Portal:Current events/2020 November 9

November 9, 2020 (Monday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war
- A Russian Mil Mi-24 helicopter is shot down by the Azerbaijani Armed Forces over Armenia, near the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. Russia says two crew members are killed. Azerbaijan apologizes, extends condolences, and offers to pay compensation. (BBC News)
- Artsakh officials in Nagorno-Karabakh confirm the loss of Shusha to Azeri forces. Many civilians in Shusha have fled, and fighting is closing on the region's capital, Stepanakert. (Al Jazeera)
- Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announces he has signed a deal with Azerbaijan and Russia to end the war by Tuesday morning. A Kremlin spokesman confirms the deal. Later, Azerbaijan's president Ilham Aliyev says a "trilateral agreement" has been signed. President of Russia Vladimir Putin says Russian peacekeepers will be deployed. The agreement cedes several districts to Azerbaijan, including the Lachin District. The agreement will also establish a transport corridor through Armenia, linking Azerbaijan to Nakhchivan. (Reuters)
- The peace deal is met with anger in Armenia as thousands protest against it in the capital Yerevan with some protesters storming the parliament building. (The Guardian)
- Hours after signing of the deal, Ararat Mirzoyan, the president of Armenia's National Assembly, is pulled from his car and attacked by an angry mob of protesters. (Interfax)
ISIL insurgency in Iraq
- Unidentified gunmen using grenades and automatic weapons attacked an army post in western Baghdad, killing 11 people, including soldiers. Both the military and police have launched a manhunt for the gunmen. (Al Jazeera)

Business and economy

The Dow Jones Industrial Average opens at an all-time record high – a 1,500-point surge in reaction to Pfizer's results in testing its COVID-19 vaccine. (Fox Business)
In the United States, a biannual Federal Reserve report mentions, for the first time, climate change as a risk for the stability of the financial system. (Reuters)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Albania
    - Albania announces that it will impose a second nationwide lockdown on November 11 in an attempt to curb the worsening spread of COVID-19. (Albanian Daily News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium
    - Belgium surpasses 500,000 total confirmed cases of COVID-19. (The Brussels Times)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Greece
    - Greece reports a record 41 new fatalities in the last 24 hours, raising its death toll to 825. (Ekathimerini)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Hungary
    - Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announces that a curfew will be implemented between 8:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m local time and orders restaurants and bars to close. Meanwhile, the curfew also prohibits gatherings of more than ten people, reintroduces online learning for high schools and universities, and sports events will be held only behind closed doors. The measures, which last for an initial 30 days, will be voted on in the National Assembly tomorrow and come into force on November 11. (Hungary Today)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
    - Russia reports 21,798 new infections in the past 24 hours, a new single-day record since they began, thus bringing the cumulative nationwide total to 1.79 million cases. (The Moscow Times)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine
    - President Volodymyr Zelensky and two top government officials test positive for COVID-19. (The Globe and Mail)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Iran
    - Iran reports a record 10,463 new cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total since the pandemic began to 692,949 cases. (The Jerusalem Post)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Japan
    - Hokkaido reports a record 200 new cases in the past 24 hours. (Nippon.com)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines
    - The Philippines reports 108 new deaths in the past 24 hours, its highest total since October 23, thus bringing the nationwide death toll to 7,647. (CNN Philippines)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Maine
    - Maine reports 204 new infections, a new single-day record since the pandemic began. (WGME-TV)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in New Jersey
    - Governor Phil Murphy announces new restrictions in the state amid rising cases. Restaurants and bars will be ordered to close indoor services by 10:00 p.m. local time, casinos will be closed, and high school and indoor youth sports will be suspended. The restrictions will take effect on Thursday. (Politico)
  - Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson tests positive for COVID-19. (CNBC)
  - President-elect Joe Biden announces a 12-person coronavirus task force as part of his transitional team. (The Washington Post)
  - The United States becomes the first country in the world to surpass ten million cumulative COVID-19 cases, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. (CBS News)
- COVID-19 vaccine
  - Pfizer and BioNTech say that their potential vaccine is 90% effective at preventing COVID-19 infections. (CNBC)

Law and crime

Crime in Russia
- A soldier kills an officer with an axe and then proceeds to shoot two more officers dead at a base near Voronezh, in southern Russia. The suspect has been detained and an investigation launched, though officials have said they are looking into the suspect's mental health state. (CNN)

Politics and elections

2020 United States presidential election
- President Donald Trump's re-election campaign files lawsuits in Nevada, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Georgia, alleging electoral fraud. (WEYI-TV)
Second impeachment process against Martín Vizcarra
- President of Peru Martín Vizcarra is impeached by the Congress of Peru. Manuel Merino replaces him as interim president. (The New York Times)
President Trump tweets that he has fired Secretary of Defense Mark Esper. Esper had prepared a letter of resignation in the wake of the recent presidential election. National Counterterrorism Center director Christopher C. Miller has been named acting secretary. (NBC News)
Former President of Bolivia Evo Morales returns back to his country a day after his economic minister Luis Arce was sworn in as the new President. He was forced out of the country last year following unrest over his decision to run for a third term. (NPR)