Turkey unleashes migrants on Europe

TURKEY: “Europe will never allow itself to be blackmailed,” said European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas after Turkey reneged on a 2016 agreement, and opened its borders to allow Syrian refugees and other migrants to leave the country for Europe. Turkish state media posted maps of suggested migratory routes across the sea and via land into Bulgaria and Greece.

SYRIA: Turkey’s move to release migrants into Europe comes amid an escalation of fighting in Idlib after Syrian airstrikes on Thursday killed at least 36 Turkish soldiers, and before a summit scheduled for Thursday between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Turkish forces downed two Russian-made jets and destroyed Syrian air defense systems in its stepped-up offensive.

IRAN: Mohammad Mirmohammadi, 71, a top adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has died after becoming infected with the disease caused by the coronavirus, state radio said on Monday. He is the highest-ranking official within the Islamic republic’s Shiite theocracy to die from the illness, as Iran reports at least 66 people dead among more than 1,500 confirmed cases of COVID-19. Senior government officials have become disproportionately infected—with cases now spreading faster outside China than within. “This is a democratic virus, and it doesn’t distinguish between poor and rich, statesman and an ordinary citizen,” said Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi, who is quarantined after also becoming infected.

ITALY: At ground zero for the COVID-19 outbreak in northern Italy, churches met via the internet and hoped to comfort both the sick and the fearful.

AFGHANISTAN: President Ashraf Ghani on Sunday rejected a Taliban demand for the release of 5,000 prisoners as a condition for talks with Afghanistan’s government and civilians, while Taliban leaders vowed to resume attacks—all within 48 hours of the United States signing a peace agreement with the Taliban in Qatar. Another sticking point in the agreement—slated to bring about peace with a complete withdrawal of U.S. troops—is Taliban cooperation to defang al-Qaeda. “Keep in mind that al-Qaeda … and other AQ-affiliated groups are embedded throughout the Taliban insurgency. So to do what [U.S. Secretary of State Mike] Pompeo says, the Taliban would really have to betray AQ in a way that would be noticeable,” said Thomas Joscelyn, senior editor of the Long War Journal and a leading al-Qaeda expert.

HAITI is among numerous countries—including Italy—canceling Mardi Gras celebrations, but in this case due to ongoing unrest.

VENEZUELA: Embattled President Nicolás Maduro has declared an energy emergency and replaced key oil energy heads in the wake of tightening U.S. sanctions.

GLOBAL: A breakdown of “The World as 100 Christians,” on the eve of the release of a new edition of the World Christian Encyclopedia.

NOTE: Globe Trot is taking a late winter break and will return on March 12.

Sign up to receive Globe Trot via email.