think we need to do, at a time and place of our own choosing. We demand the right to protect our troops.” One American civilian contractor died from a “cardiac episode” during the attack. [Middle East Eye]
North America
The US Senate approved President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill on Saturday, despite every Republican senator voting against it. Biden said that the package was “one more giant step forward” in delivering on his promise of helping those affected by the current pandemic. The ‘American Rescue Plan’ allocates billions to state and local governments and schools, and expands COVID-19 testing and research as well as vaccine distribution. It also includes one-off payments worth $1,400 for most Americans. [The White House]
US President Joe Biden on Sunday took executive action to enable and promote easier access to voting in America. The order directs US federal agencies to “consider ways to expand citizens’ opportunities to register to vote and to obtain information about, and participate in, the electoral process,” and comes amid increasing GOP efforts to impose voting restrictions in several states. [Al Jazeera]
Canada has announced that it has taken formal action against Syria’s Assad regime for its human rights violations against civilians since 2011. Ottawa has requested formal negotiations on the matter, under the UN Convention Against Torture, to demand answers from Damascus for its “grave breaches of international law.” [Global Affairs Canada]
Oceania
Chinese state-owned news outlet Global Times once again hit out at Australia’s “ill-conceived China policy”, especially considering Australia’s heavy reliance on Chinese exports, which the article says is underscored by the fact that, in spite of diplomatic and trade tensions, Chinese exports to Australia experienced a 57.2% year-on-year growth. Consequently, it urged the Morrison administration to withdraw its “reckless obstructions of bilateral relations” through “political stunts” and instead “do more to enhance trust and facilitate cooperation in the spirit of [the] China-Australia comprehensive strategic partnership”. [Global Times]
A study by CoreLogic called “Women and Property: State of Play” revealed that due to a gender pay gap of 9.5% in New Zealand, women account for 17.4% of sole property ownership in the country, compared to 19.2% for men. In Australia, which has a gender pay gap of 13.5%, female sole homeownership was recorded at 24.1% and 27.7% for males. [RNZ]
Sub-Saharan Africa
Citizens in Senegal have intensified their protests after opposition leader Ousmane Sonko was arrested last Wednesday on a rape charge. Thus far, four people have been killed in the ensuing demonstrations demanding his release. The government, meanwhile, has said that it will use “all means necessary” to subdue the protests that Interior Minister Antoine Félix Abdoulaye Diome said are “rooted in banditry and insurrection”. [Africa Feeds]
An explosion in the port city of Bata in Equatorial Guinea killed at least 20 people and injured more than 400 more on Sunday. The cause is unknown at this time, but President Obiang Nguema has suggested that it could have originated from improper storage of explosives. Health Minister Diosdado Vicente Nsue Milang said that the death toll is likely to rise in the coming days due to the fact that many people are still unaccounted for. [Africa Times]
World News Monitor: 08 March, 2021
A quick look at events from around the globe.
March 8, 2021
Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benítez SOURCE: REUTERS