Key Storylines
- AFRICA: Sudanese Authorities said that discussions over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) are restarting.
- AMERICAS: Mexican protesters burned effigies of Donald Trump and a border patrol agent on the U.S. border, condemning President Donald Trump’s migration policies and urging Americans to reject him at the ballot box.
- ASIA: New Zealand’s Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern’s Labour party has signed a “cooperation” agreement with the Green party, the prime minister has announced, saying she hopes the deal will bring stability for her second term
- EUROPE: German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas plans to seek common ground with the United States after the US presidential elections on November 3 by proposing a “new deal.”
- MIDDLE EAST: The Iraqi health ministry recorded 1,997 additional COVID-19 cases, bringing nationwide infections to 472,630.
- TECH & COMMUNICATIONS: Alerts from US authorities and private security professionals have noticed a wave of cyberattacks on hospitals dealing with rising virus infections.
Top Story
- United States: More stories on the campaign trail develop as the Presidential election draws to a close.
- Biden campaigned to rebuild the “blue wall” of Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin in the last days of the race, believing it represents his most straightforward path to 270 electoral votes.
- An ABC News poll shows former vice president Joe Biden holding a seven-point lead over President Trump in Pennsylvania and President Trump leading by two in Florida,
- A federal judge in Texas has demanded an election-eve hearing for a Republican lawsuit that seeks to dismantle Houston’s drive-through voting system and toss out more than 120,000 votes that have already been cast.
- More than 90 million Americans have voted in the U.S. presidential election, according to a tally from the U.S. Elections Project at the University of Florida, signaling the highest voter participation rate in over a century.
- Reporting: CNN, WaPo, NYT, Reuters,
Africa
- Algeria: The nation will vote in a referendum on proposed constitutional changes that the opposition says would bolster authoritarianism. (DPA)
- Morocco: The nation reported 3,790 additional COVID-19 cases, bringing the number of infections in the country from March 2 to 219,084. (Xinhua)
- Sudan: Authorities said that discussions over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) are restarting. (Xinhua)
Americas
- Region: A tropical storm named Eta has formed about 270 miles southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) announced, adding that a hurricane watch has been issued for parts of the northeastern coasts of Nicaragua and Honduras. (Reuters)
- Colombia: The number of COVID-19 cases in the nation has reached 1,074,184, with 11,033 new cases recorded in the past 24 hours, health authorities reported. (Xinhua)
- Mexico: Protesters burned effigies of Donald Trump and a border patrol agent on the U.S. border, condemning President Donald Trump’s migration policies and urging Americans to reject him at the ballot box on Tuesday. (Reuters)
Asia
- Hong Kong: The police arrested seven pro-democracy politicians over connections to past protests against the city’s government. (NYT)
- Indonesia: The nation will see a significant boost in trade and investment from the United States as a result of Washington’s new trade preference facility with Southeast Asia’s largest economy, a top government official noted. (Reuters)
- New Zealand: Jacinda Ardern’s Labour party has signed a “cooperation” agreement with the Green party, the prime minister has announced, saying she hopes the deal will bring stability for her second term. (The Guardian)
- South Korea: New COVID-19 cases stayed in triple digits for the fifth straight day amid concerns that new cases could spike in the wake of Halloween celebrations held in the middle of eased social distancing. (YNA)
Europe
- Belarus: The nation has partially closed all its land borders to foreigners in a move that prompted speculation that the restrictions are politically motivated. (RFE)
- France: Two more men were arrested in connection with a knife attack that left three dead at a church in Nice, bringing the number of people in custody to six as investigators look at the suspected assailant’s last known contacts, police reported. (Reuters)
- Georgia: The ruling political party, Georgian Dream, has claimed victory in parliamentary elections, but the opposition rejected the results and plans to launch protests in the capital city of Tbilisi. (RFE)
- Germany: Foreign Minister Heiko Maas plans to seek common ground with the United States after the US presidential elections on November 3 by proposing a “new deal.” (DPA)
- Turkey: The death toll from a strong earthquake that hit the western province of Izmir has increased to 42, the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority of Turkey (AFAD) reported. (Xinhua)
Middle East
- Iraq: The Health Ministry recorded 1,997 additional COVID-19 cases, bringing nationwide infections to 472,630. (Xinhua)
- Israel: Hundreds of thousands of first- to fourth-graders returned to schools throughout the nation as a second stage of the country’s transition away from a nationwide COVID-19 lockdown took effect. (DPA)
- Israel: The nation began human trials on Sunday for its COVID-19 vaccine candidate which, if successful, could be ready for the general public by the end of next summer. (Reuters)
Tech & Communications
- Cybersecurity: Alerts from US authorities and private security professionals have noticed a wave of cyberattacks on hospitals dealing with rising virus infections. (AFP)
World
- Cyclones:
- Hurricanes: Nothing to report.
- Earthquakes: Nothing to report
- Volcanoes: Nothing to report.
- Global Disease Outbreaks:
- COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease: Global
- Confirmed Cases as of 01NOV20:46,161,078
- Total Recovered Cases as of 01NOV20: 30,877,413
- Deaths as of 01NOV20: 1,196,266
- Countries with Confirmed Cases: 190
- Sourcing: John Hopkins University
- Ebola Virus Disease: DR Congo (11th Ebola outbreak figures from Equateur Province)
- Confirmed Cases as of 17OCT20: 119
- Probable Cases as of 17OCT20: 9
- Deaths as of 17OCT20: 53
- Sourcing: WHO
- COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease: Global
Tomorrow’s Outlook (02NOV20)
- Global: 20th anniversary of the first residents arriving on the International Space Station (ISS)
- Global: U.N. Human Rights Council opens Universal Periodic Review
- Germany: The country enters a four-week COVID-19 lockdown
- United States: Temporary Protected Status designation for South Sudan expires
END