05OCT21 Global Overnight Overwatch Report

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 G uardian)
China: Top diplomat Yang Jiechi will hold talks with US national security adviser Jake Sullivan in Switzerland. (South Chin a 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

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