Portal:Current events/2020 June 15

June 15, 2020 (Monday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
- The United Nations remove Saudi Arabia from a blacklist of countries accused of "killing or maiming children, following a sustained significant decrease in air strikes". Saudi Arabia had threatened to cut funding to the UN. (Reuters)
Mali War
- The armed forces say an ambush on a military convoy in central Mali has killed at least 24 troops and left others missing. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. (BBC) (Al Jazeera)
Hundreds of French police are brought in as reinforcements to the city of Dijon, as over 150 Chechens from around France have gathered to avenge the alleged assault of a Chechen teenager by local drug dealers. During the violence, several people are reported injured and one person suffered gunshot wounds. (BBC) (The Jerusalem Post)

Disasters and accidents

A United States Air Force 48th Fighter Wing F-15 Eagle based at RAF Lakenheath crashes into the North Sea, 74 miles (119 km) off the East Yorkshire coast, killing the pilot. (BBC)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in North America
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
    - Rep. Tom Rice (R-SC) tests positive for COVID-19, becoming the 8th member of Congress to do so. (The Hill)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia, COVID-19 pandemic in Africa
  - The World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF warn that 51,000 children could die in West Asia and North Africa due to the disruptive impact of the pandemic on healthcare systems. (Middle East Eye)

Law and crime

Killing of Rayshard Brooks
- The Fulton County medical examiner declares Rayshard Brooks' death a homicide. Brooks was shot in the back by an Atlanta Police officer while fleeing from an attempted arrest for driving under the influence in which he stole an officer's taser and fired it at him on June 12. (BBC)
Maria Ressa, CEO of Philippine news site Rappler, is found guilty of libel by a Manila court over a 2012 story linking a businessman to various crimes. She faces up to six years in prison. (Reuters)
Sudan's public prosecutor announces the discovery of a mass grave containing the remains of students who were killed in 1998 when they tried to evade conscription. The prosecutor accused former ruler Omar al-Bashir. (Reuters)
A court in Russia sentences former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan to 16 years in prison for espionage. The U.S ambassador to Russia John Sullivan condemns the sentencing as "a mockery of justice" in a statement to media after the verdict. (CNN)
The Supreme Court of the United States delivers its verdict in the case of Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, ruling that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination against individuals on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender identity. (BBC)
Black Lives Matter activist Oluwatoyin Salau is found dead in Tallahassee, Florida, US, after going missing on June 6. Shortly before her disappearance, Salau tweeted that she had been sexually assaulted by a man. Her death is currently being treated as a homicide. (CNN)
The Nepali Department of Immigration says that it will deport 5 foreign tourists (3 Chinese, an American, and an Australian) and ban them from entering Nepal for two years after they joined protests against the government's response to the coronavirus outbreak. (CNA)
20 year old Eliceo Hernandez is arrested for the murder of african-american wildlife officer Julian Keen Jr. Officer Keen was off duty at the time and pursued Hernandez for alleged reckless driving and a hit and run. Hernandez confronted Officer Keen and gunned him down. Hernandez had been arrested for a shooting offence just 5 years earlier (WinkNews)