Key Storylines
- AFRICA: Angola’s government unveiled a new 2020-2025 energy roadmap which foresees oil discoveries of up to 57 billion barrels of crude oil and 27 trillion cubic feet of gas.
- AMERICAS: Canadian Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne says Canada has offered to join Lebanon’s investigation into the recent Beirut port blast on the condition that any such probe will be credible and transparent.
- ASIA: White supremacist Brenton Tarrant, who killed 51 people at two mosques in Christchurch last year, was sentenced to life in jail without parole, becoming the first person to receive a life sentence in New Zealand, as well as marking the country’s first terrorism conviction.
- EUROPE: Turkey has accused France of stoking tensions in the eastern Mediterranean, where NATO allies Turkey and Greece are locked in a stiff standoff over disputed offshore energy exploration rights.
- MIDDLE EAST: Russia has accused the US of trying to hinder a Russian patrol in Syria after the US said its troops were injured in a collision with a Russian vehicle.
- TECH & COMMUNICATIONS: TikTok Chief Executive Kevin Mayer has quit his job after just around three months, as the social media platform comes under increasing pressure from US President Donald Trump over its ties to China.
Top Story
- United States: Hurricane Laura now a Category 2 storm, still extremely dangerous.
- Hurricane Laura made landfall in Louisiana, with high-speed winds triggering flash floods in the state.
- The hurricane made landfall as a Category 4 storm, with the National Hurricane Center calling the expected storm surge “unsurvivable,”.
- The hurricane has now been downgraded to a Category 2 storm, but forecasters say the storm will cause lethal flooding and widespread wind damage.
- Forecasters additionally say the storm could push a massive wall of water 40 miles inland from the sea.
- Reporting: Reuters, AP, WSJ, NYT, BBC
Africa
- Angola: The government unveiled a new 2020-2025 energy roadmap which foresees oil discoveries of up to 57 billion barrels of crude oil and 27 trillion cubic feet of gas. (Reuters)
- DR Congo: The Allied Democratic Forces militia group killed at least 24 civilians in the country’s Beni region. (AFP)
- Rwanda: The government extended its coronavirus evening curfew and is preventing movement in and out of the Rusizi region after a recent surge in cases of the new coronavirus. (AFP)
Americas
- Region: Panama’s government abandoned its plans to bring-in doctors from Cuba to help combat the ongoing coronavirus pandemic due to pressure from local unions and the United States. (AFP)
- Argentina: The Health Ministry reported 10,550 new coronavirus cases, marking a new record increase in the number of daily coronavirus cases in the country. (Reuters)
- Canada: Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne says Ottawa has offered to join Lebanon’s investigation into the recent Beirut port blast on the condition that any such probe will be credible and transparent. (Reuters)
- Ecuador: Former President Abdala Bucaram, who has been under house arrest over suspected links to organized crime, was hospitalized after a heart attack. (AFP)
Asia
- Australia: Prime Minister Scott Morrison said a proposed new law, which would give the federal government the power to cancel any agreements local authorities and public institutions make with foreign countries, is not aimed at China. (Reuters)
- China: Beijing traded jibes with the US amid growing military tensions between the two countries, as it accused Washington of risking soldiers’ lives after US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper pledged not to “cede an inch” in the Pacific to Beijing. (Reuters)
- New Zealand: White supremacist Brenton Tarrant, who killed 51 people at two mosques in Christchurch last year, was sentenced to life in jail without parole, becoming the first person to receive a life sentence in the country, as well as marking the country’s first terrorism conviction. (BBC)
- South Korea: The country’s Parliament was shut down and a group of lawmakers went into self-quarantine as the country recorded more than 400 new coronavirus cases over the last day. (AFP)
Europe
- Region: Turkey has accused France of stoking tensions in the eastern Mediterranean, where NATO allies Turkey and Greece are locked in a stiff standoff over disputed offshore energy exploration rights. (AP)
- Region: French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said he was bemused by Russia not taking a transparent approach over the possible poisoning of opposition politician Alexei Navalny and said EU foreign ministers would discuss the matter this week. (Reuters)
- Region: EU Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan resigned after days of pressure over allegations that he breached Ireland’s coronavirus restrictions by attending a golf dinner last week. (Reuters)
- Germany: A citizen who allegedly helped spearhead a far-right group that posted pro-Nazi and anti-Semitic material online has been extradited from the Netherlands. (AP)
- Russia: The country’s police have started a preliminary examination of opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s illness after the Kremlin dismissed German doctors’ findings that Navalny was apparently poisoned. (AFP)
Middle East
- Region: German Foreign Minister Heiko Mass and Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi agreed that an effort must be made to extend a weapon embargo on Iran, while stressing Germany still sees the landmark 2015 deal between Tehran and world powers as the best way to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. (AP)
- Iran: The government has agreed to give inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency access to two suspected former nuclear sites. (BBC)
- Syria: Russia has accused the US of trying to hinder a Russian patrol in the country after the US said its troops were injured in a collision with a Russian vehicle. (Reuters)
Tech & Communications
- Social Media: TikTok Chief Executive Kevin Mayer has quit his job after just around three months, as the social media platform comes under increasing pressure from US President Donald Trump over its ties to China. (WSJ)
World
- Cyclones:
- Typhoon Bavi
- Location: 176 nautical miles SW of Kunsan Air Base, South Korea
- Wind: 110 mph
- Movement: N at 12 mph
- Map
- Typhoon Bavi
- Hurricanes:
- Hurricane Laura
- Location: 30 miles N-NW of Lake Charles, Louisiana
- Wind: 110 mph
- Movement: N at 13 mph
- Map
- Hurricane Laura
- Earthquakes: Nothing to report.
- Volcanoes: Nothing to report.
- Global Disease Outbreaks:
- COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease: Global
- Confirmed Cases as of 27AUG20: 24,194,501
- Total Recovered Cases as of 27AUG20: 15,816,813
- Deaths as of 27AUG20: 826,158
- 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 23AUG20: 98
- Probable Cases as of 23AUG20: 4
- Deaths as of 23AUG20: 44
- Sourcing: WHO
- COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease: Global
Tomorrow’s Outlook (28AUG20)
- Global: The UN Security Council will hold adoption meetings for the UN forces mission in Lebanon, sanctions on Mali, and the UN’s Assistance Mission in Somalia.
- Asia: ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Meeting to be held in Vietnam. (to 29AUG)
- Europe: The Foreign Ministers of EU member-states will hold informal talks.
- Europe: Greece, Cyprus, Italy, and France to hold military exercises in the Eastern Mediterranean.
- Argentina: The deadline for creditors to accept the government’s latest debt restructuring proposal.
- Egypt: Friday prayers will be allowed once again following a temporary ban on them due to the coronavirus pandemic.
- Germany: Latvian President Egils Levits will visit and meet with President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
- Japan: Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is expected to hold a press conference following his two recent hospital visits.
- Sudan: The transitional government and four rebel groups are expected to sign a peace agreement.
- Ukraine: The government will reimpose a 30-day border closure for foreigners due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
- United Arab Emirates: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will continue his travel to Israel, Sudan, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates.
- United States: President Donald Trump is expected to deliver a speech in Manchester, New Hampshire.
- United States: The National Action Network and the family of George Floyd will hold the ‘Get Your Knee Off Our Necks’ Commitment March on Washington.
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