Key Storylines
- AFRICA: Togolese Prime Minister Komi Selom Klassou and his government resigned, the presidency announced while congratulating the Cabinet for its work in the office.
- AMERICAS: Four U.S states recorded record one-day increases in new COVID-19 cases as the nation surpassed the grim milestone of over 7 million total infections, according to a Reuters tally.
- ASIA: South Korea said it will request North Korea to launch an investigation into the killing of a South Korean government official shot at by North Korean troops after being found adrift near the disputed sea boundary while trying to defect.
- EUROPE: Only two people survived, and 25 people were killed when an Antonov An-26 military aircraft crashed in eastern Ukraine, the civil defense authority in Kyiv reported.
- MIDDLE EAST: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani accused the United States of “savagery” after Washington imposed new sanctions on Tehran and said citizens should direct their anger at the White House.
- TECH & COMMUNICATIONS: The Trump administration has filed documents defending a rule prohibiting downloads of social media app TikTok ahead of its planned ban.
Top Story
- United States: President Donald Trump is set to announce his supreme court pick.
- Trump told reporters on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland that he had decided the replacement of the late Justice Ruth Bader”
- Amy Coney Barrett is the presumptive nominee, a favorite of social conservatives, to be the new Supreme Court justice.
- Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has started conversations with Trump and White House counsel Pat Cipollone that the Senate GOP conference would be happy with this choice.
- Reporting: NPR, BBC, CNN,
Africa
- Libya: The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) announced that 124 illegal immigrants had been saved off the western coast. (Xinhua)
- Togo: Prime Minister Komi Selom Klassou and his government resigned, the presidency announced while congratulating the Cabinet for its work in the office. (Reuters)
- Zambia: The finance minister announced the nation’s 2021 budget aimed at stimulating economic recovery in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Xinhua)
Americas
- Colombia: The country’s death toll from COVID-19 exceeded 25,000 reporting 7,494 new cases and 179 more deaths. (Xinhua)
- United States: Four states recorded record one-day increases in new COVID-19 cases as the nation surpassed the grim milestone of over 7 million total infections, according to a Reuters tally. (Reuters)
- United States: President Donald Trump is vowing to declare the white supremacist Ku Klux Klan group and the far-left Antifa network as terrorist organizations, despite not having the clear authority to do so. (DPA)
Asia
- Region: South Korea said it will request North Korea to launch an investigation into the killing of a South Korean government official shot at by North Korean troops after being found adrift near the disputed sea boundary while trying to defect. (AP)
- Australia: The health minister in Victoria state has resigned in the aftermath of an inquiry into why security guards were used instead of police or the military to guard quarantine hotels. (AP)
- South Korea: The remains of 117 Chinese soldiers killed in the 1950-53 Korean War were sent back to their home nation, the defense ministry reported. (YNA)
- Taiwan: President Tsai Ing-wen visited a low-level maintenance base for fighter jet engines, offering support as the armed forces face continued pressure in the face of repeated Chinese air force incursions. (Reuters)
Europe
- Region: Amid a COVID-19 second wave, European leaders condemned the collective failure to end the pandemic and told the U.N. General Assembly that it is time for countries to reinvent international cooperation. (AP)
- Ukraine: Only two people survived, and 25 people were killed when an Antonov An-26 military aircraft crashed in the eastern region of the country, the civil defense authority in Kyiv reported. (DPA)
- The United Kingdom: Protesters gathering in an anti-lockdown demonstration in London have been asked to follow COVID-19 restrictions and were warned that violence will not be tolerated by the metropolitan police. (The Guardian)
Middle East
- Egypt: The nation reported 112 additional COVID-19 cases, bringing the total infections in the country to 102,625, according to the Health Ministry. (Xinhua)
- Iran: A magnitude 5.2 earthquake hit the northeastern part of the country near its border with Turkmenistan, state TV reported. (Reuters)
- Iran: President Hassan Rouhani accused the United States of “savagery” after Washington imposed new sanctions on Tehran and said citizens should direct their anger at the White House. (Reuters)
Tech & Communications
- Social Media: The Trump administration has filed paperwork defending a rule prohibiting downloads of social media app TikTok ahead of its planned ban. (DPA)
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
- Confirmed Cases as of 26SEP20: 32,569,636
- Total Recovered Cases as of 26SEP20: 22,501,182
- Deaths as of 26SEP20: 988,996
- 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 19SEP20: 118
- Probable Cases as of 19SEP20: 6
- Deaths as of 19SEP20: 48
- Sourcing: WHO
- COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease: Global
Tomorrow’s Outlook (27SEP20)
- France: Senate Elections
- Switzerland: Referendums happening on immigration, hunting, tax, combat aircraft, and the income replacement law
- United States: TikTok prohibitions come into effect
- Uruguay: municipal elections
END
