14OCT21 Global Overnight Overwatch Report

Key Storylines

• AFRICA: Turkey has expanded its exports of armed drones by negotiating sales deals with Morocco and Ethiopia.
• AMERICAS: The Biden administration announced that the borders with Canada and Mexico will be reopened to vaccinated travelers next month.
• ASIA: Japan dissolved its parliament setting the stage for an election at the end of the month that will pit new Prime Minister Fumio Kishida against unpopular opposition.
• EUROPE: Russian President Vladimir Putin said talk of his possible successor “destabilizes” the country’s political system and that he had not yet decided about his future.
• MIDDLE EAST: An Israeli airstrike near Palmyra killed one government soldier and three pro-Iranian militia.
• TECH & COMMUNICATIONS: Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson accused Facebook of providing false testimony in a campaign finance lawsuit.

Top Story

• China: Beijing is set to send three astronauts on the longest crew mission yet.
  • China is preparing to send three astronauts to live on the Tiangong space station for six months, the longest space mission on record for Chinese astronauts.
  • The China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said the Shenzhou-13 space mission will include the installation of important devices for mechanical arms as well as various sci-tech experiments and applications.
  • Wang Yaping will become China’s first female astronaut to work in its new Tianhe core module of the Chinese space station.
  • The Shenzhou-13 spaceship is expected to be launched into space on a Long March-2F rocket early Saturday morning from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China.
  • China’s heavily promoted space program has already seen the country land a rover on Mars and send probes to the moon.
  • WaPo, Xinhua, South China Morning Post, CGTN, AFP

Africa

• Region: Turkey has expanded its exports of armed drones by negotiating sales deals with Morocco and Ethiopia. (Reuters)
• Nigeria: Authorities have announced that government workers who have not received Covid-19 jabs will not be allowed into their offices from December. (BBC)
• South Africa: The country’s largest engineering union has rejected a new wage offer as a strike that has already hit output at carmaker BMW enters its second week. (Reuters)
• Uganda: The police force said the country will deploy a contingent of 160 police officers to Somalia for peacekeeping operations. (Xinhua)

Americas

• Region: The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned that agriculture is one of the hardest hit sectors by climate change in Latin America and the Caribbean. (Xinhua)
• United States: The government is reportedly hopeful that it can resolve its trade dispute over steel and aluminum tariffs with the European Union before the end of October. (Reuters)
• United States: The Biden administration announced that the borders with Canada and Mexico will be reopened to vaccinated travelers next month. (AP)
• Venezuela: The United Nations Human Rights Office called for an independent investigation into the death in prison of dissident General Raul Baduel. (AFP)

Asia

• Region: The commander of United States Indo-Pacific Command John Aquilino said a defense pact between Australia, the United States and Britain will ensure peace, security, and stability in the region. (Reuters)
• Indonesia: Bali reopened to international flights from China, Japan, and France, as the pandemic-struck holiday destination welcomes back tourists. (AFP)
• Japan: The country dissolved its parliament setting the stage for an election at the end of the month that will pit new Prime Minister Fumio Kishida against unpopular opposition. (Reuters)
• North Korea: UN Special Rapporteur Tomás Ojea Quintana reported to the General Assembly that children and the elderly are at risk of starvation amid pandemic restrictions. (AP)
• Taiwan: Officials said an overnight fire tore through a building in the southern city of Kaohsiung killing 46 people and injuring dozens of others. (AFP)

Europe

• Czech Republic: Opposition groups, who won a combined majority in the weekend’s elections, announced they would present a coalition plan by November 8. (Reuters)
• France: The government will ask lawmakers to extend the pandemic state of emergency, currently set to expire in November, to July 31, 2022. (Reuters)
• Latvia: President Egils Levits has tested positive for the coronavirus. (DPA)
• Russia: President Vladimir Putin said talk of his possible successor “destabilizes” the country’s political system and that he had not yet decided about his future. (AFP)
• Spain: A 4.5-magnitude earthquake shook La Palma island in what was the strongest recorded since a local volcano began erupting 26 days ago. (AP)

Middle East

• Afghanistan: A Taliban delegation led by foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi will hold talks in Turkey with foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. (Reuters)
• Lebanon: At least three people have been killed in armed clashes in Beirut amid protests against the lead judge investigating last year’s massive blast in the city’s port. (AP)
• Syria: An Israeli airstrike near Palmyra killed one government soldier and three pro-Iranian militia. (AFP)
• United Arab Emirates: Oil minister Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei said demand for energy and especially natural gas is peaking, and that it was important to maintain balance in the market. (Reuters)

Tech & Communications

• Social Media: Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson accused Facebook of providing false testimony in a campaign finance lawsuit. (AP)

World

• Cyclones: Nothing to report
• Hurricanes:
  • Tropical Storm Kompasu
    • Location: 19.5N 106.7E
    • Movement: WNW
    • Wind: 40 mph
    • Map
  • Earthquakes: Nothing to report.
  • Volcanoes:
    • La Palma, Spain
      • Explosive activity continues
      • Erupting
      • Source
    • Global Disease Outbreaks:
      • COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease: Global (as of 14OCT21)
        • Confirmed cases: 239,241,539
        • Deaths: 4,876,001
        • Countries with confirmed cases: 192
        • Sourcing: John Hopkins University

Tomorrow’s Outlook (15OCT21)

• Global: International Day of Rural Women.
• Belgium: Visit by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
• Cambodia: Commemoration Day of the King’s Father.
• Eurasia: Commonwealth of Independent States Council of Heads of State summit, virtual.
• India: Issuing of tourist visas planned to resume.
• Tunisia: Evacuation Day.
• United Kingdom: Visit by US Undersecretary of State Victoria Nuland.
• United States: World Bank and IMF Annual Meeting in Washington DC. (to 17OCT)

END