• Overnight News Summaries ,
• Tags: Africa, Asia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Communications, coup, earthquake, Ebola, Election, elections, EU, Europe, Germany, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Mali, Middle East, NATO, Nigeria, North Korea, Opposition, Protest, protests, South Korea, State Department, Syria, Tehran, Thailand, UN, United States, Venezuela, virus, Yemen
• 09 Feb

KEY STORYLINES

• AFRICA: Moroccan officials say the country has stopped taking part in military action with the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, and has recalled its ambassador to Saudi Arabia.
• AMERICAS: Trucks carrying humanitarian aid for Venezuela arrived at its border with Colombia as ministers from more than a dozen European and Latin American countries called on Nicolas Maduro to hold “free” presidential elections.
• ASIA: The UN Security Council granted a sanctions exemption allowing the Red Cross to provide North Korea with medical equipment and other humanitarian aid.
• EUROPE: The British and Irish Prime Ministers are meeting to discuss the Irish border — and mend fences — amid a tense U.K.-EU standoff over Brexit.
• MIDDLE EAST: The Pentagon is preparing to withdraw all troops from Syria by the end of April, even though the Trump administration has yet to come up with a plan to protect its Kurdish partners from attack when they leave.
• TECHNOLOGY: Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, accused the owner of the National Enquirer of trying to blackmail him with the threat of publishing “intimate photos” unless he said in public that the tabloid’s reporting on him was not politically motivated.

TOP STORY

 

• Thailand: King’s elder sister appointed Prime Ministerial candidate for leading opposition party.

 

• • Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya Sirivadhana Barnavadi was appointed by the party of ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who was deposed by the military.
  • She will face off against the incumbent, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, the leader of the ruling military junta which seized power in 2014.
  • Her candidacy represents an unprecedented challenge to the military’s role in politics, where it frequently portrays itself as the defender of the monarchy as a source of domestic legitimacy.
  • The military government has notoriously used a broad interpretation of the country’s hardline royal defamation law in order to target and silence political opponents.
  • It remains unclear whether Princess Ubolratana will be covered by the law, both on campaign or should she become Prime Minister.
  • Reporting: AP, AFP, Reuters, EFE, BBC

AFRICA

• Morocco: Government officials say the country has stopped taking part in military action with the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, and has recalled its ambassador to Saudi Arabia. (AP)
• Nigeria: The United States called on all sides including the military to ensure that next week’s presidential election is “free from outside pressure and intimidation.” (AFP)
• Sudan: Hundreds of protesters rallied in Khartoum in support of fellow demonstrators detained in weeks of protests against President Omar al-Bashir’s iron-fisted rule. (AFP)

AMERICAS

• Region: Trucks carrying humanitarian aid for Venezuela arrived at its border with Colombia as ministers from more than a dozen European and Latin American countries called on Nicolas Maduro to hold “free” presidential elections. (AFP)
• Brazil: President Jair Bolsonaro reportedly has pneumonia after registering a fever during a hospital stay for treatment of a stab wound he suffered during the campaign. (Reuters)
• Chile: Authorities say former commander in chief of the army Gen. Juan Emilio Cheyre has been arrested and charged for involvement torturing 24 people following a 1973 military coup. (AP)

ASIA

 

• Australia: The leading cybersecurity agency is investigating a breach of the country’s federal parliamentary computing network amid speculation of hacking by a foreign nation. (AP)

 

• North Korea: The UN Security Council granted a sanctions exemption allowing the Red Cross to provide North Korea with medical equipment and other humanitarian aid. (Yonhap)
• South Korea: A government source reported that the announcement of joint US-South Korean military drills would be delayed until after the Trump-Kim summit, due later this month. (Xinhua)

EUROPE

 

• Region: The British and Irish Prime Ministers are meeting to discuss the Irish border — and mend fences — amid a tense U.K.-EU standoff over Brexit. (AP)

 

• Germany: An American request for the extradition of a Turkish man wanted in the United States on terrorism charges was rejected because there was no other option under German double-jeopardy law, authorities said. (AP)
• Greece: Lawmakers are set to approve Macedonia’s NATO accession, ending a process to normalize relations between the two neighbors and anchor the country firmly within the western sphere of influence. (AP)

MIDDLE EAST

 

• Region: Iran’s state-run electricity firm Tavanir signed a deal to extend exports of gas and electricity to neighbouring Iraq, following a US sanctions waiver. (Reuters)

• Iran: The US State Department said it was aware of reports of a failed attempt to launch a satellite into space last month and it called on Tehran to halt activities that violate UN resolutions. (Reuters)

 

• Saudi Arabia: Riyadh quietly held a second court hearing for 11 people facing charges over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, an independent UN human rights expert said, criticizing the kingdom for its lack of transparency. (AP)
• Syria: The Pentagon is preparing to withdraw all troops by the end of April, even though the Trump administration has yet to come up with a plan to protect its Kurdish partners from attack when they leave. (WSJ)

TECHNOLOGY AND COMMUNICATIONS

 

• Technology: Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, accused the owner of the National Enquirer of trying to blackmail him with the threat of publishing “intimate photos” unless he said in public that the tabloid’s reporting on him was not politically motivated. (Reuters)

 

WORLD

• • Cyclones:

 

• Tropical Cyclone Funani

 

• • • • Location: 646 NM E of Port Louis, Mauritius
      • Movement: SE at 14 mph
      • Wind: 130 mph
      • Map

 

• Tropical Cyclone Gelena

 

• • • • Location: 365 NM N of St. Denis
      • Movement: S-SE at 9 mph
      • Wind: 90 mph
      • Map
  • Hurricanes: Nothing to report.

 

• Earthquake: Nothing to report.

 

• • Volcanoes:

 

• Karangetang volcano

 

• • • Siau, Indonesia
    • 100 people evacuated
    • Reporting
• Global Disease Outbreaks:

• • Ebola Virus Disease:
    • Ebola Virus Disease:
    • Confirmed Cases as of 06FEB19: 737 (DR Congo)
    • Suspected Cases as of 06FEB19: 54 (DR Congo)
    • Deaths as of 06FEB19: 492 (DR Congo)

• • • Sourcing: WHO

TOMORROW’S OUTLOOK (09 FEB)

• Lebanon: St. Maroun’s Day – 410 AD

END