The Joe Biden administration struck deals (AP) with Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico to boost security at their borders in an effort to curtail an influx of people, including a record number of unaccompanied children, arriving at the southern U.S. border.

The White House said (NYT) Mexico will maintain a force of about 10,000 troops at its southern border, while Guatemala and Honduras will deploy an additional 1,500 and 7,000 police and military personnel, respectively. However, the Honduran and Guatemalan governments denied making any specific commitments. Security forces in all three Latin American countries have been accused of perpetrating violence toward migrants (Guardian). Administration officials have stressed the need to address the root causes of migration, such as poverty, crime, and corruption. The United States has stepped up humanitarian aid (CNN) and is conducting a media campaign to discourage people from journeying to the country.

Taiwan’s defense ministry said twenty-five Chinese warplanes entered Taiwanese airspace yesterday (SCMP) amid escalating tensions between Beijing and Taipei. The incursion came a day after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned China against invading the island.

In this Council Special Report, CFR’s Robert D. Blackwill and the University of Virginia’s Philip Zelikow propose a strategy to prevent a war over Taiwan.

Japan: The government decided to release treated radioactive water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, which was damaged in a 2011 earthquake and tsunami, into the sea (Kyodo) in two years. China and South Korea, as well as the Japanese fishing industry, expressed concern, but the International Atomic Energy Agency supports the move.

The Taliban will not participate in peace talks (WSJ) this week with the Afghan government in Turkey, the militant group announced in a blow to U.S. efforts to jumpstart the faltering peace process. The group hasn’t ruled out joining talks at a later date.

India: The government approved Russia’s Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine (Scroll) for emergency use as it grapples with a surge of infections. It said vaccines that have been authorized for use by the World Health Organization (WHO) and certain countries, including the United States, would be fast-tracked for approval.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif warned that Sunday’s attack on the Natanz nuclear enrichment site will affect ongoing negotiations in Vienna (AP) on the United States’ return to the 2015 nuclear deal. Iran has blamed Israel, and Washington has denied involvement in the attack. But Zarif said that “neither sanctions nor sabotage” would provide leverage in the talks.

CFR’s Ray Takeyh looks at the impacts of the Natanz attack.

Syria: The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, a global watchdog, said it had “reasonable grounds to believe” that the Syrian air force dropped a chlorine bomb (Al Jazeera) on a residential neighborhood in the rebel-held Idlib region in 2018. Nobody died in the attack, but twelve people showed signs of chemical poisoning, the group said.

The Chadian government said yesterday that the Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT) attacked a border post (Reuters) in the country’s north over the weekend as vote counting began for the presidential election. FACT claimed responsibility for the attack. It joined other opposition groups in accusing President Idriss Deby Itno of repression ahead of the election.

DRC: President Felix Tshisekedi strengthened his hold on power in the Democratic Republic of Congo after a new government was installed (Reuters) with relatively few holdovers from the previous administration. Many of the new cabinet members are under forty years old.

Russia warned the United States to keep its warships away (Reuters) from Ukraine’s Crimea region, which Russia annexed in 2014. Two U.S. ships are slated to enter the Black Sea this week amid an escalation in the conflict in eastern Ukraine between the government and Russia-backed forces.

This CFR Backgrounder explains the conflict over Ukraine.

UK/Brussels: Exports to the European Union from the United Kingdom rebounded in February after a record drop in January, when the Brexit transition period ended, according to government data released today (Politico). Trade remains below last year’s levels.

Mexican authorities arrested thirty soldiers (AFP) in connection with a series of disappearances in the northern state of Tamaulipas in 2014. Tamaulipas, which borders the United States, suffers frequent drug-related violence and has one of the highest numbers of missing persons in Mexico.

Demonstrators defied a curfew and clashed with police in Minneapolis as they continued to protest the police killing of Daunte Wright, a Black man. Police officials said yesterday that officer Kim Potter confused her gun for her Taser (NYT) when she shot Wright. Meanwhile, prosecutors are expected today to rest their case (WSJ) against Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis police officer accused of killing George Floyd last year.