Portal:Current events/2020 July 25

July 25, 2020 (Saturday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Darfur
- 2020 Darfur attacks
  - At least 20 people are killed and 22 others wounded in a mass shooting in a village in South Darfur, Sudan. (Reuters)
American-led intervention in Iraq (2014–2021)
- CJTF–OIR hands over control of Besmaya Range Complex in Baghdad Governorate, which houses Spanish troops, to Iraqi security forces. It is the seventh military base to be handed over to Iraqi forces since the beginning of the withdrawal of U.S. and coalition troops. (Xinhua)

Disasters and accidents

2020 Atlantic hurricane season
- Hurricane Hanna
  - Tropical Storm Hanna is upgraded to a hurricane and heads toward the Texas coast, threatening to bring heavy rain, storm surge and possible tornadoes. Hanna is reported as the first hurricane of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season by the U.S. National Hurricane Center. (AP)
Three people are killed when a microlight aircraft crashes into a home in Wesel, NRW, Germany. (BBC News)
Four people are killed when a small plane crashes in Blatten, Valais, Switzerland. (Il Messaggero)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong
    - Hong Kong reports a record of 133 new cases of COVID-19 for the fourth consecutive day, as well as two deaths. 126 of these cases are locally transmitted. (South China Morning Post)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea
    - South Korea reports 113 new cases of COVID-19. This is the largest one-day increase since March. Of these new cases, 86 were imported and 27 were locally transmitted. (The Japan Times)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam
    - Vietnam confirms its first case of COVID-19 community transmission in 100 days. A patient is a 57-year-old man in Da Nang who had no prior contact with any known cases. (VnExpress)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Qatar
    - Retired footballer and current coach of Al Sadd SC Xavi Hernández announces he tested positive for COVID-19. (Forbes)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in North Korea
    - Kim Jong-un convenes an emergency meeting of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, declares a state of emergency, and orders the lockdown of Kaesong after a person suspected of having COVID-19 returned from South Korea, after illegally crossing the DMZ. If confirmed, it would be the first time a case of COVID-19 has been officially acknowledged by North Korea. (Reuters)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Florida
    - Florida surpasses New York, once the epicenter of the pandemic, to hold the second highest number of COVID-19 cases in the United States, with a total 414,511 confirmed cases. (CNN)

Law and crime

George Floyd protests
- George Floyd protests in Seattle
  - Forty-five people are arrested after protesters throw explosives and rocks at police in Seattle. Other rioters set fire to a portable trailer and a construction site, police allege in a series of tweets. Twenty-one officers were injured, including one who was hospitalized with a leg injury caused by an explosive. (CNN)
- George Floyd protests in Texas
  - During an evening protest in Austin, Texas, a man is fatally shot as he approached a vehicle and the driver inside opened fire. A police spokesperson says the victim may have been carrying a rifle. She added that the suspect was detained and is cooperating with police. (AP via Dallas Morning News)

Politics and elections

2020 Central African Republic general election
- Deposed president François Bozizé announces his bid for the presidency, despite being the subject of sanctions by the United Nations and an arrest warrant, issued by the current government, for alleged crimes against humanity. The Central African Republic has been in a civil war between Muslims and Christians since he was deposed in 2013. It is not known whether the charges against him will play a role in his candidacy. (Reuters)
2020 Thai protests, LGBT rights in Thailand
- An LGBT group gathers at the Democracy Monument, Bangkok, to call for legalization of same-sex marriage in addition to the three demands stated by Free Youths. (Prachatai)
The Parliament of Somalia conducts a no-confidence vote of 170–8 to oust Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire. (Reuters)

Science and technology

Global warming
- A record high temperature of 21.7°C (71.1°F) is recorded on the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, according to the Norwegian Meteorological Institute. (Global News)