Cambodia: Hun Manet bats for calm amid border dispute with Thailand<\/a><\/span> China: US to keep China trade tariffs steady ahead of key Trump-Xi meeting: Greer<\/a><\/span> Fiji: Fiji to host US Deputy Secretary of State in high-level visit<\/a><\/span> Indonesia: Russia Welcomes Indonesia Abstaining UN Truce Resolution, Ukraine Wants More<\/a><\/span> Japan: Japan to deploy missiles on island near Taiwan by 2031<\/a><\/span> Laos: Thailand Eases Oil Export Controls to Laos, Maintains Restrictions on Cambodia Shipments<\/a><\/span> Malaysia: Ex-minister\u2019s wife under police investigation for alleged govt ouster plot involving UK, US lobbyists and foreign media<\/a><\/span> Myanmar: Junta sets dates to convene parliament after contested election<\/a><\/span> North Korea: Kim Jong Un leaves door open to talks if US accepts North Korea\u2019s nuclear status<\/a><\/span> Singapore: Singapore to bolster middle power, regional ties amid ‘geostrategic tectonic plate rupture’: Vivian Balakrishnan<\/a><\/span> South Korea: Lee to visit Singapore, Philippines to deepen AI, nuclear and other future-sector ties<\/a><\/span> Taiwan: U.S. think tank calls for ‘hellscape’ drone strategy for Taiwan<\/a><\/span> Tonga: US Deputy Secretary Landau signs enhanced maritime security pact in Tonga<\/a><\/span> Vietnam: The Ministry of Public Security has requested the prosecution of former Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien<\/a><\/span> Albania: Albanian Prime Minister Under Pressure Dismisses Deputy Accused of Corruption<\/a><\/span> European Union: EU says social fund can be used to allow access to safe abortions across bloc<\/a><\/span> Italy: Italy calls for suspension of carbon price in major attack on EU climate policy<\/a><\/span> Poland: Poland plans social-media ban for children under 15, Bloomberg News reports<\/a><\/span> Slovakia: Hungary and Slovakia in standoff with Ukraine over broken Russian oil pipe<\/a><\/span> Switzerland: Davos forum chief Brende steps down after WEF probes Epstein links<\/a><\/span> Ukraine: IMF approves $8.1 billion loan for Ukraine, with $1.5 billion to go immediately<\/a><\/span> Ukraine\/Russia: Russia, Ukraine agree on temporary ceasefire to repair lines to Zaporizhzhia plant<\/a><\/span> United Kingdom: Mandelson referred to EU anti-fraud agency over Epstein emails<\/a><\/span> Iran: US and Iran wrap up latest nuclear talks without a deal as the risk of war looms<\/a><\/span> Iran: Anti-government student protests spread to more Iranian universities<\/a><\/span> Iran: Trump says \u2018there will likely be more\u2019 US deaths as Iran strikes to continue until \u2018all\u2019 goals achieved<\/a><\/span> Israel: US consular services in illegal Israeli settlement in West Bank condemned<\/a><\/span> Israel: Netanyahu greets Indian PM Modi as he lands in Israel<\/a><\/span> Israel: Israel designates five Palestinian news outlets as \u2018terrorist\u2019 groups<\/a><\/span> Lebanon: Lebanon urges Hezbollah militant group to avoid getting involved if the US strikes Iran<\/a><\/span> Palestine: With rocks, clubs and flammable liquid, Jewish settlers descend on a Palestinian hamlet<\/a><\/span> Syria: Syria confirms \u2018mass escape\u2019 from camp housing relatives of ISIL fighters<\/a><\/span> Africa: Africa\u2019s Mobile Money Boom Leaves Users Vulnerable to Cyber Crime<\/a><\/span> Africa: Epstein Files Reveal Links to West African Power Circles<\/a><\/span> DRC: US, DR Congo sign $1.2B health deal<\/a><\/span> Ethiopia: Will Ethiopia be part of Israel\u2019s \u2018hexagon\u2019 alliance rivalling its enemies?<\/a><\/span> Kenya\/Somalia: Kenya-Somalia border reopening brings trade, travel opportunities despite lingering security fears<\/a><\/span> Nigeria: Protests Erupt In Nigeria Over Detention of Ex-Governor El-Rufai<\/a><\/span> Senegal: Senegal, IMF fail to strike lending deal as debt mounts<\/a><\/span> South Africa: South Africa secures return of 11 men \u2018lured\u2019 into Russia-Ukraine war<\/a><\/span> South Sudan: South Sudan at risk of \u2018return to full-scale war\u2019, UN warns<\/a><\/span> Zambia: Zambia Rejects US Health Funding Deal<\/a><\/span> Afghanistan: Afghanistan launches military strikes on Pakistan in retaliation for earlier airstrikes<\/a><\/span> Afghanistan: Pakistan is in \u2018open war\u2019 with Afghanistan after latest strikes, defense minister says<\/a><\/span> Afghanistan: Pakistan says \u2018no dialogue\u2019 with Afghanistan as attacks persist<\/a><\/span> Bangladesh: BNP names Rezaul Karim as candidate for Bogura-6 vacated by Tarique Rahman<\/a><\/span> Bhutan: National debt to rise by 26%, reaching Nu 380 billion in June<\/a><\/span> India: India-Israel axis: What are the IMEC corridor, I2U2 grouping Modi spoke of?<\/a><\/span> Kazakhstan: Britain has imposed sanctions on Rosatom subsidiaries. Will this affect the construction of nuclear power plants in Kazakhstan?<\/a><\/span> Maldives: FM \u2018fully ready\u2019 to aid Maldivians living in Gulf as Iran, US and Israel exchange fire<\/a><\/span> Nepal: Nepal requests Portugal to grant reprieve to Nepalis caught in fake stamp scandal<\/a><\/span> Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka\u2019s former intelligence chief arrested over 2019 Easter attacks<\/a><\/span> Tajikistan: “I want to live”: 466 Tajiks killed in the war in Ukraine<\/a><\/span> Turkmenistan: Turkmenistan: Why was the Minister of National Security fired?<\/a><\/span> Uzbekistan: Land Seizures Spread Across Uzbekistan As Farmers Cite Push For Chinese Capital<\/a><\/span> Argentina\/Uruguay: Argentina, Uruguay ratify EU-South America trade deal<\/a><\/span> Barbados\/Trinidad: Trinidad and Barbados spar over businessman\u2019s abduction<\/a><\/span> Brazil: Bolsonaro’s nomination to the Senate raises doubts within the Liberal Party<\/a><\/span> Canada: Canada\u2019s PM Carney in India to reset ties and bolster trade<\/a><\/span> Cuba: Cuban forces intercept a Florida speedboat “infiltrating” the island<\/a><\/span> Dominica: Dominica and the U.S. reach a deal on aslyum seekers and visa restrictions<\/a><\/span> Mexico: Mexican army kills leader of powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel during operation to capture him<\/a><\/span> Panama: Hong Kong lodges \u2018strong\u2019 protest after Panama takes control of canal ports<\/a><\/span> The SHU World Review is produced by the Student Research Assistants of the DiploLab<\/a><\/span> at the School of Diplomacy and International Relations at Seton Hall University. Some summaries may be copied from article text. Back issues are available in Seton Hall\u2019s repository.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" East Asia & the Pacific Cambodia: Hun Manet bats for calm amid border dispute with Thailand Khmer Times (Cambodia)\u00a0 In his third interview with an international news agency during his mission abroad, Prime Minister Hun Manet underscored Cambodia and its people\u2019s desire for de-escalation of the border conflict with Thailand while reiterating his government\u2019s support for peaceful settlement of differences between the estranged neighbors. China: US to keep China trade tariffs steady ahead of key… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5878,"featured_media":173,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[53,5],"tags":[31,13,170,127,159,109,54,110,8,100,173,79,167,55,71,80,120,91,107,9,32,24,10,63,103,165,36,58,150,113,11,62,42,16,18,168,161,147,141,29,59,169,142,132,121,60,93,133,172,157,19,74,171,35,116,99],"class_list":["post-170","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-53","category-issues","tag-afghanistan","tag-albania","tag-argentina","tag-bangladesh","tag-barbados","tag-bhutan","tag-cambodia","tag-canada","tag-china","tag-cuba","tag-dominica","tag-drc","tag-ethoipia","tag-fiji","tag-india","tag-indonesia","tag-iran","tag-israel","tag-italy","tag-japan","tag-kazakhstan","tag-kenya","tag-laos","tag-lebanon","tag-malaysia","tag-maldives","tag-mexico","tag-myanmar","tag-nepal","tag-nigeria","tag-north-korea","tag-palestine","tag-panama","tag-poland","tag-russia","tag-senegal","tag-singapore","tag-slovakia","tag-somalia","tag-south-africa","tag-south-korea","tag-south-sudan","tag-sri-lanka","tag-switzerland","tag-syria","tag-taiwan","tag-tajikistan","tag-tonga","tag-trinidad","tag-turkmenistan","tag-ukraine","tag-united-kingdom","tag-uruguay","tag-uzbekistan","tag-vietnam","tag-zambia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/diplolab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/diplolab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/diplolab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/diplolab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5878"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/diplolab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=170"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/diplolab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":172,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/diplolab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170\/revisions\/172"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/diplolab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/173"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/diplolab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=170"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/diplolab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=170"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/diplolab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=170"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nKhmer Times (Cambodia)\u00a0<\/em>
\nIn his third interview with an international news agency during his mission abroad, Prime Minister Hun Manet underscored Cambodia and its people\u2019s desire for de-escalation of the border conflict with Thailand while reiterating his government\u2019s support for peaceful settlement of differences between the estranged neighbors.<\/p>\n
\nSouth China Morning Post (Hong Kong)\u00a0<\/em>
\nWashington will keep China tariffs at their current level as the Trump administration seeks \u201ccontinuity\u201d after the Supreme Court\u202fstruck down the levies it imposed last year, according to US Trade Representative\u202fJamieson Greer, weeks ahead of a high-stakes meeting between the two countries\u2019 leaders.<\/p>\n
\nFiji Sun (Fiji)\u00a0<\/em>
\nFiji will host United States Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau this week in a high-level visit aimed at strengthening strategic and economic ties between the two countries.<\/p>\n
\nJakarta Globe (Indonesia)\u00a0<\/em>
\nBoth Russia and Ukraine have reacted quite differently to Indonesia\u2019s abstention in a UN resolution on a truce, with Moscow saying that it understands why Jakarta is not picking sides.<\/p>\n
\nBBC (United Kingdom)\u00a0<\/em>
\nJapan plans to deploy surface-to-air missiles to its remote western island near Taiwan by March 2031, its\u00a0defence\u00a0minister said, as regional tensions simmer.\u00a0It is the first time that Japan specified a timeline for the missile deployment to\u00a0Yonaguni\u00a0island since it was announced in 2022.<\/p>\n
\nLaotian Times (Laos)\u00a0<\/em>
\nThailand has announced a relaxation of oil export controls at the Chong Mek border crossing in Ubon Ratchathani, effective 27 February.\u00a0The move aims to\u00a0facilitate\u00a0smoother cross-border fuel shipments to Laos. However, strict controls on shipments to Cambodia remain in place.\u00a0The shift comes after\u00a0previous\u00a0scrutiny over fuel movements at Chong Mek, where unusually high volumes of fuel shipments sparked concerns.<\/p>\n
\nMalay Mail (Malaysia)\u00a0<\/em>
\nA prominent local family is said to be involved in engaging international public relations firms and media\u00a0organizations\u00a0in an alleged plot to topple the government and sabotage national stability.<\/p>\n
\nMyanmar Now (Myanmar)\u00a0<\/em>
\nLower and upper houses will meet in mid-March following a military-run vote that handed the USDP 81 percent of elected seats, fueling speculation Min Aung Hlaing could seek the presidency.<\/p>\n
\nNK News (South Korea)\u00a0<\/em>
\nNorth Korean leader Kim Jong Un left the door open for future negotiations with the U.S. if it accepts Pyongyang\u2019s \u201cirreversible\u201d nuclear status, while rejecting all engagement with South Korea, state media reported after the conclusion of the Ninth Party Congress.<\/p>\n
\nChannel News Asia (Singapore)\u00a0<\/em>
\nSpeaking in parliament on Friday (Feb 27) as he laid out his ministry’s priorities for the year, Dr Balakrishnan said that the post-World War II international order \u2013 built on multilateralism, international law, free markets, global supply\u00a0chains\u00a0and institutions like the United Nations \u2013 has\u00a0come to an end.<\/p>\n
\nThe Korea Herald (South Korea)\u00a0<\/em>
\nPresident Lee Jae Myung is set to visit Singapore and the Philippines to expand Seoul\u2019s bilateral ties with the two countries into key future growth sectors, including artificial intelligence and nuclear energy, Cheong\u00a0Wa\u00a0Dae said Friday.<\/p>\n
\nFocus Taiwan (Taiwan)\u00a0<\/em>
\nA U.S. think tank has urged Taiwan to adopt a “hellscape” strategy that would flood the Taiwan Strait with drones and other uncrewed systems to deter a potential invasion by China.<\/p>\n
\nMatangi Tonga (Tonga)\u00a0<\/em>
\nThe United States and Tonga signed an enhanced maritime security agreement today, Friday during a brief but high-level visit by\u202fU.S.\u202fDeputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, deepening cooperation to combat illegal fishing, drug\u00a0trafficking\u00a0and transnational crime across the\u202fPacific.<\/p>\n
\nBBC News (Vietnam)\u00a0<\/em>
\n(Translated from Vietnamese)\u00a0According to the conclusion of the Police Investigation Agency of the Ministry of Public Security, Ms. Nguyen\u00a0Thi\u00a0Kim Tien, former Minister of Health, has been identified as responsible for the irregularities that occurred at Bach Mai Hospital and Viet Duc Hospital’s second facility.<\/p>\nEurope & Eurasia<\/h3>\n
\nBalkan Insight (Bosnia & Herzegovina)\u00a0<\/em>
\nAfter months of defending his deputy and Minister of Infrastructure, Belinda\u00a0Balluku, who faces allegations of manipulating public tenders, Prime Minister Edi Rama dismissed her.<\/p>\n
\nReuters (United Kingdom)\u00a0<\/em>
\nThe European Commission said that member states may use an existing EU social fund to\u00a0terminate\u00a0pregnancies free of charge for women visiting from EU nations that restrict access to safe abortions.<\/p>\n
\nPolitico.eu (Belgium)\u00a0<\/em>
\nThe Italian government wants the European Union to pause on its flagship climate law, the Emissions Trading System, demanding Brussels suspend the mechanism entirely ahead of a broader review of the policy later this year.<\/p>\n
\nReuters (United Kingdom)\u00a0<\/em>
\nPoland plans to introduce\u00a0new legislation\u00a0to ban social media for children under 15 years of age and will hold platforms responsible for age verification, Education Minister\u00a0Barbara Nowacka told Bloomberg News in an interview.<\/p>\n
\nEUobserver\u00a0(Belgium)\u00a0<\/em>
\nTensions between Slovakia, Hungary, and Ukraine\u00a0increased\u00a0over the past week, as Russian oil\u00a0hasn\u2019t\u00a0been flowing to the two EU countries through the Druzhba pipeline for weeks.<\/p>\n
\nEuro News (Belgium)<\/em>
\nB\u00f8rge Brende, the President and Chief of the World Economic Forum (WEF) stepped down after the organization opened an internal probe into his past contacts with disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.<\/p>\n
\nReuters (United Kingdom)\u00a0<\/em>
\nThe International Monetary Fund’s executive board approved an\u00a0$8.1 billion, four-year loan for Ukraine, with\u00a0$1.5 billion\u00a0to be disbursed\u00a0immediately\u00a0to help keep the government running as its war against Russia’s invasion drags into a fifth year.<\/p>\n
\nThe Guardian (United Kingdom)\u00a0<\/em>
\nA local ceasefire around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southeastern Ukraine\u202fhas been agreed, with the help of the\u202fInternational Atomic Energy Agency, to allow for necessary repairs of the backup power lines to the plant.<\/p>\n
\nBBC (United Kingdom)\u00a0<\/em>
\nThe\u00a0European\u00a0Commission has asked the EU\u2019s anti-fraud agency to investigate\u00a0Lord Mandelson following the release of documents in the US relating to\u00a0the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein<\/p>\nNear East<\/h3>\n
\nAssociated Press (United States)\u00a0<\/em>
\nIran and the United States held hours of indirect negotiations Thursday over Tehran\u2019s nuclear program but walked away without a deal, leaving the danger of another Mideast war on the table as the U.S. has gathered a massive fleet of\u00a0aircraft\u00a0and warships in the region. Trump wants a deal to constrain Iran\u2019s nuclear program, and he sees an opportunity while the country is struggling at home with growing dissent following nationwide protests. Iran also hopes to avert war, but\u00a0maintains\u00a0it has the right to enrich uranium and does not want to discuss other issues, like its long-range missile program or support for armed groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.<\/p>\n
\nBBC (United Kingdom)\u00a0<\/em>
\nA fresh wave of anti-government protests staged by students at several Iranian universities that began on Saturday has spread to more campuses. They are the first large-scale demonstrations in the country since the nationwide protests in December and January which led to a brutal crackdown by the authorities.<\/p>\n
\nBBC (United Kingdom)\u00a0<\/em>
\nIran\u2019s Supreme Leader Khamenei is confirmed to have been killed during joint US and Israeli strikes in Iran. Conflict has spread through the region,\u00a0particularly between Iranian-backed groups like Hezbollah and Israeli forces,\u00a0with Donald Trump commenting that there will\u00a0likely be\u00a0additional\u00a0deaths of US\u00a0servicepeople.<\/p>\n
\nAl Jazeera (Qatar)\u00a0<\/em>
\nHamas and the Palestinian Authority (PA) have condemned an announcement by the United States that it will offer consular services at a settlement in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. In a statement on Wednesday, Hamas described the move as \u201ca dangerous precedent\u201d and \u201ca practical recognition of the legitimacy of colonial-settlements and the occupation\u2019s control over the West Bank.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nAl Jazeera (Qatar)<\/em>
\nIndia\u2019s Prime Minister Narendra Modi was greeted by Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel at the start of a visit aimed at strengthening diplomatic ties. Modi\u2019s visit comes as Israel continues to violate a ceasefire intended to stop its genocidal war on Gaza.<\/p>\n
\nAl Jazeera (Qatar)\u00a0<\/em>
\nIsrael\u2019s\u00a0Defence\u00a0Minister Israel Katz has signed a military order\u00a0designating\u00a0five Palestinian local online media platforms as \u201cterrorist\u201d\u00a0organisations, alleging links to Hamas, according to local Israeli media. The order announced by Katz on Monday targets Al Asima News, Quds Plus,\u00a0Alquds\u00a0Albawsala, Maraj and Maydan\u00a0Alquds. It said the outlets are used to incite unrest, particularly in Jerusalem.<\/p>\n
\nAssociated Press (United States)\u00a0<\/em>
\nLebanon\u2019s Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji on Tuesday urged the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah not to get involved in any fighting between the United States and Iran, expressing concerns about a new\u00a0possible conflict\u00a0with Israel. Rajji told journalists in Geneva that Lebanese officials had been warned that\u00a0in the event of\u00a0another Israel-Hezbollah war, Israel would strike harder against civilian infrastructure across Lebanon than in the\u00a0previous\u00a0round of fighting.<\/p>\n
\nAssociated Press (United States)\u00a0<\/em>
\nDozens of Jewish settlers carrying clubs, rocks and bottles of flammable liquid strode into the Palestinian hamlet of\u00a0Susiya\u00a0and set fire to vehicles, security camera footage obtained by The Associated Press on Wednesday shows.\u00a0Susiya\u00a0is in the hills of the southern West Bank, where Palestinians often experience settler attacks.<\/p>\n
\nAl Jazeera (Qatar)\u00a0<\/em>
\nA Syrian official has confirmed \u201cmass escapes\u201d from a facility housing relatives of suspected ISIL (ISIS) fighters in northern Syria last month after the withdrawal of Kurdish-led forces who had previously controlled the camp. Noureddine al-Baba, the\u00a0spokesman\u00a0for Syria\u2019s Ministry of Interior, told reporters in Damascus on Wednesday that Syrian forces had discovered more than 138 breaches in the camp\u2019s 17km (11-mile) perimeter wall.<\/p>\nSub-Saharan Africa<\/h3>\n
\nAfrica Defense Forum\u00a0(United States)\u00a0<\/em>
\nAfrica leads the world in mobile money use, with over 1.1 billion accounts, and sub-Saharan Africa accounted for 74% of global transactions in 2024, according to the GSMA. But weak regulation and low digital literacy have left users exposed to cybercrime. This costs African countries millions to online thieves, like Kenya in 2023, which lost an estimated $883 million. Efforts to combat cybercrime have\u00a0advanced somewhat, with\u00a0Afripol\u00a0and Interpol working together. However, persistent gaps in coordinated cybersecurity across Africa highlight the need for the continent to become more self-reliant instead of relying on the international community, experts argue.<\/p>\n
\nallAfrica\u00a0(United States)\u00a0<\/em>
\nRecently released U.S. records show that convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein built ties with West African elites, including the son of former Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade, Karim Wade, and the niece of Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara, Nina Keita. Documents reveal that Epstein met Wade in 2010 and formed a close personal and business relationship, with no link to sex trafficking crimes, introducing him to high-profile figures like then-Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Chinese\u00a0businessman\u00a0Desmond Shum.<\/p>\n
\nSemafor (United States)<\/em>
\nAs part of the new U.S. foreign policy in Africa following “trade-not-aid”, the US and the Democratic Republic of Congo have signed a billion-dollar health deal. Of the\u00a0$1.2 billion\u00a0health agreement, over the next five years, the US will fund three-quarters and the\u00a0DRC\u00a0the rest. Although many African countries have agreed to similar deals, experts warn that the aid cuts could lead to many more deaths, as many regional nations are already struggling to get by.<\/p>\n
\nAl Jazeera (Qatar)\u00a0<\/em>
\nAnalysts say it\u00a0remains\u00a0unclear whether Ethiopia will formally join any new Israeli-led alliance following Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s visit to Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa. This visit comes days after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu proposed a “hexagon” alliance of countries that include Israel, India, Greece, and Cyprus to counter regional adversaries like Iran. While Israel and Ethiopia share historic and strategic ties, T\u00fcrkiye and Saudi Arabia have also recently engaged with Ethiopia, leaving the country to caustically balance regional pressures<\/p>\n
\nThe Eastleigh Voice (Kenya)\u00a0<\/em>
\nKenyan President William Ruto announced that two border crossings with Somalia will reopen in April, ending a closure that has been in place since 2011 due to security concerns related to Al-Shabaab. The reopening is expected to promote increased trade, tourism, and travel, as well as boost regional integration, with traders and community leaders on both sides recognizing the strong connections between the two nations. While the decision is welcomed, officials also\u00a0state\u00a0that strengthened security measures will be implemented to address the ongoing threat from militants.<\/p>\n
\nallAfrica\u00a0(United States)\u00a0<\/em>
\nYouth groups in Kaduna State are leading protests over the detention of former Governor Nasir El-Rufai, whom they argue undermines due process and legal fairness. Following an invitation from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), El-Rufai returned to Nigeria earlier this month. Two days later, he was transferred to the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), where he\u00a0remains\u00a0detained. Opposition leaders have labeled the action a “systematic clampdown” on dissent, pointing to the recent arrest and arraignment of former Attorney General Abubakar Malam as evidence of a pattern targeting key opposition figures.<\/p>\n
\nSemafor (United States)\u00a0<\/em>
\nFollowing the 2024 revelation of billions in previously undisclosed borrowing by Senegal’s former government, the country’s debt now exceeds 130% of GDP. Senegal’s finance minister said the country and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have not reached an agreement on a new lending program following their recent discussions. While Dakar has dismissed the idea of debt restructuring and is instead exploring the regional debt market, some economists caution that restructuring might not be an option. They warn that aggressive efforts to repay debts could\u00a0ultimately be\u00a0more costly.<\/p>\n
\nAl Jazeera (Qatar)\u00a0<\/em>
\nSouth African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that eleven South African men believed to have been “lured” into fighting for Russia in\u00a0the Ukraine\u00a0conflict are expected to return home. Diplomatic efforts were prompted after distress calls from 17 men trapped in the conflict zone, with Ramaphosa thanking Russian President Vladimir Putin for enabling their repatriation. South African law forbids citizens from joining foreign militaries without permission. Investigations are underway into how these men were recruited through false job offers. At least three people in South Africa are being investigated, including\u00a0Duduzile\u00a0Zuma-Sambudla, the daughter of former President Jacob Zuma.\u00a0She has denied involvement but resigned from her parliamentary position following the allegations.<\/p>\n
\nAl Jazeera (Qatar)\u00a0<\/em>
\nA UN report by the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan (CHRSS) warns that the country faces a risk of returning to full-scale conflict due to rising violence, persistent impunity, and extensive civilian abuses. Presented at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, the report details killings, widespread sexual violence, arbitrary arrests, and large-scale displacement. The investigation, which lasted a year, criticizes political and military leaders for destabilizing the 2018 peace agreement and calls for regional and global\u00a0intervention. To avoid a resumption of civil war, the report recommends enforcing the UN arms\u00a0embargo\u00a0and implementing long-overdue transitional justice measures.<\/p>\n
\nAfrica Press\u00a0(South Africa)\u00a0<\/em>
\nZambia has rejected part of a US global health agreement exceeding\u00a0$1 billion, citing misalignment with national interests and concerns over data sharing related to mining. The deal, aimed at combating HIV and improving maternal and child health, would have\u00a0required\u00a0$340 million in co-funding from Zambia. Health advocates warned that it might prioritize mining sector interests over public health. This rejection comes amid heightened scrutiny of US health funding in Africa, as countries like Zimbabwe withdrew from a $367 million deal over data privacy concerns, and Kenya’s\u00a0$1.6 billion\u00a0arrangement was put on hold pending legal review.<\/p>\nSouth & Central Asia<\/h3>\n
\nThe Hindu\u00a0(India)\u00a0<\/em>
\nAfghanistan’s military launched an attack on Thursday (February 26, 2026) on Pakistan to retaliate for\u00a0Pakistani airstrikes on Afghan border areas earlier in the week, claiming to have captured more than a dozen Pakistani army posts in the latest escalation of violence between the volatile neighbors.<\/p>\n
\nAP News\u00a0(United States)\u00a0<\/em>
\nPakistan and Afghanistan exchanged cross-border attacks overnight in a\u202fdramatic escalation of tensions\u202fthat led Pakistan\u2019s defense minister to say on Friday that the two countries are in a state of \u201copen war.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nAl Jazeera (Qatar)
\nAfghanistan\u2019s Taliban rulers have said they are\u00a0open to negotiations\u00a0to bring an end to the conflict. But Pakistan on Saturday said there would be \u201cno dialogue\u201d,\u00a0repeating its long-running demand that Afghanistan stop\u00a0harbouring\u00a0\u201cterrorism\u201d,\u00a0an allegation Kabul denies. \u201cThere\u00a0won\u2019t\u00a0be any talks.\u00a0There\u2019s\u00a0no dialogue.\u00a0There\u2019s\u00a0no negotiation. Terrorism from Afghanistan\u00a0has to\u00a0end,\u201d the Pakistani prime minister\u2019s spokesperson for foreign media, Mosharraf Zaidi, told Pakistan TV, stressing that Pakistan\u2019s responsibility was to protect its citizens and territory.<\/p>\n
\nProthom Alo (Bangladesh)\u00a0<\/em>
\nRezaul Karim (Badsha), president of the\u00a0Bogura\u00a0district unit of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), has received his party\u2019s nomination to contest the by-election in the Bogra-6 constituency, vacated by BNP\u00a0chairman\u00a0and Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.<\/p>\n
\nKuensel (Bhutan)<\/em>
\nAccording to the finance ministry\u2019s Annual Macroeconomic Performance and Outlook Report 2026, debt is projected to increase to Nu 382.1 billion by the end of fiscal year\u00a02025-26, up from Nu 303.57 billion at the end of fiscal year 2024-25. The debt-to-GDP\u00a0ratio is estimated at 110.47 percent as of June this year.<\/p>\n
\nAl\u00a0Jazeera (Qatar)\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>
\nIndian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged closer cooperation on various projects, including the proposed India-Middle East Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) and the I2U2\u00a0as part of a broader push to deepen economic and strategic cooperation with Israel and key Middle Eastern partners, positioning India at the\u00a0centre\u00a0of emerging trade and technology corridors amid shifting regional geopolitics.<\/p>\n
\nAzattyq\u00a0(Kazakhstan)\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>
\nThe UK has imposed sanctions on three subsidiaries of the Russian nuclear power company Rosatom. London’s sanctions were prompted by Russia’s agreements to build nuclear power plants abroad. This has raised questions about whether the construction of the nuclear power plant being built by Rosatom in Kazakhstan will be delayed. The UK government suspects that Russia is opening\u00a0additional\u00a0sources of income through these nuclear power projects and offsetting its costs.<\/p>\n
\nSun Online (Maldives)\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>
\nThe Maldivian Foreign Ministry says it is keeping a close eye on the situation and is ready to\u00a0assist\u00a0Maldivian citizens in the Gulf region, as the United States and Israel attacked Iran on Saturday, prompting retaliatory fire directed at Israel and US bases across the region.<\/p>\n
\nThe Kathmandu Post\u00a0(Nepal)\u00a0<\/em>
\nNepal has urged Portugal to\u00a0provide\u00a0a one-time opportunity to hundreds of Nepalis facing serious legal trouble over fake stamps on police clearance certificates.<\/p>\n
\nAl Jazeera (Qatar)\u00a0<\/em>
\nSri Lanka\u2019s criminal investigators have arrested the country\u2019s former intelligence chief in connection with the wave of 2019 Easter Sunday bombings that killed 279 people and upended the nation\u2019s tourism economic lifeline, police said.\u00a0A whistleblower told the network that he had\u00a0permitted\u00a0the attack to\u00a0proceed\u00a0with the intention of influencing that year\u2019s presidential election in\u00a0favour\u00a0of Rajapaksa. Two days after the bombings, Rajapaksa declared his candidacy and went on to win the November vote in a landslide after promising to stamp out violence.<\/p>\n
\nOzodi\u00a0News (Tajikistan)\u00a0<\/em>
\nAccording to confirmed data, about 1,400 “mercenaries” from Central Asia have been killed in Russia’s war against Ukraine. Thousands of Central Asians are currently fighting in the Russian army against Ukraine. The source says that they are being sent to fight in\u00a0various ways\u00a0such as being granted Russian citizenship,\u00a0recieving\u00a0rubles, or have been promised freedom in exchange for fighting.<\/p>\n
\nTurkmen News\u00a0(Netherlands)
\nNazar\u00a0Atagarayev’s, the Minister of National Security of Turkmenistan was removed from his position after the death of a disabled person of the first group after being tortured by security forces.<\/p>\n
\nRadio\u00a0Free Europe\/ Radio\u00a0Liberty\u00a0(Czech Republic)
\nA wave of land disputes that began in eastern Uzbekistan has spread to\u00a0Sirdaryo, where farmers say authorities are using courts, debt enforcement, and administrative pressure to shift farmland into a system that favors foreign, particularly Chinese, investors.<\/p>\nWestern Hemisphere<\/h3>\n
\nAP News\u00a0(United States)\u00a0<\/em>
\nOn February 26th, Argentina and Uruguay became the first members of the Mercosur bloc — a South American political and economic bloc\u00a0comprised\u00a0of Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, Brazil, and suspended Venezuela — to ratify a free trade agreement with the European Union. It\u00a0establishes\u00a0a large free trade zone,\u00a0eliminating\u00a0tariffs on 91-92% of goods, and passed both South American governments with landslide votes.<\/p>\n
\nCaribbean Life News (United States)\u00a0<\/em>
\nThroughout the week of February 23rd, the prime ministers of Trinidad and Barbados clashed over allegations from both sides. The allegations stem from the arrest of a Trinidadian business and arms dealer on Barbadian soil with an alleged warrant from Trinidadian officials. Tension comes from the silence on both sides back when the arrest occurred in 2022 and now the forthright allegations of corruption and collusion.<\/p>\n
\nCNN\u00a0Brasil\u00a0(Brazil)
\nOn February 26th, the nomination of a deputy mayor has caused a deadlock within the Liberal Party of Brazil. The controversy began when a list created by Senator Flavio Bolsonaro was leaked, revealing a different direction than the President of the party, Valdemar Costa Neto. There are several competing names, but none have gained enough support to win the Senate seats, beginning the deadlock.<\/p>\n
\nAl Jazeera\u00a0(Qatar)\u00a0<\/em>
\nOn February 27th, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carne arrived in India for a landmark visit,\u00a0seeking\u00a0to diversify Canada\u2019s trade partners amidst tensions with the United States. Carney is expected to meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Monday to discuss partnerships spanning trade, energy, technology, artificial\u00a0intelligence\u00a0and defense. Carney will also need to work on repairing damaged relationships between India and Canada that had nosedived following deadly attacks against Sikh activists in Canada several years ago.<\/p>\n
\nCNN\u00a0(United States)\u00a0<\/em>
\nOn February 25th, Cuba announced that its forces fired at a Florida speedboat heading towards the island, fatally shooting four of the heavily armed individuals on board. A passenger on the boat shot at a Cuban vessel, wounding its commander and prompting a response. A statement from Cuba\u2019s interior ministry allege that the passengers of the speedboat were Cuban residents from the U.S. with terrorist backgrounds, armed with Molotov cocktails and assault rifles.<\/p>\n
\nEuroNews\u00a0(Belgium)\u00a0<\/em>
\nOn February 23rd, Dominica signed a deal with the Trump administration to begin receiving foreign nationals who were seeking asylum to the United States. Roosevelt Skerrit, Dominica\u2019s prime minister, explains that the deal is a step towards collaboration with the nation after Dominica was hit with partial visa and travel restrictions from the U.S.<\/p>\n
\nAP News\u00a0(United States)\u00a0<\/em>
\nOn\u00a0February 22nd\u00a0the Mexican Army killed the leader of Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Nemesio Rub\u00e9n Oseguera Cervantes, \u201cEl Mencho\u201d- striking a serious blow to one of Mexico\u2019s most powerful cartels. The drug lord\u2019s death thrust swaths of the nation into chaos as cartel members reacted by burning cars and blocking roads. The killing is one of the Mexican administration\u2019s biggest accomplishments in their efforts to crack down on the cartels.<\/p>\n
\nBBC News\u00a0(United Kingdom)
\nOn February 23, Panama took control of two ports that been run by Hong Kong-based company CK Hutchison for more than two decades. The next day Hong Kong lodged a formal complaint with the government of Panama accusing Panamanian authorities of taking them over by force and undermining international trade rules. This occurs after a ruling last month by Panama\u2019s Supreme Court that annulled contracts allowing the firm to\u00a0operate\u00a0the container ports, following claims by U.S. President Donald trump that China was\u00a0operating\u00a0the canal.<\/p>\n
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