31AUG20 Global Overnight Overwatch Report

Key Storylines

• AFRICA: Sudan’s power-sharing government signed a peace agreement with the country’s five key rebel groups, taking a significant step towards ending the deep-rooted conflicts that raged under the country’s former leader Omar al-Bashir.
• AMERICAS: Firefighters made progress against two of the largest of dozens of lightning-sparked wildfires raging in the US state of California, but 60,000 people still remain under evacuation orders.
• ASIA: India’s army says it foiled a Chinese army attempt to encroach over the disputed border between the two countries in the western Himalayas.
• EUROPE: Czech Foreign Minister Tomas Petricek says he will summon China’s envoy to Prague after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi issued threats against Czech Senate speaker Milos Vystrcil, who is currently visiting Taiwan.
• MIDDLE EAST: Lebanon’s former Ambassador to Germany, Mustapha Adib, was appointed to form a new government in the crisis-hit country.
• TECH & COMMUNICATIONS: Prominent Russian opposition blogger and radio host Yegor Zhukov says he was beaten outside his home in Moscow, becoming the latest Kremlin critic to report an attack.

Top Story

• Middle East: Historic Israel-UAE direct flight takes off.
  • The first direct commercial airline flight between Israel and the United Arab Emirates took off from Tel Aviv with a delegation of high-ranking officials from the US and Israel.
  • The delegation includes US National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien, as well as his Israeli counterpart Meir Ben-Shabbat, among others.
  • The El Al flight marks the implementation of the recent historic US-brokered agreement between Israel and the UAE to normalize relations.
  • The flight will also make aviation history as it flies directly across Saudi Arabian airspace, which is normally blocked-off to any Israeli air traffic. 
  • Reporting: BBC, Reuters, AFP, DPA, AP, Guardian

Africa

• Chad: At least ten people died after clashes between nomadic herders and farmers in the country’s southern region. (AFP)
• Egypt: The army said it killed more than 70 alleged jihadists in the North Sinai region, which is the location of an insurrection affiliated to the Islamic State group. (AFP)
• Sudan: The power-sharing government signed a peace agreement with the country’s five key rebel groups, taking a significant step towards ending the deep-rooted conflicts that raged under the country’s former leader Omar al-Bashir. (Reuters)

Americas

• Region: The White House reportedly blocked the scheduled deportation of former Colombian paramilitary boss Salvatore Mancuso to Italy and now plans to deport him to Colombia where he’s been found responsible for hundreds of war crimes. (AP)
• Canada: Protesters marching in support of police defunding in the city of Montreal toppled the statue of the country’s first Prime Minister Sir John Macdonald. (Reuters)
• United States: Firefighters made progress against two of the largest of dozens of lightning-sparked wildfires raging in the state of California, but 60,000 people still remain under evacuation orders. (Reuters)

Asia  

• Region: India’s army says it foiled a Chinese army attempt to encroach over the disputed border between the two countries in the western Himalayas. (Reuters)
• New Zealand: The coronavirus lockdown over the city of Auckland ended, but social gatherings will be limited to a maximum of 10 people in the city for the near future. (AFP)
• Taiwan: The US Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, the USS Halsey, transited the narrow and sensitive Taiwan Strait, marking the second such US operation in the region over the last two weeks. (Reuters)

Europe

• Czech Republic: Foreign Minister Tomas Petricek says he will summon China’s envoy to Prague after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi issued threats against Senate speaker Milos Vystrcil, who is currently visiting Taiwan. (AFP)
• North Macedonia: The country’s Parliament approved a new left-wing coalition government led by the Social Democrat leader Zoran Zaev. (AP)
• Romania: Parliament is set to vote on a no-confidence motion against the government over its response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. (DPA)

Middle East

• Jordan: The country recorded its highest daily tally of new coronavirus cases as the Health Ministry reported a total of 73 new cases. (Reuters)
• Lebanon: The country’s former Ambassador to Germany Mustapha Adib was appointed to form a new government in the crisis-hit country. (AP)
• Yemen: The government-allied Saudi-led coalition said it foiled two attacks of the Iran-backed Houthi rebel group, including one involving an explosives-laden boat dispatched into the Red Sea near international shipping lanes. (AP)

Tech & Communications

• Media: Prominent Russian opposition blogger and radio host Yegor Zhukov says he was beaten outside his home in Moscow, becoming the latest Kremlin critic to report an attack. (AFP)

World

• Cyclones: 
  • Typhoon Maysak
    • Location: 144 nautical miles South of Kadena Air Base, Japan
    • Wind: 115 mph
    • Movement: N-NW at 18 mph
    • Map
• Hurricanes: Nothing to report.
• Earthquakes: Nothing to report.
• Volcanoes: Nothing to report.
• Global Disease Outbreaks:

• • COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease: Global
    • Confirmed Cases as of 31AUG20: 25,245,930 
    • Total Recovered Cases as of 31AUG20: 16,626,677
    • Deaths as of 31AUG20: 846,655 
    • 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

Tomorrow’s Outlook (01SEP20)

• Global: Representatives of JCPOA signatory countries France, China, Russia, Germany and the UK, will meet with Iran’s representatives in Vienna, Austria.
• Global: Niger takes over the UN Security Council’s rotating presidency for the month of September.
• Europe: Agriculture Ministers of EU member-states will hold discussions.
• Europe: The EU will release Eurozone unemployment statistics for the month of July.
• Europe: Turkey to conduct military exercises in the Eastern Mediterranean (to 02SEP).
• Algeria: Negotiation deadline for the country’s trade deal with the European Union.
• Australia: The country’s cruise ban due to the coronavirus pandemic is set to expire.
• Brazil: The government will release its GDP statistics for Q2 2020.
• Egypt: All travelers entering the country will now have to provide documentation certifying they do not have COVID-19.
• French Guiana: A European Vega rocket carrying 53 satellites is scheduled to launch, barring adverse weather conditions.
• Germany: Bundestag’s finance committee will hold a special session on the Wirecard scandal and insolvency.
• Ghana: The country’s Kotoka International Airport, located outside the capital Accra, will re-open with new coronavirus regulations.
• Hungary: The country will close its borders due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
• Japan: The government is scheduled to release unemployment data for July.
• Japan: The entry ban for foreigners will end.
• Lebanon: French President Emmanuel Macron will visit.
• Mexico: President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is expected to deliver a State of the Nation address.
• Namibia: Foreign tourists will be allowed to start re-entering the country.
• Qatar: Public transport services will start functioning in capital Doha once again.
• Singapore: The government will ease its coronavirus travel restrictions.
• Sudan: The trial of the country’s former autocratic leader Omar al-Bashir will resume.
• Tunisia: Parliament is expected to hold a confidence-vote for Prime Minister-designate Hisham Mechichi’s proposed technocratic government.
• United States: President Donald Trump is expected to visit Kenosha, Wisconsin.
• United States: Treasury Secretary Mnuchin will testify to the House of Representatives’ Select Subcommittee on the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. 
• Vietnam: Independence Day – 1945.

END