Portal:Current events/2020 December 30

December 30, 2020 (Wednesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Yemeni Civil War
- 2020 Aden attacks
  - At least 25 people are killed and more than 110 others wounded in an attack at the Aden International Airport, shortly after a plane carrying the newly formed government arrived from Saudi Arabia. Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed is taken to safety along with the Saudi ambassador and all remaining government members. The Houthis are blamed for the attack, but the group has denied responsibility. Another blast was later reported at the presidential palace, where the cabinet was meeting. (The Washington Post)
Syrian civil war
- Syrian state media reports that an ambush on a bus near Palmyra killed at least 37 people. A senior military defector in the region says that the bus was transporting Syrian Army troops and pro-government militia from Deir ez-Zor to the Tiyas Military Airbase. (Reuters) (SOHR)

Disasters and accidents

2020 Gjerdrum landslide
- A landslide in the village of Gjerdrum, Viken, Norway, leaves at least ten people injured and buries several houses. Ten people are missing. (BBC News)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in North America
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
    - COVID-19 pandemic in California
      - California reports its first case of a more contagious variant of SARS-CoV-2 from the United Kingdom in a patient from Southern California. (ABC News)
      - California reports a record 442 deaths on Tuesday, bringing the statewide death toll to 24,987. (The Hill)
      - Los Angeles County surpasses 10,000 deaths from COVID-19 and is averaging 150 daily deaths. (KABC-TV)
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Alabama
      - Outgoing U.S. Senator Doug Jones of Alabama announces he will quarantine at his home after his wife tests positive for COVID-19. (AL.com)
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Colorado, Variant of Concern 202012/01
      - Colorado authorities announce the possible discovery of a second case of the SARS-CoV-2 variant from the United Kingdom in the state. (CNN)
    - COVID-19 pandemic in North Dakota
      - North Dakota records 96 hospitalizations in the past 24 hours, making it the first time since September 24 that there have been less than 100 hospitalizations in the state. (AP)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Canada
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario
      - COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto
        Toronto reports a record of 1,069 cases in the past 24 hours. (Global News)
      - Ontario reports a record 2,923 new confirmed cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the province to 178,831. (CBC)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in El Salvador, COVID-19 vaccine
    - El Salvador approves a vaccine made by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca for use in the country. (Reuters)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland
      - Scotland reports a record 2,045 new cases in the past 24 hours. (The Herald)
    - COVID-19 vaccination programme in the United Kingdom
      - The United Kingdom approves a vaccine made by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca for use in the country. Health Secretary Matt Hancock says that the rollout of this vaccine will begin on January 4. (BBC News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the Czech Republic
    - The Czech Republic reports a record 16,329 new cases in the past 24 hours as the positivity rate reaches a new record of 48.5%. (Radio Prague International)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Germany
    - Germany reports a record 1,129 deaths in the past 24 hours, according to data from the Robert Koch Institute, marking the first time that the country has surpassed 1,000 daily deaths since the beginning of the pandemic. (DW)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Ireland
    - Taoiseach Micheál Martin confirms that the country will close all non-essential retail under full level 5 restrictions that will remain in place for at least one month and will also delay the reopening of schools until January 11. Authorities also agree to extend travel bans to South Africa and the United Kingdom until January 6. (RTÉ)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Malta, Variant of Concern 202012/01
    - Malta reports its first three cases of a new variant of SARS-CoV-2 from the United Kingdom. Two of the cases are reported in people who travelled from the UK, while the third is still being investigated. (Times of Malta)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey
    - Turkey receives their first shipment of three million doses of Sinovac's CoronaVac. (Hurriyet Daily News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine
    - Ukraine signs an agreement to buy up to 1.8 million doses of Sinovac's CoronaVac. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal says the first shipment of vaccines could arrive in February. (Business Times)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Taiwan, Variant of Concern 202012/01
    - Taiwan reports its first case of a new variant of SARS-CoV-2 after a teenager who returned from the United Kingdom on Sunday tested positive for COVID-19 the following day. (Focus Taiwan News Channel)
    - As a result of this case, Taiwan will ban all non-resident foreigners from entering the country beginning on January 1. Legal residents, as well as people given special permission, and the spouses and children of Taiwanese nationals will be excluded from this ban. (Radio Taiwan International)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in India, Variant of Concern 202012/01
    - India extends their suspensions of flights from the United Kingdom until January 7 in order to prevent the spread of a new variant of SARS-CoV-2. (Hindustan Times)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore
    - Singapore officially begins its vaccination campaign against COVID-19, with healthcare workers being among the first to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine tozinameran. (CNA)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand
    - Thailand imposes a ban on large gatherings and events in controlled zones across the country in order to reduce the number of cases. 250 new cases are reported in the past 24 hours. (Bangkok Post) (CNA)
- COVID-19 pandemic in South America
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Argentina
    - Argentina approves a vaccine made by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca for use in the country, becoming the second country after the UK to approve this vaccine. (France 24)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Bolivia
    - Bolivia signs a deal with Russia's Russian Direct Investment Fund to secure 2.6 million Sputnik V vaccines. (Sputnik V)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Zambia, 501.V2 variant
  - Health Minister Chitalu Chilufya confirms Zambia's first case of a new variant of SARS-CoV-2 from South Africa and also confirms that a second wave of the pandemic has emerged. (Xinhua)

International relations

United States–European Union relations, Trump tariffs
- The United States announces plans to impose additional tariffs on certain products from France and Germany, particularly aircraft parts, in retaliation to tariffs imposed by the European Union on similar U.S. products this year. (AFP via The Straits Times)

Law and crime

Abortion in Argentina
- Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy Bill
  - Argentina legalizes abortion by a Senate vote of 38 to 29, with one abstention. President Alberto Fernández has indicated that he will sign the bill into law. (The New York Times)
Islam in Indonesia
- Indonesia bans any activities held by the Islamic Defenders Front, a hardline Islamic group led by the controversial cleric Muhammad Rizieq Shihab. The Coordinating Political, Legal, and Security Minister Mahfud MD says the ban is necessary because the group no longer has any legal standing as a mass organisation. (The Straits Times)

Politics and elections

Trade negotiation between the UK and the EU
- The United Kingdom's House of Commons approves the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement with the European Union by 521 votes to 73. (BBC News)
- Prime Minister Boris Johnson formally signs the agreement into law. (Sky News)
2021 Ugandan general election
- Bobi Wine, challenger to the incumbent President Yoweri Museveni who has been in office since 1986, is arrested along with his entire campaign team in the town of Kalangala. No information about the arrest has been made available. (CNN via MSN)

Science and technology

2020 in paleontology
- Scientists at the Russian Academy of Sciences announce the discovery of a "well-preserved" woolly rhinoceros carcass in Abyysky District, Sakha, Russia, which was revealed by melting permafrost in August. The Russian Academy of Sciences says that the woolly rhinoceros was likely 3 or 4 years old when it died by drowning in the river, and could be anywhere from 20,000 to 50,000 years old. (ABC News)

Sports

2020–21 Premier League, Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports
- A proposed match between Tottenham Hotspur and Fulham F.C. at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium that would have taken place in the evening is postponed due to a significant rise of COVID-19 cases in the clubs across the league. (Sky Sports)