05DEC20 Global Overnight Overwatch Report

Key Storylines

AFRICA: The UN Security Council adopted a resolution to renew the authorizations for anti-piracy measures off the coast of Somalia.
AMERICAS: Firefighters have made some progress stopping the spread of flames in a Southern California canyon but faced more high winds and low humidity that threatened to fan the fire, which had forced thousands to evacuate.
ASIA: The U.S. State Department reported it had ended five cultural exchange programs with China, calling them “soft power propaganda tools.
EUROPE: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is confident that the country does not need to enforce a lockdown in December to contain the spread of COVID-19 disease, but there is a possibility of such a scenario happening in January.
MIDDLE EAST: Kuwait began voting for its National Assembly, the first election since the death of its longtime ruling emir with the nation is dealing with the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.
TECH & COMMUNICATIONS: Despite TikTok’s Chinese owner not receiving a formal reprieve from the Friday deadline to divest the U.S. operations of its popular video app, it appears to have gotten a bit more time before being shut down.

Top Story

United States: The government is working towards stimulus as COVID-19 cases and deaths continue to rise.
- The nation reached a record number of Covid-19 (coronavirus) cases in 24 hours, getting 225,201 new infections, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.
- President-elect Joe Biden says citizens will not be forced to take a COVID-19 vaccine when it becomes available in the US.
- President-elect Joe Biden said the recent “grim” jobs report shows the economic recovery is stalling and asks the U.S. Congress to pass a coronavirus relief bill immediately and follow up with “hundreds of billions of dollars” in more stimulus in January.
- Five San Francisco Bay Area counties imposed a new stay-at-home order for their citizens due to a large increase in cases.
- Reporting: AFP, BBC, Reuters, AP,

Africa

Ghana: Government and NGOs in the nation have expressed confidence that the upcoming elections will be held peacefully. (Xinhua)
Somalia: The UN Security Council adopted a resolution to renew the authorizations for anti-piracy measures off the nation’s coast. (Xinhua)
Somalia: President Donald Trump’s decision to pull troops out of the nation in the waning days of his presidency triggered dismay from some government officials, who appealed to the incoming U.S. president to reverse the decision. (Reuters)

Americas

Mexico: The nation’s Health Ministry reported a record daily increase of 12,127 COVID-19 cases, bringing its national caseload to 1,156,770. (Xinhua)
Nicaragua: A mudslide in an unlicensed gold mine trapped at least ten workers, state-run media reported. (AFP)
United States: Firefighters have made some progress stopping the spread of flames in a Southern California canyon but faced more high winds and low humidity that threatened to fan the fire, which had forced thousands to evacuate. (Reuters)
United States: New Jersey’s governor, Phil Murphy, has said authorities are investigating a New York Republican club for having a political gala fundraiser that appeared to violate the state’s COVID-19 guidelines. (The Guardian)

Asia

Afghanistan: The National Reconciliation Council launched its first-ever general assembly of the leadership committee to gather a much-needed political consensus for the fragile peace process. (DPA)
China: The U.S. State Department reported it had ended five cultural exchange programs with China, calling them “soft power propaganda tools.” (Reuters)
Indonesia: The government has lodged a formal protest with Britain after a UK-based separatist leader announced an interim government-in-exile for the restive Papua province. (AFP)
South Korea: The daily number of new COVID-19 infections in the country fell back to below 600, following a nine-month high the previous day, as authorities are considering adopting tighter antivirus restrictions. (YNA)

Europe

Russia: As many as 6,584 COVID-19 recoveries were recorded in Moscow in the past day, the city’s COVID-19 monitoring center said in a statement. (TASS)
Serbia: The acting head of the national Orthodox Church was hospitalized after testing positive for COVID-19, the church’s information service announced. (RFE)
Ukraine: President Volodymyr Zelensky is confident that the country does not need to enforce a lockdown in December to contain the spread of COVID-19 disease, but there is a possibility of such a scenario in January. (Interfax)

Middle East

Iran: The nation’s supreme court said that it will review the cases of three young men sentenced to death over links to deadly November 2019 protests after a request from their lawyers. (AFP)
Kuwait: The nation began voting for its National Assembly, the first election since the death of its longtime ruling emir, alongside the country dealing with the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. (AP)
Yemen: A ship was attacked off the coast of the war-torn nation, a UK-based maritime organization reported, days after an explosion rocked an oil tanker docked at a Saudi port. (AFP)

Tech & Communications

Social Media: Despite TikTok’s Chinese owner not receiving a formal reprieve from the Friday deadline to divest the U.S. operations of its popular video app, it appears to have gotten a bit more time before being shut down. (AP)

World

Cyclones:
- Tropical Storm Burevi
  - Location:9N 79.4E
  - Movement: WNW
  - Wind:35 mph
Hurricanes: Nothing to report.
Earthquakes: Nothing to report.
Volcanoes: Nothing to report.
Global Disease Outbreaks:

Tomorrow’s Outlook (06DEC20)

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