Portal:Current events/2013 October 20

October 20, 2013 (Sunday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian civil war:
- A suicide truck bomber attack by the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Nusra Front on a government checkpoint outside Hama, Syria, kills at least 30 people, including a number of soldiers. (AP via USA Today)
Iraqi insurgency (post-U.S. withdrawal):
- Suicide bombers targeting police and local officials in Rawa, northwest of Baghdad, kill 15 people. (AFP)
- At least 37 people are killed in a suicide bombing at a cafe in the Shia-dominated area of Baghdad. (BBC)
South Sudan internal conflict (2011–present):
- Cattle raiders believed to be led by David Yau Yau attack villages in Jonglei state, leaving at least 78 dead. (BBC)
Gunmen open fire on a Christian wedding in a Cairo suburb in Egypt, with at least three people killed and nine others injured. (BBC)

Business and economy

Toyota Motor Corporation recalls 885,000 vehicles due to electrical problems that could prevent airbags from deploying. (NBC)

Disasters and accidents

Barry O'Farrell, the Premier of the Australian state of New South Wales, declares a state of emergency due to bushfires that have already claimed one life and destroyed hundreds of homes. (BBC)

Politics and elections

Jamalul Kiram III, claimant to the Sultanate of Sulu and leader of the militant group behind the 2013 Lahad Datu standoff, dies in Manila. (The Washington Post)
At Luxembourg's general election, Jean-Claude Juncker's Christian Social People's Party loses three seats, but remain the largest party in the Chamber of Deputies with 23 of the 60 seats. (BBC)