Monday, March 15, 2021

Daily News Brief

*) Martial law imposed in parts of Myanmar city after deadly day Myanmar's ruling junta has declared martial law in two densely populated townships of Yangon city. This comes after security forces killed at least 38 demonstrators on Sunday, the deadliest day of unrest since the military coup on February first. Ousted elected leaders are calling for united resistance to the military regime. *) Syria's brutal war enters its 11th year Syria is marking ten years since the start of a civil war in which over 500-thousand people have lost their lives. The war started with a local uprising on March 15, 2011 in the southern province of Daraa, mostly driven by students. But Bashar al Assad's violent crackdown on the movement soon turned into full scale war, displacing more than 12 million Syrians. *) Netherlands halts use of AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine Dutch health officials have suspended the use of AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine for two weeks after several European countries reported "possible side effects". More than 10 other countries, including Thailand and Denmark, suspended their rollouts of the AstraZeneca jabs over concerns about blood clots. But AstraZeneca says its vaccine is safe and UK and EU drug regulators say the coagulation issue is unrelated. *) Women across Australia march against sexual violence and inequality Thousands of women are marching across Australia against gender-based violence in the country. The women are calling for sweeping action and an investigation into several sexual assault allegations in Australian politics. Organisers of the rally have rejected the offer of a "closed-door" meeting with Prime Minister Scott Morrison. And finally… *) Beyonce breaks record for most Grammy wins by female artist The 2021 Grammys have proved girls "run the world" with Queen B making history by becoming the most awarded singer and female artists bagging a range of top awards. Beyonce also became the most awarded female artist after her fourth win on Sunday night notched her 28 golden gramophones. Taylor Swift won her third album of the year for “Folklore” and Billie Eilish took home record of the year for “Everything I wanted”. "I Can't Breathe" by R&B artist HER won song of the year. It was written in response to Black Lives Matter protests in the US last summer.