For the first time in almost 20 years, India and Pakistan have ceased firing across their shared border. Military officials from both nations released a joint statement stating they have agreed to a new ceasefire that went into effect at midnight on February 26, according to The New York Times.
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In a recent ruling, the Supreme Court of Brazil overturned the corruption conviction of former two-term President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Lula), according to BBC News. The conviction was related to the massive anti-corruption investigation known as “Operation Car Wash” that exposed the largest corruption scandal in Latin America. The Supreme Court, however, ruled that Lula’s conviction was invalid because the court he was tried in lacked jurisdiction.
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In Germany, corruption allegations are threatening the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) as well as its sister party the Christian Social Union (CSU) ahead of elections in multiple German states. The CDU is the party of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has been in power for 15 years. However, this scandal is coming just months before she planned to step down in September. BBC News notes that with Merkel leaving office, strong CDU leadership is needed if the party is to pick up the torch from the chancellor.
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Libya’s parliament has appointed a new interim government in hopes of progressing unification in the conflict-ridden state. The government of Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah will replace the rivaling East-West administrations that have been ruling Libya for years, a transition that PBS reports was approved by 132 lawmakers.
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In early March, Pope Francis embarked on a four-day trip to Iraq, where he met with political and religious rulers to encourage better Christian-Muslim relations. According to the official Vatican itinerary, titled Apostolic Journey of His Holiness Pope Francis to Iraq, the Pope arrived in Baghdad on March 5, where he was met by the Prime Minister and later that day visited the Iraqi President. He concluded his trip in Erbil, where he led mass in front of a large crowd. He preached words of encouragement to Christians living in Iraq, pointing to a better future in which they can restore the communities that were ravaged by ISIS militants years ago when they seized control of the region.
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Early in the day on March 7, a large explosion ripped through blocks of Bata, the largest city in Equatorial Guinea. The death toll continues to rise, with official reports hovering around a death toll of nearly 100 and an injured count close to 1,000, according to Reuters.
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Israel stands tall on the international stage with its success in vaccination distribution, while Palestinians under Israeli occupation await access to vaccines. According to Al Jazeera, “[Israel] has already supplied vaccine doses to more than half of its 9.3 million people in just less than two months, making it the world leader in the vaccination drive to inoculate populations.” However, recently, Israel has been criticized for shipping vaccines overseas as Palestinians remain unvaccinated.
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Facebook announced on March 2 that the company will lift its ban on Australians viewing and sharing news on the platform after the company struck a deal with the government regarding proposed legislation that would make tech companies pay for journalism shared on their platforms, the Associated Press reports.
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An unclassified report released by the Biden Administration on February 26 concludes that the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS), directly ordered the killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018, according to CNN.
Read MoreOn February 28, 47 pro-democracy protesters were arrested in Hong Kong on charges of conspiracy to commit subversion, The Associated Press reports. The news comes as yet another chapter in China’s quest to exert legal control over the former British colony.
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