Key Storylines
- AFRICA: The UN said that Libya’s two warring factions have reached a “historic achievement” with a permanent cease-fire agreement.
- AMERICAS: US Officials have issued another warning of foreign interference into the upcoming elections, this time warning of Russian hackers targeting and stealing information from the networks of dozens of state and local governments.
- ASIA: China’s President Xi Jinping condemned “unilateralism, protectionism and extreme egoism”, in an apparent jab at the US, at an event to marking the 70th anniversary of Beijing’s entry into the Korean War.
- EUROPE: The UK signed a bilateral free trade deal with Japan in the first such major post-Brexit deal that includes measures such as reducing tariffs on Yorkshire lamb sold in Japan, as well as auto parts for Japan’s Nissan plant.
- MIDDLE EAST: The US Treasury Department has blacklisted five Iranian entities including the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Bayan Rasaneh Gostar Institute for attempting to interfere with US elections.
- TECH & COMMUNICATIONS: The Senate Judiciary Committee is set to issue subpoenas to the chief executives of Facebook and Twitter after the social media sites limited the sharing of recent New York Post articles on the son of Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.
Top Story
- Poland: Abortion ruling sparks protests.
- The country’s Constitutional Tribunal ruled that abortion due to fetal defects was unconstitutional which has triggered protests in the country. The ruling also effectively nullifies Poland’s ‘abortion compromise,’ legislation of 1993.
- Police in Warsaw used pepper spray against protesters after hundreds of people marched from the court to the home of the ruling party’s deputy leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski.
- The police also clashed with the protesters when they arrived outside the house of Deputy Prime Minister Kaczynski.
- A group of protesters had also marched in front of the headquarters of the ruling Law and Justice party.
- The protesters also defied the Poland government’s recent coronavirus-related ban on public gatherings of more than 10 people in the process.
- Reporting: BBC, Reuters, AP, DPA
Africa
- Guinea: Preliminary election results show President Alpha Conde winning a controversial third term in office, which had sparked deadly street violence during the election. (Reuters)
- Ivory Coast: The opposition rejected concessions offered by the government in a bid to end a boycott on the upcoming presidential election, as the UN voiced concern over an upsurge in intercommunal violence. (AFP)
- Libya: The UN said that the country’s two warring factions have reached a “historic achievement” with a permanent cease-fire agreement. (AP)
- Nigeria: The Feminist Coalition, a key group behind the recent anti-police brutality protests in the country, has urged people to stay at home and adhere to any local curfews. (BBC)
Americas
- Region: Trinidad and Tobago’s government said a floating oil-storage vessel with almost 55 million gallons of Venezuelan crude oil off the country’s coast was not capsizing and thus was not at risk of creating an environmental disaster. (Miami Herald)
- Region: Mexico agreed to settle its water debts with the US linked to a 1944 bilateral treaty that requires both countries to share water sources along their arid border and has been the trigger for recent protests by Mexican farmers. (BBC)
- Cuba: Havana said the decades-old U.S. trade embargo on the island nation cost it a record total of more than $5 billion over the last financial year and hurt its ability to tackle the coronavirus pandemic. (Reuters)
- United States: Officials have issued another warning of foreign interference into the upcoming elections, this time warning of Russian hackers targeting and stealing information from the networks of dozens of state and local governments. (AP)
Asia
- Cambodia: A small protest near the Chinese embassy, demonstrating against an alleged plan to increase China’s military presence in the country, was broken-up with some protesters being taken in for questioning by police. (Reuters)
- China: President Xi Jinping condemned “unilateralism, protectionism and extreme egoism”, in an apparent jab at the US, at an event to marking the 70th anniversary of Beijing’s entry into the Korean War. (AP)
- North Korea: State-controlled media has warned citizens to remain indoors over fears that “yellow dust” which blows in from China could bring coronavirus with it. (BBC)
- South Korea: Health authorities said the recent death of a 17-year-old has no links to a flu vaccination he received shortly before his death. (BBC)
- Sri Lanka: Parliament has voted in favor of constitutional amendments that marginalize Parliament in making key appointments such as judges and the police chief, and which strengthen the power of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. (Reuters)
Europe
- Region: Azerbaijani and ethnic Armenian forces clashed several areas of Nagorno-Karabakh, just hours ahead of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s meetings with the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia. (Reuters)
- Region: NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said a new NATO space center will be constructed at the Allied Air Command base in Ramstein, Germany. (VOA)
- Greece: Neo-nazi ideologue and Golden Dawn Deputy Leader Christos Pappas, whose father played a key role in a 1967 military coup, has evaded arrest following his far-right party’s conviction as a criminal organization. (AFP)
- United Kingdom: The country signed a bilateral free trade deal with Japan in the first such major post-Brexit deal that includes measures such as reducing tariffs on Yorkshire lamb sold in Japan, as well as auto parts for Japan’s Nissan plant. (AP)
Middle East
- Iran: The US Treasury Department has blacklisted five of the country’s entities including the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Bayan Rasaneh Gostar Institute for attempting to interfere with US elections. (UPI)
- Iraq: Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi said his government was being forced into an impossible balancing act between the US and Iran, as he urged European countries to help Baghdad’s debt-ridden economy. (Guardian)
- Israel: The military launched overnight airstrikes in the Gaza Strip after Palestinian militants fired two rockets at the country, with no reports of casualties or major damage on either side. (AP)
- Lebanon: The US Treasury Department has sanctioned two people “for being leaders or officials” of the Shi’ite group Hezbollah. (Reuters)
Tech & Communications
- Social Media: The Senate Judiciary Committee is set to issue subpoenas to the chief executives of Facebook and Twitter after the social media sites limited the sharing of recent New York Post articles on the son of Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. (WSJ)
World
- Cyclones:
- Typhoon Saudel
- Location: 264 nautical miles S-SEof Hong Kong
- Wind: 85 mph
- Movement: W-NW at 3 mph
- Map
- Typhoon Saudel
- Hurricanes: Nothing to report.
- Earthquakes: Nothing to report.
- Volcanoes: Nothing to report.
- Global Disease Outbreaks:
- COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease: Global
- Confirmed Cases as of 23OCT20: 41,759,688
- Total Recovered Cases as of 23OCT20: 28,370,985
- Deaths as of 23OCT20: 1,138,181
- 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 17OCT20: 119
- Probable Cases as of 17OCT20: 9
- Deaths as of 17OCT20: 53
- Sourcing: WHO
- COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease: Global
Tomorrow’s Outlook (24OCT20)
- Global: United Nations Day / The 75th anniversary of the United Nations – 1945
- Global: The UN’s World Development Information Day – 1973
- Africa: The African Union will hold a virtual fundraising event for its coronavirus response fund.
- Egypt: Parliamentary elections will be held. (to 25OCT)
- The Holy See: Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez will meet with Pope Francis.
- Russia: Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Ruslan Kazakbayev will visit and meet with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
- Seychelles: Presidential and parliamentary elections will be held.
- Syria: UN Special Envoy Geir Pedersen to potentially visit.
- Zambia: Independence Day – 1964
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