ONS – 10 August 2018

By TRG Alerts Admin

KEY STORYLINES

AFRICA: Zimbabwe opposition figure Tendai Biti was charged with inciting public violence and declaring unofficial election results as fears grew about a government crackdown.
AMERICAS: Venezuela pressed Colombia and the US to extradite its former National Assembly speaker, as the opposition pushed back, saying the arrest warrant for Julio Borges was “political in nature.”
ASIA: North Korea denounced U.S. calls for enforcing international sanctions despite its goodwill moves and said progress on denuclearization promises could not be expected if Washington followed an “outdated acting script.”
EUROPE: Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said he would consider any U.S. move to curb the operations of Russian banks or their foreign currency dealings a declaration of economic war.
MIDDLE EAST: Iraq’s election commission says the result of its recount of ballots from May’s parliamentary elections doesn’t alter the overall outcome of the vote in favor of cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
TECHNOLOGY: A Paris court ordered Twitter to change its smallprint, according to a consumer group which accused the tech giant of having “abusive” clauses in its terms and conditions.

TOP STORY

Afghanistan: Major Taliban assault on Ghazni city repelled with US airstrikes
- A force of several hundred militants attempted to storm the city before dawn, and initially claimed to have taken over all government buildings.
- However, authorities and evidence on the ground contradicted those claims, with fighting progressing throughout the city centre.
- Security forces closed off the main highway going north from the city, as Ghazni lies on the main route to the capital Kabul.
- Current casualty reports indicate 14 dead on the government side, and over a hundred of the Taliban.
- Afghan special forces arrived, and US forces responded with airstrikes.
- By dawn the main attack was repelled, with sporadic gunfire from elevated ground on the city outskirts.
- Reporting: AP, AFP, AFP2, Reuters, RFE-RL, NYT

AFRICA

Guinea: The opposition cancelled a planned protest, after reaching an agreement with the government in a bid to end six months of deadly post-election unrest. (AFP)
Rwanda: President Paul Kagame dissolved the Chamber Of Deputies, the lower house, ahead of upcoming parliamentary elections scheduled for September. (Xinhua)
Zimbabwe: Senior opposition figure Tendai Biti was charged with inciting public violence and declaring unofficial election results as fears grew about a government crackdown. (AP)

AMERICAS

Region: Venezuela pressed Colombia and the US to extradite its former National Assembly speaker, as the opposition pushed back, saying the arrest warrant for Julio Borges was “political in nature.” (AFP)
Mexico: President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he will rely on a group of 10 women and 10 men for his personal security, sticking with a promise to fold the presidential guard detail into the Defense Department. (AP)
United States: California Gov. Jerry Brown has declared a state of emergency as a wildfire that forced 20,000 people from their homes continues to rage south of Los Angeles. (AP)
Venezuela: Prominent opposition leader Julio Borges has rejected “absurd” claims he was part of an alleged bid to assassinate president Nicolás Maduro. (Guardian)

ASIA

India: Flash floods have claimed at least 27 lives in the southern state of Kerala, officials said, prompting the US to advise its citizens to stay away from the tourist hotspot. (AFP)
Myanmar: Authorities sharply rejected an attempt by the International Criminal Court to consider the country’s culpability for activities that caused 700,000 minority Rohingya Muslims to flee to Bangladesh for safety last year. (AP)
North Korea: The Foreign Ministry denounced U.S. calls for enforcing international sanctions despite its goodwill moves and said progress on denuclearization promises could not be expected if Washington followed an “outdated acting script.” (Reuters)

EUROPE

Estonia: The defense minister ordered a halt to NATO air exercises pending an investigation after a missile was accidentally fired over the country’s airspace by a Spanish fighter jet on a military exercise this week. (AP)
Russia: Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said he would consider any U.S. move to curb the operations of Russian banks or their foreign currency dealings a declaration of economic war. (Reuters)
Turkey: President Erdogan dismissed concerns over the tumbling lira, calling on Turks to “have no worries”, after the currency hit record lows in recent weeks following a widening rift with the United States. (Reuters)

MIDDLE EAST

Region: The Israel-Gaza border was quiet after an Egyptian-brokered truce ended a surge in violence that had shaken southern Israel and the Gaza Strip for two days. (Reuters)
Iraq: The election commission says the result of its recount of ballots from May’s parliamentary elections doesn’t alter the overall outcome of the vote in favor of cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. (AP)
Yemen: Houthi rebels are backing a U.N. call for a probe into a Saudi-led coalition airstrike in the country’s north that killed dozens of people yesterday, including many children. (AP)

TECHNOLOGY AND COMMUNICATIONS

Technology: A Paris court ordered Twitter to change its smallprint, according to a consumer group which accused the tech giant of having “abusive” clauses in its terms and conditions. (AFP)

WORLD

Cyclones:
- Post Tropical Cyclone Debby
  - Location: 865 NM NW of the Azores
  - Movement: NE at 20 MPH
  - Wind: 40 MPH
  - Map
- Tropical Storm John
  - Location: 635 NM W-NW of Cabo Corrientes, Mexico
  - Movement: W-NW at 12 MPH
  - Wind: 60 MPH
  - Map
- Tropical Storm Kristy
  - Location: 1350 WSW of Baja California, Mexico
  - Movement: N at 6 MPH
  - Wind: 70 MPH
  - Map
- Tropical Storm Shanshan
  - Location: 164 NM NE of Nariita Airport, Japan
  - Movement: E-NE at 8 MPH
  - Wind: 50 MPH
  - Map
- Tropical Storm Yagi
  - Location: 327 NM SE of Kadena AB
  - Movement: NW at 10 MPH
  - Wind: 45 MPH
  - Map
Hurricanes:
- Hurricane Hector
  - Location: 475 NM SW of Honolulu, Hawaii
  - Movement: W at 14 MPH
  - Wind: 125 MPH
  - Map
Earthquakes: Nothing to report.
Volcanoes: Nothing to report.
Global Disease Outbreaks:

TOMORROW’S OUTLOOK (11 AUG)

Armenia: Day of Armenian Identity – 2009
Chad: Independence Day – 1960
Latvia: Freedom Fighters’ Remembrance Day – 1995
Pakistan: Flag Day – 1947
United States: “White civil rights” rally scheduled to be held in Lafayette Square in Washington, DC (to 12AUG)

END