03AUG21 Global Overnight Overwatch Report

Key Storylines

AFRICA: South Sudan swore in hundreds of new members to a newly created parliament.
AMERICAS: Brazil’s top electoral court announced it would open an investigation into President Jair Bolsonaro for his statements claiming that there will be fraud in next year’s elections.
ASIA: India and China will continue talks aimed at de-escalating tensions over their disputed border.
EUROPE: Russia’s ambassador to the United States said Washington asked 24 Russian diplomats to leave the country by Sept. 3 after their visas expire.
MIDDLE EAST: Lebanon’s new prime minister Najib Mikati said that a cabinet would not be announced by mid-week to coincide with the anniversary of the Beirut port blast.
TECH & COMMUNICATIONS: A National Labor Relations Board official recommended that a new unionization vote be held at an Amazon warehouse in Alabama due to illegal misconduct on the part of the company.

Top Story

Global: The UK summons Iran’s ambassador after deadly attack on a tanker
- Britain summoned Iran’s ambassador after London and Washington blamed an attack on an Israeli-managed tanker off the coast of Oman last week on Tehran.
- Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh warned that Iran will not hesitate in defending its national interests and would respond to any “possible adventurism”.
- UK Prime Minister Boris Jonson said that Iran should face consequences for its “unacceptable and outrageous attack” on a ship off the coast of Oman that left two people dead, including a Briton.
- Israel’s Defense Minister Benny Gantz called Iran’s alleged attack on a merchant ship an escalation of hostilities by Iran and called for international action.
- Reuters, BBC. AFP, WaPo

Africa

Tunisia: The WHO said the country, which recorded the world’s highest COVID-19 mortality rate for the past seven days, may be past the peak of the latest wave of infections. (AFP)
South Sudan: The country swore in hundreds of new members to a newly created parliament. (AFP)
Zambia: The police said that six people died with 40 others seriously injured when two vehicles collided in the northern part of the country. (Xinhua)
Sudan: Citizens in a town in the east said they had seen bodies along the river on the border of Ethiopia’s Tigray region. (AFP)

Americas

Brazil: The country’s top electoral court announced it would open an investigation into President Jair Bolsonaro for his statements claiming that there will be fraud in next year’s elections. (Reuters)
Nicaragua: Incumbent president Daniel Ortega announced he would run for a fourth consecutive term in office. (AFP)
United States: The Biden administration will leave in place for now the public health rule that has allowed it to turn away hundreds of thousands of migrants. (NYT)
Mexico: President Andrés Manuel López Obrador downplayed the low turnout for a national referendum on going after ex-presidents for alleged wrongdoing during their administrations. (AP)

Asia

Region: India and China will continue talks aimed at de-escalating tensions over their disputed border. (Reuters)
Australia: New South Wales reported 199 locally acquired cases of COVID-19. (Reuters)
North Korea: Pyongyang said the country must prepare for typhoons and potential flooding this month after weeks of drought may have destroyed crops. (UPI)
Uzbekistan: The country’s armed forces held a joint military training drill with Russia near the country’s border with Afghanistan. (Xinhua)
China: The death toll from floods in the central region of the country last month is at least 302 with around 50 people still missing. (AFP)

Europe

Region: Several European parliaments along with the chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee issued a statement against the agreement between the U.S. and Germany to allow the completion of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. (Reuters)
Belarus: The Court of Arbitration for Sport denied sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya’s legal bid to run in the Olympic 200m event after her own country’s athletics officials refused to allow her to participate. (AP)
United Kingdom: The country allowed fully vaccinated travelers from the United States and European Union to cross its borders without restrictions or the need to quarantine. (UPI)
Russia: The country’s ambassador to the United States said Washington asked 24 Russian diplomats to leave the country by Sept. 3 after their visas expire. (Reuters)
Italy: Prime Minister Mario Draghi won two confidence votes securing approval from members in Parliament’s Chamber of Deputies for a key justice system overhaul. (AP)

Middle East

Saudi Arabia: According to Amnesty International, the kingdom has intensified a crackdown on dissidents and rights activists after a respite that coincided with the country’s G20 presidency last year. (AFP)
Yemen: U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres named Swedish diplomat Hans Grundberg as his new envoy for the war-torn country. (Reuters)
Palestinian Territories: The Islamist organization Hamas re-elected Ismail Haniyah as their leader. (AP)
Lebanon: New prime minister Najib Mikati said that a cabinet would not be announced by mid-week to coincide with the anniversary of the Beirut port blast. (AFP)

Tech & Communications

Tech: A National Labor Relations Board official recommended that a new unionization vote be held at an Amazon warehouse in Alabama due to illegal misconduct on the part of the company. (CNN)

World

Cyclones: Nothing to report.
Hurricanes: Nothing to report.
Earthquakes: Nothing to report.
Volcanoes: Nothing to report.
Global Disease Outbreaks:
- COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease: Global (as of 03AUG21)
  - Confirmed cases: 199,040,922
  - Deaths: 4,239,293
  - Countries with confirmed cases: 192
  - Sourcing: John Hopkins University

Tomorrow’s Outlook (04AUG21)

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