11NOV21 Global Overnight Overwatch Report

Key Storylines

• AFRICA: South Africa’s last white president, Frederik Willem (FW) de Klerk, died at his home in Cape Town at the age of 85.
• AMERICAS: Mexican authorities reported that the number of migrants walking north in a caravan has dwindled to less than a thousand, down from a high of nearly 4,000.
• ASIA: The head of the US Indo-Pacific Command Adm. John Aquilino met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and reaffirmed America’s commitment to achieving a free and open Indo-Pacific.
• EUROPE: France persuaded the EU to postpone signing two new trade agreements with New Zealand and Chile until after the country’s presidential election in April.
• MIDDLE EAST: Ali Salajegheh, head of Iran’s delegation to COP26, said his government would ratify the Paris Climate Agreement if sanctions were lifted.
• TECH & COMMUNICATIONS: Tesla CEO Elon Musk sold $1.1 billion of his company’s stock in order to pay tax obligations.

Top Story

• China: The Communist Party passes a historic resolution elevating President XI.
  • China’s ruling Communist Party approved a resolution on its history and achievements, a measure seen as further consolidating the authority of President Xi Jinping.
  • The resolution was reviewed and adopted at the sixth plenary session of the 19th CPC Central Committee, held in Beijing from Nov. 8 to 11.
  • The statement is only the third statement in the party’s 100-year history after one issued under Mao Zedong, who led the party to power in 1949, and Deng Xiaoping, who launched reforms that turned China into an economic power.
  • The Party Central Committee called on “the entire party, the entire army and people of all ethnic groups to unite more closely around the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core, to fully implement Xi Jinping’s new era of socialism with Chinese characteristics.”
  • The communiqué lavished praise on President Xi’s policies since he took power in 2012, exalting his efforts to retool the economy, reduce pollution and poverty, and eradicate corruption.
  • Reuters, Xinhua, AP, AFP, NYT

Africa

• Libya: Human Rights Watch is questioning whether authorities can hold free and fair elections as long as the rule of law, justice and respect of human rights remain absent. (AP)
• Mali: Foreign Minister Tiébilé Dramé said the country may ask Russia for “help” given its current security situation. (Reuters)
• Mozambique: President Filipe Nyusi fired his defense and interior ministers, criticizing their competence as the country battles a four-year Islamist insurgency. (AFP)
• South Africa: The country’s last white president, Frederik Willem (FW) de Klerk, died at his home in Cape Town at the age of 85. (AFP)

Americas

• Brazil: President Jair Bolsonaro, who for two years has not belonged to any political party, agreed to join the centrist Liberal Party ahead of his 2022 re-election bid. (AP)
• Canada: Ontario suspended a plan to ease COVID-19 capacity restrictions on bars and restaurants in light of a recent increase in virus cases in the province. (Reuters)
• Mexico: Authorities reported that the number of migrants walking north in a caravan has dwindled to less than a thousand, down from a high of nearly 4,000. (AP)
• United States: Vice President Kamala Harris announced the federal government would join the Paris Call for Trust and Security in Cyberspace, a multilateral initiative which the Trump administration declined to join in 2018. (CNN)

Asia

• Region: The head of the US Indo-Pacific Command Adm. John Aquilino met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and reaffirmed America’s commitment to achieving a free and open Indo-Pacific. (AP)
• Japan: New foreign minister Yoshimasa Hayashi stepped down as head of the Japan-China Parliamentarians’ Friendship League in order to avoid “unnecessary misunderstanding”. (Reuters)
• Myanmar: The UN Security Council made a unanimous statement calling for an immediate end to fighting in the country and for the military to exercise restraint. (Reuters)
• Philippines: The daughter of president Rodrigo Duterte joined a new political party days before a deadline to change candidates for 2022 presidential elections. (Reuters)
• South Korea: Police said they are pushing to investigate a U.S. diplomat to find if he intentionally fled following a traffic accident in Seoul. (AP)

Europe

• Region: France persuaded the EU to postpone signing two new trade agreements with New Zealand and Chile until after the country’s presidential election in April. (FT)
• Czech Republic: Outgoing Prime Minister Andrej Babis on submitted his resignation to the president following defeat in last month’s elections. (AFP)
• Germany: Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said it was time to impose fresh EU sanctions on Belarus over the migrant crisis on its border with Poland. (AFP)
• North Macedonia: Lawmakers will vote on a no confidence motion filed by the opposition against Prime Minister Zoran Zaev’s government. (AFP)
• United Kingdom: The government added China’s Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines to the country’s approved list of vaccines for inbound travelers. (Xinhua)

Middle East

• Region: Forces from the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Israel, and the United States Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) began a multilateral maritime security operations exercise in the Red Sea. (Reuters)
• Iran: Ali Salajegheh, head of his country’s delegation to COP26, said his government would ratify the Paris Climate Agreement if sanctions were lifted. (BBC)
• Saudi Arabia: The coalition fighting the Houthi rebels said its troops were deployed to support Yemeni forces but were not withdrawing. (Reuters)
• United Arab Emirates: Foreign minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed received a phone call from his Iranian counterpart to discuss bilateral relations and cooperation. (Reuters)
• Yemen: The UN Security Council placed sanctions on three prominent leaders of the Houthi rebel movement. (AP)

Tech & Communications

• Technology: Tesla CEO Elon Musk sold $1.1 billion of his company’s stock in order to pay tax obligations. (AP)

World

• Cyclones: Nothing to report
• 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 11NOV21)
      • Confirmed cases: 251,577,954
      • Deaths: 5,075,471
      • Countries with confirmed cases: 192
      • Sourcing: John Hopkins University

Tomorrow’s Outlook (12NOV21)

• Americas: Organization of American States General Assembly, virtual.
• Azerbaijan: Constitution Day.
• Belarus: Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization to present preliminary report on Ryanair Flight 4978 incident.
• Europe: ECOFIN Budget meeting of EU finance ministers.
• France: Paris Peace Forum, attended by US Vice President Kamala Harris. (to 13NOV)
• France: Paris Conference on Libya, co-hosted by President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
• Lebanon: United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights Olivier De Schutter holds a press conference to conclude his visit to Lebanon.
• New Zealand: Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) online leaders’ summit, chaired by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
• Taiwan: Birthday of Sun Yat-Sen.
• United Kingdom: Final day of Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP26) in Glasgow.
• United States: Secretary of State Blinken hosts annual U.S.-Qatar Strategic Dialogue.

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