Portal:Current events/2020 May 14
May 14, 2020 (Thursday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- May 2020 Afghanistan attacks
- A truck bomb explodes near a court in Gardez, Paktia, Afghanistan, killing five civilians. The Taliban claims responsibility, calling it a retaliation to statements by President Ashraf Ghani blaming the group for an attack on a maternity hospital two days ago. (Reuters)
- Insurgency in Cabo Delgado
- The government of Mozambique announces that 50 Islamist insurgents have been killed in recent operations in Cabo Delgado Province. (Reuters)
- Second Libyan Civil War
- NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says the military alliance is "ready to support" the UN-recognized Government of National Accord. (Libya Observer)
- Greece, a member state of NATO, strongly criticizes Stoltenberg's remarks, saying his recognition of the "Muslim Brotherhood government" does not reflect the positions of the military alliance. (Greek Reporter)
- Colombian conflict
- An air force raid kills a senior National Liberation Army (ELN) commander and three others in a rural area of Bolívar. (Reuters)
- Gunmen opened fire against two social workers delivering aid for people amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Van Province, Turkey, killing them at the scene. (Xinhua)
Arts and culture
- The Vatican announces that Pope Francis is sending a donation to Lebanon for 400 scholarships in an expression of his concern for the country’s young people. Lebanon is experiencing a “severe crisis” that is robbing younger generations of hope. (Catholic News Agency)
Business and economy
- Equinor, a multinational oil company two-thirds owned by the government of Norway, rejected a group of environmental and climate change-related resolutions at its shareholders meeting. One of these called on Equinor to stop oil exploration in ecologically sensitive areas. (Reuters)
- The New York Stock Exchange is expected to partially reopen following Memorial Day. (Forbes)
Disasters and accidents
- 2020 Pacific typhoon season
- Typhoon Vongfong makes landfall in the Philippines. (CNN)
- The Cathedral Church of St Peter and St Paul in Sheffield, England, suffers damage due to a fire. There were no injuries. A 40-year-old woman has been arrested and charged with arson, burglary and assault of an emergency worker. (BBC News)
Health and environment
- COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
- COVID-19 pandemic in New Jersey
- Governor Phil Murphy announces that their beaches will reopen for Memorial Day, but with restrictions. (Politico)
- COVID-19 pandemic in New Jersey
- COVID-19 pandemic in Yemen
- Save the Children reports a surge in deaths of people with coronavirus-like symptoms in Aden, with at least 380 in the last week. Officially, Yemen has only reported 13 COVID-19 deaths. (BBC News)
- COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China
- China marks a month without announcing new deaths. (ABC News)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Seychelles
- The Seychelles bans cruise ships until the end of 2021 effective immediately, amid fears over COVID-19. (NPR)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
International relations
- China–United States relations
- The U.S. Senate unanimously passes a bill placing visa and property sanctions on Chinese officials involved in the persecution of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang. (Al Jazeera)
Politics and elections
- COVID-19 pandemic in Burundi
- Burundi expels the country's top World Health Organization representative and three other experts coordinating the COVID-19 response. The government says they are persona non grata and must leave Burundi. They accused them of "interfering with the government response to the pandemic". (Al Jazeera)
Science and technology
- UFO sightings in the United States
- The United States Navy's Naval Safety Center discloses "hazard reports" of Navy pilot encounters with unidentified aerial phenomena, including an incident in March 2014, in which a fighter jet pilot encountered an "unknown aircraft", which was "approximately the size of a suitcase, and silver in colour." (Sky News)