UN special envoy fears escalation of violence in Myanmar

The UN special envoy for Myanmar, Tom Andrews, has warned of the deterioration of the situation
in the Southeast Asian country. Andrews said he had information that soldiers from the surrounding
regions had been sent to Rangoon. Thousands of people want to demonstrate against the military
coup there again. The UN special envoy warned that troop movements of this kind have occurred in
the past, before murders, disappearances and numerous arrests. He also heard of a secret trial
against the deposed de facto Prime Minister Aung San Suu Kyi.

Iran no longer wants to cooperate fully with the IAEA

Iran wants to significantly reduce its cooperation with the inspectors of the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA) from Tuesday. Tehran had informed the authority in Vienna that from
February 23, the experts would no longer have unlimited access to the nuclear facilities in Iran, said
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi. After the US withdrew from the nuclear deal in 2018, Iran has
also been gradually ignoring all of the technical templates in the deal since May 2019. According to
the experts, with the latest announcement there is de facto nothing left of the agreement.

Japan starts the first vaccinations

Less than six months before the planned Summer Olympics in Tokyo and significantly later than
other countries, Japan has now also started the first vaccinations against the corona virus. First,
40,000 healthcare workers are to be injected with the vaccine from the US company Pfizer and its
German partner Biontech. Among them are 20,000 doctors and nurses who had agreed to take part
in a study on possible side effects. Another 3.7 million healthcare workers are expected to receive
the vaccinations in March.

The seven-day incidence of corona in Germany is falling again

The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) has reported 7556 new infections in Germany. That is around 500
cases less than on Wednesday a week ago, when around 600 cases were also reported from North
Rhine-Westphalia. 560 people died in connection with the virus. A week ago, 813 new deaths were
recorded. This increases the number of deaths to a total of 66,164. The seven-day incidence drops to
57 from the last 59. The value indicates how many people per 100,000 inhabitants have been
infected with the corona virus in the past seven days.

For the time being, no additional German soldiers for the Sahel zone

Despite the tense security situation in the Sahel zone, the federal government does not want to send
any more soldiers into the region. In Berlin, Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas referred to the up
to 1,550 Bundeswehr soldiers who are already serving in Mali as part of EU and United Nations
missions. With this, the federal government rejects France's wish for increased military aid.
President Emmanuel Macron announced that his country would not increase its military presence in
the North African region for the time being, but would wait for commitments from international
partners.
Trump recommends removing his adversary McConnell

A few days after his acquittal in the Senate, former US President Donald Trump settled accounts with
his former ally, top Republican Mitch McConnell. Trump called on Republican senators to remove
the minority leader from the Congress Chamber. Republicans could never be strong again with
political "leaders" like Senator McConnell at the helm, Trump said. He berated McConnell as grumpy,
ill-tempered political useless. The 78-year-old had blamed Trump for the attack on the Capitol on
January 6th.

More than 20 dead from the onset of winter in the USA and Mexico

The onset of winter in the United States and neighboring Mexico, according to media reports, more
than 20 people died as of Tuesday. In the southern state of Texas, hardest hit by the cold snap, a
woman and a girl who tried to warm up with the help of a car suffocated, according to a report by
NBC News. Two homeless people froze to death in the city of Houston. The extreme winter weather
triggered at least four tornadoes. Six people were killed in northern Mexico, five of them from
hypothermia.