Key Storylines
- AFRICA: Tunisian president Kais Saied said that 1.8 million people protested in support of him on Sunday, although news agencies estimated the number at only 8,000.
- AMERICAS: Haitian Foreign Minister Claude Joseph asked the UN Security Council for help tackling gang violence and crime.
- ASIA: Japan’s new Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said that US President Joe Biden had committed to defending the disputed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.
- EUROPE: German political parties are wrapping up their first set of meetings to figure out who will try to form a coalition.
- MIDDLE EAST: Afghanistan will start issuing passports to its citizens again after months of delays that hampered attempts by those trying to flee Taliban control in August.
- TECH AND COMMUNICATIONS: A jury ordered Tesla to pay nearly $137 million in damages in a case that alleged an employee encountered racist abuse, discrimination, and harassment at the company’s plant in Fremont, CA.
Top Story
- Europe: EU leaders seek unity on how to face China and the US at Slovenia meeting.
- The 27 heads of state and government are set to meet in Slovenia, the country that currently holds the EU’s rotating presidency.
- European leaders will discuss thorny issues like the pullout of Afghanistan, a new US-led defense pact that angered France called AUKUS, and ties with China.
- On the eve of the summit, EU Commission president Ursula Von Der Leyen held a phone call with US president Joe Biden and discussed a wide range of issues including climate change, trade, defense, western Balkans, and other issues.
- The EU summit will also focus on more engagement with Balkans nations, but progress has stalled on admission amid divisions between the six countries.
- No concrete outcome is expected from this meeting, but this is the first time EU leaders have met since June.
- AFP, Bloomberg, AP, WaPo, AFP2
Africa
- Algeria: French President Emmanuel Macron said that relations with the country could become conciliatory after a row over visas and critical comments by Paris towards Algiers. (AFP)
- Ethiopia: UN spokesperson Farhan Haq said the seven UN officials who had until Sunday to leave Ethiopia have left “for their safety”. (BBC)
- Mozambique: President Filipe Nyusi urged Islamist militants in its far north to surrender after Rwandan and southern African forces pushed them out of occupied territory. (Reuters)
- Tunisia: President Kais Saied said that 1.8 million people protested in support of him on Sunday, although news agencies estimated the number at only 8,000. (Reuters)
Americas
- Region: Canada invoked a 1977 treaty with the US to trigger bilateral negotiations over Enbridge Inc’s Line 5 oil pipeline in the Great Lakes. (Reuters)
- Haiti: Foreign Minister Claude Joseph asked the UN Security Council for help tackling gang violence and crime. (AP)
- Nicaragua: President Daniel Ortega called Roman Catholic bishops “terrorists” and said many countries would have arrested them. (WaPo)
- United States: California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for Orange County to support the emergency response to the massive oil spill off the coast of Huntington Beach. (Xinhua)
Asia
- Australia: Dominic Perrottet won the Liberal Party leadership vote to become Premier of New South Wales after the Friday resignation of Gladys Berejiklian. (The Guardian)
- China: Top diplomat Yang Jiechi will hold talks with US national security adviser Jake Sullivan in Switzerland. (South China Morning Post)
- Japan: New Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said that US President Joe Biden had committed to defending the disputed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. (Reuters)
- Philippines: President Rodrigo Duterte said he would prepare a defense against an International Criminal Court probe, after previously insisting he would not cooperate. (AFP)
- Taiwan: President Tsa-Ing Wen warned of “catastrophic” consequences if the island were to fall to China and vowed to do “whatever it takes” to defend itself. (Reuters)
Europe
- France: A representative of the country’s Catholic bishops asked victims of sexual abuse by clergy for their forgiveness, after a report was published on the scale of abuse in the church going back years. (Reuters)
- Germany: Political parties are wrapping up their first set of meetings to figure out who will try to form a coalition. (AP)
- Greece: Athens has proposed an EU-wide mechanism for hedging against steep gas price fluctuations to help households tackle rising energy prices across the bloc. (Reuters)
- Italy: Rome Mayor Virginia Raggi lost her re-election bid, the latest defeat for the populist Five-Star Movement. (NYT)
- United Kingdom: Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the country’s economy is at a turning point and the government welcomes rising wages. (Reuters)
Middle East
- Afghanistan: The country will start issuing passports to its citizens again after months of delays that hampered attempts by those trying to flee Taliban control in August. (Reuters)
- Iraq: Protestors in Nasiriyah, where anti-government demonstrations have appeared on and off since 2019, said they would not vote in Sunday’s early elections. (AFP)
- Israel: President Isaac Herzog left for Ukraine to attend a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the Babi Yar Massacre. (AFP)
- Saudi Arabia: A U.S. delegation led by national security adviser Jake Sullivan mentioned the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in talks with leading government officials last week. (Reuters)
Tech & Communications
- Technology: A jury ordered Tesla to pay nearly $137 million in damages in a case that alleged an employee encountered racist abuse, discrimination, and harassment at the company’s plant in Fremont, CA. (WaPo)
World
- Cyclones:
- Cyclone Shaheen-Gulab
- Location: 24.1N 58.6E
- Movement: W
- Wind: 80 mph
- Map
- Hurricanes: Nothing to report
- Earthquakes: Nothing to report
- Volcanoes:
- La Palma, Spain
- Explosive activity continues
- Erupting
- Source
- Global Disease Outbreaks:
- COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease: Global (as of 05OCT21)
- Confirmed cases: 235,476,559
- Deaths: 4,810,918
- Countries with confirmed cases: 192
- Sourcing: John Hopkins University
- COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease: Global (as of 05OCT21)
- La Palma, Spain
- Cyclone Shaheen-Gulab
Tomorrow’s Outlook (06OCT21)
- Event: Atlantic Council discussion on Pakistan’s economy.
- Event: Wilson Center discussion on ‘The IMF, World Bank, and the Economic Security Challenge’.
- China: National Day Holiday. (to 07OCT)
- Egypt: Armed Forces Day.
- Egypt: 40th anniversary of assassination of President Anwar Sadat.
- Europe: Expected ruling by European Court of Justice on judicial independence in Poland.
- France: Visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
- Hong Kong: Annual Chief Executive Policy Address.
- India: Visit by Deputy US Secretary of State Wendy Sherman. (to 07OCT)
- Slovakia: Battle of Dukla Pass Victims’ Day.
- Slovenia: EU-Western Balkans Summit in Kranj.
- Sweden: Announcement of Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
- Syria: October Liberation War Day.
- Turkey: Consultative meeting with Greece in Ankara.
- Turkmenistan: Day of Remembrance.
- Ukraine: Visit by German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
- United Kingdom: Conservative Party annual conference. (to 06OCT)
- United States: House Foreign Affairs subcommittee hearing on development assistance during conflict.
END
