• Overnight News Summaries ,
• Tags: Africa, Asia, Bolivia, Brazil, China, Colombia, Communications, earthquake, Egypt, Election, elections, EU, Europe, Facebook, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Guinea, Hong Kong, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Lebanon, Mexico, Middle East, Muslims, Myanmar, NATO, Opposition, Protest, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Syria, Tehran, Tunisia, Turkey, UAE, UN, United Nations, United States, Venezuela, virus, Yemen
• 07 Jun

KEY STORYLINES

• AFRICA: The Ethiopia announced it would end its dispute over its shared border with Eritrea after decades of fighting and tension.
• AMERICAS: The Organization of American States approved a resolution brought by the US rejecting Venezuela’s elections, with the move expected to lead to the eventual expulsion of Caracas from the body.
• ASIA: Myanmar and U.N. agencies signed an agreement that could eventually lead to the return of some of the 700,000 Rohingya Muslims who fled persecution.
• EUROPE: Yassine Atar, the brother of the suspected mastermind of the Paris terror attacks of 2015, has been handed over by Belgium to French authorities.
• MIDDLE EAST:  A commission looking into alleged irregularities in Iraq’s national Parliamentary elections has found “unprecedented” violations, the prime minister said.
• TECHNOLOGY: Facebook confirmed that Huawei, a Chinese phone maker deemed a national security threat by the US, was among companies given access to data on users.

TOP STORY

• Iran: Construction completes on new centrifuge assembly center at Nantaz nuclear site.
  • The Iranian Atomic Energy Organization submitted a letter to the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) announcing the move.
  • Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had previously ordered preparations to increase enrichment, should the nuclear deal collapse following the US’ pullout.
  • The Nantaz facility in question produces UF6 (uranium hexafluoride), a feedstock material for constructing centrifuges.
  • Some analysts suggested that this announcement indicates that Tehran’s patience is wearing thin with European efforts to salvage the nuclear deal.
  • French President Emmanuel Macron called on “everyone…to not give in to escalation”.
  • Reporting: Reuters, AFP, WaPo, Deutsche Welle

AFRICA

• E. Guinea: The ruling party denied an allegation that the state “assassinated” a former army captain because he was a cousin of the country’s opposition leader. (AFP)
• Ethiopia: The ruling party announced it would end its dispute over its shared border with Eritrea after decades of fighting and tension. (AFP)
• South Sudan:  President Omar al-Bashir has offered to host peace talks in Khartoum between South Sudan’s bitter rivals President Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar. (AFP)

AMERICAS

• Ecuador: The United Nations elected Ecuador’s Minister, Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces, to be president of the General Assembly. (AFP)
• Guatemala: Nearly 200 people are missing and at least 73 people were killed since the Fuego volcano began erupting over the weekend, officials said. (AFP)
• Venezuela: The Organization of American States approved a resolution brought by the US rejecting Venezuela’s elections, with the move expected to lead to the eventual expulsion of Caracas from the body. (AFP)

ASIA

• Region: U.S. State Secretary Mike Pompeo met with Singapore’s Minister for Foreign Affairs to discuss trade relations, and cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. (Xinhua)
• Kyrgyzstan: Former prime minister Sapar Isakov was arrested on corruption charges in relation to his role in securing investment into a power plant in the capital during the previous administration. (AFP)
• Myanmar: The government and U.N. agencies signed an agreement that could eventually lead to the return of some of the 700,000 Rohingya Muslims who fled persecution. (AP)

EUROPE

• Region: The EU said it will try to change the position of the US on tariffs and the withdrawal of the Iran deal, but has extremely low expectations of success for the G7 summit. (Reuters)
• Czech Republic: Thousands protested across the country against the communist party as it was poised to play a role in government, albeit an informal one, for the first time since communism fell in 1989. (AFP)
• France: Yassine Atar, the brother of the suspected mastermind of the Paris terror attacks of 2015, has been handed over by Belgium to French authorities. (AFP)
• Spain: Mariano Rajoy announced he will quit as head of the conservative Popular Party (PP) after being ousted as prime minister last week. (AFP)

MIDDLE EAST

• Iraq: A commission looking into alleged irregularities in national Parliamentary elections has found “unprecedented” violations, the prime minister said. (AP)
• Lebanon: Jamil Sayyed, the former director of the General Security intelligence agency once jailed in connection to the assassination of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, is giving testimony to the international tribunal tasked with trying the crime. (AP)
• Syria: The People’s Protection Units (YPG) will be disarmed as they withdraw from Manbij under a roadmap agreed by Turkey and the United States. (Xinhua)
• Qatar: The defence minister said that his country’s long-term strategic “ambition” is to join the Western military defence alliance NATO. (AFP)

TECHNOLOGY AND COMMUNICATIONS

• Technology: Facebook confirmed that Huawei, a Chinese phone maker deemed a national security threat by the US, was among companies given access to data on users. (AFP)

WORLD

• Cyclones:
  • Tropical Depression Two-E
    • Location: 250 NM S-SW of Manzanillo, Mexico
    • Movement: NW at 8 MPH
    • Wind: 35 MPH
    • MAP
  • Tropical Storm Ewiniar
    • Location: 225 NM W-SW of Hong Kong
    • Movement: NW at 5 MPH
    • Wind: 40 MPH
    • MAP
• Hurricanes: Nothing to report
• Earthquakes: Nothing to report
• Volcanoes: Nothing to report
• Global Disease Outbreaks:

• • Chikungunya Virus Disease (CHIK)
    • Suspected Cases as of 20JAN: 61,613 (Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panamá, Paraguay, Perú, and Venezuela)

• • • • Suspected Cases (01JAN16-31DEC16): 349,936
    • Confirmed Cases as of 20JAN: 123,087 (Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, México, Nicaragua, Panamá, Paraguay, Perú, Puerto Rico, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Martin (French part), and Venezuela)
      • Confirmed Cases (01JAN16-31DEC16): 152,250
    • Deaths as of 20JAN: 101 (Brazil, Ecuador)
      • Deaths (01JAN16-31DEC16): 172
      • Deaths (01JAN15-31DEC15): 91 (Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Puerto Rico)

• • • Sourcing: WHO, WHO-2, CDC, CDC-2

• • Novel Coronavirus (MERS-CoV, SARS-related)
    • Cases as of 20JAN: 2,123 (Saudi Arabia (KSA), Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the United Kingdom (UK), France, Tunisia, Italy, Oman, Kuwait, Yemen, Malaysia, Greece, Egypt, Lebanon, the Netherlands, Iran, Algeria, Austria, Turkey, The Philippines, Germany, China, South Korea, and the US)

• • • • Deaths as of 20JAN: 740 (Saudi Arabia, France, Qatar, United Kingdom, UAE, Oman, South Korea)

• • • Sourcing: WHO, WHO-2.

TOMORROW’S OUTLOOK (07JUN)

• Croatia: Croatian Diplomacy Day – Unknown
• Malta: Sette Guigno – 1989
• Norway: Union Dissolution Day – 1905
• Peru: Flag Day – 1880
• Slovakia: Anniversary of the Memorandum of the Slovak Nation – 1861
• United States: President Donald Trump to host Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the White House

END