CHINA GOVERNMENT PARLIAMENT NPC
epa09060931 Li Zhanshu, National People's Congress Chairman, delivers a speech during the second plenary session of the National Peopleâs Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People, in Beijing, China, 08 March 2021. China holds two major annual political meetings, The National Peopleâs Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) which run alongside and together known as 'Lianghui' or 'Two Sessions'. EPA/ROMAN PILIPEY
BRITAIN PHOTO ESSAY SANCTUARY STRIKERS GRASSROOT SOCCER
epa09060934 ATTENTION EDITORS - \r\nThis advisory is followed by a photo essay of 25 pictures on a grassroot football club in Reading, England.\r\n\r\nFor refugees and asylum seekers, starting a new life in the United Kingdom presents a host of tough challenges, from learning the language to finding common ground with the locals. A grassroots soccer team in southern England has stepped in to help the newcomers to integrate and make friends in their new home. \r\n'Borders divide us but there are no borders in football - we are the United Nations!', Tomson Chalke, founder and chairman of Sanctuary Strikers Football Club, tells epa-efe. \r\nThe club, founded in 2017 in Reading, was created to bring together refugees and non-refugees to play soccer in a spirit of unity, which he says is the essence of the worldâs most popular sport. 'Football is the beautiful game - it unites people and promotes community cohesion and integration,' Chalke says. \r\nThanks to Sanctuary Strikers, members of minority communities have a place to come together, learn English, make friends and find out about the city. 'If you have something that people love like football then people come together and start talking,' Chalke, who is originally from Zimbabwe, explains. 'When you start talking, you build relationships and we learn from each other's cultures.' Sanctuary Strikers plays at grassroots level in Division 3, Reading and District Sunday League, with players from backgrounds such as South Sudan, Zimbabwe and Eritrea. Asylum seekers and refugees are encouraged into the club, which is affiliated with the Reading Refugee Support Group.\r\nAdam Hussai, who left Sudan in 2015, says: 'Everything is so different to Sudan but this is a really friendly team and they made me feel so welcome. I come every week even if I sit on the bench or am the linesman. One day I hope to break into the first team.'\r\nMohamed Adam also from Sudan, came to England in 2008. He trains and occasionally plays with the club but was a
KUWAITCAPITAL GOVERNORATECOVID19PARTIAL CURFEW
(210308) -- CAPITAL GOVERNORATE, March 8, 2021 (Xinhua) -- Photo taken on March 7, 2021 shows an empty road after the partial curfew in Capital Governorate, Kuwait. Kuwait started on Sunday to impose a partial curfew, from 5 p.m. local time (1400 GMT) to 5 a.m., until April 8, as part of its efforts to curb the COVID-19 spread. (Photo by Asad/Xinhua)
epaselect MYANMAR MILITARY COUP PROTEST
epaselect epa09060862 Demonstrators react after being exposed to teargas fired by the police during a protest in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, 08 March 2021. Major trade unions in Myanmar called on members to go on strike on 08 March to shut the economy amid intensifying violent crackdowns on demonstrators by security forces. More than 50 people have died in the crackdown by security forces, since the military coup on 01 February 2021. EPA/MAUNG LONLAN REISSUED WITH ALTERNATE CROP
epaselect THAILAND INTERNATIONAL WOMENS DAY
epaselect epa09060831 A worker holds a baby doll as he pretends to nurse his child during a rally to mark International Women's Day outside the Ministry of Education in Bangkok, Thailand, 08 March 2021. Laborers rallied outside the Government House and outside the Ministry of Education to mark the International Women's day, demanding better maternity leave and better and fairer working conditions. EPA/DIEGO AZUBEL
INDONESIAYOGYAKARTAMOUNT MERAPI
(210308) -- YOGYAKARTA, March 8, 2021 (Xinhua) -- Photo taken on March 8, 2021 shows volcanic materials and white smokes spewing from Mount Merapi, seen from Kaliurang, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. (Photo by Supriyanto/Xinhua)
KAZAKHSTANNURSULTANWOMENS DAY
(210308) -- NUR-SULTAN, March 8, 2021 (Xinhua) -- Local residents have bonfire barbecue at the Central Park in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, March 7, 2021. People on Monday celebrated the International Women's Day with a variety of entertainments at the Central Park. (Photo by Kalizhan Ospanov/Xinhua)
MALAYSIALANGKAWIFORMER PMCOVID19 VACCINATION
(210308) -- LANGKAWI, March 8, 2021 (Xinhua) -- Mahathir Mohamad, former prime minister of Malaysia, receives a dose of COVID-19 vaccine in Langkawi, Malaysia, on March 7, 2021. (Mahathir Mohamad's Office/Handout via Xinhua)
THAILAND PROTEST JUSTICE
epa09060930 An anti-government protester holds a placard calling for the release of a jailed protest leader Arnon Nampa as he and others gather in support of their leaders facing charges at the Attorney General's office in Bangkok, Thailand, 08 March 2021. A Thai prosecutor on 08 March indicted 18 activists including three prominent leaders for their roles in anti-government protests in September 2020. EPA/NARONG SANGNAK
INDONESIA PANDEMIC CORONAVIRUS COVID19 VACCINE
epa09060919 A healthcare worker injects the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine during a mass vaccination drive for senior citizens in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia, 08 March 2021. Indonesia has started the second phase of the national COVID-19 vaccination drive as the country recorded more than one million cases, the highest number in Southeast Asia. EPA/DEDI SINUHAJI
