03NOV20 Global Overnight Overwatch Report

Key Storylines

AFRICA: Ivory Coast’s Electoral Commission declared President Alassane Ouattara the overwhelming victor of the country’s presidential election that was boycotted by his two main opponents.
AMERICAS: Peru’s Congress approved a motion to initiate another impeachment proceeding against President Martin Vizcarra, just one month after the previous such proceeding.
ASIA: The US, India, Japan, and Australia started the joint “Malabar” naval exercises.
EUROPE: German Foreign Minister Heiko Mass wished for a “peaceful” presidential election in the US, adding that Berlin will pursue a “new deal” in its relationship with Washington following the US elections.
MIDDLE EAST: Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei mocked the upcoming US election as Tehran marked the 1979 US Embassy hostage crisis, while reiterating Tehran’s long-held position of saying US election results would not affect Tehran’s US policy.
TECH & COMMUNICATIONS: The social media websites Twitter and Facebook both flagged US President Donald Trump’s posts that claimed a Supreme Court decision on mail-in votes in Pennsylvania would result in “rampant” fraud that was “very dangerous.”

Top Story

Austria: Four dead in Vienna Islamist attack.
- Austrian Interior Minister Karl Nehammer said a terrorist attack in capital city Vienna earlier in the day resulted in the deaths of at least four people, while injuring at least another 17 people.
- Interior Minister Nehammer added that one of the suspects involved in the attack, whom he described as an Islamic State “sympathizer,” was shot dead by police in Vienna shortly after the attack.
- The gunman who was shot dead by the police was identified as Kujtim Fejzulai, a dual Austrian-North Macedonian citizen who had previously traveled to Syria to join the Islamic State group and was subsequently sentenced to prison in Austria in 2019.
- Fejzulai was then released early from his prison sentence in December 2019 itself.
- Unconfirmed local media reports also claimed that the police arrested two other people believed to be linked to the attack and were searching for any additional accomplices of the gunman, or gunmen, behind the attack.
- Reporting: BBC, AP, WaPo, Reuters, WSJ, NYT, DPA

Africa

Ethiopia: Local authorities said the rebel Oromo Liberation Army attacked and killed at least 32 people in the Oromia province. (BBC)
Ivory Coast: The Electoral Commission declared President Alassane Ouattara the overwhelming victor of the country’s presidential election that was boycotted by his two main opponents. (AP)
Mali: French Defense Minister Florence Parly said French troops in the country killed more than 50 Islamic extremists during an operation last week. (AP)
Uganda: Police arrested the popular singer and opposition leader Bobi Wine again following his successful certification to compete in next year’s elections. (AP)

Americas

Argentina: The country become the first in the world to approve a strain of genetically modified wheat. (Reuters)
Panama: President Laurentino Cortizo is in self-isolation after an undisclosed worker close to the President tested positive for coronavirus. (Reuters)
Peru: Congress approved a motion to initiate another impeachment proceeding against President Martin Vizcarra, just one month after the previous such proceeding. (Reuters)
United States: The lawyers of both main political parties are on standby going into election day as both sides prepare for a potential disputed election. (Reuters)
Venezuela: Campaigning for an upcoming parliamentary election on 06 December, that the opposition is boycotting and labeling as a “fraud”, began within the country. (AFP)

Asia

Region: The US, India, Japan, and Australia started the joint “Malabar” naval exercises. (Reuters)
Australia: The country’s central bank cut its benchmark interest rate to a record low of 0.1% to aid the country’s efforts to bounce back from a coronavirus-induced recession. (DPA)
Myanmar: Nationalist Buddhist monk Wirathu, known for his inflammatory rhetoric against State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, surrendered himself to the police just days ahead of an upcoming general election. (AP)
Sri Lanka: The country’s navy along with volunteers managed to rescue 120 stranded pilot whales. (AFP)

Europe

Region: Germany’s Deutsche Boerse increased its incentives to banks to shift clearing of euro-denominated derivatives from London to its Frankfurt operation, in a Brexit-triggered market battle. (Reuters)
France: The Interior Ministry is set to ban the far-right, ultra-nationalist Turkish Grey Wolves group after a memorial center to the Armenian Genocide was allegedly defaced by some of the group’s members. (AFP)
Germany: Foreign Minister Heiko Mass wished for a “peaceful” presidential election in the US, adding that Berlin will pursue a “new deal” in its relationship with Washington following the US elections. (AFP)
Turkey: The death toll of last week’s massive earthquake in the Aegean sea rose to 100. (Reuters)
United Kingdom: The city of Liverpool is set to be the country’s first city to pilot mass coronavirus testing for all of its residents. (BBC)

Middle East

Iran: The country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei mocked the upcoming US election as Tehran marked the 1979 US Embassy hostage crisis, while reiterating Tehran’s long-held position of saying US election results would not affect Tehran’s US policy. (AP)
Iraq: State company Oil Marketing Company (SOMO) reportedly notified its clients of its plans to launch a third crude oil export grade called Basra Medium in January 2021. (Reuters)
Lebanon: Caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab warned the central bank against misleading restructuring consultancy Alvarez & Marsal. (Reuters)
Qatar: Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani announced that elections for the country’s top advisory panel the Shura Council will be held next year. (AP)

Tech & Communications

Social Media: The social media websites Twitter and Facebook both flagged US President Donald Trump’s posts that claimed a Supreme Court decision on mail-in votes in Pennsylvania would result in “rampant” fraud that was “very dangerous.” (Reuters)

World

Cyclones:
- Super Typhoon Goni
  - Location: 401 nautical miles E of Da Nang, Vietnam
  - Wind: 40 mph
  - Movement: W at 3 mph
  - Map
Hurricanes:
- Hurricane Eta
  - Location: 25 miles SE of Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua
  - Wind: 150 mph
  - Movement: W-SW at 4 mph
  - Map
Earthquakes: Nothing to report.
Volcanoes: Nothing to report.
Global Disease Outbreaks:

- COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease: Global
  - Confirmed Cases as of 03NOV20: 46,937,042
  - Total Recovered Cases as of 03NOV20: 31,395,951
  - Deaths as of 03NOV20: 1,207,284
  - 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

Tomorrow’s Outlook (04NOV20)

Global: UNESCO’s Executive Board will meet. (to 18NOV)
Africa: Sudan, Egypt, and Ethiopia will resume talks over Ethiopia’s GERD dam on the river Nile. (to 07NOV)
Asia: The Malabar naval exercises, including the US, Japan, India, and Australia, will be held. (to 05NOV)
Europe: The 70th anniversary of the signing of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Europe: Finance Ministers of EU member states will hold a meeting.
Europe: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will speak at the 12th German Economic Forum. (to 06NOV)
Europe: Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla will visit Germany, France, and the United Kingdom. (to 05NOV)
China: President Xi Jinping is expected to deliver a speech at the China Import Expo.
China: Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam will reportedly visit. (to 05NOV)
Egypt: The second phase of the country’s legislative elections will be held. (to 06NOV)
France: The Cabinet will ban the far-right, Turkish nationalist Grey Wolves group.
Iran: The anniversary of the start of the Iran hostage crisis.
Israel: The 25th anniversary of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination.
Libya: The 5+5 Joint Military Commission will meet within the country itself for the first time in the city of Ghadames.
New Zealand: The Supreme Court will issue its judgment in internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom’s appeal against their potential extradition to the US.
Norway: The Supreme Court will hear a landmark case on banning oil and gas drilling in the Arctic. (to 12NOV)
Portugal: A partial coronavirus lockdown will be imposed across the country.
South Korea: The government will reopen the Panmunjom and the Demilitarized Zone for tourist visits.
Switzerland: The government’s new coronavirus measures and restrictions will take effect.
Tonga: Constitution Day/National Day – 1875
United States: The country will officially withdraw from the Paris climate accord.
United States: The Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee will hold a meeting. (to 05NOV)

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