Portal:Current events/2020 November 19

November 19, 2020 (Thursday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Tigray conflict
- Federal troops seize the town of Shire Inda Selassie from the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) as government forces advance on the Tigray Region's capital Mekelle. There are conflicting reports of the status of Axum, with both sides claiming to control the town. TPLF leader Debretsion Gebremichael says his forces will never surrender and calls on all Tigrayans, including children, to mobilize and take up arms. (BBC News) (Reuters)
- Thousands of more people flee into Sudan from Ethiopia's Tigray Region, according to international aid workers. (The Guardian)
War in Afghanistan, Australian involvement in the War in Afghanistan
- The Australian Defence Force's special report into war crimes in Afghanistan is released to the public, revealing that 39 civilians and prisoners had been killed unlawfully by special forces since 2001. Chief of the Defence Force Angus Campbell issues an apology to the Afghan people and promises significant reform. (The Guardian)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in North America
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
    - COVID-19 pandemic in California
      - Los Angeles County reports 5,031 new cases, the highest single-day total since the pandemic began. (Los Angeles Times)
      - Governor Gavin Newsom orders a curfew (limited stay-at-home order) for all 41 counties in the purple tier of the state's Blueprint for a Safer Economy reopening system; these counties include more than 90% of the state population. The order will be in effect from 10:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. PST beginning November 21. (KABC-TV)
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Maryland
      - Maryland reports a record 2,910 new cases in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases since the beginning of the pandemic to 174,733. (WJZ-TV)
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Ohio
      - Franklin County, Ohio is elevated to the state's purple-level amid COVID-19 concerns, becoming the first county in the state to do so. (WKRC-TV)
      - Miami Valley Gaming announces that they will change their operating hours due to the statewide curfew imposed by Governor Mike DeWine. (Dayton Daily News)
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Pennsylvania
      - Pennsylvania reports a record 7,126 new cases in the last 24 hours, surpassing 7,000 new cases for the first time since the pandemic began. (WCAU-TV)
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Texas
      - Texas reports a record 12,293 new cases in the last 24 hours. Meanwhile, there are 147,030 active COVID-19 cases across the state. (Patch.com)
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Utah
      - Utah Governor Gary Herbert issues a new public health order that will no longer require Utahns to limit social gatherings to only people in their households on Thanksgiving, even as the state reports a record 3,968 new cases in the last 24 hours. (The Salt Lake Tribune)
    - A record 185,759 new cases are reported in the United States, according to Johns Hopkins University. (CNN)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Canada
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Alberta
      - Alberta reports a record 1,105 new cases in the last 24 hours, bringing the total cases in the province to 42,797 cases. (Edmonton Journal)
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Manitoba
      - Manitoba is expected to tighten their restrictions on stores and social gatherings in an effort to stop the spread of COVID-19. (Toronto Star)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico
    - Mexico exceeds 100,000 deaths, becoming the fourth country to do so after Brazil, the United States, and India. (The Washington Post)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Denmark
    - Cluster 5
      - The health ministry stated that a new, mutated strain of the coronavirus stemming from mink farms in the country is "most likely" extinct, amid fears that the new strain could compromise COVID-19 vaccines. (France 24)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Northern Ireland
      - The Northern Ireland Executive agrees to implement a two-week tougher lockdown beginning November 27. All non-essential retail, close contact services, places of worship and cafés will close after being allowed to reopen tomorrow. (ITV)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
    - Russia surpasses two million total COVID-19 cases after a record 23,610 new cases are reported. It also reports a record 463 new fatalities in the last 24 hours. (The Moscow Times)
    - Russia resumes the vaccination of new volunteers in an trial for its flagship Sputnik V vaccine after a short pause at the end of October. (Reuters)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Greece, COVID-19 pandemic in Albania
    - The Greek government announces a closure of its border crossing with Albania in Krystallopigi beginning tomorrow morning and will also test all people entering the country through its land borders as part of efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19. (Ekathimerini)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Ireland
    - The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine recommends the owners of three mink farms in Ireland to cull their mink to halt the potential spread of a mutated form of the coronavirus. (RTE)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Poland
    - Poland reports a record of 637 new fatalities in the last 24 hours, bringing the nationwide death toll in the country to 12,088. (Poland In)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine
    - Ukraine reports a record 257 new fatalities and 13,357 new cases in the past 24 hours, taking the nationwide death toll to 10,369 and the total number of cases to 583,510. (U.S. News & World Report)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Japan
    - The Tokyo Metropolitan Government reports a new single-day record of 534 new cases and raise its virus alert in the prefecture to the highest of four levels for the first time since September, indicating that "infections are spreading". (Bloomberg)
    - Japan reports a record 2,388 new cases, according to official figures. It comes as the country is on "maximum alert" and many prefectures such as Osaka, Aichi, and Hokkaido report record numbers of new cases. (The Straits Times) (Nippon.com)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines
    - President Rodrigo Duterte agrees to provide an advance payment to pharmaceutical companies developing a COVID-19 vaccine in order to secure millions of vaccines. (Rappler)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea
    - The number of new confirmed cases in South Korea reaches a three-month high of 343 cases, bringing the nationwide total to 29,654 cases, according to data from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. (Yonhap News Agency)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Oceania
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
    - Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews announces a closure of the state's border with South Australia for 48 hours beginning at 11:59 p.m. AEDT tonight. The "hard border" between the two states will be replaced by a permit system beginning at midnight on November 21. (ABC Australia)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the Marshall Islands
    - Just days after announcing that the country was free of COVID-19 again after two infected people recovered, the Marshall Islands reports three new cases from a repatriation flight of Marshallese citizens in Hawaii. (RNZ)
- COVID-19 vaccine
  - AstraZeneca’s vaccine candidate shows promise in older adults. Late-stage trials are expected to be released by Christmas. (Los Angeles Times)

International relations

Israel–United States relations, Palestine–United States relations, Syria–United States relations
- Mike Pompeo visits settlements in the Israeli-occupied territories of West Bank and Golan Heights, making him the first United States Secretary of State to do so. (NBC News)

Law and crime

George Floyd protests, 2020–2021 United States racial unrest
- George Floyd protests in Chicago
  - A lawsuit is filed against the Chicago Police Department, accusing them of brutally attacking and falsely arresting protesters during demonstrations against the killing of George Floyd. (ABC News)
At least 19 people are killed in Uganda during protests triggered by the arrest of presidential candidate Bobi Wine. (The Guardian)

Politics and elections

2020 United States presidential election
- President-elect Joe Biden wins Georgia, after the state completed its hand recount, making him the first Democrat to win the state since Bill Clinton in 1992. (CBS News)

Science and technology

Citing safety concerns, the National Science Foundation announces that the 57-year-old Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico will be decommissioned. Earlier this month, a second cable supporting the 900-ton instrument platform snapped. The platform is suspended 450 feet (137 meters) above the fixed radio dish, which is 1,000 feet (305 meters) in diameter. (NSF)