Social media giant Facebook blocked users in Australia from posting news stories on its platform and halted global sharing (Bloomberg) of content from Australian media companies. The move sidesteps a proposed Australian law that would require Facebook and fellow tech company Google to pay news outlets (NYT) for articles that appear on their platforms. Though it also opposes the measure, Google has made several deals with media companies.
 
Facebook’s decision triggered swift backlash from politicians, news outlets, and human rights groups. Emergency warnings, charities, and state government accounts that provide health information were among those swept up (Reuters) in the scrub of news pages. Facebook said it would unblock accounts targeted accidentally, but Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison rebuked the social media company (SMH) for “cutting off essential information services” and said its actions would solidify other governments’ concerns about how technology companies operate. Indeed, regulators in other countries are watching Australia’s bill, which could become law next week.

The United States unsealed charges (NYT) against three North Korean military intelligence officers whom it accused of carrying out multiple cyberattacks and attempting to steal more than $1.3 billion worth of cash and cryptocurrency from banks and businesses.

The military announced arrest warrants (Reuters) for six celebrities for urging civil servants to participate in protests against the military’s seizure of power. Nearly five hundred people have been arrested since the February 1 coup.
 
India: A New Delhi court found journalist Priya Ramani not guilty (Times of India) after former minister M. J. Akbar accused her of criminal defamation for alleging that he sexually harassed her in 1993. Ramani’s supporters celebrated the verdict as a victory for the #MeToo movement in India.

U.S. President Joe Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after a four-week delay that some observers saw as a snub. Netanyahu’s office said the leaders discussed issues (Times of Israel) including Iran and recent Arab-Israeli normalization deals, while the White House said Biden affirmed his goals of strengthening the bilateral relationship and advancing regional peace.
 
Iran: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet virtually (RFE/RL) with his British, French, and German counterparts today to discuss the future of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. The United States left the agreement in 2018 and has heavily sanctioned Iran.

Dozens of students, staff members, and others were kidnapped (This Day) from a school in central Nigeria early yesterday morning. President Muhammadu Buhari ordered security forces to rescue the abductees (AFP).
 
Ethiopia/Sudan: Sudan recalled its ambassador to Ethiopia after months of escalating tensions over their shared border. Negotiations have failed to resolve the dispute (AP).

The European Court of Human Rights instructed Russia (AFP) to immediately release imprisoned opposition leader Alexey Navalny after considering Navalny’s argument that remaining in custody endangers his life. Though obliged to abide by the ruling, the Kremlin rejected it as “unreasonable and unlawful” and an interference in Russian affairs.
 
CFR’s Stephen Sestanovich explains how protests over Navalny’s arrest challenged Russian President Vladimir Putin.
 
Georgia: Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia resigned in protest (FT) after a court in the capital, Tbilisi, ruled to detain opposition leader Nika Melia. Melia’s detention was later postponed. Political turmoil has embroiled Georgia since the opposition rejected October parliamentary election results.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said that his regime had “heaps of contacts” (LAHT) with the administration of former U.S. President Donald J. Trump, and that Trump-era exchanges were congenial. The Trump administration levied sanctions on Venezuela and publicly sought to force Maduro from office.
 
CFR’s Paul J. Angelo outlines how the United States can help the Venezuelan people in this Council Special Report.
 
Mexico: Authorities arrested at least six people (AP) in the state of Nuevo Leon for trafficking fake versions of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at a private clinic.

Overall U.S. life expectancy fell (WaPo) by a year in the first six months of 2020, with Black and Latinx Americans experiencing even greater declines, according to provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The toll of COVID-19 and more drug overdose and heart attack deaths contributed to the drop.

At a UN Security Council meeting, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called vaccine equity “the biggest moral test” the world faces and called for a plan (Al Jazeera) to ensure global access to COVID-19 vaccines. So far, three-quarters of all vaccinations have been carried out by just ten countries, he said.
 
Think Global Health examines equity and the global COVID-19 vaccine rollout.