Key Storylines
- AFRICA: At least two people have died in Chad during protests demanding a return to civilian rule in the country.
- AMERICAS: The US will provide $310 million in humanitarian relief to Guatemala amid a wave of migration towards the north.
- ASIA: India received its first shipment of emergency coronavirus medical supplies from the United Kingdom as it deals with a record coronavirus wave.
- EUROPE: European Parliament lawmakers stripped Greek neo-Nazi politician Ioannis Lagos of his immunity as a member of the European Parliament.
- MIDDLE EAST: Human Rights Watch accused Israel of pursuing apartheid policies against Palestinians and the country’s Arab minority.
- TECH & COMMUNICATIONS: A Chinese space-mining venture has launched a robot prototype configured to clear space debris using a net.
Top Story
- Myanmar: Rebel group claims to have seized military base near Thailand.
- Insurgents belonging to Myanmar’s Karen ethnic minority group say they captured a military base near the country’s border with Thailand, as Myanmar witnessed some of the worst clashes since a military coup three months ago.
- The fighting between the Karen National Union (KNU) forces and Myanmar’s military took place near the Salween river, with nearby Thai residents saying they could hear the gunfire from the clashes.
- The KNU is considered a close ally of Myanmar’s anti-junta movement and this news is being viewed as a morale-booster for the anti-junta movement.
- The KNU overran another military base last month after which Myanmar’s junta responded with multiple air strikes at night.
- Reporting: Reuters, DPA, AP, Guardian, AFP, Deutsche Welle
Africa
- Region: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to complete the withdrawal of Eritrean troops from Ethiopia’s Tigray region. (Reuters)
- Chad: At least two people died during protests demanding a return to civilian rule in the country. (Reuters)
- Mozambique: A Dutch court upheld a decision to fine De Nederlandsche Bank for issuing bonds linked to a billion-dollar scandal to Maputo that resulted in the country entering a precarious financial crisis. (AFP)
Americas
- Region: The US will provide $310 million in humanitarian relief to Guatemala amid a wave of migration towards the north. (AFP)
- Argentina: Health workers demanding higher wages vowed to continue their protests and block roads near the Vaca Muerta shale oil and gas deposit after rejecting a new government wage offer. (Reuters)
- Brazil: The country’s health authority Anvisa recommended against importing Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine. (NYT)
- Canada: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government survived a parliamentary no-confidence vote over a proposed budget. (AFP)
- United States: The country marked its slowest population growth since the Great Depression, with New York and California losing political influence to booming states in the South and West, according to the first 2020 census data released by the Census Bureau. (AP)
Asia
- Region: Vietnam hiked anti-dumping duties on some aluminum products originating from China. (Reuters)
- Region: Australia suspended direct flights from India due to the behemoth coronavirus wave in the latter country. (Reuters)
- Australia: Home Affairs Minister Mike Pezzullo warned of the beating “drums of war” amid rising tensions in the Indo-Pacific region. (DPA)
- India: The country received its first shipment of emergency coronavirus medical supplies from the United Kingdom as it deals with a record coronavirus wave. (AFP)
- Thailand: 15 people died of the new coronavirus in the country, marking another daily record for the third time in four days in the country’s worst coronavirus outbreak since the pandemic first started. (Reuters)
Europe
- Region: France and Germany backed the US proposal to implement a global 21% minimum corporate tax. (Deutsche Welle)
- Region: Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu blamed rising military tensions on actions by the United States and the transatlantic NATO alliance in Europe. (Reuters)
- Region: The US and the EU both dismissed recent informal suggestions to break up Bosnia-Herzegovina and merge Kosovo with Albania. (RFE-RL)
- Greece: European Parliament lawmakers stripped the country’s neo-Nazi politician Ioannis Lagos of his immunity as a member of the European Parliament. (NYT)
- Portugal: The country reported 0 coronavirus deaths in a 24-hour period for only the second time since the coronavirus pandemic started. (BBC)
Middle East
- Region: Egyptian officials believe the Palestinian Authority intends to call off its first elections in 15 years due to Israel’s refusal to allow voting in east Jerusalem. (AP)
- Region: The US Navy said it had a tense encounter with an Iranian warship in the Persian Gulf earlier this month. (AP)
- Region: Saudi Arabia’s King Salman invited Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani to his country in another sign of improving relations between Riyadh and Doha. (AFP)
- Iran: The country reported its highest single-day coronavirus death toll as health officials warned of a spike in coronavirus fatalities. (RFE-RL)
- Israel: Human Rights Watch accused the country of pursuing apartheid policies against Palestinians and the country’s Arab minority. (Reuters)
Tech & Communications
- Space: A Chinese space-mining venture launched a robot prototype configured to clear space debris using a net. (Reuters)
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 27APR21)
- Confirmed cases: 147,918,659
- Total recovered cases: 85,628,214
- Deaths: 3,122,200
- 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
- COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease: Global (as of 27APR21)
Tomorrow’s Outlook (28APR21)
- Global: An OPEC and non-OPEC ministerial meeting will be held.
- Global: Colombian President Ivan Duque Marquez and Icelandic Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir will speak at the Foreign Policy Virtual Climate Summit.
- Global: The CSTO Council of Defense Ministers and CSTO Council of Security Council Secretaries will hold meetings. (to 29APR)
- Global: The UN’s World Day for Safety and Health at Work – 2003
- Asia: The Asian Development Bank will launch its annual Asian Development Outlook.
- Europe: North Macedonian President Stevo Pendarovski will meet with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
- Europe: New OSCE Secretary General Helga Schmid will speak at an event hosted by the German Marshall Fund of the US.
- Europe: Turkey’s Deputy Foreign Minister Faruk Kaymakci will meet with Finnish officials.
- Europe: The Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine is expected to meet.
- Canada: A conference to determine the extradition trial schedule of Huawei Technologies Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou will be held.
- Cyprus: The UN will hold a summit on resolving the country’s ethnic divide. (to 29APR)
- Moldova: The Constitutional Court will deliberate over the legality of parliament’s introduction of an emergency situation.
- Morocco: The trial of journalist Omar Radi, accused of espionage and sexual violence, will be held. (to 29APR)
- Netherlands: The government will partially relax its coronavirus restrictions.
- Russia: Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard will visit and meet with his counterpart Sergey Lavrov.
- South Africa: The government will resume its rollout of Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine.
- South Africa: Hearings related to former President Jacob Zuma’s corruption trial will reportedly begin.
- Syria: The candidate nomination deadline for the country’s presidential election.
- Syria: The UN Security Council will hold a meeting to discuss the situation in the country.
- Turkey: The trial of journalist Can Dundar and six others over the 2013 Gezi protests will resume.
- United States: President Joe Biden will address a joint session of Congress for the first time since taking office.
- United States: Norway’s crown prince, foreign minister, trade minister, and energy minister will virtually “visit” San Francisco.
- United States: Moderna will hold its annual general meeting.
- United States: The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations will hold nomination hearings, including considering Bonnie Jenkins to be Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security.
- United States: The Federal Reserve will make an interest rate decision.
- United States: The House Committee on Foreign Affairs will hold a closed briefing with former Secretaries of State.
- United States: The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs will hold a hearing on NGO perspectives of the situation on the country’s southwestern border.
END
