Key Storylines
- AFRICA: Tanzania’s opposition ACT Wazalendo party accused the police of killing 07 citizens amid unrest due to alleged fraud on the eve of the country’s presidential election.
- AMERICAS: Hurricane Zeta made landfall on the Caribbean coast of Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula, after which it is expected to head toward the US Gulf Coast.
- ASIA: India and the US signed a military satellite data-sharing agreement after the annual 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue.
- EUROPE: Protests were held against the government’s new coronavirus measures and restrictions across Italy, with protesters clashing with the police in Milan and Turin.
- MIDDLE EAST: Iranian authorities summoned a French diplomat over what Tehran said was France’s support for the publication of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad, according to state media reports.
- TECH & COMMUNICATIONS: China’s top cyber authority said it will conduct a “rectification” of mobile internet browsers in China to remedy concerns over the “chaos” of information being published online.
Top Story
- Pakistan: At least seven students dead in Peshawar school attack.
- At least 07 people dead and another 80 injured after a bomb exploded at the Jamia Zuberia Madrasa religious seminary in the city of Peshawar.
- The explosion took place during a Koran study class at the religious seminary.
- Officials from hospitals treating the blast victims said most of those who died are students between the ages of 20 and 30, with 04 children under the age of 13 also left injured, adding that they expected the death toll to rise.
- The bomb was planted at the school by a currently unidentified group, with no group currently stepping-up to claim responsibility.
- The bomb attack takes place just days after Pakistani intelligence warned of potential militant attacks on public places and important buildings.
- Reporting: AP, BBC, AFP, Reuters, NYT, CNN
Africa
- Guinea: A total of 21 people died in post-election unrest and violence according to state media reports. (France24)
- Mali: Interim Prime Minister Moctar Ouane said he was open to holding discussions with Islamist militants within the country. (Reuters)
- Niger: A US citizen reportedly is kidnapped by an unknown group in the country’s south. (Reuters)
- Nigeria: Looters in the capital city Abuja started targeting government warehouses holding COVID-19 aid in the wake of the recent anti-police brutality protests and subsequent unrest. (BBC)
- Tanzania: The opposition ACT Wazalendo party accused the police of killing 07 citizens amid unrest due to alleged fraud on the eve of the country’s presidential election. (AP)
Americas
- Region: Hurricane Zeta made landfall on the Caribbean coast of Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula, after which it is expected to head toward the US Gulf Coast. (AP)
- Bolivia: A court ordered the arrest warrant for former President Evo Morales be withdrawn, 08 days after the leftist MAS party took a landslide victory in presidential elections. (DPA)
- Panama: A cultural body of the indigenous Guna Yala people voted in favor of banning the use of face masks as “it is not a custom of our people.” (AP)
- United States: New coronavirus cases and deaths per day from the coronavirus are increasing across the country. (AP)
Asia
- Bangladesh: Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of capital city Dhaka calling for a boycott of French goods while burning French President Emmanuel Macron’s effigy after he defended cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed. (AFP)
- India: New Delhi and the US signed a military satellite data-sharing agreement after the annual 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue. (BBC)
- South Korea: The fastest export growth in three decades means the country rebounded from its coronavirus recession and saw its economy grow by 1.9% in Q3 of this year. (Bloomberg)
- Vietnam: Authorities are trying to evacuate more than a million people from the country’s central lowlands ahead of Typhoon Molave’s arrival in the country. (AP)
Europe
- Region: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged his country’s citizens to boycott French products, following which the EU criticized Erdogan’s comments. (France24)
- Region: Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto criticized Ukraine’s decision to prevent 02 Hungarian officials from entering Ukraine due to what Kyiv called meddling in local elections. (Reuters)
- Italy: Protests were held against the government’s new coronavirus measures and restrictions across the country, with protesters clashing with the police in Milan and Turin. (BBC)
- Poland: Thousands of demonstrators blocked roads in cities across the country as protests against a court’s near-total ban on abortion continue. (BBC)
Middle East
- Region: Palestine’s Foreign Minister Riad Malki backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ call for an international peace conference for Israel and Palestine next year, at the UN Security Council. (AP)
- Iran: Authorities summoned a French diplomat over what Tehran said was France’s support for the publication of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad, according to state media reports. (AP)
- Saudi Arabia: Riyadh said it rejected “offensive” images of the Prophet Muhammed, in an apparent reference to current events related to images of the Prophet in France. (DPA)
Tech & Communications
- Internet: China’s top cyber authority said it will conduct a “rectification” of mobile internet browsers in China to remedy concerns over the “chaos” of information being published online. (Reuters)
World
- Cyclones:
- Typhoon Molave
- Location: 332 nautical miles E-SE of Da Nang, Vietnam
- Wind: 125 mph
- Movement: W at 13 mph
- Map
- Typhoon Molave
- Hurricanes:
- Tropical Storm Zeta
- Location: 85 miles E-SE of Progreso, Mexico
- Wind: 70 mph
- Movement: NW at 12 mph
- Map
- Tropical Storm Zeta
- Earthquakes: Nothing to report.
- Volcanoes: Nothing to report.
- Global Disease Outbreaks:
- COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease: Global
- Confirmed Cases as of 27OCT20: 43,539,290
- Total Recovered Cases as of 27OCT20: 29,223,539
- Deaths as of 27OCT20: 1,160,213
- 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
- COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease: Global
Tomorrow’s Outlook (28OCT20)
- Global: The UN Security Council will discuss the situation in the Western Sahara region, Somalia, and Lebanon.
- Africa: Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan will resume talks over Ethiopia’s GERD dam on the river Nile.
- Asia: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit India, Sri Lanka, Maldives, and Indonesia. (to 30OCT)
- Asia: The US and Vietnam government-sponsored Indo-Pacific Business Forum will be held virtually. (to 29OCT)
- Europe: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will visit Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Serbia. (to 29OCT)
- Middle East: Israel and Lebanon will resume talks on their disputed maritime borders.
- China: The 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party will hold its 5th plenary session. (to 29OCT)
- Czech Republic: A coronavirus curfew will be implemented. (to 03NOV)
- Czech Republic: Czechoslovak Founding Day – 1918
- France: Government officials will meet and discuss the coronavirus situation in the country.
- Germany: Economy Minister Peter Altmaier is expected to present updated growth projections to the Bundestag.
- Portugal: Parliament will vote on the proposed 2021 budget.
- South Africa: Finance Minister Tito Mboweni will present his Medium Term Budget Policy Statement.
- Tanzania: Presidential and parliamentary elections will be held.
- United States: President Donald Trump will visit Arizona.
- United States: The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation will listen to testimonies from the leaders of Twitter, Facebook, and Alphabet.
- United States: Acting USAID chief John Barsa is expected to announce a new coronavirus initiative at an American Enterprise Institute event.
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