Portal:Current events/2020 November 24

November 24, 2020 (Tuesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan
- November 2020 Afghanistan attacks
  - A roadside double bombing at a market in the city of Bamyan kills 17 people and wounds another 50. The Bamyan Province is considered one of the safest places in Afghanistan, and this marks the first time that such an attack has occurred there. (Tolo News)
Tigray conflict
- The Tigray People's Liberation Front forces claim that they have destroyed an Ethiopian National Defense Force division. The Ethiopian government denies this and claims that many Tigrayan fighters are surrendering as the 72-hour ultimatum previously issued by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is approaching its end and a military build-up is growing around the region's capital, Mekelle. (Reuters)
Kivu conflict
- Following a two-year trial, former Nduma Defense of Congo militia leader Ntabo Ntaberi Sheka is sentenced to life imprisonment for "murder, rape, sexual slavery and enlisting children under 15 years old" by a military court. The Nduma Defence of Congo (NDC), while under Sheka's command, allegedly raped nearly 400 people in 13 villages between July 30 and August 2, 2010. (Al Jazeera)
2020 Lugano stabbing
- Two people are wounded after being stabbed at a store in Lugano, Switzerland. The attacker is a woman with ties to jihadist terrorism. The incident is being investigated as a terror attack. (BBC News)

Business and economy

Elon Musk surpasses Bill Gates to become the second-richest person in the world, behind Jeff Bezos. (The Guardian)
The Dow Jones Industrial Average surpasses and closes above 30,000 for the first time. (ABC News) (The Sydney Morning Herald)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in North America
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Texas
      - Texas reports a record 13,998 new cases in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to more than 1.1 million. (Austin Statesman)
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Maryland
      - Montgomery County tightens their mask mandate and restricts indoor gatherings in response to an increase in cases. (The Hill)
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Oregon
      - Oregon reports 21 new deaths, a new daily record since the pandemic began. (The Oregonian)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Canada
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Alberta
      - Premier Jason Kenney announces that the province will ban indoor gatherings, suspend classes for students, and reduce retail store capacities to stop the spread of COVID-19. (CFRN-DT)
    - COVID-19 pandemic in British Columbia
      - British Columbia reports a record 941 new cases in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 28,348. (Daily Hive)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
    - COVID-19 pandemic in England, Travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic
      - Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announces that the government will reduce the length of quarantines for people who arrive in England from other countries to five days beginning December 15, if they pay for a COVID-19 test. (BBC News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in France
    - President Emmanuel Macron announces that the country will began to ease its strict lockdown measures beginning November 28, allowing shops to reopen with strict hygiene measures. If health conditions in the country continue to improve, France will lift its lockdown on December 15, allowing cinemas, theatres, and museums to reopen. (Euronews)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Italy
    - Italy reports 853 new deaths in the last 24 hours, the highest single-day total since late-March, which brings the nationwide death toll to 51,306. (ANSA)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
    - Russia reports a record 491 new deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide death toll to 37,031. (NAO24)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Spain
    - Spain reports 537 new deaths in the last 24 hours, the highest single-day total since mid-April, which brings the nationwide death toll to 43,668. (Anadolu Agency)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey
    - Turkey reports a record 7,381 new cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total to 460,916 cases. (Daily Sabah)
  - COVID-19 vaccine
    - The European Union announces that it will sign a contract to receive 160 million vaccine doses from Moderna. (AP)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong
    - The government announces that Hong Kong will close some entertainment venues such as bars, nightclubs and bathhouses from November 26 to December 2. In addition, a maximum of ten tables will be allowed in restaurants, with four people per table. These measures come as Hong Kong reports 80 new cases in the past 24 hours, the highest single-day total since August. (South China Morning Post)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Iran
    - Iran reports a record 13,721 new cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total to 880,542 cases. (The Jerusalem Post)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Japan, Travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic
    - The government announces that they will exclude Osaka and Sapporo from the "Go To Travel" domestic travel subsidy campaign for three weeks due to a rise of COVID-19 cases in the two cities. (Kyodo News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia
    - The number of new confirmed cases in Malaysia increases by a record 2,188 cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases to 58,847. Of these new cases, 1,632 of them are from Selangor, the majority being from the Teratai cluster involving factory workers. (Malay Mail)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the State of Palestine
    - Palestine reports a new single-day record of 17 deaths and 1,946 cases, bringing the nationwide totals to 87,838 cases and 740 deaths. (WAFA)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Algeria
  - Algeria reports a record 1,133 new cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total to 77,000 cases. (Xinhua)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Colombia
  - First Lady María Juliana Ruiz tests positive for COVID-19. (Vanguardia)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
  - Victoria reports zero active cases for the first time since February. (ABC Australia)

International relations

Russia–United States relations, United States and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
- Russia says its navy made a United States destroyer turn back after threatening to ram it, claiming that the destroyer violated Russia's territorial waters in the Peter the Great Gulf, "passing the maritime border by two kilometers". The U.S. navy says that their destroyer conducted a freedom of navigation operation to challenge a Russian claim "inconsistent with the rules of international law as reflected in the Law of the Sea Convention to enclose the waters of a bay". (TASS) (NBC News)

Law and crime

Opioid epidemic in the United States
- Drugmaker Purdue Pharma pleads guilty to three criminal charges and acknowledges their role in the opioid epidemic that has contributed to an increase in deaths over the past two decades. (AP) (The Week)

Politics and elections

Politics of France
- The National Assembly approves the first version of a law that would make it a crime to circulate an image of a police officer, if there is an intention to harm the officer. The government says the law is "not targeting the freedom of the press". (Reuters)
- Minister of the Interior Gerald Darmanin describes images of police brutality, at yesterday's clearing of an illegal migrant camp on the Place de la République in Paris, as "shocking" and "unacceptable". He calls for an investigation to be concluded within 48 hours. (CBS News)