ONS: 23 July 2018

By TRG Alerts Admin

KEY STORYLINES

AFRICA: Al Shabaab fighters in Somalia attacked a military base in Baar Sanguni, reportedly killing 27 soldiers stationed there.
AMERICAS: Cuba’s National Assembly adopted a new constitution that would recognize market economics yet keep the Communist Party firmly in control of the economy.
ASIA: Afghan ISIS militants conducted a suicide bombing at the Kabul International Airport, as Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum returned from exile, killing 23 and wounding 107, though Dostum escaped harm
EUROPE: French authorities handed preliminary charges to one of President Emmanuel Macron’s top security aides after he was captured on video beating a protester in May.
MIDDLE EAST: Hundreds of Syrian “White Helmet” rescue workers and their families fled advancing government forces and slipped over the border into Jordan overnight with the help of Israeli soldiers and Western powers.
TECHNOLOGY: Israeli security company CyberInt detected serious breaches in websites of the state’s largest cell phone company, as well as the two largest food companies.

TOP STORY

Trump and Iran’s Rouhani trade threats following new White House Iran policy push.
- Administration officials announced the launch of a new information and communication campaign to erode support for Iran’s leadership, in order to pressure Iran on nuclear policy and support for militants.
- Iran’s President Rouhani issued a statement directly warning President Trump that hostile policies may incite “the mother of all wars”, and threatening to block Gulf oil exports.
- Secretary of State Mike Pompeo chimed in that the US is not afraid to challenge Iran “at the highest level”, while President Trump unleashed on Twitter, directing severely bellicose threats to Tehran.
- Despite the fiery exchange, a prominent Iranian analyst suggested that the rhetoric was unlikely to result in direct confrontation.
- Reporting: Reuters, Reuters2, AFP, WaPo, AP

AFRICA

Nigeria: Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar officially joined the 2019 Presidential race as the candidate for the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP). (Xinhua)
Somalia: Al Shabaab fighters attacked a military base in Baar Sanguni, reportedly killing 27 soldiers stationed there. (Reuters)
South Africa: Eleven minibus taxi drivers were shot dead and four injured when unknown gunmen opened fire on their vehicle in KwaZulu Natal province. (AFP)

AMERICAS

Canada: Two people including the gunman are dead and 13 wounded in Toronto after a shooting in the busy Greektown neighborhood. (AFP)
Cuba: National Assembly adopted a new constitution that would recognize market economics yet keep the Communist Party firmly in control of the economy. (AFP)
Nicaragua: The country’s bishops are to forge on with mediating talks aimed at resolving their country’s political and economic crisis despite President Daniel Ortega claiming they are siding with the opposition. (AFP)

ASIA

Afghanistan: ISIS militants conducted a suicide bombing at the Kabul International Airport, as Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum returned from exile, killing 23 and wounding 107, though Dostum escaped harm. (AFP)
Malaysia: Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said he repeal a tough security law used to detain government critics without charge under the former government. (AFP)
Philippines: The House of Representatives failed to ratify as expected an autonomy deal that many hope will peacefully settle one of Asia’s longest-raging Muslim separatist rebellions. (AP)
South Korea: Roh Hoe-chan, a prominent liberal lawmaker embroiled in a corruption scandal was found dead, in what appeared to be one of the country’s highest-profile suicides in recent years. (AP)

EUROPE

France: Authorities handed preliminary charges to one of President Emmanuel Macron’s top security aides after he was captured on video beating a protester in May. (AP)
Germany: Around 25,000 people braved the rain in Munich to protest the hardline immigration stance of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Bavarian allies. (Reuters)
United Kingdom: police s arrested a man after a three-year-old boy was seriously injured in a “deliberate” suspected acid attack in central England. (AFP)

MIDDLE EAST

Region: Hundreds of Syrian “White Helmet” rescue workers and their families fled advancing government forces and slipped over the border into Jordan overnight with the help of Israeli soldiers and Western powers. (Reuters)
Egypt: The Islamic State group says one of the leaders of its affiliate in the Sinai Peninsula, Abu Jaafar al-Maqdesi, has been killed. (AP)
Iraq: Kurdish security forces killed three gunmen who broke into the provincial government building in the northern city of Erbil, a local security source said. (Xinhua)
Israel: The IDF activated its missile defense system and fired two interceptors at supposed incoming rockets from Syria, but which crashed on the Syrian side of the border. (AP)

TECHNOLOGY AND COMMUNICATIONS

Technology: Israeli security company CyberInt detected serious breaches in websites of the state’s largest cell phone company, as well as the two largest food companies. (Xinhua)

WORLD

Cyclones:
- Tropical Storm Ampil
  - Location: 237 NM W-SW of Kunsan AB
  - Movement: NW at 10 MPH
  - Wind: 40 MPH
  - Map
- Tropical Storm Fourteen
  - Location: 310 NM E of Minami Tori Shima
  - Movement: N-NE at 7mph
  - Wind: 45 mph
  - Map
- Tropical Storm Son Tinh
  - Location: 228 NM E-SE of Hanoi, Vietnam
  - Movement: NE at 6 MPH
  - Wind: 40 MPH
  - Map
Hurricanes: Nothing to report.
Earthquakes: Nothing to report.
Volcanoes: Nothing to report.
Global Disease Outbreaks:

- Ebola Virus Disease:
  - Confirmed Cases as of 12JUL18: 38 (DR Congo)
  - Suspected Cases as of 12JUL18: 5 (DR Congo)
  - Deaths as of 12JUL18: 29 (DR Congo)
  - Sourcing: WHO

TOMORROW’S OUTLOOK (24 JUL)

Caribbean Sea Region: Anniversary of the signing of the Convention Establishing the Association of Caribbean States in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia
Latin America Region: Simón Bolívar Day – 1813
Mexico: 13th Summit of the Pacific Alliance to open (to 25JUL)
United States: Trial of President Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort and associate Richard Gates set to begin in the Eastern District of Virginia District Court

END