Portal:Current events/2020 December 22

December 22, 2020 (Tuesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan
- December 2020 Afghanistan attacks
  - Four prison doctors are killed after a magnetic bomb attached to their vehicle exploded in Kabul. A civilian passerby also died in the attack. The bombing follows a series of recent assassination attempts and targeted killings of prominent Afghan figures. (Channel NewsAsia)
War in Darfur
- The United Nations Security Council votes to end the United Nations–African Union Mission in Darfur on December 31, beginning a complete withdrawal of peacekeeping forces by June 30, 2021. (Middle East Monitor)

Business and economy

Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, CARES Act
- President Donald Trump says that he might not sign the $900 billion relief bill, which was passed by both the House and Senate. He also calls for Congress to amend the bill and increase stimulus checks to Americans earning under $75,000 per year from $600 to $2,000. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi agrees to work with Congress to increase the payout amount. (The Washington Post) (BBC News) (WFLA-TV)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in North America
  - Travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, Variant of Concern 202012/01
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Guatemala
      - Guatemala announces a mandatory two-week quarantine for anyone who has recently visited the United Kingdom or South Africa in an effort to prevent the spread of a new variant of SARS-CoV-2. The restrictions will last for two months. (Reuters)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Maryland
      - NIAID director Dr. Anthony Fauci receives the Moderna vaccine at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. (ABC News)
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Mississippi
      - Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves announces that he has extended the mask mandate to 78 counties in the state. (AP)
    - COVID-19 pandemic in New York (state), Variant of Concern 202012/01
      - New York Governor Andrew Cuomo orders hospitals in the state to begin testing for the new SARS-CoV-2 variant from the United Kingdom. (WNBC)
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Washington, D.C.
      - White House Coronavirus Task Force director Deborah Birx says that she will retire after President-elect Joe Biden's transition is completed. (NPR)
    - Overall deaths in the U.S. for this year are projected to surpass three million mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, thus making 2020 the deadliest year in U.S. history. The numbers also represent an approximate 15 percent increase compared to the previous year, which is the largest single-year percentage increase since 1918. (AP)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Canada
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Quebec
      - Quebec reports 2,183 cases, a new-single day record. (The Globe and Mail)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 vaccine
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Iraq
      - Iraq signs a preliminary deal to receive 1.5 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine Tozinameran. Ministry of Health spokesman Seif al-Badr says troops and the elderly will be prioritized for vaccinations. (France 24)
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia
      - Malaysia signs a deal to receive 6.4 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine. (The Star)
    - COVID-19 pandemic in United Arab Emirates
      - The United Arab Emirates announces that they will roll out the Sinopharm vaccine to all adult UAE citizens. (Financial Times)
      - Abu Dhabi is expected to lift restrictions in the city beginning December 24. (Al Arabiya)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore, Variant of Concern 202012/01
    - Singapore bans all long-term passport holders and short-term visitors who had travel history to the United Kingdom within the last 14 days to enter the country beginning tomorrow at 11:59 p.m. local time due to the emergence of a new strain of SARS-CoV-2. (The Straits Times)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea
    - Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun announces that the country will ban gatherings of more than five people and order all ski resorts and tourist attractions to close from December 24 until January 3 in order to contain the third wave of COVID-19. (Al Jazeera)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka, Variant of Concern 202012/01
    - Sri Lanka's Civil Aviation Authority bans all flights to and from the United Kingdom beginning on December 23 to prevent a new strain of SARS-CoV-2 from spreading to the country. (Ada Derana)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Taiwan
    - Taiwan reports their first locally transmitted case since April 12 after an unidentified patient tested positive for COVID-19. (Bloomberg)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in France, Variant of Concern 202012/01
    - France agrees to reopen its border with the United Kingdom after it was closed for 48 hours due to the spread of a new variant of the virus in England. Planes, boats, and Eurostar trains will resume services tomorrow but only British, French, and EU citizens or residents who show a negative COVID-19 test result from the previous 72 hours will be allowed to travel until January 6. (BBC News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Ireland
    - Taoiseach Micheál Martin announces a return of "Level 5" lockdown in the country with specific adjustments from Christmas Eve until at least January 12. (The Journal)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Slovakia
    - Finance Minister Eduard Heger tests positive for COVID-19. (TV Noviny)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
    - The United Kingdom reports a record 36,804 new cases in the past 24 hours. In addition, the country also reports 691 new deaths, the highest daily total in nearly a month. (Sky News)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Peru
  - Peru surpasses one million cases of COVID-19, becoming the fifth Latin American country to surpass the milestone after Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, and Mexico. (AP)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Fiji, Variant of Concern 202012/01
  - Fiji announces it will close its borders from Thursday until next Monday to review border quarantine processes after a new variant of the virus was found in the United Kingdom. (RNZ)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Malawi
  - Malawi closes its borders for 14 days and restricts public gatherings to no more than 100 people due to an increase in COVID-19 cases. (Malawi 24)

International relations

Israel–Morocco relations
- Israel–Morocco normalization agreement
  - El Al operates the first direct commercial flight between Israel and Morocco following the normalization agreement between the two countries on December 10. Senior Advisor to the U.S. President Jared Kushner and Israel's National Security Advisor Meir Ben-Shabbat are among the high-level officials on board the flight. (AFP via Barron's)
Colombia–Russia relations
- Migración Colombia confirms the expulsion of two Russian diplomats accused of espionage. (Reuters)
Cayman Islands–United States relations, COVID-19 pandemic in the Cayman Islands
- The appeals court of the Cayman Islands reduces the prison sentence of Georgia teenager Skylar Mack from 4 months to 2 months. Mack was arrested on November 29 for breaching quarantine rules. (CBS News)
China–South Korea relations, Russia–South Korea relations
- South Korea says it has scrambled fighter jets after four Chinese and fifteen Russian military aircraft entered its air defense identification zone. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff says that it was notified in advance by China of a joint military exercise between China and Russia. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

Cabinet of Indonesia
- President Joko Widodo announces a year-end reshuffle of the Onward Indonesia Cabinet with the replacement of six ministers who had been in the cabinet since October 2019, including two ministers who were arrested by the Corruption Eradication Commission due to separate bribery cases. (The Jakarta Post)
- Sandiaga Uno, businessman and former candidate of the 2019 presidential election, is appointed as the new Tourism and Creative Economy Minister. It is the first time in Indonesian history that all candidates who previously ran in a presidential election serve together in the same cabinet. (Jakarta Globe)
2021 Israeli legislative election
- The Knesset fails to pass legislation to avert a dispersal of the current legislative session, triggering new elections in March. (JPost)
Governor Gavin Newsom appoints Secretary of State Alex Padilla to fill in the California U.S. Senate seat left vacant by Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. As a result, Padilla is the state's first Hispanic Senator from California. (The New York Times)

Science and technology

Chinese space program
- The maiden flight of the Long March 8 orbital launch vehicle is launched from Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site at 04:37 UTC, carrying five satellites. (Reuters)