South Asia
Pakistan appointed its first female Supreme Court judge, Ayesha Malik, on Monday. She has previously ruled against several patriarchal legal customs and traditions in Punjab as a High Court judge such as the invasive “virginity test” for rape and sexual assault victims. [Al Jazeera]
On Monday, the Taliban met with several Western officials, including from the United States and the European Union, at Oslo. This is the first such meeting since the group took over Afghanistan in August. [ABC News]
Central Asia and the Caucasus
Armenian President Armen Sarkissian has resigned from office, citing his inability to influence policy. The office of the President is largely a ceremonial office in Armenia. “The president does not have the necessary tools to influence the fundamental processes of domestic and foreign policy in the current difficult period for the country and the nation,” Sarkissian said, referring to the ongoing tensions with Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. [RFE/RL]
Russian federal judge Saidi Yangulbaev and his daughter fled the country on Monday after his wife was “abducted” by Chechen police in Russia’s Volga region. The judge’s son told the media that after Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov threatened to “eliminate” them after the family criticised rights violations in Chechnya, his father fled. Kadyrov’s regime has been criticised by the international community for abducting, torturing and killing critics as well as persecuting women and the LGBTQ community. [RFE/RL]
East and Southeast Asia
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Indonesian President Joko Widodo will sign a set of agreements covering the realignment of their border, airspace management, extradition of fugitives and defence cooperation today. [Channel News Asia]
Indonesia began the construction of a $2.3 billion coal gasification plant on Monday. The plant aims to slash the country’s liquefied petroleum gas imports and optimise its local coal resources. [The Straits Times]
Europe
Polish Border guard spokesperson Anna Michalska, on Monday, confirmed that Warsaw is building a 5.5 metre high barrier along its 186-kilometre long border with Belarus in an effort to combat illegal border migration. Last year, Poland called out Belarus for using migrants to destabilise Warsaw, as thousands of migrants mostly from the Middle East flooded Poland’s borders seeking asylum. The border wall is estimated to cost Poland $400 million and is expected to be operational in June this year. [The First News, Reuters]
Theodore Agnew, the Minister for Efficiency and Transformation, resigned before the House of Lords, highlighting his discontent with the government’s COVID-19 scheme to assist small businesses with their post-pandemic recovery. Previous estimates have suggested that over $5 billion has been fraudulently claimed while the department has focussed on “payment speed” rather than “all other aspects of value for money.” [Politico]
On Monday, three people were killed, including a woman, during a shooting at Heidelberg University in Germany. The police said the suspect entered the university hall with a double-barreled shotgun and another firearm and opened fire. Commenting on the incident, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed shock and condemned the death of the student. An 18-year-old biology student, who was caught carrying a large amount of ammunition in his backpack, has been identified as a suspect. [DW]
Latin America and the Caribbean
On Monday, a journalist was killed in the Mexican city of Tijuana. Lourdes Maldonado López was found dead in her car, which was pockmarked with bullets. López’s death is the second in Tijuana in a week and the third in Mexico this month. [Associated Press]
Two earthquakes in Haiti on Monday killed two people, injured dozens and destroyed hundreds of homes. A 5.3 magnitude earthquake was followed by a 5.1 magnitude quake an hour later, creating panic among citizens of the Caribbean nation, which is still reeling from the after-effects of the 2021 earthquake that killed over 2,200 people. [Associated Press]
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
The United Arab Emirates and the United States intercepted two ballistic missiles launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels towards Abu Dhabi on Monday. American troops stationed at the Al-Dhafra air base in the capital launched Patriot missiles to intercept the projectiles. [Associated Press]
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune met with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in Cairo on Monday to discuss the situation in Libya and the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) issue. Both leaders noted that Libya’s failure to hold elections in December would lead to greater turmoil in the war-torn country and vowed to support the holding of elections and “preserve Libya’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.” [Associated Press]
North America
On Monday, the federal trial of three other former Minnesota Police department officers, who were bystanders during the murder of George Floyd, commenced at St. Paul in Minnesota. Prosecutors argued that officers Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane failed to intervene as fellow officer Derek Chauvin kept his knee on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes, killing him and prompting a nationwide outbreak of protests against police brutality and racism. Chauvin was convicted last year of manslaughter; currently, all three officers are facing civil rights charges related to Floyd’s killing. [NPR]
On Monday, seven United States (US) Navy sailors were injured after an F-35 fighter jet belonging to the US Military crashed in the South China sea during a regular routine flight. The pilot remained unharmed as three of the seven sailors were rushed to Manila in the Philippines to receive treatment; they were confirmed to be in stable conditions. [The Hill]
Oceania
A 17-year-old Australian teenager, who has spent the last three years inside the Ghwayran prison in the Syrian town of Al-Hasakah, begged for help from inside the prison, which is at the centre of the intense fighting between the Islamic State (IS) militants and Kurdish-led forces. IS militants captured the prison on January 20 to free thousands of its fighters, who were being held as prisoners. In an audio clip sent to his family, the teenager said, “I’m Australian. I’m scared I might die any time.” [ABC News]
A Chinese businessman, Huang Aipeng, bought Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s WeChat account with 75,000 followers. “I don’t even know who [Scott] Morrison is. I saw the account has a lot of followers, so we bought it,” he said. Huang bought the account in November last year from its original owner, a Chinese national from Fuzhou. Huang has refused to return the account to Australian authorities, citing that WeChat has approved the transfer of ownership. [ABC News]
Sub-Saharan Africa
At least 31 ethnic Dinka, including children, were killed in clashes with suspected Murle armed youth in South Sudan’s Jonglei province. The attackers left with hundreds of cattle. While the reason for the communal attack is not immediately known, cattle rustling is known to often lead to clashes. [AP]
A stampede outside Cameroon’s Yaounde Olembe stadium on Monday left at least six people dead and more than 40 injured. The Confederation of African Football said it was “investigating the situation and trying to get more details on what transpired.” [Al Jazeera]