29MAY21 Global Overnight Overwatch Report

Key Storylines

AFRICA: The Malian constitutional court has chosen the leader of the country’s military coup, Colonel Assimi Goïta, as its transitional president.
AMERICAS: Colombian President Iván Duque announced he was sending the military to Cali, the epicenter of violent anti-government protests across the country that have left dozens dead over the past month.
ASIA: The Filipino foreign ministry has protested China’s continuing “illegal presence and activities” near an island in the South China Sea held by the Southeast Asian nation.
EUROPE: Russia has recorded 9,289 cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, taking the total case count to 5,053,748.
MIDDLE EAST: An Iranian flagged tanker captured by Indonesia in January over the suspected illegal transfer of oil has been released.
TECH & COMMUNICATIONS: Jeffrey Moyo, a freelance journalist for the New York Times who is based in Harare, Zimbabwe, is being held on charges of violating the country’s immigration laws.

Top Story

Belarus: The nation continues to face the consequences from the forced landing of a commercial airline flight and the arrest of journalist Roman Protasevich,
- According to the White House, the United States on June 3 will reimpose full blocking sanctions against nine Belarusian state-owned enterprises.
- Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the main opposition challenger in the August vote, asked the EU to ramp up sanctions and banish Belarus from Interpol to increase pressure on Lukashenko’s regime but still asked the land border to remain open.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin offered his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko public support in his standoff with the West over his handling of the grounding of a passenger jet and the arrest of a dissident blogger.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the reaction to the interception and forced landing of the plane “was an outburst of emotion” by the West.
- The head of Belarusian national airline Belavia condemned as “despicable” the action by numerous EU countries to impose airspace restrictions on the company following the forced landing of a passenger jet in Minsk.
- Reporting: AP, AP, Reuters, CNN, Reuters,

Africa

Ghana: President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo announced a 30-day countdown to the 2021 national census, the first fully digital one in the West African nation. (Xinhua)
Mali: The constitutional court has chosen the leader of the country’s military coup, Colonel Assimi Goïta, as its transitional president. (BBC)
Somalia: The Security Council supports the recent agreement reached by the federal government and federal member states leaders on elections, which may steer the country out of the political crisis. (Xinhua)

Americas

Colombia: President Iván Duque announced he was sending the military to Cali, the epicenter of violent anti-government protests across the country that have left dozens dead over the past month. (AFP)
United States: Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors has resigned as executive director of the global anti-racist organization. (EFE)
United States: Eleven Harris county jail employees have been fired and several others suspended in the aftermath of the death of a detainee who was stripped naked and beaten during the severe winter storm in Texas. (WaPo)

Asia

India: The second wave of COVID-19 in the nation appears to be fading, with the country adding fewer than 175,000 new cases, the lowest in about a month and a half. (EFE)
Myanmar: The shadow government, set up by opponents of the ruling military junta, said its first batch of recruits have finished training for a new defense force, releasing video of them parading in uniform. (Reuters)
Philippines: The foreign ministry has protested China’s continuing “illegal presence and activities” near an island in the South China Sea held by the Southeast Asian nation. (Reuters)
Vietnam: Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long said the country has detected a new variant of COVID-19, which is a mix of the Indian and UK COVID-19 variants and spreads rapidly by air. (Reuters)

Europe

Region: The former head of the NI Civil Service said the EU and the UK will need to make considerable compromises if they want the NI Protocol to work. (BBC)
Germany: More than half of citizens are unhappy with the government’s management of the COVID-19 crisis, despite progress on vaccinations, a loosening of restrictions, and falling infection figures. (DPA)
The Netherlands: The Prime Minister has announced the end of its anti-COVID-19 lockdown. (DPA)
Russia: The nation has recorded 9,289 cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, taking the total case count to 5,053,748. (TASS)

Middle East

Iran: A flagged tanker captured by Indonesia in January over the suspected illegal transfer of oil has been released. (Reuters)
Iraq: The Health Ministry recorded 4,042 additional COVID-19 cases, raising the national caseload to 1,190,351. (Xinhua)
Saudi Arabia: The Philippines has suspended sending workers to Saudi Arabia because of a dispute over the COVID-19 test and quarantine costs. (AP)

Tech & Communications

Media: Jeffrey Moyo, a freelance journalist for the New York Times who is based in Harare, Zimbabwe, is being held on charges of violating the country’s immigration laws. (NYT)

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 29MAY21)
  - Confirmed cases: 169,497,009
  - Deaths: 3,523,721
  - Countries with confirmed cases: 192
  - Sourcing: John Hopkins University
- Ebola Virus Disease: Guinea (as of 23MAY21)
  - Confirmed cases: 16
  - Deaths: 12
  - Sourcing: WHO

Tomorrow’s Outlook (30MAY21)

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