Key Storylines
- AFRICA: Kenya launched a murder investigation into the death of a BBC staff member in a Nairobi hotel room.
- AMERICAS: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro won a landslide victory in Sunday’s regional elections.
- ASIA: The Philippines dispatched two boats to bring food supplies to soldiers stationed at a disputed shoal in the South China Sea.
- EUROPE: Austria returned to a partial lockdown after a weekend of violence against virus measures rocked several cities in Europe.
- MIDDLE EAST: Oman and Qatar signed six cooperation agreements in the areas of tourism, military, ports, and investment during a state visit by Oman’s Sultan Haitham to Doha.
- TECH & COMMUNICATIONS: Australian small publishers will get a leg up in their fight to secure licensing deals with Google and Facebook after the country’s richest person said his philanthropic organization would seek a collective bargaining arrangement for them.
Top Story
- Asia: China to prioritize Southeast Asia with upgraded relations and development aid.
- Chinese President Xi Jinping told leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) at a summit that Beijing would not “bully” its smaller regional neighbors, amid rising tension over the South China Sea.
- In remarks at the China-ASEAN Special Summit to commemorate 30 years of relations, President Xi said China was, is and will always be ASEAN’s good neighbor, friend, and partner.
- The Chinese president later said that Beijing will offer $1.5 billion in assistance to ASEAN nations over the next three years to develop their economies and fight epidemics.
- China’s assertion of sovereignty over the South China Sea has set it against ASEAN members Vietnam and the Philippines, while Brunei, Taiwan and Malaysia also lay claim to parts.
- Beijing’s ties with the region are complicated by the South China Sea dispute and competing Indo-Pacific strategies from the US and EU.
- Reuters, Xinhua, AP, Straits Times, SCMP
Africa
- Kenya: The country launched a murder investigation into the death of a BBC staff member in a Nairobi hotel room. (AFP)
- Libya: Prime Minister Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah announced in a televised speech that he is running for president. (Xinhua)
- Sudan: Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, commended the latest political agreement in the country. (Xinhua)
- Tanzania: More than 300 citizens will climb Mount Kilimanjaro as part of celebrations to mark the east African nation’s 60th Independence Anniversary on Dec. 9. (Xinhua)
Americas
- Chile: The country will hold a presidential election runoff next month after hard-right former congressman Jose Antonio Kast finished on top in the first-round vote ahead of leftist lawmaker Gabriel Boric. (Reuters)
- Haiti: Two of the 17 American and Canadian Christian missionaries taken hostage in the country last month have been released. (Reuters)
- United States: Five people were killed and more than 40 injured after an SUV sped through a Christmas parade in Wisconsin. (Reuters)
- Venezuela: President Nicolas Maduro won a landslide victory in Sunday’s regional elections. (AFP)
Asia
- Bangladesh: Police fired tear gas and 20 people were injured as thousands of opposition demonstrators demanded the government allow ailing ex-premier Khaleda Zia to fly abroad for treatment. (AFP)
- India: Police said a grenade blast took place close to the Indian army cantonment in the northern state of Punjab, but no casualties have been reported. (Xinhua)
- New Zealand: Prime Minister Jacinda Arden said the country will end a three-and-a-half-month lockdown in Auckland early next month as it adopts a new coronavirus control strategy. (AFP)
- Pakistan: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said it has reached a preliminary agreement with the country toward reviving a $6 billion bailout. (AP)
- Philippines: The country dispatched two boats to bring food supplies to soldiers stationed at a disputed shoal in the South China Sea. (DPA)
Europe
- Austria: The country returned to a partial lockdown after a weekend of violence against virus measures rocked several cities in Europe. (AFP)
- Belarus: President Alexander Lukashenko said the country seeks no confrontation with Poland but wants the European Union to take in 2,000 migrants stranded on its border. (Reuters)
- Bulgaria: A day after President Rumen Radev secured his second term with a landslide victory in a runoff election, he drew criticism from the US for his remarks about the status of the Crimean Peninsula. (AP)
- Germany: Health minister Jens Spahn said the rapid rise in COVID-19 cases means it is likely everyone in the country who is not vaccinated will have caught COVID-19 by the end of the winter. (AP)
- United Kingdom: Investment minister Gerry Grimstone said the country and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are negotiating a free-trade agreement. (Reuters)
Middle East
- Region: Oman and Qatar signed six cooperation agreements in the areas of tourism, military, ports, and investment during a state visit by Oman’s Sultan Haitham to Doha. (Reuters)
- Iraq: Prominent Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr condemned all pressures on the country’s electoral commission and interference in its work. (Xinhua)
- Israel: Officials said a Palestinian gunman from Hamas killed a citizen and wounded three other people in Jerusalem’s Old City before being shot dead by police. (Reuters)
- Jordan: The Health Ministry said the country has entered its third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic with weekly infections on the rise. (Xinhua)
- Lebanon: Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia has sent the country satellite images it has for Beirut’s port before and after a huge explosion rocked it last year. (Reuters)
Tech & Communications
- Technology: Australian small publishers will get a leg up in their fight to secure licensing deals with Google and Facebook after the country’s richest person said his philanthropic organization would seek a collective bargaining arrangement for them. (Reuters)
World
- Cyclones: Nothing to report
- Hurricanes: Nothing to report
- Earthquakes: Nothing to report
- Volcanoes:
- La Palma, Spain
- Explosive activity continues
- Erupting
- Source
- Global Disease Outbreaks:
- COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease: Global (as of 22NOV21)
- Confirmed cases: 257,674,519
- Deaths: 5,153,373
- Countries with confirmed cases: 192
- Sourcing: John Hopkins University
- COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease: Global (as of 22NOV21)
- La Palma, Spain
Tomorrow’s Outlook (23NOV21)
- Global: UN Security Council meetings on Iraq and Libya.
- Event: CSIS discussion on the future of the OAS.
- Brazil/Middle East: Conclusion of President Jair Bolsonaro’s trip to Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.
- China: 50th Anniversary of having a seat on the UN Security Council.
- Georgia: Saint George’s Day.
- Iran: IAEA Chief meets officials in Tehran ahead of nuclear deal talks.
- Japan: Labor Thanksgiving Day.
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