18JUL22 Global Overnight Overwatch Report

Key Storylines

AFRICA: The chief of Israel’s armed forces will visit Morocco in the highest-level public engagement between the countries.
AMERICAS: Jury selection is scheduled to begin in the trial of former Trump presidential adviser Steve Bannon.
ASIA: South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin began a meeting in Tokyo with his Japanese counterpart Yoshimasa Hayashi, carrying a message of reconciliation in hopes that the neighbors can overcome historical disputes and repair strained ties.
EUROPE: Senior officials from about 40 countries are meeting in Germany’s capital Berlin for heart-to-heart talks on how to stay focused on fighting climate change.
MIDDLE EAST: Russian President Vladimir Putin travels Tuesday to Tehran for talks with his Iranian and Turkish counterparts on the Syria conflict.
TECH & COMMUNICATIONS: Several US semiconductor firms are deliberating whether to oppose a package of chip industry subsidies if the final language of the legislation awaiting a vote in the Senate disproportionately benefits manufacturers like Intel Corp.

Top Story

Sri Lanka: Acting President Wickremsinghe Declares State of Emergency.
- Acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe said that the country had almost concluded negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), a day after he declared a state of emergency in the island nation.
- Wickremesinghe’s move to impose a state of emergency comes as protests demanding his resignation have continued in most parts of the country.
- Nominations for the election of the new president will be heard on Tuesday, and if there is more than one candidate the lawmakers will vote on Wednesday.
- The emergency decree invokes sections of the Public Security Ordinance that regulate public security, the preservation of public order, the suppression of mutiny, riot, or civil commotion, or for the maintenance of essential supplies.
- Sri Lanka is seeking help from the IMF and other creditors, but top officials say its finances are so poor that a bailout has proven difficult.
- The protesters accuse Rajapaksa of siphoning money from government coffers and hastening the country’s collapse by mismanaging the economy.
- Reuters, AP, The Guardian, AlJazeera, AFP, Vox

Africa

Algeria: Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi is visiting Algiers to finalize deals boosting gas supplies to Italy amid growing fears that Russia will cut off gas to Europe. (AP)
Ghana: The health service confirmed two cases of the Marburg virus after two people who later died tested positive for the virus earlier this month. (Reuters)
Morocco: The chief of Israel’s armed forces will visit the country in the highest-level public engagement between the countries. (Reuters)
Somalia: A passenger plane has crashed in the capital Mogadishu with the 30 people on board safely evacuated. (AP)
South Sudan: An explosion of violence is raising fears that the country’s fragile peace agreement could unravel before the transitional government wraps up early next year. (AP)

Americas

Haiti: The UN Security Council voted unanimously to ban some weapon sales to the country, rocked by deadly gang violence. (BBC)
Honduras: Berta Cáceres’s daughter alleged that the Dutch state-run bank FMO ignored signs of embezzlement, violating anti-money laundering laws. (AlJazeera)
Mexico: The navy captured drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero in a law enforcement coup that came at a heavy cost when a helicopter used in the mission crashed, killing 14 military personnel. (Reuters)
United States: Jury selection is scheduled to begin in the trial of former Trump presidential adviser Steve Bannon. (AP)
United States: Police said three people were fatally shot and two were injured at an Indiana mall after a man with a rifle opened fire in a food court and an armed civilian shot and killed him. (AP)

Asia

Region: South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin began a meeting in Tokyo with his Japanese counterpart Yoshimasa Hayashi, carrying a message of reconciliation in hopes that the neighbors can overcome historical disputes and repair strained ties. (Reuters)
China: Regulators promised to repay more victims of one of the country’s biggest-ever banking scandals, after hundreds of thousands of customers were left without access to funds, triggering rare mass protests. (AFP)
India: Lawmakers are voting for the country’s next president in an election expected to be won by Draupadi Murmu from the Bharatiya Janata Party. (AP)
Indonesia: Separatists in the eastern province of Papua claimed responsibility for the killing of ten people over the weekend, accusing the victims of being spies for the government in Jakarta. (AFP)
Thailand: Cybersecurity researchers found that activists involved in the country’s pro-democracy protests had their cell phones or other devices infected and attacked with spyware. (AP)

Europe

Germany: Senior officials from about 40 countries are meeting in Berlin for heart-to-heart talks on how to stay focused on fighting climate change. (AP)
Hungary: Anti-government demonstrators blocked one of Budapest’s main thoroughfares during morning rush-hour traffic, the latest in a series of protests against recent changes to the country’s tax code. (AP)
Russia: Former president Dmitry Medvedev said the refusal of Ukraine and Western powers to recognize Moscow’s control of Crimea poses a “systemic threat” and any outside attack on the region will prompt a “Judgment Day” response. (Reuters)
Ukraine: President Volodymyr Zelensky fired the head of the SBU, and the state prosecutor general, citing dozens of cases of collaboration with Russia by officials in their agencies. (Re uters)
United Kingdom: The country’s first-ever extreme heat warning took into effect as authorities prepare for record high temperatures that are already disrupting travel, health care, and schools.

Middle East

Region: Russian President Vladimir Putin travels Tuesday to Tehran for talks with his Iranian and Turkish counterparts on the Syria conflict. (AFP)
Iran: Tehran accused Washington of provoking tensions in the Middle East, a day after US President Joe Biden ended a tour to Saudi Arabia and Israel. (AFP)
Iraq: The country’s oil wealth is rekindling tensions between federal authorities and the autonomous Kurdish region, in a row that could compromise the lifeline industry and keep investors away. (Reuters)
Saudi Arabia: US President Joe Biden differed with the kingdom in their account of discussions at a bilateral summit about the 2018 murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. (Reuters)
Syria: An Australian teenager is believed to have died in the northeast’s al-Sinaa prison after being held for three years. (AFP)

Tech & Communications

Technology: Several US semiconductor firms are deliberating whether to oppose a package of chip industry subsidies if the final language of the legislation awaiting a vote in the Senate disproportionately benefits manufacturers like Intel Corp. (Reuters)

World

Cyclones: Nothing to Report.
Hurricanes:
- Hurricane Estelle
  - Location: 17.5 N, 109.8 W
  - Wind: 80 mph
  - Movement: WNW 13 mph
  - Map
Earthquakes: Nothing to Report.
Volcanoes: Nothing to Report.
Global Disease Outbreaks:
- COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease: Global (as of 18JUL22)
  - Confirmed cases: 562,475,410
  - Deaths: 6,369,631
  - Countries with confirmed cases: 192
  - Sourcing: John Hopkins University

Tomorrow’s Outlook (19JUL22)

Asia: United States: US Treasury Secretary Yellen on Japan / Indonesia / South Korea trip.
Belgium: NATO Sec Gen Jens Stoltenberg meets Azerbaijan Foreign Affairs Minister Jeyhun Bayramov in Brussels.
Botswana: President’s Day Holiday.
Europe: European Court of Human Rights issues six judgments concerning Russia.
Germany: Petersberg Climate Dialogue continues in Berlin.
Indonesia: Ride-hailing drivers to begin three days of protests in Riau Islands province’s city of Batam to push for better work conditions.
Iran: Visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin for meetings with President Ebrahim Raisi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Myanmar: Martyr’s Day.
Nicaragua: Sandinista Revolution Day.
Saudi Arabia: The Ministry of Hajj to open up registration for Umrah pilgrimage.
United States: Secretary of State Blinken and Commerce Secretary Raimondo attend Supply Chain Ministerial Forum.
United States: House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on US economic policy response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

END