Portal:Current events/2020 October 16

October 16, 2020 (Friday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan
- Afghan peace process
  - The Taliban says that it plans to suspend attacks in southern Afghanistan if the United States promises to halt all strikes and night raids in keeping with the peace agreement signed in February. (San Francisco Chronicle)
- Withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan
  - National Security Advisor Robert C. O'Brien says that the Trump administration plans to lower the troop level in Afghanistan by early 2021. (CNBC)
Insurgency in Balochistan
- An attack left at least 7 soldiers and 7 security guards dead in Balochistan, Pakistan. (Dawn)
Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
- A bomb kills at least 6 soldiers in North Waziristan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. (Dawn)
Murder of Samuel Paty
- A history teacher is stabbed and decapitated near a school in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, Île-de-France, France. The killer is shot dead by police. The anti-terrorism prosecutor investigates the murder, which is described by President Emmanuel Macron as an "Islamist attack". The victim is believed to have shown caricatures of Islam's prophet Muhammad to his students during a lesson. (The Independent) (CNN)
Gunmen attack a military base in Kindia, Guinea, about 85 km (53 mi) outside of the capital Conakry, killing the camp's commander, according to a statement released by the defence ministry. A prison in the city is also attacked, wounding an official and allowing several inmates to escape. The attacks come two days before the general elections. (Reuters)

Business and economy

Moody's downgrades the United Kingdom's debt rating to Aa3 with a stable outlook. (The Wall Street Journal)
Andorra becomes the 190th member of the International Monetary Fund. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

2020 Colorado wildfires
- The Cameron Peak Fire grows into 167,153 acres and becomes the largest wildfire this year in Colorado, surpassing the Pine Gulch Fire. (The Hill)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in North America
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
    - COVID-19 vaccination in the United States
      - Pfizer says that it will not seek emergency approval for its COVID-19 vaccine until after the upcoming election. (Politico)
      - The United States Department of Health and Human Services and the Trump administration announce a deal with Walgreens and CVS to provide COVID-19 vaccines to the elderly and staff in nursing homes. (CNBC)
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Illinois
      - Illinois reports a record 4,553 new cases in a single day for the second consecutive days as Governor J.B. Pritzker said a third of the state has reached a “warning level” and the positivity rate rises above 5% the first time since early June. (Chicago Sun Times)
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Nebraska
      - Governor Pete Ricketts announces new restrictions amid rising cases and hospitalizations in the state. Indoor gatherings will be reduced from a capacity of 75% to 50%, people at bars and restaurants must remain seated with no more than eight people on tables, and table sizes for weddings and funerals must be limited to no more than eight people. The restrictions will go into effect on Wednesday. (The News & Observer)
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Wisconsin
      - The Department of Health Services (DHS) reports that 3,861 people in Wisconsin have tested positive in the last 24 hours, the highest number since the beginning of the pandemic. The positivity rate of 26.47% of the 14,586 tests received is the highest positivity for any day with more than 10,000 tests. (WBAY-TV)
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Colorado
      - Denver Mayor Michael Hancock announces new restrictions as cases in the city rise. Masks will be required in public spaces and gatherings will be limited to five people. (Fox News) (KCNC-TV)
    - The United States surpasses eight million cases of COVID-19. (The Wall Street Journal)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Canada
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Manitoba
      - Manitoba reports 75 cases, ending a three-day streak of reporting no cases. (CBC)
      - Winnipeg is expected to close bars and casinos for two weeks as cases in the city rise. In addition, stores and restaurants in the city will reduce their capacity by 50%. Restrictions will go into effect on Monday. (Reuters)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Northern Ireland
      - Northern Ireland reports 1,299 new daily cases in the last 24 hours, its highest number of a single day yet, bringing the cumulative total at 25,177. (BBC News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium
    - The federal government closes all bars and restaurants for four weeks, imposes a nationwide curfew between midnight and 5:00 a.m. local time, bans alcohol sales after 8:00 p.m. local time, sets telework as a rule, and reduces people's "social bubble", their number of close social contacts outside a household, to one in an attempt to curb the COVID-19 pandemic. The new measures is set to take effect on October 19. (Le Soir) (AP)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Bulgaria
    - Bulgaria reports 914 new cases in the past 24 hours, the seventh time in the past ten days that the country has set a new record. (The Sofia Globe)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Croatia
    - Croatia reports 1,131 new cases in the past 24 hours, a new record for the third day in a row. (koronavirus.hr)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the Czech Republic
    - The Czech Republic reports a record 9,721 new cases in the past 24 hours, a new record for two days in a row, according to data from the Health Ministry. (The Daily Telegraph)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Germany
    - With 7,334 new infections reported in the last 24 hours, Germany sets a new record of daily cases for the second day in a row since the start of the outbreak, according to official figures released by the Robert Koch Institute. (Anadolu Agency)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Greece
    - The number of new infections in Greece reaches a record 508 in the last 24 hours, for the first time daily new cases reach 500 in a single day. From that cases, 227 are from Athens metropolitan area. (The National Herald)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Italy
    - The number of new cases in Italy reaches 10,000 for the first time, when the country reports 10,010 new infections in the past 24 hours. (ABC Australia)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Malta
    - Malta orders clubs, bars, and places of entertainment to close at 11 p.m. local time effective October 19, as the country makes mandatory the wearing of face masks in public in an attempt to reduce the spread of COVID-19. (Swiss Info)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Poland
    - Poland reports 132 new deaths, a record increase since the outbreak began, amid fears the pandemic is testing the country's supply of hospital beds and ventilators. (Reuters)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Portugal
    - Portugal reports 2,608 new daily cases, its highest daily increase yet, bringing the cumulative count to 95,902 confirmed cases. (DGS)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
    - Russia reports 15,150 new cases in the past 24 hours, a new daily record since the start of the pandemic as authorities grapple with the onset of a second wave. This is the first time that the country has reported more than 15,000 cases in a single day. (The Moscow Times)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Slovakia
    - Slovakia reports 2,075 new cases in the past 24 hours, a new record for the second day in a row. (The Slovak Spectator)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland, COVID-19 pandemic in Liechtenstein
    - Switzerland reports 3,105 new cases, the highest record number in a single day since the pandemic began, thus taking the total to 74,442 confirmed cases in Switzerland and Liechtenstein as the second wave of the pandemic grips the country. (Reuters)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Azerbaijan
    - Azerbaijan announces that it will suspend secondary school classes and the use of Baku's metro system between October 19 and November 2 in an attempt to curb the spread of COVID-19. (National Post)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Israel, COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns
    - The government agrees to ease a month-long second nationwide lockdown on October 18, after a significant decline in the number of new cases. On that day, people will be permitted to go more than one kilometer from their homes for non-essential purposes, nurseries will reopen, and restaurants will be able to serve takeaway food. (BBC News)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Oceania
  - Wallis and Futuna reports its first case of infection by SARS-CoV-2. The individual, who arrived on October 3, and later tested positive, is asymptomatic and in isolation in a hospital. The territory was the only French-administered region free of COVID-19 until today. (RNZ)

International relations

Nuclear arms race, Russia–United States relations
- President of Russia Vladimir Putin proposes to extend New START, the last major nuclear arms treaty standing between both Russia and the United States, "without any pre-conditions at least for one year to have an opportunity to conduct substantial negotiations". (PTI via Deccan Herald)

Law and crime

COVID-19 pandemic in Germany
- A Berlin court suspends an order to close bars and restaurants between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. local time in an attempt to tackle surging numbers of COVID-19 in the city as the court considers it disproportionate in the view of other measures taken to fight the pandemic. (TheJournal.ie)
2020 Thai protests
- Two activists in Thailand are arrested on charges of attempting violence against the Queen. Bunkueanun "Francis" Paothong and Ekachai Hongkangwan are set to be charged under Section 110 of Thailand's criminal code and could result in a possible life sentence. (CNN)
2020 Belarusian protests
- Belarus says that it was seeking the arrest of opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya for jeopardizing national security. Nikolai Karpenkov proceeded to threaten the use of firearms against protesters. (Reuters)
Alleged Libyan financing in the 2007 French presidential election
- Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy is charged with conspiracy for accepting Libyan money during the 2007 election. (BBC News)
Face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, COVID-19 pandemic in Kansas
- A 59-year-old man is arrested on suspicion of threatening to kidnap and kill Wichita Mayor Brandon Whipple over opposition to the city's mitigation measures against the COVID-19 pandemic. (AP) (The Wichita Eagle)