16SEP20 Global Overnight Overwatch Report

Key Storylines

• AFRICA: ECOWAS mediators failed to convince Mali’s new junta to immediately hand over power to a civilian government.
• AMERICAS: The US government said it will remove its 10% tariffs on raw Canadian aluminum if import levels remain below a certain threshold, following which Canada ended its threat to impose its own retaliatory sanctions, bringing an end to a trade spat between the two countries.
• ASIA: Yoshihide Suga was confirmed as Japan’s new Prime Minister by Parliament.
• EUROPE: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen unveiled plans to toughen the EU’s emissions-cutting target to by 2030, during her State of the Union address.
• MIDDLE EAST: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain that they will be responsible for any ‘consequences’ of their decision to normalize relations with Israel.
• TECH & COMMUNICATIONS: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the European Commission will invest a fifth of its $890 billion coronavirus recovery fund in digital projects.

Top Story

• Middle East: Israel strikes Gaza after rockets fired during ceremony in the US.
  • Militants in Gaza launched rockets at Israel through the night, with Israel bombing sites in Gaza in retaliation.
  • Israel’s military said it launched around 10 air strikes, and that 15 rockets had been lobbed at the country from Gaza earlier in the day.
  • The rockets from Gaza were launched earlier in the day, during the ceremony at the White House in the US during which the UAE and Bahrain normalized their relations with Israel.
  • The rockets from Gaza, one of which struck the coastal Israeli city of Ashdod, left two Israeli citizens wounded.
  • Reporting: DPA, AP, Reuters, BBC, AFP

Africa

• Region: The West African countries of Guinea and Togo both announced an extension of their respective coronavirus-related measures and restrictions. (AFP)
• Libya: The UN Security Council asked UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to appoint a Special Peace Envoy for the country. (Reuters)
• Mali: ECOWAS mediators failed to convince the country’s new junta to immediately hand over power to a civilian government. (Reuters)

Americas

• Region: The US government said it will remove its 10% tariffs on raw Canadian aluminum if import levels remain below a certain threshold, following which Canada ended its threat to impose its own retaliatory sanctions, bringing an end to a trade spat between the two countries. (Reuters)
• Barbados: The government plans to remove British Monarch Queen Elizabeth as the country’s head of state and transform the country into a republic by November 2021. (Telegraph)
• Nicaragua: President Daniel Ortega proposed legal reforms to allow life sentences, which he threatened to use against some political opponents he accused of committing “hate crimes”. (AP)
• United States: Improving weather conditions helped firefighters in California, Washington, and Oregon tackle the ongoing deadly wildfires, as thousands of people in Oregon entered a second week of life under evacuation orders. (Reuters)  

Asia  

• India: The number of known coronavirus cases passed the 5 million mark, testing the feeble health care system in the country’s rural areas. (AP)
• Japan: Yoshihide Suga was confirmed as the country’s new Prime Minister by Parliament. (BBC)
• Myanmar: The military said it is investigating “wider patterns” before and after a crackdown on Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine state in 2017. (Reuters)

Europe

• Region: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen unveiled plans to toughen the EU’s emissions-cutting target to by 2030, during her State of the Union address. (DPA)
• Ireland: Members of Prime Minister Micheal Martin’s cabinet are no longer under a coronavirus quarantine as Health Minister Stephen Donnelly tested negative for the virus. (BBC)
• Spain: Capital city Madrid is set to introduce new targeted lockdowns and other restrictions on movement in areas with a high number of coronavirus cases. (Reuters)

Middle East

• Region: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain that they will be responsible for any ‘consequences’ of their decision to normalize relations with Israel. (AFP)
• Lebanon: France reportedly believes the country’s banks will be unable to stick to the principle that savers should not lose any of their deposits. (Reuters)
• Saudi Arabia: US President Donald Trump said he expected Riyadh to normalize relations with Israel, but only “at the right time.” (AFP)

Tech & Communications

• Technology: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the Commission will invest a fifth of its $890 billion coronavirus recovery fund in digital projects. (Reuters)

World

• Cyclones: Nothing to report.
• Hurricanes: 
  • Hurricane Sally
    • Location: 40 miles SW of Pensacola, Florida
    • Wind: 105 mph
    • Movement: N-NE at 3 mph
    • Map
• Earthquakes: Nothing to report.
• Volcanoes: Nothing to report.
• Global Disease Outbreaks:

• • COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease: Global
    • Confirmed Cases as of 16SEP20: 29,607,590 
    • Total Recovered Cases as of 16SEP20: 20,100,605
    • Deaths as of 16SEP20: 935,871
    • 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 06SEP20: 106 
    • Probable Cases as of 06SEP20: 6 
    • Deaths as of 06SEP20: 48
    • Sourcing: WHO

Tomorrow’s Outlook (17SEP20)

• Global: The Health and Finance Ministers of G20 countries will hold a virtual joint meeting.
• Europe: The European Court of Justice will rule on Russian company Rosneft’s claim against EU sanctions.
• Europe: Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama will testify to the Helsinki Commission over the plans for Albania’s Chairmanship of the OSCE.
• Europe: The European Parliament will hold a plenary session.
• Europe: Education Ministers of EU member-states will hold an informal meeting.
• Austria: Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and President Alexander Van der Bellen are scheduled to speak at the 4th annual R20 Austrian World Summit.
• Belgium: Interim Prime Minister Sophie Wilmes expected to face a vote of confidence.
• Italy: German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will meet with President Sergio Mattarella in Milan. (to 18SEP)
• Japan: The Bank of Japan to announce a monetary policy decision.
• Spain: The Supreme Court will rule on whether to uphold a lower court’s ruling that removed Catalonia’s regional President Quim Torra from office over alleged violations of elections law.
• United States: South Korean Trade Minister Yoo Mying-hee to visit and discuss her WTO leadership bid and South Korea-US economic ties. (to 18SEP)
• United States: Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf and FBI Director Christopher Wray are expected to testify on ‘Worldwide Threats to the Homeland’ to the House Committee on Homeland Security.
• United States: President Donald Trump will take part in a credentials ceremony for newly appointed Ambassadors to the country.
• United States: The Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee will hold a hearing on US policy in the Indo-Pacific.
• United States: The House Ways and Means subcommittee will hold a hearing on the ban on imports produced by forced labor in Xinjiang, China.

END