Portal:Current events/2020 August 19

August 19, 2020 (Wednesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

2020 Malian protests, 2020 Malian coup d'état
- President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta announces his resignation on state television. (AP)
- The soldiers who ousted Keïta promise fresh elections within a "reasonable" time. A spokesman for the mutineers says they acted "to prevent further chaos in Mali" while Colonel Ismaël Wagué invited civil society and political parties to join a peaceful transition. (Reuters)
- The new military rulers announce the closure of all border crossings and impose a night-time curfew until further notice. (BBC News)
- The United Nations Security Council unanimously approves a resolution condemning the coup and calling on the soldiers to return to their barracks and release all detainees. (Reuters)
- The African Union suspends Mali's membership in response to the coup. The suspension will last until "constitutional order is restored". (France 24)
- In an evening transmission, Col. Assimi Goita declares himself the new leader of Mali and urges citizens to return to work. (AP)

Business and economy

The U.S. Treasury Department blacklists two Emirati companies for conducting business with Iranian airline Mahan Air, which itself is blacklisted for its close ties with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. (New Indian Express)

Disasters and accidents

2020 California wildfires
- Thousands in the San Francisco Bay Area flee their homes after several quick-moving wildfires, apparently sparked by lightning and the heatwave, sweep into the region. Around 50 structures have burned down with another 50 damaged in Vacaville. This group of fires, called the LNU Lightning Complex, has grown to 46,000 uncontained acres. (BBC News)
At least 45 migrants, including five children, die in a shipwreck off Libya. In addition, 37 other people are rescued by local fishermen. (BBC News)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in France
    - Toulouse becomes the first major city in France to make face masks compulsory in all outdoor areas. The new rules will take effect on Friday and apply from 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m. local time for all people ages 12 and up, including those on bikes and kick-scooters. (The Telegraph)
    - France registers 3,776 new cases in the last 24 hours, marking a new post-lockdown peak and bringing the total to 225,043. (France 24)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Italy
    - Italy reports 642 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, which is the highest number of reported cases since May 23, when the lockdown was eased. (ANSA) (Yahoo News UK)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Spain
    - Spain registers its highest number of new cases since the end of the lockdown in June, with 3,715 new cases reported in the last 24 hours. (The Times)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Iran
    - Iran surpasses 20,000 deaths by COVID-19, the highest toll in the Middle East. (AP)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea
    - South Korea reports its highest daily rise in COVID-19 cases since early March, with 297 new cases being reported in the last 24 hours. Nearly 90% of the new cases appeared in Seoul Capital Area, where 166 of them are linked to the Sarang Jeil Church. (Reuters)
- Fiji declares an outbreak of dengue fever and leptospirosis amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Health minister Ifereimi Waqainabete says that between January and July, 3,300 cases of dengue fever and 1,000 of leptospirosis were reported. (RNZ)
The California Department of Public Health reports the state's first case of plague in five years at South Lake Tahoe. The patient, believed to have been bitten by an infected flea, is under medical care recovering at home. The CDC says that America sees between one and 17 cases annually. (CBS News) (Yahoo!)

International relations

Travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Finland
  - Finland imposes "Europe's tightest" border restrictions on several countries which it had considered safe destinations to stop the spread of COVID-19. Travel from most EU member states, as well as Japan and Iceland, will be limited to essential trips starting August 24, with people returning from those countries required to self-quarantine for two weeks. (Yle) (Reuters)
Belarus–European Union relations
- The European Union formally rejects the result of the latest presidential election in Belarus, which saw Alexander Lukashenko re-elected with over 80% of the vote. The European Commission announces it will reroute €53 million away from the Belarusian government to civil society. (Sky News)
Norway–Russia relations
- The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirms it has expelled a diplomat from the Russian embassy in Oslo for alleged espionage. The embassy claims the expelled individual was their deputy trade representative who was arrested by Norwegian police on August 20 during a meeting with a suspected spy. The embassy protested to the Norwegian foreign ministry, calling the arrest "a violation of the diplomat status." The ministry, however, has not disclosed the identity of the Russian diplomat nor that of the suspected spy. (Al Jazeera)

Law and crime

Christianity in Iran
- A court in Iran upholds the sentences of five Christian citizens who were charged with spreading Christianity and acting against national security by organizing and running house churches. (Al Arabiya)
U.S. Attorney General William Barr, in a letter to UK Home Secretary Priti Patel, declares that Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh, members of "The Beatles" ISIL cell, will not be given the death penalty if found guilty. Prior attempts by the United States to get the UK Home Office to cooperate on the terrorists' prosecution had been stymied due to the latter's long-standing policy of refusing to extradite citizens or aid in their prosecution if the death penalty was sought. (BBC News)
A 41-year-old Eritrean man from Switzerland faces trial in Germany for allegedly pushing an eight-year-old boy and his mother onto the tracks of an Intercity Express train at the Frankfurt central station in July; the boy was killed, but his mother survived. A psychiatric assessment showed that the man suffered from an episode of schizophrenia and had "at least a considerably reduced ability" to control his actions. The incident triggered reactions from across the German federal government, who have called for a review of the country's immigration policies. (AFP via France 24)

Politics and elections

2020 Belarusian protests
- President Alexander Lukashenko says he has ordered security forces to "end the unrest" in Minsk, saying "People are tired. People demand peace and quiet", while also warning that state workers who joined a general strike will not be given their jobs back, and will instead be "replaced by Russians". (BBC News)
- The Ministry of Health confirms that a man has died in hospital after being shot in the head at a protest in the city of Brest on August 11. He becomes the third fatality of the protests so far. (TASS)
The Sudanese Foreign Ministry sacks spokesman Haidar Badawi after claiming in an interview with Sky News Arabia yesterday that Sudan and Israel were working towards a peace deal. Foreign Minister Omar Qamar al-Din stated his Ministry reacted "with astonishment" towards the comments and that the topic was not being discussed. (Al Jazeera)

Science and technology

Discoveries of exoplanets
- Astronomers discover 95 brown dwarfs near the Sun through the Backyard Worlds project. (Space.com)
Nuclear power in the United Arab Emirates
- The first unit of the Barakah nuclear power plant in Abu Dhabi, the first nuclear power station in the Arabian Peninsula, is connected to the country's electrical grid. According to the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation, the completion of three more APR-1400 nuclear reactor units would result in the provision of 25% of the UAE's electricity and a reduction of carbon emissions by 21 million tons a year. (CNBC)