Key Storylines
- AFRICA: French lawmakers unanimously voted to return historical artifacts to Benin and Senegal more than a century after they were stolen by colonial forces and sent to Paris to be displayed in museums.
- AMERICAS: Hurricane Delta weakened becoming a category three (03) hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported.
- ASIA: Military tensions continue between the two Koreas over North Korea’s killing of a South Korean fisheries official as Pyongyang issued threats over Seoul’s search operations without answering calls for a joint probe, South Korea’s Defense Minister Suh Wook stated.
- EUROPE: The Azerbaijani Prosecutor-General’s Office reported that Armenia targeted a pipeline during the fighting between the two countries forces in and nearby to the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, an accusation immediately denied by Armenia.
- MIDDLE EAST: Lebanese President Michel Aoun called for binding consultations with members of parliament next week to name a new Prime Minister, his office reported.
- TECH & COMMUNICATIONS: Facebook classified the QAnon conspiracy theory movement as dangerous and started removing Facebook groups and pages and Instagram accounts that declare themselves representatives of the movement.
Top Story
- Kyrgyzstan: Factions continue to fight for power in the aftermath of the disputed election.
- Melis Myrzakmatov, the former mayor of Osh, returned to the nation and immediately addressed supporters, telling them Kyrgyzstan is “in a very dangerous situation” after opposition parties claimed the October 04 parliamentary elections were fraudulent.
- The People’s Coordination Council, which is made up of several Kyrgyz opposition parties, says it is taking on all state powers and dissolving parliament in a rift with its former allies who wanted a power transfer through the legislature.
- Dozens of unidentified people tried to break into the office of Canadian-owned Kumtor Gold Company in the capital city of Bishkek, the Russian news agency TASS reported.
- Protesters held a rally in the capital of Bishkek and demanded a change in the composition of the new Cabinet, a TASS correspondent reported from the scene.
- China hopes Kyrgyzstan will restore stability quickly, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson reported.
- Reporting: RFE, Reuters, Reuters, TASS, Xinhua
Africa
- Region: French lawmakers unanimously voted to return historical artifacts to Benin and Senegal more than a century after they were stolen by colonial forces and sent to Paris to be displayed in museums. (AFP)
- Libya: The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said that 11 corpses of migrants washed on the coast over the past week. (Xinhua)
- Nigeria: Authorities in the unstable northeastern part of the country encouraged thousands of people displaced by jihadist violence to return home, even as terrorist attacks persist. (AFP)
Americas
- United States: Donald Trump sowed confusion over stimulus talks, breaking off negotiations with congressional Democrats on a new aid package before changing course by trying to draw lawmakers back into discussions. (FT)
- United States: Hurricane Delta weakened becoming a category three (03) hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported. (Reuters)
- United States: The US Surgeon General Jerome Adams was reported for breaking Hawaiian COVID-19 rules by taking photos in a closed park in August. (AP)
Asia
- Region: Military tensions continue between the two Korea’s over North Korea’s killing of a South Korean fisheries official, as Pyongyang issued threats over Seoul’s search operations without answering calls for a joint probe, South Korea’s Defense Minister Suh Wook stated. (YNA)
- Australia: The nation risked a potential backlash from China by joining with nearly 40 countries to express grave concerns about “gross human rights violations” in the Xinjiang region and asked for independent observers to be granted unfettered access. (The Guardian)
- Japan: The nation will continue a strong emphasis on strategic ties with India under the new administration of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi explained to his Indian counterpart. (Reuters)
- Singapore: The nation’s unemployment rate increased to 3.4% in August, official data showed, the highest since the middle of 2004 as businesses were affected by layoffs due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Reuters)
Europe
- Region: Kremlin critic Aleksei Navalny suggested that the European Union increase sanctions on Russian oligarchs who are Kremlin allies by banning them from entering the EU. (RFE)
- Region: The Defense Ministry of the Nagorno-Karabakh region reported another 40 deaths among its military, pushing the military death toll to 280 since fighting with Azeri forces erupted on Sept. 27, the Interfax news agency reported. (Reuters)
- Azerbaijan: The Prosecutor-General’s Office reported that Armenia targeted a pipeline during the fighting between the two countries forces in and nearby to the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, an accusation immediately denied by Armenia. (RFE)
- Germany: A 55-year-old Russian man went on trial in Berlin for a shooting in the city last year described by the nation’s attorney general as a hit ordered by the Russian state. (DPA)
Middle East
- Israel: Police fought with hundreds of ultra-Orthodox Jews overnight as they sought to enact restrictions on public gatherings during a nationwide COVID-19 lockdown, the police reported. (AP)
- Lebanon: President Michel Aoun called for binding consultations with members of parliament next week to name a new Prime Minister, his office reported. (AP)
- Palestinian Territories: Palestinians are installing a video surveillance system in a remote village in the West Bank to record nearby Israeli settlers who they accuse of frequent attacks. (Reuters)
Tech & Communications
- Social Media: Facebook classified the QAnon conspiracy theory movement as dangerous and started removing Facebook groups and pages and Instagram accounts that declare themselves representatives of the movement. (Reuters)
World
- Cyclones:
- Hurricanes:
- Hurricane Delta
- Location:21.6N 88.4W
- Movement: SW
- Wind:35 mph
- Map
- Hurricane Delta
- Earthquakes:
- Volcanoes: Nothing to report.
- Global Disease Outbreaks:
- COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease: Global
- Confirmed Cases as of 07OCT20: 35,841,357
- Total Recovered Cases as of 07OCT20: 24,996,732
- Deaths as of 07OCT20: 1,050,371
- Countries with Confirmed Cases: 188
- Sourcing: John Hopkins University
- Ebola Virus Disease: DR Congo (11th Ebola outbreak figures from Equateur Province)
- Confirmed Cases as of 26SEP20: 118
- Probable Cases as of 26SEP20: 6
- Deaths as of 26SEP20: 50
- Sourcing: WHO
- COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease: Global
Tomorrow’s Outlook (08OCT20)
- Global: OPEC launches annual World Oil Outlook, providing ‘an in-depth review and analysis of the global oil industry’ and offering ‘a thorough assessment of various scenarios in the medium and long-term development of the oil industry,’ via videoconference
- Global: IMF World Economic Outlook analytical chapter published
- Global: WHO coronavirus update expected
- Americas/Asia-Pacific: U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to visit South Korea.
- Europe: NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg to meet the President of the Republic of North Macedonia, Zoran Zaev, in Brussels
- Europe: EU Justice and Home Affairs Council meeting
- Denmark: C40 World Mayors Summit
- Indonesia: The Confederation of Indonesia Trade Unions plans to hold a nationwide strike-through Oct. 8 to protest planned labor reforms.
- India: Air Force Day
- Morocco: The nation will begin regular parliament sessions.
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