DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
At least 60 people killed in militia attack in eastern DR Congo. Erikas Mwisi Kambale, Reuters: At least 60 people were killed in a militia attack early on Wednesday at a displaced persons’ camp in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the head of a local humanitarian group and a camp resident. At least 60 people killed in militia attack in eastern DR Congo
DRC: Dozens killed in attack on camp for displaced people. Al Jazeera: Suspected militiamen have attacked a camp for internally displaced people in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), killing dozens of people, according to local sources and a monitoring group. The overnight assault took place in the DRC’s restive Ituri province, which has been placed under a state of siege since May 2021, an exceptional measure taken by the government to combat armed groups roaming the country’s mineral-rich east. Local officials said on Wednesday that the militiamen killed at least 60 people at the displaced persons camp. DRC: Dozens killed in attack on camp for displaced people
GERMANY – RT
Germany bans German-language Russian state broadcaster RT. Al Jazeera: The German broadcasting regulator has banned the transmission of the German-language channel of Russian state broadcaster RT, amid rising tensions between Moscow and the West. The transmission of the channel “RT DE” was “prohibited because it does not have the necessary broadcasting licence”, the regulator’s authorisation and oversight commission said in a statement on Wednesday. Germany bans German-language Russian state broadcaster RT
INDIA
India wants big tech to take content down more actively: Report. Al Jazeera: Indian officials have held heated discussions with Google, Twitter and Facebook for not proactively removing what they described as fake news on their platforms, sources told Reuters, the government’s latest altercation with Big Tech. The officials, from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B), strongly criticised the companies and said their inaction on fake news was forcing the Indian government to order content takedowns, which in turn drew international criticism that authorities were suppressing free expression, two sources said. India wants big tech to take content down more actively: Report | Business and Economy News | Al Jazeera
IRAN – USA
Iran’s economy reveals power and limits of US sanctions. Maziar Motamedi, Al Jazeera: As economists, politicians, and pundits mull the threat of “swift and severe” United States economic sanctions against Russia should the latter invade Ukraine, one country that has long been in Washington’s crosshairs does not have to ponder what such punitive measures can do – Iran. Some 655 Iranian entities and individuals were sanctioned under the administration of former US President Barack Obama, according to data compiled by the Center for a New American Security (CNAS). But the most brutal punishment kicked off in 2018, after former US President Donald Trump’s administration unilaterally withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal with world powers and Iran’s banks were cut off from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication – SWIFT, the global financial messaging system. Iran’s economy reveals power and limits of US sanctions
ISLAMIC STATE – IRAQ – SYRIA
Islamic State hits back, aided by power vacuum in Iraq and Syria. John Davison, Reuters: Yousif Ibrahim no longer travels by night along the roads around his hometown of Jalawla in northeastern Iraq. He fears getting caught up in attacks by Islamic State. “The police and army don’t come into our area much anymore. If they do, they get shot at by militants,” said the 25-year-old, who sells fish for a living in a nearby market. Nearly three years after the group lost its final enclave, Islamic State fighters are re-emerging as a deadly threat, aided by the lack of central control in many areas, according to a dozen security officials, local leaders and residents in northern Iraq. Islamic State hits back, aided by power vacuum in Iraq and Syria
KAZAKHSTAN
Kazakh Lawmakers Approve Bill Further Curtailing Former President’s Power. RFE RL: Lawmakers in Kazakhstan have approved a bill stripping former President Nursultan Nazarbaev of more of his lifetime privileges after deadly protests swept across the Central Asian nation last month, in part fueled by anger over the accumulation of vast wealth by his family. Kazakh Lawmakers Approve Bill Further Curtailing Former President’s Power
KYRGYZSTAN
Kyrgyz Opposition Politician Moldokmatov Transferred To House Arrest. RFE RL: Jailed Kyrgyz opposition politician Jenish Moldokmatov, who is charged with attempting to seize control of the Central Asian state, has been transferred from a detention center to house arrest. Kyrgyz Opposition Politician Moldokmatov Transferred To House Arrest
OPEC+
OPEC+ sticks to planned output hikes despite surging oil prices. Al Jazeera: OPEC+ agreed on Wednesday to stick to moderate rises in its oil output, with the group already struggling to meet existing targets and wary of responding to calls on its strained capacity for more crude from top consumers to cap surging prices. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies led by Russia, a group known as OPEC+ that produces more than 40 percent of global oil supply, has faced calls from the United States, India and others to pump more oil as economies recover from the coronavirus pandemic. OPEC+ sticks to planned output hikes despite surging oil prices
PAKISTAN
Pakistan faces ‘hard choices’ for export growth: Commerce chief. Asad Hashim: Pakistan’s government is targeting a trade deficit of $30bn in the current fiscal year, with new export-centric policies focused on reducing the country’s reliance on textiles and providing incentives to other sectors, the country’s top commerce official has said. Textiles are the South Asian country’s major export, making up more than 60 percent of the country’s $25.3bn in exports last year, according to government data. Pakistan faces ‘hard choices’ for export growth: Commerce chief
RUSSIA – CHECHNYA
Russian Lawmaker From Chechnya Vows To Behead Family Members Of Rights Lawyer. RFE RL: A Russian lawmaker from the North Caucasus region of Chechnya has vowed to “cut off the heads” of all members of the family of Abubakar Yangulbayev, a former lawyer for the Committee Against Torture group, whose mother Zarema Musayeva was forcibly taken from her apartment in the city of Nizhny Novgorod and transferred to Chechnya last month. Adam Delimkhanov made the statement threatening Yangulbayev’s family during a live stream event he held on Instagram on February 1. Russian Lawmaker From Chechnya Vows To Behead Family Members Of Rights Lawyer
TURKEY
Turkish air raids target the PKK in northern Syria and Iraq. Paul Benjamin Osterlund, Al Jazeera: Turkey’s armed forces have launched air raids targeting the the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and its affiliates in three areas of northern Syria and Iraq, defence minister Hulusi Akar said. Ankara said the attacks were launched against positions occupied by the PKK, the People’s Protection Units (YPG) who it views as a PKK affiliate, and other “outlawed groups” in the northern Syrian area of Derik and the northern Iraqi regions of Sinjar and Karacak. Turkish air raids target the PKK in northern Syria and Iraq | PKK News | Al Jazeera
UKRAINE – RUSSIA
EU faces a complex task as it tries to agree Russia sanctions. Robin Emmott, John Irish, Reuters: The European Union says it is ready to impose “massive” economic sanctions on Russia if it invades Ukraine, but officials and diplomats say the threat depends on complex negotiations involving 27 member states that are far from complete. An invasion in the next few days, they say, would probably be too soon for EU negotiators who are still trying to find a package of measures that all can agree. Moscow denies it is planning an invasion and has accused the West of hysteria over a Russian troop buildup near Ukraine’s borders. Analysis: EU faces a complex task as it tries to agree Russia sanctions
U.S. to send troops to east Europe to counter Russia. Phil Stewart, Dmitry Antonov, Reuters: U.S. President Joe Biden has approved sending additional forces to eastern Europe, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Wednesday, as Washington reinforces its allies against what it describes as a Russian threat to invade Ukraine. U.S. to send troops to east Europe to counter Russia
U.S. Told Russia It Is Willing To Discuss Troop And Missile Limits, Spanish Paper Reports. RFE RL: The United States is prepared to hold talks with Russia on a reciprocal agreement over the deployment of ground-launched missiles or combat forces in Ukraine, documents published by the Spanish newspaper El Pais revealed as the Kremlin urged Washington to stop “whipping up tensions” in Europe. The documents, which El Pais says are the responses from Washington and NATO to security demands recently made by Russia, were published on February 2 ahead of a phone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to discuss tensions over Moscow’s troop build-up at the border with Ukraine that have raised fears of a possible invasion. U.S. Told Russia It Is Willing To Discuss Troop And Missile Limits, Spanish Paper Reports
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Rejects Special Status For Areas Controlled By Russia-Backed Separatists. RFE RL: Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba says his country will never give special status to parts of eastern regions of Luhansk and Donetsk, commonly known as the Donbas, which have been under the control of Russia-backed separatists since April 2014. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Rejects Special Status For Areas Controlled By Russia-Backed Separatists
Social media posts call on Russians to join separatist forces. Niko Vorobyov, Al Jazeera: Russian volunteers are being sought to reinforce separatist forces in eastern Ukraine over social media networking sites such as VK, the Russian-language equivalent to Facebook which has hundreds of millions of subscribers. Pinned to the top of a VK page titled “Army of the DPR”, which refers to the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), one of the two rebel-governed areas, is a post providing both Russian and Ukrainian contact numbers, as well as relevant street addresses in the city of Donetsk. Social media posts call on Russians to join separatist forces
Timeline: Ukraine’s turbulent history since independence in 1991. Al Jazeera: Russia has massed troops near Ukraine, and the West has threatened economic sanctions if it launches an invasion. Moscow denies planning an invasion but has demanded sweeping Western security guarantees in a tense standoff. Here is a timeline of the main events in Ukraine’s political history since it won independence from Moscow in 1991. Timeline: Ukraine’s turbulent history since independence in 1991 | Ukraine-Russia crisis News | Al Jazeera
USA – INDIGENOUS MEXICAN WORKERS
Amid pandemic, Indigenous Mexican workers in US fight to be heard. Brian Osgood, Al Jazeera: When Arcenio Lopez made the journey to the United States from his hometown of San Francisco Higos in the Mexican state of Oaxaca in 2003, he was just 21 years old. Spanish was commonly heard in his hometown, along with Mixteco, a language spoken by Indigenous Mixtec, or Nuu Savi, communities in southern Mexico. In California, Lopez found work in the strawberry fields surrounding a small city called Oxnard in Ventura County, around 100 kilometres (62 miles) northwest of Los Angeles. Amid pandemic, Indigenous Mexican workers in US fight to be heard
USA – KOSOVO – SERBIA
U.S. Envoy Urges Implementation Of All Kosovo-Serbia Agreements. RFE RL: All prior agreements reached under the framework of the European Union-led Kosovo-Serbia dialogue must be implemented, U.S. special envoy Gabriel Escobar said on February 2 at the end of a visit to Kosovo’s capital, Pristina. Escobar, speaking at a joint news conference with EU Special Representative Miroslav Lajcak, was referring to an agreement on creating an association of Serb-majority municipalities — an issue which has become a stumbling block in the EU’s efforts to push the dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo forward. U.S. Envoy Urges Implementation Of All Kosovo-Serbia Agreements
USA – UAE
US to send destroyer, fighter jets to UAE amid Houthi attacks. Al Jazeera: The United States will send a guided-missile destroyer and fifth-generation fighter jets to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the wake of recent missile attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, Washington’s top military official has said. In a phone call on Tuesday, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Abu bin Zayed Al Nahyan the Pentagon would send the “guided-missile destroyer USS Cole to partner with the UAE Navy before making a port call in Abu Dhabi”. US to send destroyer, fighter jets to UAE amid Houthi attacks
The Global Eye is in cooperation with The Science of Where Magazine
