An explosion hits the Israeli-owned cargo shipMV Helios Ray in the Gulf of Oman. No injuries are reported among the ship's 28 crew members. Israeli media reports, citing unnamed Israeli government officials, that Iran was likely behind the blast. (Bloomberg)
Security forces open fire against a crowd of demonstrators during anti-government protests in Nasiriyah, Iraq, killing 3 people and wounding 47 others. Two other protestors have also been killed in the past few days. (Al Jazeera)
Claude Ibalanky, the coordinator of the National Monitoring Mechanism of the Addis Ababa Agreement (MNS), reveals at a workshop organized by the MNS and MONUSCO in Kinshasa that there are residents taking advantage of the instability in eastern Congo. (Radio Okapi)
The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) kill three civilians in an ambush on the Beni-Kasindi road. Congolese and MONUSCO troops positioned nearby then clashed with the ADF, forcing them to retreat. (Radio Okapi)
IndonesianHealth MinisterBudi Gunadi Sadikin issues a new regulation that authorizes a mutual assistance vaccine programme so that private companies can buy state-approved vaccines in order to vaccinate their staff. (Tempo.co)
Belgium announces that easing of major COVID-19-related restrictions will be put on hold for another week due to an increase in the number of COVID-19 infections and the spread of the Lineage B.1.1.7 variant. (ABC News)
Authorities in Greater Helsinki order the closure of public and private facilities, such as gyms, indoor sports venues, saunas, playgrounds, and swimming pools for two weeks beginning March 1 as part of measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19. (Yle)
The Spanishhealth ministry announces that people under 55 who have already been infected with COVID-19 will be given just a single dose of the vaccine, six months after their infection. (The Local Spain)
Brasília enters a 24-hour lockdown for all non-essential services due to an increase in COVID-19 cases that has pushed the city's intensive care units to near full capacity with more than 80% of beds already occupied. (Reuters)
Papua New Guinea reports a record 89 new confirmed cases in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 1,228. (France 24)
Arnel Joseph, a powerful Haitian gang leader, is killed in a gun battle with police in L'Estère a day after escaping from prison during a riot. The death toll from the incident rise to a total of 25 people, including many civilians killed by the inmates after randomly opening fire in the streets. The prison's director, six inmates and police officers are among the dead. Sixty more prisoners who escaped are captured and arrested, while more than 200 others are still on the run. (BBC News)