Portal:Current events/2020 August 7

August 7, 2020 (Friday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Maghreb insurgency
- 2020 Fada N'gourma shooting
  - About 20 people are killed when unidentified gunmen attack a cattle market in Fada N'gourma, Est, Burkina Faso. (Al Jazeera)
Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- A 23-year-old woman is killed in clashes between Israeli troops and Palestinian citizens in Jenin, West Bank. Palestinian officials say the woman was shot by Israeli forces, but an Israeli army spokesman said that the Palestinians opened fire and threw explosives and that Israeli troops did not open fire. (Reuters)

Business and economy

Greece–Turkey relations
- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announces his country will resume energy exploration activities in the eastern Mediterranean, saying Greece had repeatedly violated their agreement on the matter. (Al Jazeera)
Canada–United States relations
- Canada is set to impose $3.6B in tariffs on aluminum products in response to American tariffs on Canadian aluminum. Most affected manufacturers are in three politically sensitive swing states critical to the presidential election. (CBC)

Disasters and accidents

Air India Express Flight 1344
- Eighteen people are dead and dozens of others are injured, including fifteen seriously, after an Air India Express plane carrying 191 people overruns the runway in Calicut International Airport, Kerala, India. (BBC News)
2020 Kerala floods
- At least 22 people are dead and dozens of others injured due to flood and landslides in Kerala, India. (BBC News)
A 40 ha (99 acres) grass fire breaks out at Chobham Common in Surrey, England, as the southeast experiences soaring temperatures. (BBC News)
Searchers have recovered the United States Marine Corps Assault Amphibious Vehicle that sank near San Clemente Island, off the coast of Southern California, last Thursday. The remains of eight Marines and one sailor of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit from Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, San Diego County, who died in the "ship-to-shore" training exercise have been recovered as well. (ABC 11 News)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in India
    - India reports the highest single-day record of more than 62,000 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the country's total to 2,025,409. This total makes India the third country to pass two million cases, after the United States and Brazil. (BBC News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Iraq
    - Iraq reports its highest single-day record of 3,461 new COVID-19 cases and 75 more deaths in the last 24 hours, taking the nationwide total to 144,064 cases and 5,236 deaths respectively. (Anadolu Agency)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Japan
    - Japan reports a record of 1,601 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours. (CNN)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Spain
    - Spain reports 4,507 new cases, of which 1,895 were diagnosed in the last 24 hours, mainly in the regions of the Basque Country, Catalonia, and Aragon. This number is the highest increase since the lockdown was lifted in June. (El Pais) (Reuters)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in France, COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
    - France reports 2,288 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours. It is the biggest daily spike since the end of May and the first time in months that the number of cases has surpassed 2,000, prompting fears that the United Kingdom will add the country onto its quarantine list. (Sky News) (The New York Times)
Two people die of bubonic plague in the region of Inner Mongolia, China. Authorities have sealed off a village. (CNN)

International relations

China–United States relations, Hong Kong–United States relations
- The U.S. Treasury Department imposes sanctions on 11 current and former Chinese officials, including current Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam and Chinese envoy to Hong Kong Luo Huining, citing her role last year in attempting to pass an extradition law and, more recently, her involvement in "developing, adopting or implementing" the Hong Kong national security law. (South China Morning Post)
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on international relations
- The European Union provides Fiji with a US$23.4 million budget to help the Pacific country fight the COVID-19 pandemic. This move comes after Fiji closed its embassy in Brussels amid a closure of several Fijian embassies around the world. (RNZ)
Travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic
- The United Kingdom imposes a two-week quarantine for people who arrive from Belgium, The Bahamas and Andorra. The changes are effective from 04:00 BST tomorrow except in Wales, where the changes take effect from midnight on August 13. (BBC News)
France and Germany end talks with the United States to reform the World Health Organization, after the former two's respective health ministries expressed opposition to the attempt from the US at leading the talks, despite the US having decided to leave the organization. (Reuters)

Law and crime

2020 Thai protests, Lèse majesté in Thailand
- Anon Nampha, a leading lawyer who gave a speech on monarchy reforms, is arrested for "creating chaos" and "spreading untrue matters". (Khaosod) (Bangkok Post)
Operation Gideon
- A Venezuelan court sentences two former United States Army Special Forces soldiers to 20 years in prison for their role in the failed coup d'état against President Nicolás Maduro. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

2020 Bulgarian protests
- Bulgarian security forces clamp down on demonstrators and dismantle anti-government barricades across the country in a major police sweep. The police operation comes a day after the Bulgarian government declared that it had no plans to step down from power. (Balkan Insight)
2020 United States presidential election
- The National Counterintelligence and Security Center reports that China, Russia, and Iran are working to interfere with the upcoming American presidential election. They specifically claim that Russia is working to undermine former Vice President and presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden's presidential campaign and boost Trump's, while China and Iran are working to undermine Trump's and boost Biden's. Iran is also trying to "undermine US democratic institutions". (BBC News)
Politics of Taiwan
- After a Legislative Yuan vote in July to emphasize "Taiwan" instead of "Republic of China" on the passport of the Republic of China, voting officially begins on the New Power Party's website for various new passport designs. The winner will be awarded in September. (Taiwan News)

Science and technology

Reddit reports it was hit by a major hack, in which hackers took control of at least 70 of the most-popular subreddits and their respective moderator accounts to spam pro-Trump messages. A site spokesperson said an investigation is underway. (Wired) (CNet)