23AUG20 Global Overnight Overwatch Report

Key Storylines

• AFRICA: The Sudanese Prime minister announced that the country was ready to cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC), so those accused of war crimes in Darfur have tribunals, a list that includes ousted President Omar al-Bashir.
• AMERICAS: Tropical storm Laura produces heavy rain over the Dominican Republic, the United States National Hurricane Center reported.
• ASIA: Pakistan has granted new orders enforcing financial sanctions against Afghanistan’s Taliban, just as the militant group is in the midst of a U.S.-led peace process in the neighboring country. 
• EUROPE: Russian state media reported that opposition leader Alexey Navalny was under constant surveillance by federal security agents during his Siberian trip, where he was hit with suspected poisoning.
• MIDDLE EAST: United States-led international coalition troops withdrew from Iraq’s Taji military base and handed it over to Iraqi security forces, Reuters witnesses reported.
• TECH & COMMUNICATIONS: The Chinese social networking company TikTok confirmed that it will file a lawsuit against the Trump administration fighting an executive order banning any U.S. transactions with its parent company ByteDance.  

Top Story

• Belarus: Protests continue to intensify as the regime seeks to crack down on them. 
  • Protests continue, although authorities are blocking more than 50 news media websites that were covering weeks of demonstrations demanding that President Alexander Lukashenko resign. 
  • Belarus is expecting more protests against the disputed reelection of President Alexander Lukashenko in the face of the country’s armed forces putting the nation on “high alert.”
  • NATO officials state that allegations by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko that “foreign powers” are organizing a build-up of troops on the country’s border are not true.
  • Reporting: AP, WaPo, BBC,

Africa  

• Region: The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has urged the continent to avoid COVID-19 “prevention fatigue.” (Xinhua) 
• Mali: A key meeting between the nation’s coup leaders and mediators from West Africa’s regional bloc seeking a return to civilian rule ended after just 20 minutes. (Reuters) 
• Sudan: The Prime minister announced that the country was ready to cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC), so those accused of war crimes in Darfur have tribunals, a list that includes ousted President Omar al-Bashir. (Reuters) 

Americas

• Brazil: About 2,000 people in the northeast were living away from their homes after a pipe in a water diversion project ruptured, damaging a dam, and flooding the project’s power plant, authorities reported. (AP) 
• Dominican Republic: Tropical storm Laura produces heavy rain over the island nation, the United States National Hurricane Center said. (Reuters) 
• United States: Oregon’s biggest city appeared to have a quiet night after months of consistent protests downtown near its federal buildings. (AP)

Asia

• Afghanistan: Four policemen of the National Police (ANP) were killed and two others wounded during clashes in southern Kandahar province, a provincial police spokesman announced. (Xinhua) 
• India: The nation’s COVID-19 tally surpassed 3 million cases, reaching 3,044,940, according to the latest data released by the federal health ministry. (Xinhua) 
• Pakistan: The nation has granted new orders enforcing financial sanctions against Afghanistan’s Taliban, just as the militant group is in the midst of a U.S.-led peace process in the neighboring country. (AP)
• South Korea: The nation’s daily new virus cases increased to 397, and infections were reported in all major cities and provinces across the country, health authorities said. (YNA)

Europe

• Austria: Top politicians pledged support to the Jewish community in the city of Graz after its leader was attacked, and its synagogue was damaged in two incidents this week. (DPA) 
• Germany: The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the nation increased by 782 to 232,864, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed. (Reuters)
• Russia: State media reported that opposition leader Alexey Navalny was under constant surveillance by federal security agents during his Siberian trip, where he was hit with suspected poisoning. (WaPo)
• United Kingdom: Prime Minister Boris Johnson has told allies that “failure to reopen schools is not an option,” the Sunday Telegraph newspaper stated. (Reuters)

Middle East

• Iraq: United States-led international coalition troops withdrew from Taji military base and handed it over to Iraqi security forces, Reuters witnesses reported. (Reuters) 
• Lebanon: An Israeli military reconnaissance drone has crashed inside the nation’s borders, Israel’s army reported. (Xinhua) 
• Yemen: Coalition forces in the country said they intercepted and destroyed a bomb-laden drone launched at a city in southern Saudi Arabia by Houthi rebels in Yemen. (DPA) 

Tech & Communications

• Social Media: The Chinese social networking company TikTok confirmed that it will file a lawsuit against the Trump administration over an executive order banning any U.S. transactions with its parent company ByteDance. (Xinhua) 

World  

• Cyclones: 
  • Tropical Storm Laura
    • Location:18.8N 70.9W
    • Movement: WNW
    • Wind:45 mph
    • Pressure:1005 MB
    • MAP
  • Tropical Storm Marco
    • Location:23.7N 87W
    • Movement: NNW
    • Wind:70 mph
    • Pressure:994 MB
    • MAP
• Hurricanes: Nothing to report.
• Earthquakes: Nothing to report
• Volcanoes: Nothing to report
• Global Disease Outbreaks:

• • COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease: Global
    • Confirmed Cases as of 23AUG20: 23,218,911
    • Total Recovered Cases as of 23AUG20: 14,936,957
    • Deaths as of 23AUG20: 804,688
    • 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 15AUG20: 84 
    • Probable Cases as of 15AUG20: 4 
    • Deaths as of 15AUG20: 36
    • Sourcing: WHO

Tomorrow’s Outlook (24AUG20)

• Asia-Pacific: ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Meeting to be held in Vietnam. 
• Asia-Pacific: The Japan-South Korea intelligence-sharing pact will automatically renew on Nov. 24 unless either side notifies by this day.
• Austria: German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz to visit the nation.
• Nigeria: The government to release Q2 GDP data.
• South Africa: South African schools to reopen.
• Pakistan: Karachi opposition groups in Sindh province to hold a three-day strike.
• United States: U.S. Republican National Convention.

END