More than 350 people have been killed and thousands wounded in nearly two months of protests against the ruling elite. Iraqi security forces shot dead at least 17 protesters and wounded another 90 in clashes in the southern city of Nasiriyah early Thursday, in the latest bloody crackdown against nearly two months of anti-government protests. Source Deutsche Welle
- Mainland China’s overall population continued to grow last year, up from 1.4 billion a year earlier
- Chinese mothers gave birth to 12 million babies last year, down from 14.65 million in 2019, marking an 18 per cent decline year on year Source South China Morning Post
“Fluctuations” at Iran’s Natanz plant pushed the purity to which it enriched uranium to 63%, higher than the announced 60% that complicated talks to revive its nuclear deal with world powers, a report by the U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Tuesday. Source Reuters
Austria on Tuesday rejected a plea for other European Union countries to accept migrants from Italy, following a surge in arrivals on Lampedusa that seems likely to expose deep-seated divisions across the bloc over migration. More than 2,000 mostly African migrants have reached the tiny island off Italy’s southern coast by boat since Sunday, overwhelming its reception centre. Source KFGO
