 Hello and welcome to the International Daily Roundup by People's Dispatch, where we bring you major news developments from around the world. Our headlines Myanmar's military junta officially annulled 2020 general election results US conducts airstrikes targeting Iraqi militia groups in eastern Syria US Senate parliamentarian blocks the inclusion of minimum wage hike in COVID relief pill Authorities denounce government failures as death toll reaches 79 in Ecuador prison riots And finally in our video section, we take a look at the killing of an Italian ambassador and the continued militia violence in the DRC. In our first story, Myanmar's military has officially annulled the results of the general elections held in November 2020. As reported by Myanmar now, the chairman of the military appointed election commission announced a decision during a meeting with political parties on February 26th. The military has alleged widespread fraud in the elections and ultimately used these claims to justify the coup on February 1st. The elections saw a decisive victory for the National League of Democracy led by now-deposed state councillor Ansan Shuki. In the meantime, daily street protests have continued across the country amid growing instances of state violence. Eye witnesses and local media have reported that police forces fired guns into the air and deployed what looked like stun grenades to disperse crowds on Friday. Injuries were reported at a protest site in Mandalay and several protesters were also arrested in Yangon and the capital city of Nipidaw. At least three protesters have been killed in the past month. The military has also reimposed the overnight guest registration system under which people are mandated to report any overnight guests or visitors to their homes. Police forces have reportedly been authorized to detain people and search people's homes without a warrant or court approval. News agencies have also been warned they will lose their licenses if they refer to the junta as the military regime or de facto government. In our next story, the United States conducted air raids on several targets in eastern Syria late on the night of February 25th. The Pentagon claimed that these attacks were defensive and retaliatory and targeted Iraqi military groups Katayev Hezbollah and Katayev Sayed al-Shuhada. Both groups operated under the Umbrella of the Popular Mobilization Forces. The Pentagon announced that at least seven targets were bombed near the Syria-Iraq border in the al-Bukamal region. A number of casualties and extensive damage is yet to be confirmed. Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby stated that President Joe Biden had authorized the attacks in response to, according to him, recent attacks against American coalition forces in Iraq. A rocket attack on a military base in Erbil in Iraq had killed one civilian contractor and injured some American forces stationed in the area last month. The US has also repeatedly claimed that Iraqi militia operating in the region received support from Iran, a claim which Iran has consistently denied. Resistance and attacks against foreign forces have increased in Iraq following the assassinations of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. This happened last year. The Iraqi parliament has also passed a resolution demanding the withdrawal of all foreign forces from the country. The groups have contested the claims made following the February 25th raids, calling them a continuation of imperialist invasions in the region. Continuing with the United States, a provision to increase the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour has been blocked in the Senate. The provision was part of the nearly $1.4 trillion COVID relief package introduced by President Joe Biden. Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth McDonough stated on February 25th that the inclusion of the provision in the bill did not comply with Senate rules. Democrats are trying to pass the bill through the expedited budget reconciliation process. This means that the bill could pass with a simple majority in the Senate. Given that the Democrats hold a tie-breaking majority, this bill will potentially pass without Republican support. However, Thursday's decision has made a possibility of wage increase more uncertain. The Democrats have argued that a hike in minimum wage and relief bill are necessary to assist the millions of Americans facing poverty under the pandemic-induced financial crisis. The current minimum wage is just $7.25 an hour and the last increase took place in 2009. Congress is estimated that the proposed hike will pull at least 900,000 people out of poverty and increase incomes of over 12 million people. The House of Representatives is expected to vote on the bill on February 26th. Given that the Democrats hold a 221 to 211 majority in the House, the bill is expected to pass. In our next story, we go to Ecuador where at least 79 people have been killed in what are being called the worst prison riots in the prison system of the country. Simultaneous riots broke out in three prisons on February 23rd, over disputes between rival gangs for control over the prisons. As per the information available at the time of recording, 37 people incarcerated in centers 4 and 1 of the Gaiaquil prison were killed, 8 were killed in the Lata Cunga prison and 34 in the 2D prison. Prison workers have stated that security forces deliberately did not intervene in the riots until the massacres were over. The outbreak of another riot was also reported in center 4 of the Gaiaquil prison on February 24th. The administration of President Lenin Moreno has drawn widespread criticism for the massacres. Ecuador's Ombudsman Freddy Carrion issued a statement on February 25th saying that the state had failed to guarantee the right to life, personal liberty and security of the incarcerated persons. He further stated that the lack of design, implementation and evaluation of security policies had caused the incidents. The Director of Public Policies for the Ombudsman's office has also stated that the prison system has been functioning in a state of exception for years, yet the state has failed to address issues such as overcrowding. The country's constitutional court has also denounced the government for failing to address the structural problems in prisons and has called for an investigation. For a final story of the day, we go to the Democratic Republic of the Congo where Italian Ambassador Luca Atenasio was killed in the North Cuba province on February 22nd. CNN reported today that a Congolese prosecutor had confirmed that Atenasio had died in a gun battle, a paramilitary police officer Vittorio Lacavacci, and a Congolese citizen whose driver, Mustafa Milambo, was also killed in the attack. The killings have exposed what has been a daily reality for many Congolese people in the region as they continue to face violence. Here is Kambale Musawoli talking about the broader context of the region. On February 22nd, Ambassador Luca Atenasio was assassinated alongside his bodyguard, Vittorio Lacavacci, and the World Food Program staff driver, Mustafa Milambo. This definitely sent shockwave in the Congo around the world, mainly around the world that a diplomat was killed. In the DRC, people were quite upset about the situation, but reminded everyone who spoke to them that this is the reality of the Congolese for the past two decades. Over 6 million Congolese have died in the conflict in the DRC, a conflict that started in 1996, where two of Congo's neighbors invaded the Congo and left, quote-unquote, officially around 2002 and 2003, but they continue to support proxy rebel militia groups. Why are they supporting these proxy rebel militia groups? It's because it gives them a reason to come into the Congo any time they wish. These two neighbors are US allies on the so-called war on terror, so no matter what they do in the DRC, no one holds them accountable. But now to the killing. Why was the Italian ambassador in North Kivu? The Italian ambassador was visiting some of the World Food Program activities in the east. He was in South Kivu and then he flew on Friday to North Kivu so that he could start the visit on Monday, February 22 when he was killed. This is also the situation of these deaths. It's not the first time people are dying in Congo. Even after the dates on February 23 and even yesterday on February 24, over 17 Congolese have been killed in the same area. It's not an international price. In local press, it exists. 17 Congolese have died. Unfortunately, we may hear also today more of that in the same region, that the people in the region of North Kivu and South Kivu are living a constant fear for their life. You leave the house, you can be killed any day, any time. And why are they being killed? The people live on the land that has resources, mineral resources, and also a land that is fertile. So people are being systematically killed to create fear in the community and being displaced. And these killings are happening in front of the Congolese military, in front of the United Nations. And nothing is stopping the killing. But now with the death of Luca Atanasio, there is a discussion globally around what's happening in the Congo. That's all we have time for today. We'll be back on Monday with more news from around the world. Until then, keep watching People's Suspatch.