26OCT20 Global Overnight Overwatch Report

Key Storylines

AFRICA: DR Congo’s army said its soldiers managed to force out Burundian rebel group, the National Forces of Liberation, from their stronghold in eastern DR Congo, near the country’s border with Burundi.
AMERICAS: Chileans voted overwhelmingly in favor of rewriting their country’s Augusto Pinochet dictatorship-era constitution.
ASIA: China is set to impose sanctions on Lockheed Martin and other US firms involved in recent US arms sales to Taiwan.
EUROPE: Seven people were arrested after British military forces stormed a tanker suspected to have been hijacked by stowaways off the UK’s coast.
MIDDLE EAST: A group of protesters in Iraq’s capital city Baghdad clashed with the police one day after a rally marked the first anniversary of major countrywide anti-government protests.
GLOBAL ISSUES: The UN said that the non-binding Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons passed the ratification threshold, though the US and the eight other nuclear-armed countries continue to reject it.
TECH & COMMUNICATIONS: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan called upon social media platform Facebook to ban Islamophobic content on its platform due to an increase in radicalization among Muslims.

Top Story

Europe: Armenia, Azerbaijan again accuse each other of ceasefire violations.
- The third attempt to end the fighting in the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh region collapsed after both Armenia and Azerbaijan traded accusations of the other side violating a new US-brokered ceasefire.
- The US-brokered humanitarian ceasefire, that was announced just yesterday, was only in effect for just a few minutes at dawn before Armenia and Azerbaijan started accusing each other of violating the ceasefire.
- Azerbaijan said its forces come under fire in the village of Safiyan, which Armenia rejected and instead said Azerbaijan started artillery shelling minutes after the ceasefire took effect.
- Separatist authorities in the Nagorno-Karabakh region also accused Azerbaijan of targeting the town of Martuni with its Air Force.
- Fighting in the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh region is ongoing for almost one month now, with two Russian-brokered ceasefires collapsing previously.
- Reporting: Reuters, AP, DPA, BBC, AFP

Africa

Region: DR Congo’s army said its soldiers managed to force out Burundian rebel group, the National Forces of Liberation, from their stronghold in eastern DR Congo, near the country’s border with Burundi. (AFP)
Angola: The police detained at least 100 people after anti-government protests over the weekend in capital city Luanda. (AFP)
Sudan: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel will be sending $5 million worth of wheat to Khartoum, just days after the two countries agreed to normalize relations. (AFP)

Americas

Chile: Voters voted overwhelmingly in favor of rewriting their country’s Augusto Pinochet dictatorship-era constitution. (DPA)
Colombia: President Ivan Duque said the country’s security forces killed ELN leader Andres Felipe Vanegas Londono, better known by his nom de guerre Uriel, during an operation in the coastal Pacific province of Choco. (Reuters)
United States: The Senate voted in favor of advancing Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to the Supreme Court toward final confirmation. (AP)
Venezuela: Nicolas Maduro’s regime accused Spain’s ambassador to Caracas of being an accomplice in the “escape” of opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez to Spain. (AFP)

Asia

Region: China is set to impose sanctions on Lockheed Martin and other US firms involved in recent US arms sales to Taiwan. (AFP)
Japan: Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions and transform the country into a zero-emissions and carbon-neutral country by 2050, marking a major shift away from Tokyo’s previous climate change position. (Reuters)
Malaysia: Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin is facing calls to resign after the country’s monarch Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah rejected his proposal to institute a coronavirus emergency that critics viewed as an undemocratic attempt to hold onto power. (AP)
Thailand: The largest opposition party in Parliament asked Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha to resign during a special parliamentary session being held to discuss the months of protests. (Reuters)

Europe

Region: The governments of Croatia and Slovenia both increased their coronavirus-related measures and restrictions. (Reuters)
Belarus: Opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya said her supporters started a countrywide strike after the country’s strongman leader Alexander Lukashenko refused to resign over the weekend. (AFP)
United Kingdom: Seven people were arrested after military forces stormed a tanker suspected to have been hijacked by stowaways off the country’s coast. (BBC)

Middle East

Iran: Australia asked Tehran for information regarding the reports that academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert, who was convicted of espionage, was moved to an unknown location. (AP)
Iraq: A group of protesters in capital city Baghdad clashed with the police one day after a rally marked the first anniversary of major countrywide anti-government protests. (AFP)
Israel: 18-year-old Palestinian Amer Snobar died after being chased by the country’s forces in the West Bank, though the circumstances of his death remain in dispute. (AP)
Qatar: The Australian government said it was “deeply concerned” at the “offensive, grossly inappropriate treatment” of passengers on a flight from the country to Australia who were subjected to a strip search and a medical examination. (Guardian)
Syria: Russian airstrikes reportedly killed 56 fighters of the Turkey-backed National Liberation Front group in the country’s northwest. (AFP)

Global Issues

Nuclear weapons: The UN said that the non-binding Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons passed the ratification threshold, though the US and the eight other nuclear-armed countries continue to reject it. (NYT)

Tech & Communications

Social Media: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan called upon social media platform Facebook to ban Islamophobic content on its platform due to an increase in radicalization among Muslims. (BBC)

World

Cyclones:
- Typhoon Molave
  - Location: 139 nautical miles S-SW of Manila, Philippines
  - Wind: 90 mph
  - Movement: W-NW at 15 mph
  - Map
Hurricanes:
- Tropical Storm Zeta
  - Location: 210 miles SE of Cozumel, Mexico
  - Wind: 70 mph
  - Movement: NW at 8 mph
  - Map
Earthquakes: Nothing to report.
Volcanoes: Nothing to report.
Global Disease Outbreaks:

- COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease: Global
  - Confirmed Cases as of 26OCT20: 43,043,686
  - Total Recovered Cases as of 26OCT20: 28,978,819
  - Deaths as of 26OCT20: 1,154,532
  - 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

Tomorrow’s Outlook (27OCT20)

Global: The third phase of consultations on appointing a new WTO chief will conclude.
Global: The World Health Summit will be held.
Global: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will hold a virtual meeting with the Nordic Council to discuss the ongoing global coronavirus pandemic.
Global: International Religious Freedom Day – 1998
Global: The BRICS Parliamentary Forum will be held.
Asia: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit India, Sri Lanka, Maldives, and Indonesia. (to 30OCT)
Europe: The Turkish surveying vessel Oruc Reis’ mission in the Eastern Mediterranean is expected to end.
China: The 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party will hold its 5th plenary session. (to 29OCT)
DR Congo: The US will extend its National Emergency with respect to the country.
Republic of the Congo: French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian will visit.
Germany: International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi will meet with Foreign Minister Heiko Mass.
India: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense Mark Esper will meet with Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar and Defense Minister Rajnath Singh for the US-India 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue, with the sharing of satellite data between the two countries set to be discussed.
Russia: The appeal hearing of ex-US Marine Trevor Reed will be held.
Thailand: Parliament will hold a special session to address the ongoing anti-government and anti-monarchy protests.
Turkmenistan: Independence Day – 1991
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines: Independence Day – 1979
Syria: The UN Security Council will hold a meeting on the country.

END