The United States and the Taliban signed an agreement (WaPo) laying out a fourteen-month timetable for full U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan in exchange for the prevention of attacks against the United States and its allies. Both sides pledged to support efforts to achieve a lasting cease-fire between the Taliban and the Afghan government.
 
The deal sets the stage (NYT) for the United States to withdraw from its longest foreign war with a partial drawdown of five thousand troops in the first 135 days. Within hours of the deal’s signing, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani publicly objected (TOLO) to one of its proposals, saying Washington did not have the authority to commit to an Afghan-Taliban prisoner swap that would occur by March 10, when intra-Afghan talks are set to begin.

Former interior minister Muhyiddin Yassin took office (Guardian) as prime minister after being nominated by Malaysia’s king. Parliament’s majority coalition leader and former prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, said he would seek a vote of no confidence (Straits Times) for Yassin.
 
North Korea: The country fired what appeared to be two short-range ballistic missiles (Yonhap) into the East Sea.

Israelis vote today (Haaretz) in their third general election in less than a year. Polls ahead of the election showed a slight advantage for incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party but suggested a continued impasse between the right-wing and centrist blocs.
 
In Foreign Affairs, Aluf Benn discusses whether the end of Netanyahu’s political career has finally arrived.
 
Iraq: Prime Minister-designate Mohammed Allawi stepped down (WSJ) after he was unable to form a government. President Barham Salih will have fifteen days to nominate a new prime minister.

The leaders of a Sufi Muslim group surrendered to Somalia’s government (VOA) after clashes between the group’s militias and government forces killed twenty-two people.
 
Zambia: Washington will grant Zambia $389 million for AIDS relief (Reuters) beginning in October, Zambia’s health ministry said.

Turkey’s military shot down (Al-Monitor) two Russian-made Syrian jets and struck (Anadolu) more than two thousand regime targets as part of a new military offensive in Syria’s northwest. Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on March 5.
 
In Foreign Affairs, Jennifer Cafarella writes that Washington has an opportunity to shape an end to Syria’s war.
 
Greece: Police fired tear gas, water cannons, and stun grenades at thousands of migrants who tried to enter Greece (Kathimerini) from Turkey after Ankara announced it would no longer stop migrant departures to Europe.

Guyanese voters will choose a legislature and president today in the first election (AFP) since a 2016 oil discovery that led the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to project that Guyana will become the world’s fastest growing economy this year. 
 
Argentina: President Alberto Fernandez said he will send Congress a bill (Guardian) to legalize abortion within ten days. In August 2018, a similar bill came close to passing but lacked presidential support. 

A federal judge ruled that the June 2019 appointment of Ken Cuccinelli, the head of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, failed to meet legal requirements (NPR) for filling vacancies. The ruling nullified Cuccinelli’s directive to reduce the time migrants are given to prepare for asylum interviews.

The United Nations released $15 million (UN) from its Central Emergency Fund to bolster global coronavirus containment efforts, particularly in countries with weak health systems.
 
In Think Global Health, a CFR initiative, Cyrus Shahpar, Amanda McClelland, and Tom Frieden discuss how to save lives in a coronavirus pandemic.