Key Storylines
- AFRICA: The office of Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said he returned to his usual work in the capital Addis Ababa and has left the battle front.
- AMERICAS: Peru’s congress voted down a motion to impeach President Pedro Castillo.
- ASIA: Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison confirmed that his country would follow the United States in a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
- EUROPE: US President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin yielded no breakthrough after two hours of talks on the escalating crisis near Russia’s border with Ukraine.
- MIDDLE EAST: An Israeli woman was stabbed and lightly wounded by a Palestinian female minor in a neighborhood in east Jerusalem.
- TECH & COMMUNICATIONS: A US labor complaint alleges that Apple’s restriction of workplace messaging app Slack violates employees’ protected rights to speech and organizing.
Top Story
- Germany: Olaf Scholtz takes over as Chancellor marking the end of the Merkel era.
- Lawmakers elected Social Democrat Olaf Scholz as chancellor, ending 16 years of conservative rule under Angela Merkel and paving the way for a pro-European coalition government that has promised to boost green investment.
- Lawmakers voted by 395-303 to elect the center-left leader, with six abstentions — a comfortable majority, though short of the 416 seats his three-party coalition holds in the 736-seat lower house of parliament.
- The new coalition has set itself the targets of combatting the COVID-19 pandemic, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and raising the statutory minimum wage.
- Scholtz told the Bundestag that “Germany is venturing a new departure, one that takes up the major challenges of this decade and well beyond that.”
- Scholz’s center-left Social Democrats party has worked with the Greens and the Free Democrats on a coalition deal, which was finally signed on Tuesday.
- For the first time in 16 years, Germany will now have a center-left government led by a new chancellor.
- Reuters, AP, DPA, WaPo, BBC, NYT
Africa
- Ethiopia: The office of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said he returned to his usual work in the capital Addis Ababa and has left the battle front. (BBC)
- Nigeria: At least 21 passengers were burnt to death when their bus was ambushed by shooters in the north-western state of Sokoto. (BBC)
- South Africa: Parliament failed to secure the two-thirds majority it needed to amend the constitution to pave the way for land expropriation without compensation. (BBC)
- Uganda: The army protested against the financial sanctions imposed on Major General Abel Kandiho, the country’s head of military intelligence. (BBC)
Americas
- Brazil: Health regulators announced unvaccinated travelers entering the country will be required to quarantine for five days after President Jair Bolsonaro said he opposed vaccine passports. (Reuters)
- Colombia: Health Minister Fernando Ruiz announced that travelers wishing to enter the country must present a negative COVID-19 PCR test or a vaccination certificate starting on Dec. 14. (Xinhua)
- Peru: Congress voted down a motion to impeach President Pedro Castillo. (Reuters)
- United States: Congressional leaders reached an elaborate deal to pass legislation raising the national debt limit without any Republican votes. (AP)
Asia
- Australia: Prime Minister Scott Morrison confirmed that his country would follow the United States in a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. (DPA)
- Indonesia: The death toll climbed to 39 following the eruption of the Semeru volcano in East Java province over the weekend. (DPA)
- Malaysia: An appeals court upheld former prime minister Najib Razak’s guilty verdict in a case linked to the 1MDB corruption scandal. (Reuters)
- New Zealand: Defense forces warned of the security threat from an increasingly powerful China as it assertively pursues its interests in the Indo-Pacific region. (Reuters)
- South Korea: Daily new COVID-19 cases in the country have risen above 7,000 for the first time. (Yonhap)
Europe
- Region: US President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin yielded no breakthrough after two hours of talks on the escalating crisis near Russia’s border with Ukraine. (AP).
- France: A Saudi national suspected of taking part in the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul was arrested at Charles de Gaulle Airport on a Turkish warrant. (AP)
- Lithuania: Energy Minister Dainius Kreivys said the country last week successfully tested a coupling of its power grid to the European continental system. (Reuters)
- Ukraine: Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that talks between US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin had enabled “deterrence and de-escalation.” (Reuters)
- United Kingdom: Prime Minister Boris Johnson faced a backlash after a video surfaced showing his staff laughing and joking over how to explain a gathering in Downing Street during a Christmas COVID lockdown last year. (Reuters)
Middle East
- Israel: A woman was stabbed and lightly wounded by a Palestinian female minor in a neighborhood in east Jerusalem. (WaPo)
- Lebanon: Two international human rights groups called on authorities to immediately release a freelance American journalist who was detained in Beirut last month and continues to be held even after a prosecutor ordered her release. (WaPo)
- United Arab Emirates: The Economy Ministry will allow the creation of companies for acquisition or merger purposes. (Reuters)
- Yemen: The United Nations said that fighting between the internationally recognized government and Houthi rebels displaced over 25,000 people around the port city of Hodeida last month. (WaPo)
Tech & Communications
- Technology: A US labor complaint alleges that Apple’s restriction of workplace messaging app Slack violates employees’ protected rights to speech and organizing. (Reuters)
World
- Cyclones: Nothing to report.
- Hurricanes: Nothing to report.
- Earthquakes: Nothing to report.
- Volcanoes:
- Mount Semeru, Indonesia
- Explosive activity continues
- Erupting
- Source
- La Palma, Spain
- Explosive activity continues
- Erupting
- Source
- Global Disease Outbreaks:
- COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease: Global (as of 08DEC21)
- Confirmed cases: 267,411,776
- Deaths: 5,275,993
- Countries with confirmed cases: 192
- Sourcing: John Hopkins University
- COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease: Global (as of 08DEC21)
- Mount Semeru, Indonesia
Tomorrow’s Outlook (09DEC21)
- Global: International Anti-Corruption Day.
- Global: UN Security Council open debate on terrorism and climate change.
- Event: Heritage Foundation hosts discussion with former USAID Administrator Mark Green.
- Austria: World Space Forum in Vienna.
- Europe: Meeting of EU justice and interior ministers in Brussels. (to 10DEC)
- Europe: Meeting of EU transport, telecommunications, and energy ministers in Brussels.
- Europe: 30th anniversary of Treaty on European Union drafted.
- North America: US-Canada negotiations on modernizing Columbia River Treaty regime.
- Pakistan: Ceasefire between Pakistan and the Taliban to expire.
- Tanzania: Independence Day.
- United States: Summit for Democracy, virtual. (to 10DEC)
- United States: US-Africa Energy Forum in Houston.
- United States: House Foreign Affairs subcommittee hearing on Libya.
END
