25JUL22 Global Overnight Overwatch Report

Key Storylines

AFRICA: Tunisians are heading to the polls to vote on a new constitution.
AMERICAS: Pope Francis began a historic visit to Canada to apologize to Indigenous peoples for abuses by missionaries at residential schools.
ASIA: Indonesian president Joko Widodo is heading to Beijing for a rare visit by a foreign leader under China’s strict COVID-19 protocols.
EUROPE: A German union called on Lufthansa ground staff to walk out on a one-day strike Wednesday in a dispute over pay.
MIDDLE EAST: The head of the Atomic Energy Organization said Iran will keep the UN nuclear watchdog’s cameras turned off until a 2015 nuclear deal is restored.
TECH & COMMUNICATIONS: China added a laboratory to its permanent orbiting space station as it moves toward completing the structure in coming months.

Top Story

Myanmar: The Military Junta Executes Four Activists as it Draws Condemnation.
- Myanmar’s military junta executed four democracy activists accused of helping to carry out “terror acts”, sparking widespread condemnation of the Southeast Asian nation’s first executions in decades.
- The killings of former National League for Democracy lawmaker Phyo Zayar Thaw, pro-democracy leader Kyaw Min Yu, and two other activists mark the first judicial executions in Myanmar since 1988
- The executions were carried out despite worldwide pleas for clemency for the four men, including from United Nations experts and Cambodia, which holds the rotating chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
- The US Embassy in Myanmar mourned the loss of the four men and offered condolences to their families while decrying the decision to execute them.
- The state-run Mirror Daily newspaper said the four were executed “in accordance with legal procedures” for directing and organizing “violent and inhuman accomplice acts of terrorist killings.”
- The military government later issued a brief statement about the executions, while the prison where the men had been held and the prison department refused to comment.
- Reuters, The Guardian, AP, Twitter, BBC, Axios

Africa

Congo-Brazzaville: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visited the country as part of an effort by Moscow to reinforce relations in Africa amid Western backlash over the invasion of Ukraine. (BBC)
DR Congo: The M23 rebel group in the volatile east summarily executed 29 civilians since mid-June in areas under their control. (AFP)
Kenya: Police said the death toll from a bus accident in the central region rose to 30. (AP)
South Africa: President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed the head of the appeals court, Mandisa Maya, as the country’s deputy chief justice – becoming the first woman to occupy the position. (BBC)
Tunisia: People are heading to the polls to vote on a new constitution. (AP)

Americas

Bahamas: Seventeen suspected migrants from Haiti died in a boat accident off the coast early on Sunday. (AFP)
Brazil: President Jair Bolsonaro kicked off his candidacy for re-election at a party event in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday with a speech focused on God, guns, and family. (Reuters)
Canada: Pope Francis began a historic visit to the country to apologize to Indigenous peoples for abuses by missionaries at residential schools. (AP)
Chile: State-owned copper miner Codelco expects to gradually restart operations at some of its mining projects following the death of two workers earlier this month. (Reuters)
Mexico: Security officials detained more than 200 mostly Guatemalan migrants at a warehouse in the central region who were waiting to be smuggled northward. (Reuters)

Asia

China: Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that the South China Sea is not a “safari park” for countries outside the region or a “fighting arena” for major powers to compete in. (Reuters)
Indonesia: President Joko Widodo is heading to Beijing for a rare visit by a foreign leader under China’s strict COVID-19 protocols. (AP)
Japan: Dozens of people evacuated two towns on the southern island of Kyushu where a volcano poured out ash and large rocks into the nighttime sky. (AP)
South Korea: US Army Apache attack helicopters based in the south are holding live-fire drills with rockets and guns for the first time since 2019. (Reuters)
Taiwan: Taipei is staging air raid drills and its military is mobilizing for routine exercises. (AP)

Europe

Denmark: Biotechnology company Bavarian Nordic said the European Commission had given permission for its Imvanex vaccine to be marketed as protection against monkeypox. (Reuters)
Germany: A union called on Lufthansa ground staff to walk out on a one-day strike Wednesday in a dispute over pay. (AP)
Russia: The Kremlin said that a missile strike against the Ukrainian port of Odesa would not affect grain exports but said the UN must secure the removal of curbs on Russian exports for the landmark grain deal to work. (Reuters)
Ukraine: President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly video address that after five months of Russian attacks, the country will continue to do all it can to inflict as much damage on its enemy as possible. (Reuters)
United Kingdom: Foreign secretary Liz Truss will set out plans to create new low-regulation investment zones and more freeports, stepping up her campaign to be next prime minister. (Reuters)

Middle East

Iran: The head of the Atomic Energy Organization said the country will keep the UN nuclear watchdog’s cameras turned off until a 2015 nuclear deal is restored. (Reuters)
Iraq: Two security members and a civilian were killed and five people were wounded in two attacks by Islamic State (IS) militants in the Iraqi provinces of Salahudin and Diyala. (Xinhua)
Jordan: King Abdullah II said all Arab states would seek good relations with Iran on the principles of good neighborliness, mutual respect for sovereignty, and non-interference in each other’s internal affairs. (Xinhua)
Kuwait: Emir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah issued a decree appointing Ahmad Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah as the prime minister and tasking him with forming the new cabinet. (Xinhua)
Syria: 146 women and children related to Islamic State militants have been handed over to Tajikistan from the country’s Kurdish administration. (AFP)

Tech & Communications

Technology: China added a laboratory to its permanent orbiting space station as it moves toward completing the structure in coming months. (AP)

World

Cyclones: Nothing to Report.
Hurricanes: Nothing to Report.
Earthquakes: Nothing to Report.
Volcanoes:
- Sakurajima, Japan
  - Explosive activity continues
  - Erupting
  - Source
Global Disease Outbreaks:
- COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease: Global (as of 25JUL22)
  - Confirmed cases: 570,226,607
  - Deaths: 6,384,455
  - Countries with confirmed cases: 192
  - Sourcing: John Hopkins University

Tomorrow’s Outlook (26JUL22)

Event: IMF World Economic Outlook Update to be launched.
Event: WTO General Council to meet.
Event: Heritage Foundation to host an event on the drug epidemic in Syria.
Event: CSIS to host the Twelfth Annual South China Sea Conference.
Event: The Wilson Center to host an event on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Event: The Wilson Center to host an event with President Irfaan Ali of Guyana.
Asia: US Under Secretary for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland to travel to Japan and the Republic of Korea. (to 28JUL22)
Europe: EU energy ministers to hold an extraordinary energy council meeting and vote on a proposal to bind natural gas consumption cuts by 15% in case of an energy supply emergency.
Canada: Pope to visit. (to 30JUL22)
Cuba: National Revolution Day.
Germany: Natural gas flows on Nord Stream 1 pipeline may fall, as another turbine may need maintenance.
Greece: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to visit Athens in an effort to establish new trade ties.
Kenya: Presidential debate to be held in Nairobi.
Liberia: Independence Day.
Maldives: Independence Day.
United States: Senate Foreign Relations Committee to hold hearing on diversity and inclusion in US diplomacy and development.
Vietnam: Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) to meet in Ha Long (to 29JUL22)

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