Key Storylines
- AFRICA: Tunisian President Kais Saied announced that parliament will remain suspended until fresh elections are held a year from now.
- AMERICAS: Brazilian authorities began requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination for foreign travelers arriving in the country, a move initially blocked by President Jair Bolsonaro.
- ASIA: The Government Elections Monitor said Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte withdrew his candidacy for the 2022 Senate race.
- EUROPE: During a call with Boris Johnson, Vladimir Putin said he would insist that NATO guarantee that it will not expand into Ukraine.
- MIDDLE EAST: The Israeli prime minister’s office said a person on the leader’s flight back from the United Arab Emirates tested positive for COVID-19.
- TECH & COMMUNICATIONS: The US Department of Labor announced that it is investigating the collapse of an Amazon building in Illinois, in which six workers died.
Top Story
- Indonesia: A 7.4 magnitude earthquake rattles Eastern Indonesia, but only one injured and minor damage reported.
- Authorities said A 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Indonesia triggering a tsunami warning and sending residents fleeing from their homes but causing only minor damage and injuring one person.
- A tsunami alert was lifted following a magnitude 7.4 undersea earthquake that struck off Flores Island, triggering panic in a region prone to fatal quakes.
- According to the US Geological Survey, the quake hit at a depth of 18.5 kilometers (11.5 miles) under the sea, and Its epicenter was located 112km (74 miles) north of the town of Maumere, the second largest on the island in East Nusa Tenggara province.
- No significant damage or fatalities were reported, but authorities urged caution with more than a dozen smaller aftershocks detected.
- The quake came 10 days after the major Mount Semeru volcanic eruption on the island of Java, which killed at least 46 people.
- Reuters, AP, Al Jazeera, AFP, BBC
Africa
- Region: At least 100 militants have been killed in the past two weeks following a joint military offensive by soldiers from Burkina Faso and Niger. (BBC)
- Mali: French soldiers are preparing to leave the city of Timbuktu, where their forces have been based since military intervention began in 2013. (AFP)
- Tunisia: President Kais Saied announced that parliament will remain suspended until fresh elections are held a year from now. (BBC)
- Uganda: Opposition leader Bobi Wine said that police surrounded his residence and put him under house arrest ahead of a planned campaign rally for a local by-election. (AFP)
Americas
- Brazil: Authorities began requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination for foreign travelers arriving in the country, a move initially blocked by President Jair Bolsonaro. (AFP)
- Mexico: A walking caravan of mostly Central American migrants arrived in Mexico City, nearly two months after leaving the border city of Tapachula. (EFE)
- United States: The Air Force reported that 27 service members were discharged for refusing to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, believed to be the first active-duty troops removed for that reason. (Reuters)
- United States: Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned that continued Republican opposition to the nomination of ambassadors in the Senate risked undermining foreign policy. (AFP)
Asia
- Australia: Moderna reached a deal to set up a vaccine plant in Victoria state, expected to produce up to 100 million doses per year once operational in 2024. (Reuters)
- China: President Xi Jinping extended condolences to his US counterpart, Joe Biden, over the disaster of a tornado outbreak hitting the central United States. (Xinhua)
- Malaysia: The health ministry gave conditional approval for use of Ronapreve, a COVID-19 treatment developed by Regeneron and Roche. (Reuters)
- Philippines: The Government Elections Monitor said President Rodrigo Duterte withdrew his candidacy for the 2022 Senate race. (AFP)
- South Korea: The country marked its deadliest day of the pandemic as an unrelenting, delta-driven spread stretched hospitals and left people dying while waiting for beds. (AP)
Europe
- Region: During a call with Boris Johnson, Vladimir Putin said he would insist that NATO guarantee that it will not expand into Ukraine. (AP)
- Region: Turkey and Armenia will appoint special representatives to discuss steps towards normalizing ties. (WaPo)
- Lithuania: The government reached an agreement with the United States to boost defense ties and facilitate arms acquisition in the face of increasing pressures from China and Russia. (Kyodo)
- Russia: The Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping will discuss tensions in Europe and “aggressive” US and NATO rhetoric during a video call. (Reuters)
- United Kingdom: Prime Minister Boris Johnson faces a rebellion among his Conservative lawmakers in a parliamentary vote over new restrictions to try to curb the spread of the Omicron variant. (Reuters)
Middle East
- Afghanistan: The UN decried credible allegations of more than 100 extrajudicial killings in the country since the Taliban took power in August. (AFP)
- Iran: In a joint statement, European diplomats said that Tehran’s new proposals to revive the JCPOA are “inconsistent” with the 2015 deal and that the accord risks becoming “an empty shell.” (RFE/RL)
- Iraq: Three people convicted of “terrorism” were hanged after a deadly double suicide attack in a crowded Baghdad marketplace killed over 30 people. (AFP)
- Israel: The prime minister’s office said a person on the leader’s flight back from the United Arab Emirates tested positive for COVID-19. (AP)
- Saudi Arabia: The kingdom’s economy grew 7% in the third quarter from a year earlier. (Reuters)
Tech & Communications
- Technology: The US Department of Labor announced that it is investigating the collapse of an Amazon building in Illinois, in which six workers died. (Reuters)
World
- Cyclones:
- Tropical Cyclone Ruby
- Location: -22.0S, -167.4W
- Movement: ESE
- Wind: 50 mph
- Map
- Hurricanes:
- Tropical Storm Rai
- Location: 7.6N, 135.3E
- Movement: W
- Wind: 60 mph
- Map
- Earthquakes:
- Maumere, Indonesia
- Magnitude: 7.4
- Depth: 18.5 km
- Map
- 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 14DEC21)
- Confirmed cases: 270,900,305
- Deaths: 5,315,781
- Countries with confirmed cases: 192
- Sourcing: John Hopkins University
- COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease: Global (as of 14DEC21)
- Mount Semeru, Indonesia
- Maumere, Indonesia
- Tropical Storm Rai
- Tropical Cyclone Ruby
Tomorrow’s Outlook (15DEC21)
- Event: USIP discussion on ‘Youth, Peace and Security in Southeast Asia’.
- Asia: US Secretary of State Blinken visiting Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. (to 17DEC)
- Bangladesh: Visit by Indian President Ram Nath Kovind.
- China: Chinese President Xi Jingping meets Russian President Vladimir Putin. (virtual)
- Egypt: Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption in Sharm El-Sheikh. (to 17DEC)
- Europe: EU Sakharov Prize award ceremony in Strasbourg, to be awarded to Alexei Navalny in absentia.
- Europe: EU Eastern Partnership Summit in Brussels.
- Netherlands:
- South Korea: Open Government Partnership Global Summit. (to 17DEC)
- Ukraine: President Volodymyr Zelensky to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Brussels.
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