25APR21 Global Overnight Overwatch Report

Key Storylines

AFRICA: Ghana has been chosen as Twitter’s surprise choice for its Africa HQ.
AMERICAS: Democrat Troy Carter won a special election for Louisiana’s vacant U.S. House seat, defeating his state Senate colleague and ending an inter party battle.
ASIA: Myanmar’s shadow government of ousted lawmakers welcomed a statement by Southeast Asian leaders calling for an end to “military violence” after their crisis talks in Jakarta with junta leader Min Aung Hlaing.
EUROPE: Albanians are voting in parliamentary elections amid the current pandemic and tension between the two largest political parties.
MIDDLE EAST: A fire in an Iraqi Covid-19 hospital in Baghdad has killed at least 60 COVID-19 patients.
TECH & COMMUNICATIONS: The number of illicit mobile phones found in U.K. high-security terror prisons has increased by 850 per cent over seven years.

Top Story

India: International aid is sought as the COVID-19 pandemic intensifies across the nation.
- The national COVID-19 tally reached 16,960,172 with as many as 349,691 new cases recorded in the past 24 hours.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked all citizens to be vaccinated and exercise caution, saying the “storm” of infections had shaken the country.
- The United States is deeply worried by a massive surge in COVID-19 cases in India and will seek additional support to the Indian government and health care workers, a White House spokeswoman said.
- “Our hearts go out to the Indian people in the midst of the horrific Covid-19 outbreak. We are working closely with our partners in the Indian government, and we will rapidly deploy additional support to the people of India and India’s healthcare heroes,” the US secretary of state, Anthony Blinken, said on Twitter.
- Indian Health officials are scrambling to expand critical care units and stock up on dwindling supplies of oxygen by reaching out to private sector holders.
- Reporting: Xinhua, Reuters, Reuters, The Guardian, AP,

Africa

Ghana: The country has been chosen as Twitter’s surprise choice for its Africa HQ. (BBC)
Libya: Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and Foreign Minister Najla al-Mangoush discussed ways to strengthen bilateral relations. (Xinhua)
Morocco: The national COVID-19 tally rose to 509,037 as 507 new cases were recorded during the past 24 hours. (Xinhua)

Americas

United States: Overall, 52 percent of adults say they approve of the job Biden is doing, compared with 42 percent who disapprove according to a Washington Post-ABCnews poll. (WaPo)
United States: Los Angeles police said officers killed a man wearing body armor after he crashed his vehicle into a police car and confronted the officers. (AP)
United States: Democrat Troy Carter won a special election for Louisiana’s vacant House seat, defeating his state Senate colleague and ending an inter party battle. (AP)

Asia

Myanmar: The shadow government of ousted lawmakers welcomed a statement by Southeast Asian leaders calling for an end to “military violence” after their crisis talks in Jakarta with junta leader Min Aung Hlaing. (AFP)
Japan: The government is planning to open sizable vaccination centers in Tokyo and Osaka in the coming weeks to speed up its inoculation drive. (Reuters)
South Korea: The nation’s daily new virus cases fell below 700 for the first time in five days due to fewer tests during the weekend, amid continuing concerns about a fourth wave of COVID-19 infections. (YNA)
Thailand: The nation recorded the daily number of COVID-19 deaths for the second consecutive day, as authorities work to respond to a possible third wave of infections after about a year of relative success slowing the spread of COVID-19. (Reuters)

Europe

Albania: Citizens are voting in parliamentary elections amid the virus pandemic and tension between the two largest political parties. (AP)
Germany: Protesters took to the streets of several large cities to protest against a night-time curfew introduced as a part of intense measures meant to stem the spread of COVID-19. (DPA)
United Kingdom: Eight police officers were injured, and five demonstrators arrested during a protest over the nation’s remaining COVID-19 restrictions, mandatory mask use, and vaccine passports. (Telegraph)
United Kingdom: Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, is coming under pressure from Europhile MPs and party activists to endorse sweeping changes to the Brexit deal as concerns increase about the damage it is doing to the country’s economy, jobs, and the loss of freedom of movement. (The Guardian)

Middle East

Iraq: A fire in a Baghdad Covid-19 hospital has killed at least 60 COVID-19 patients. (EFE)
Saudi Arabia: A government report noted that the country could save over $200 billion over the next decade by replacing liquid fuel used for domestic consumption with gas and renewable energy sources. (Reuters)
Saudi Arabia: Yemen’s Houthi movement attacked and hit a military air base in the south with a drone, but the coalition fighting the group said it had intercepted and destroyed an armed drone fired into the kingdom. (Reuters)

Tech & Communications

Cyber Security: The number of illicit mobile phones found in U.K. high-security terror prisons has increased by 850 per cent over seven years. (Telegraph)

World

Cyclones: Nothing to report.
Hurricanes: Nothing to report.
Earthquakes: Nothing to report.
Volcanoes: Nothing to report.
Global Disease Outbreaks:
- COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease: Global (as of 25APR21)
  - Confirmed cases: 146,515,018
  - Total recovered cases: 84,412,077
  - Deaths: 3,100,822
  - Countries with confirmed cases: 192
  - Sourcing: John Hopkins University
- Ebola Virus Disease: Guinea (as of 11APR21)
  - Confirmed cases: 16
  - Deaths: 12
  - Sourcing: WHO
- Ebola Virus Disease: DR Congo (as of 11APR21)
  - Confirmed cases: 11
  - Deaths: 6
  - Sourcing: WHO

Tomorrow’s Outlook (26APR21)

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