Portal:Current events/2019 August 20
August 20, 2019 (Tuesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Syrian Civil War, 2019 Northwestern Syria offensive
- The Al-Qaeda-linked faction Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) acknowledges "a redeployment" south of the strategic town of Khan Shaykhun. (AP News)
- Media close to the government reports that the Syrian Army has entered the northern sector of the town of Khan Shaykhun, following the reported HTS withdrawal. (Al-Masdar)
Health and environment
- The Spanish Ministry of Health declares an outbreak of listeriosis in Andalusia as a national health alert after cases are reported in Asturias, Madrid, Catalonia and Extremadura, including one death. (RTVE)
International relations
- 2019 Venezuelan presidential crisis
- Nicolás Maduro confirms United States reports that top Venezuelan officials have been having secret meetings with members of the Trump administration. Maduro claims the talks encourage Trump to listen to him; United States sources claim the talks encourage Maduro supporters to defect. (The Guardian)
- Proposed United States purchase of Greenland
- U.S. President Donald Trump cancels his September state visit to Denmark because Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen says she has no interest in discussing the purchase of Greenland. (BBC)
- India–Pakistan relations, Kashmir dispute
- Pakistan asks the United Nations Security Council to meet over India's decision to revoke Article 370 of the Indian Constitution that gives special status to the Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir, the sovereignty of which has been in dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (BBC) (NDTV) (APP)
Law and crime
- Crime in Brazil
- Thirty-seven passengers on a bus over Rio–Niterói Bridge, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, are held hostage before police shoot dead the armed hijacker. After closer inspection, police discover the hijacker used a fake plastic gun. (BBC) (Extra)
- Former professional basketball player Mateen Cleaves is acquitted of several sex crimes in a court in his hometown of Flint, Michigan. (MLive) (WJRT-TV)
- A modification of the Volcker rule is approved by the OCC and the FDIC. The new version eases rules on proprietary trading by Wall Street banks but is criticized by consumer groups who see risks for the protections on taxpayer money. (Reuters)
- The Texas Department of Information Resources reports the computer systems of 23 towns in the state were hit by a ransomware attack on August 16. "One single threat actor" is suspected. (Insider)
Politics and elections
- Politics of Italy, Conte Cabinet
- Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte resigns. He criticizes Deputy Prime Minister, Matteo Salvini, accusing him of sinking the ruling coalition for personal and political gain. (Reuters)
Science and technology
- List of unmanned aerial vehicles
- The Russian Ministry of Defence announces that the six-tonne satellite-controlled reconnaissance drone Altius-U has performed its maiden flight. (TASS)
- Discoveries of exoplanets
- LTT 1445 A b, an exoplanet 1.4 times as big around as Earth, where 3 stars are visible during the day, is discovered. (NASA Exoplanet)
Sports
- Expansion of Major League Soccer
- Major League Soccer, the top level of the men's sport in the U.S., announces that a team in St. Louis, Missouri will become the league's 28th team, most likely in 2022. The ownership group, led by several female members of the Taylor family that controls the Enterprise Holdings car rental company, is the first in MLS in which women hold a majority interest. (ESPN)