01FEB21 Global Overnight Overwatch Report

Key Storylines

• AFRICA: A group of militants, reportedly belonging to the al-Shabaab group, stormed a major hotel in Somalia’s capital city Mogadishu, leaving five people dead.
• AMERICAS: Canada urged Russian authorities to release protesters held in “mass detentions” during recent pro-Alexei Navalny protests.
• ASIA: India’s government released its annual budget, which focuses on healthcare spending, vaccinations, and reviving the country’s pandemic-battered economy.
• EUROPE: Russian prosecutors backed a request to imprison opposition leader Alexei Navalny on old charges, as the police detained a record number of anti-Kremlin protesters across the country.
• MIDDLE EAST: The husband of detained British-Iranian woman Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe said the British government warned him against making any public statements that could jeopardize her potential release from jail by authorities in Iran sometime next month.
• TECH & COMMUNICATIONS: Several journalists in India are facing charges of sedition for reporting on last week’s farmer protests in the country, sparking criticism from media associations.

Top Story

• Myanmar: Aung San Suu Kyi detained amid military coup.
  • Myanmar’s military executed a coup as it detained leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other senior members of her ruling National League for Democracy party in early morning raids.
  • A military statement said it took action due to “election fraud,” and that all authority was now given to the army’s commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing, as it declared a year-long emergency with plans to hold fresh elections at the end of the emergency.
  • The coup took place ahead of the first session of Myanmar’s newly-elected Parliament following recent elections, during which the army alleged fraud and in which Suu Kyi’s party won a landslide victory after taking 83% of the votes.
  • Suu Kyi told her supporters to “not accept this”, to protest against the ongoing coup, and that the coup will place the country back under a dictatorship, in a letter she released ahead of her detention by the military.
  • Meanwhile, Health Minister Myint Htwe announced his resignation, citing the “evolving situation”, and urged his colleagues to serve the people, especially due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
  • The US, the UN, the European Union, Japan, and multiple other countries condemned the coup, while China said it hoped that all parties “appropriately resolve their differences under the constitutional and legal framework.”
  • Reporting: AFP, NYT, AP, Reuters, BBC, WaPo, DPA, AFP2, WSJ, AFP3

Africa

• Region: Morocco and Nigeria reaffirmed their commitment to building a gas pipeline traversing both onshore and offshore routes, as well as the construction of a fertilizer plant in Nigeria. (Reuters)
• Ethiopia: The Tigray region’s ousted leader Debretsion Gebremichael accused both the armed forces of the country and Eritrea of conducting a “devastating and genocidal war” in the region. (BBC)
• Libya: Delegates from the country’s opposing factions will hold a meeting to determine an interim prime minister and a three-person presidency council ahead of a planned election in December. (AP)
• Somalia: A group of militants, reportedly belonging to the al-Shabaab group, stormed a major hotel in the capital city Mogadishu, leaving five people dead. (NYT)

Americas

• Brazil: Hundreds of protesters across the country took to the streets to hold a new series of protests against President Jair Bolsonaro. (VOA)
• El Salvador: Doctors Without Borders suspended its operations in the country after a group of armed men waylaid one of their ambulances on the outskirts of San Salvador. (AP)
• Canada: Ottawa urged Russian authorities to release protesters held in “mass detentions” during recent pro-Alexei Navalny protests. (AFP)

Asia  

• Afghanistan: Taliban attacks on government leaders in capital city Kabul are increasing, according to civil-society leaders, journalists, and a US watchdog. (AP)
• India: The government released its annual budget, which focuses on healthcare spending, vaccinations, and reviving the country’s pandemic-battered economy. (DPA)
• Kazakhstan: The government started its coronavirus vaccination campaign, as it inoculated health officials with Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine. (AFP)
• Kyrgyzstan: Parliament voted unanimously in favor of career civil servant Ulukbek Maripov becoming the country’s next prime minister. (AFP) 

Europe

• Region: France urged Germany to scrap the Nordstream2 gas pipeline project in protest of Russia’s detention of Alexei Navalny. (AFP)
• Region: The European Commission said AstraZeneca agreed to supply the European Union with an additional 9 million doses of its coronavirus vaccines in Q1 of this year. (AP)
• France: Lawmakers are set to debate a proposed bill targeting the presence of radical Islam in the country. (AP)
• Germany: Chancellor Angela Merkel will hold a summit with the country’s state premiers to discuss improvements to the government’s coronavirus vaccination program. (DPA)
• Russia: Prosecutors backed a request to imprison opposition leader Alexei Navalny on old charges, as the police detained a record number of anti-Kremlin protesters across the country. (AFP)

Middle East

• Region: Israel said it will transfer 5,000 coronavirus vaccine doses for Palestinian health workers. (BBC) 
• Iran: The husband of detained British-Iranian woman Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe said the British government warned him against making any public statements that could jeopardize her potential release from jail by authorities in Tehran sometime next month. (AFP)  
• Israel: The Cabinet voted in favor of extending a countrywide coronavirus lockdown for at least five more days. (AP)

Tech & Communications

• Media: Several journalists in India are facing charges of sedition for reporting on last week’s farmer protests in the country, sparking criticism from media associations. (Reuters)

World

• Cyclones: 
  • Cyclone Lucas
    • Location: 528 nautical miles NW of Noumea, New Caledonia
    • Wind: 65 mph
    • Movement: E-SE at 19 mph
    • Map
• Hurricanes: Nothing to report.
• Earthquakes: Nothing to report.
• Volcanoes: Nothing to report.
• Global Disease Outbreaks:
  • COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease: Global (as of 01FEB21)
    • Confirmed cases: 103,018,643
    • Total recovered cases: 57,125,342
    • Deaths: 2,229,565
    • Countries with confirmed cases: 192 
    • Sourcing: John Hopkins University

Tomorrow’s Outlook (02FEB21)

• Europe: The European Union will release GDP figures for Q4 2020.
• Europe: The Research and Innovation Ministers of EU member-states will hold a meeting.
• Barbados: The government will impose a two-week coronavirus lockdown.
• Colombia: President Ivan Duque will deliver remarks to the Aspen Security Forum.
• Cyprus: Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu will visit North Cyprus.
• Denmark: Parliament will vote on impeaching former immigration minister Inger Stojberg.
• Japan: The government is expected to extend the country’s coronavirus state of emergency. 
• Libya: Delegates from the country’s opposing sides will hold a meeting to choose an interim prime minister and a three-person presidency council. (to 05FEB)
• Pakistan: Uzbekistan will send a trade delegation to the country to discuss a potential Pakistan-Uzbekistan Preferential Trade Agreement. (to 04FEB)
• Russia: Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde will visit and meet with her counterpart Sergei Lavrov.
• Russia: Opposition politician Alexei Navalny is scheduled to face a hearing in court over an alleged parole violation.
• United States: The new Joe Biden administration will hold its first daily press briefing.

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