Portal:Current events/2020 December 25

December 25, 2020 (Friday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Central African Republic Civil War
- Three United Nations peacekeepers from Burundi are killed and two others injured in the Central African Republic during two attacks by unknown gunmen. The shootings are carried out two days before the general election in the country. (BBC News)

Disasters and accidents

A boat overturns and sinks due to strong winds on the Ugandan side of Lake Albert, killing 26 people. (BBC News)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in China
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong
      - The authorities extends the compulsory quarantine in designed hotels to 21 days for visitors from outside China, Macau, and Taiwan beginning tomorrow and also ban all people who stayed in South Africa over the past 21 days from entering Hong Kong in order to prevent the spread of new variants of SARS-CoV-2. (The Straits Times)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia
    - Indonesia reports a record 258 deaths and 6,324 recoveries in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide totals to 20,847 deaths and 570,304 recoveries. (CNN Indonesia)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Japan
    - Japan reports their first cases of the new variant of SARS-COV-2 in five people who arrived from the United Kingdom. (The Japan Times)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Kyrgyzstan
    - Kyrgyzstan surpasses 80,000 cases of COVID-19. (Xinhua News Agency)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Lebanon, Variant of Concern 202012/01
    - Lebanon reports their first case of a new variant of SARS-CoV-2 in a passenger on a Middle East Airlines flight from London on December 21. (The National)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia, COVID-19 vaccine
    - Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman receives a COVID-19 vaccine. (The Hill)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea
    - South Korea reports a record 1,241 new confirmed cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total to 54,770 cases. (Yonhap News Agency)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in France, Variant of Concern 202012/01
    - France reports their first case of the new variant of SARS-CoV-2 in a French citizen who travelled from London to Tours, France on December 19. (Sky News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Ireland, Variant of Concern 202012/01
    - Chief Medical Officer Tony Holohan confirms that the Republic has detected the new variant of SARS-CoV-2 from the United Kingdom as the country reports more than 1,000 for the first time in two months. (Independent.ie)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Russia, Variant of Concern 202012/01
    - Rospotrebnadzor orders a 14-day quarantine for anyone who travels from the United Kingdom, with the exception of aircraft crew members, beginning tomorrow due to the spread of a more contagious variant of SARS-CoV-2. (The Moscow Times)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey
    - Turkey signs a deal with BioNTech to receive up to 30 million doses of their vaccine. (Daily Sabah)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
    - The United Kingdom exceeds 70,000 deaths from COVID-19. (The Independent) (BBC News)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Africa
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Mali, COVID-19 pandemic in France
    - Malian opposition leader Soumaila Cissé dies from COVID-19 in France two months after he was released by jihadist militants in a prisoner swap. (France 24)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Morocco, COVID-19 vaccine
    - Morocco is expected to acquire 65 million vaccine doses from AstraZeneca and Sinopharm. (ABC News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa
    - South Africa reports a record 14,796 new cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total to 983,359 cases. (The Citizens)

Law and crime

2020 Nashville bombing
- An explosion occurs in a recreational vehicle in downtown Nashville, Tennessee, U.S., causing structural damage and injuring three people. Police believe the explosion was an "intentional act". (CNN) (The Tennessean)
- The explosion also results in AT&T service outages across the U.S. due to infrastructure damage to a service facility located near the blast site. Cellular, wireline telephone, Internet, and U-verse television service, as well as multiple local 9-1-1 and non-emergency phone networks, are among the services affected. (WKRN-TV) (The Tennessean)
2018 Puebla helicopter crash
- Four people are arrested for a helicopter crash in Puebla, Mexico, that killed Governor Martha Érika Alonso, her husband, and former Governor Rafael Moreno Valle Rosas. (ABC News)
A court in Russia sentences prominent historian Oleg Sokolov to 12 and a half years in prison for the murder and dismemberment of his student lover. Sokolov, a former history professor at St. Petersburg State University, pled guilty to the murder. (Reuters)

Sports

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports
- Greg Norman, Australian former world number one champion of the 1986 and 1993 Open Championships, tests positive for COVID-19 and is hospitalized in the United States due to having symptoms. (BBC Sport)