Portal:Current events/2020 September 2

September 2, 2020 (Wednesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Boko Haram insurgency
- Seven people are dead and 14 others injured after a Boko Haram suicide bomber blew himself up at a village hosting internally displaced people in Far North, Cameroon. (Reuters)

Arts and culture

Changes made due to the George Floyd protests
- The BBC reverses its controversial decision to ban the songs "Rule, Britannia!" and "Land of Hope and Glory" from the 2020 Last Night of the Proms over concerns over their links to colonialism and slavery. Critics of the songs, including Chi-chi Nwanoku and Gareth Malone, say the songs are "outdated" and glorify racism. (BBC News)

Business and economy

Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, COVID-19 recession
- COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
  - The economy officially enters a recession for the first time since 1991 after the Bureau of Statistics reports a 7% decline in GDP over the second quarter, the largest fall since records began in 1959. (9 News)

Disasters and accidents

2020 Atlantic hurricane season
- Tropical Storm Nana is expected to strengthen into a strong tropical storm before it makes landfall in Belize tomorrow. (The Sun-Sentinel)
- Hurricane warnings are issued on Belize's coast in case hurricane-force winds are present. (The Weather Channel)
MV Wakashio oil spill
- Mauritius asks Japan to pay $34 million in reparations for the disaster and demands the money to "support local fishermen whose livelihoods were adversely impacted by an oil leak last month", according to a Mauritian government document. (DW)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Minnesota
    - Bloomington-based HealthPartners announces that they are seeking 1,500 patients for the phase 3 trials for AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine. (The Star-Tribune)
    - Minnesota reports the first death tied to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota, which drew hundreds of thousands of bikers despite COVID-19 concerns. The patient was a male biker in his 60s. At least 50 cases in Minnesota have been linked to Sturgis. (CBS News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Iowa
    - Cedar Rapids mayor Brad Hart issues a mask mandate for the city as Iowa becomes one of the leading states in rising COVID-19 cases. (The Cedar Rapids Gazette)
  - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention requests state governments for their assistance to dispatch an unspecified, potential COVID-19 vaccine to local wholesalers by November 1. (AFP via The Philippine Star)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Greece
    - Greece reports the first case in its largest refugee camp, located on the island of Lesbos. (AFP via Manila Bulletin)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Italy
    - Former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi tests positive for COVID-19. He is expected to self-isolate at his home near Milan. (Sky News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Slovenia
    - Slovenia registers its highest number of new cases since April 1, with 55 new cases reported in the last 24 hours. (RTVSLO)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
    - The United Kingdom reports 1,508 cases, an increase from 1,295 yesterday. Some lockdowns are re-imposed in Greater Manchester. (The Guardian)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Japan
    - The government considers providing free COVID-19 vaccines for all citizens. (Reuters)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Kyrgyzstan
    - The number of cases in Kyrgyzstan reaches past 44,000. (Xinhuanet)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand
    - Thailand marks 100 days without new COVID-19 cases. (The Hill)

International relations

Travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in the Maldives
  - The Ministry of Foreign Affairs tightens the country's visa policy for tourists, requiring all tourists to present a negative test result, after it was reported that at least 45 people at several of the country's resorts have contracted the virus. (CNA)
- The Taiwanese foreign ministry unveils a new design to the country's passport cover after claiming that the current design has led foreign governments into mistakenly imposing COVID-19 pandemic-related travel restrictions intended for mainland Chinese citizens on Taiwanese citizens. (DW)
2020 China–India skirmishes, Internet censorship in India
- India bans 118 apps linked to Chinese companies including popular Tencent-backed video game PUBG Mobile, stating they are "prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India". (Bloomberg)
China–United States relations
- United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announces new restrictions on senior Chinese diplomats visiting the U.S., requiring them to secure an approval from U.S. authorities to meet with local government officials or to visit universities and colleges in the country. Pompeo describes the restrictions as a "reciprocal move" after the Chinese government had imposed similar restrictions on U.S. officials. (Kyodo News via The Mainichi)
Saudi Arabia–United Arab Emirates relations
- Saudi Arabia opens its airspace to all flights between the United Arab Emirates and "all countries", upon the request of the Emirati government. The move comes days after Israel and the United Arab Emirates restored diplomatic ties and Israeli flag carrier El Al commenced commercial flights to the UAE. Saudi Arabia still maintains a policy of neither maintaining diplomatic ties nor recognising Israel, and does not allow Israeli aircraft to fly in Saudi Arabian airspace under any other circumstances. (AFP via CNA)
The United States places sanctions on several senior officials in the International Criminal Court, including Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, for launching an investigation into allegations of American war crimes in the current Afghanistan war. (BBC News)

Law and crime

Capital punishment in Saudi Arabia, aftermath of the 2014 al-Dalwah attack
- Saudi Arabia sentences seven ISIL militants to death over a 2014 mass shooting that killed eight Shiite Muslims near the city of al-Ahsa. Three other convicts were given 25-year jail sentences. (Reuters)
Aftermath of the Charlie Hebdo shooting
- Fourteen people are on trial in France for their involvement in the 2015 attack on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. Three are being tried in absentia. (BBC News)
Global surveillance disclosures (2013–present)
- The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rules that the global surveillance programs of the National Security Agency disclosed by former Central Intelligence Agency employee Edward Snowden in 2013 are unconstitutional, having violated the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. (AAP via The Canberra Times) (DW)
Eight people are killed and 14 others injured after gunmen open fire on a group of people gathered to mourn the death of a youth who was killed in a motorcycle accident in Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico. (BBC News)
Kang Kek Iew (better known as Comrade Duch), former Khmer Rouge leader and convicted war criminal, dies in a Phnom Penh hospital at age 77. (The New York Times)
Zimbabwean journalist Hopewell Chin'ono is granted bail after being arrested for more than a month on charges of inciting public violence over tweeting in support of anti-government protests. (The Telegraph)

Politics and elections

Poisoning of Alexei Navalny
- The German government reports it has "unequivocal evidence" to confirm the poisoning of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny by a Novichok agent, according to tests conducted by a Bundeswehr-run laboratory. Chancellor Angela Merkel calls Navalny "a victim of attempted murder". (CNBC) (NPR)
The Royal Thai Government Gazette reports that Thai King Vajiralongkorn restored the rank and titles of former royal consort Sineenat Bilaskalayani. Her titles were stripped last October after the court accused her of disobedience and trying to raise herself to "the same state as the queen". (BBC News)