21NOV20 Global Overnight Overwatch Report

Key Storylines

AFRICA: Ethiopia denied that talks on the growing conflict in its northern Tigray region were imminent, just hours after three African former presidents were named to help mediate the two-week-old crisis.
AMERICAS: The head of the Tibetan government in exile has visited the White House for the first time in six decades, a move that could further increase tension with Beijing, which has accused the United States of trying to destabilize the region.
ASIA: India summoned a senior Pakistani diplomat over what New Delhi said was a foiled attack this week in the frontier territory of Jammu and Kashmir by a Pakistan-based militant group, a charge the neighboring country denied.
EUROPE: Azerbaijani forces entered the war-ravaged town of Aghdam, regaining a city where they were kicked out over a quarter of a century by Armenian troops.
MIDDLE EAST: Iran is to impose more stringent restrictions nationwide as the nation hardest hit in the Middle East by the COVID-19 battles a new wave of infections.
TECH & COMMUNICATIONS: Twitter will hand control of the presidential @POTUS account to Joe Biden when he is sworn in on inauguration day, even if President Donald Trump has not conceded his election loss, US media reported Friday.

Top Story

United States: The Trump campaign continues efforts to stop states from certifying President-Elect Biden’s victory in the 2020 election.
- The recount of the presidential election in Wisconsin’s two most heavily Democratic counties began Friday with President Donald Trump’s campaign seeking to throw out tens of thousands of absentee ballots that it alleged should not have been counted.
- Dana Nessel, Michigan’s attorney general, is exploring whether officials will commit crimes if they follow President Trump’s wishes to block the certification of Joe Biden’s victory in their state, according to two people familiar with the review.
- Donald Trump has had a new setback in his attempt to overturn his loss in the US election as Republican Michigan lawmakers indicated they would not seek to undo Joe Biden’s projected win in the legislature.
- Georgia Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger reported that a manual recount and audit of all ballots cast in the southern state had confirmed Biden as the state’s winner.
- Reporting: AP, WaPo, BBC, Reuters

Africa

Algeria: The nation’s number of COVD-19 cases increased to 72,755. (Xinhua)
Ethiopia: The country denied that talks on the growing conflict in its northern Tigray region were imminent, just hours after three African former presidents were named to help mediate the two-week-old crisis. (Reuters)
Nigeria: Government authorities confirmed the nine senior police officers kidnapped earlier this month have been rescued unhurt following “a covert operation.” (Xinhua)

Americas

Brazil: The death of a black man beaten by white security guards at a supermarket sparked protests across the nation as it celebrated Black Consciousness Day. (AFP)
United States: California enacts a nighttime curfew as surging COVID-19 cases threaten to overwhelm health care systems, and the state’s largest county warned that an even more restrictive lockdown could be imminent. (AP)
United States: Kyle Rittenhouse, the accused extremist charged with shooting two people dead at a Black Lives Matter protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, earlier this year, was released after posting US$2 million bail, one of his lawyers tweeted. (AFP)
United States: The head of the Tibetan government in exile has visited the White House for the first time in six decades, a move that could further increase tension with Beijing, which has accused the country of trying to destabilize the region. (Reuters)

Asia

Region: India summoned a senior Pakistani diplomat over what New Delhi said was a foiled attack this week in the frontier territory of Jammu and Kashmir by a Pakistan-based militant group, a charge the neighboring country denied. (Reuters)
Australia: Victoria has only one active Covid-19 case, but authorities are concerned about traces of the virus discovered at a Melbourne wastewater facility. (The Guardian)
Japan: The government has announced that it will suspend a domestic travel campaign in areas where COVID-19 cases are increasing rapidly. (Reuters)
South Korea: The number of daily new COVID-19 cases in the nation exceeded 300 for the fourth consecutive day because of sporadic cluster infections across the country, casting concerns over a third wave of the pandemic. (YNA)

Europe

Region: Azerbaijani forces entered the war-ravaged town of Aghdam, regaining a city where they were kicked out over a quarter of a century ago by Armenian troops. (AP)
Russia: The nation recorded a daily record of 24,822 new COVID-19 infections, including 7,168 in Moscow, bringing the national amount to 2,064,748. (Reuters)
Ukraine: The nation registered a record 14,580 new COVID-19 infections in the last 24 hours, health minister Maksym Stepanov reported, surpassing the previous day’s record of 14,575. (Reuters)

Middle East

Iran: The government is to impose tougher restrictions nationwide from November 21 as the nation hardest hit in the Middle East by the COVID-19 battles a new wave of infections. (RFE)
Qatar: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will meet negotiators from the Afghan government and Taliban in Doha amid signs of progress in their discussions as the United States speeds up its withdrawal. (AFP)
Saudi Arabia: The country’s Minister of Investment Khalid al-Falih said the Gulf state plans to launch special economic zones in 2021. (Reuters)

Tech & Communications

Social Media: Twitter will hand control of the presidential @POTUS account to Joe Biden when he is sworn in on inauguration day, even if President Donald Trump has not conceded his election loss, US media reported Friday. (AFP)

World

Tomorrow’s Outlook (22NOV20)

END