European Union leaders vowed to seal (Politico) the Greek border after Turkey eased its controls on outward migration. EU interior ministers are expected to pledge to take (Kathimerini) “all necessary measures” to prevent illegal entries into the bloc. Police have fired tear gas and stun grenades at migrants attempting to enter Greece from Turkey in recent days.
 
Greece froze asylum applications (AP) for a month, and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell met with Turkish officials (Anadolu) in Ankara. Since 2016, Turkey has prevented migrants from entering the EU in exchange for the bloc’s financial support. Ankara reneged on the deal after escalating violence in northwestern Syria led to an influx of Syrian migrants (BBC) entering Turkey.

Chinese social media firms began blocking (Reuters) references to the new coronavirus, including keywords such as “people-to-people transmission” and other public health–related phrases, as early as December, according to watchdog group Citizen Lab.
 
Malaysia: The start of an upcoming parliamentary session will be delayed (Straits Times) by at least two months. Lawmakers have vowed to immediately challenge newly appointed Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to a confidence vote (SCMP).

The United States carried out an air strike (TOLO) against the Taliban in Afghanistan’s southern Helmand province after the militant group targeted Afghan forces there. Yesterday, U.S. President Donald J. Trump spoke to a Taliban leader (TOLO) by phone.
 
CFR President Richard N. Haass writes about the probable failure of the U.S.-Taliban deal.
 
India: Federal officials met with social media giants including Twitter and Facebook and threatened to take criminal action (Hindustan Times) if the companies fail to remove content that could inspire violence similar to last week’s riots in Delhi.
 
This CFR Backgrounder looks at how different countries address hate speech on social media.

The UN nuclear watchdog said Iran tripled its stockpile (FT) of enriched uranium over the past three months and that it refused to answer queries about three possible undeclared nuclear sites.
 
Syria: Washington announced it will provide $108 million (State Department) in new humanitarian aid to Syria.

The country’s AIDS commission is finalizing clinical trials (DW) of an injectable HIV drug set to be released next year.
 
Ethiopia: The government recognized (Quartz) four additional working languages—Afan Oromo, Afar, Somali, and Tigrigna—in an effort to better integrate Ethiopia’s various ethnic groups.

Lawmakers are expected to vote today on whether to approve a government overhaul (FT) by President Volodymyr Zelensky. The legislature has yet to push through an economic reform that the International Monetary Fund says would unlock a $5.5 billion loan.
 
This CFR Timeline looks at Ukraine’s post-independence struggles.

U.S. prosecutors are investigating allegations (AP) that Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez accepted a $25,000 bribe to protect a drug trafficker in 2013.

Former Vice President Joe Biden won (NYT) at least 390 delegates in the Super Tuesday Democratic primaries, while Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders won at least 330, distinguishing the two as front-runners in the Democratic field.

Sixty-four countries experienced a deterioration in political freedoms last year, while only thirty-seven showed improvements, according to Freedom House’s new report. The watchdog group found that 2019 was the fourteenth consecutive year of net global democratic backsliding.