28SEP21 Global Overnight Overwatch Report

Key Storylines

AFRICA: Tunisian Foreign Minister Othman Jerandi told the UN General Assembly that emergency measures strengthening the power of President Kais Saied are aimed at ensuring “an authentic and peaceful democracy.”
AMERICAS: Washington denied that the release of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou was part of a prisoner swap for two Canadians detained in China.
ASIA: China’s top diplomat held a virtual meeting with NATO’s chief to discuss the situation in Afghanistan, amid longstanding disagreements between Beijing and the U.S.-led alliance over regional policies.
EUROPE: Germany’s newly elected lawmakers are holding their first meetings as their parties discuss the fallout of the election that reduced outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel’s bloc to its worst-ever result.
MIDDLE EAST: Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said that Iran had crossed “all red lines” in its nuclear program and vowed that Tehran will never acquire a nuclear weapon.
TECH AND COMMUNICATIONS: The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said that Google’s dominance of online advertising in the country harms publishers and consumers.

Top Story

North Korea: Pyongyang fires A Short-Range Missile Into The Sea In Its Latest Weapons Test
- North Korea fired a short-range missile into the sea, in the latest weapon tests by Pyongyang that has raised questions about the sincerity of its recent offer for talks with South Korea.
- South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement that the projectile was launched eastwards from Mupyong-ri in Jagang province of the DPRK at about 6:40 a.m. local time (2140 GMT Monday).
- Pyongyang called on the United States and South Korea to scrap their “double standards” on weapons programmes to restart talks.
- The Japanese government said the projectile appears to be a ballistic missile and splashed into waters outside its exclusive economic zone.
- The projectile traveled shorter than 200 km at an altitude of about 30 km, but the flight distance, altitude, and pattern were different from other known missiles of the DPRK.
- NY Times, Xinhua, Reuters, Kyodo News, Yonhap

Africa

Guinea: The ruling junta said that its members will be barred from taking part in the next national and local elections. (Reuters)
Mali: The country could push back presidential and legislative elections set for next February to avoid their validity being contested. (Reuters)
Tunisia: Foreign Minister Othman Jerandi told the UN General Assembly that emergency measures strengthening the power of President Kais Saied are aimed at ensuring “an authentic and peaceful democracy.” (AFP)
Zambia: An analysis of loan data by the China Africa Research Initiative (CARI) has estimated that the country’s debt to Chinese public and private lenders is $6.6 billion. (Reuters)

Americas

Colombia: Armed forces killed 10 dissident FARC rebels in an airstrike. (AFP)
Cuba: Authorities in five provinces have relaxed lockdown measures in an effort to improve the economy. (EFE)
Haiti: Elections and a constitutional referendum scheduled for November 7, 2021 have been postponed indefinitely. (AFP)
United States: The White House denied that the release of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou was part of a prisoner swap for two Canadians detained in China. (Reuters)

Asia

China: The country’s top diplomat held a virtual meeting with NATO’s chief to discuss the situation in Afghanistan, amid longstanding disagreements between Beijing and the U.S.-led alliance over regional policies. (AP)
Indonesia: The economy is expected to grow close to 5 percent in 2022 after experiencing pressure from the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021. (Xinhua)
Japan: Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said that the government would seek to lift the state of emergency in all regions on October 1. (Reuters)
South Korea: A court issued an unprecedented order for assets seized from Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to be sold to compensate World War II forced labourers. (AFP)
South Korea: South Korea’s nuclear envoy Noh kyu-duk held phone talks with his U.S. counterpart Sung Kim over Korean Peninsula issues. (Xinhua)

Europe

Region: Ukraine and Hungary summoned one another’s ambassadors over Budapest’s signing of a new long-term gas deal with Russia. (Reuters)
Cyprus: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres hosted a lunch Monday hoping to restart peace negotiations on the island that have been stalled since 2017. (AP)
France: Paris will reduce the number of visas granted to people from Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia, accusing the Maghreb countries of not doing enough to allow illegal immigrants to return home. (AFP)
Germany: Newly elected lawmakers are holding their first meetings as their parties discuss the fallout of the election that reduced outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel’s bloc to its worst-ever result. (AP)
Sweden: Four people were seriously injured in an explosion and fire in the city of Gothenburg as police investigate whether an explosive device was placed at the scene. (Reuters)

Middle East

Afghanistan: Syed Moosa Kaleem Al-Falahi, CEO of the Islamic Bank of Afghanistan, said the country’s banking systems are near collapse as consumers panic. (BBC)
Iran: The country accused Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett of trying to propagate “Iran-phobia” and cleanse Israel’s actions across the Middle East. (Al Jazeera)
Israel: Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said that Iran had crossed “all red lines” in its nuclear program and vowed that Tehran will never acquire a nuclear weapon. (Reuters)
Jordan: Government and industry officials said the country will reopen its border crossing with Syria on Wednesday. (Reuters)
Qatar: Qatar Airways announced that it suffered a more than $4bn loss in revenues over the last fiscal year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Al Jaze era)

Tech & Communications

Technology: The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said that Google’s dominance of online advertising in the country harms publishers and consumers. (Reuters)

World

Tomorrow’s Outlook (29SEP21)

Global: WTO annual public forum. (to 01OCT)
Global: UN General Assembly. (to 30SEP)
Global: IMD World Digital Competitiveness Ranking published.
Global: UNCTAD Digital Economy Report launched.
Event: Brookings Institution discussion on the U.S.’ role in the future of Afghanistan.
Event: Wilson Center discussion on Latin America’s pandemic response.
Europe: Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) forum. (to 30SEP)
Greece: Athens Democracy Forum. (to 01OCT)
Japan: Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) leadership election.
Moldova: Visit by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
Paraguay: Battle of Boquerón Day.
Russia: Meeting between Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Sochi.
United States: Inaugural meeting of US-EU Trade and Technology Council in Pittsburgh.
United States: Defense Secretary Austin testifies to House Armed Services Committee on Afghanistan withdrawal.
United States: Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell speaks at ECB Forum on Central Banking.

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