Portal:Current events/2020 October 19

October 19, 2020 (Monday)

Arts and culture

2020 in archaeology
- The Tourism and Antiquities Ministry of Egypt states that they have discovered ancient coffins at the necropolis in Saqqara. (The Washington Post)

Disasters and accidents

2020 Atlantic hurricane season
- Tropical Storm Epsilon forms in the Atlantic Ocean and is expected to bring storm-force winds to Bermuda later this week. (The Royal Gazette)
A magnitude 7.5 earthquake strikes the Alaska Peninsula, prompting tsunami warnings. (CNBC)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Wales, COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns
      - First Minister Mark Drakeford announces that Wales will introduce a "firebreak" lockdown, which will require anyone to stay home between October 23 and November 9. Under those rules, pubs, restaurants, hotels, and non-essential businesses must close; primary schools will reopen after the half-term break, but only seventh and eighth years in secondary schools can return at that time under the new "firebreak" rules. In addition, gathering with people from other households indoors or outdoors will be banned. (BBC News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
    - Russia's new cases surge to a new record high of 15,982 in the last 24 hours, including 5,376 in Moscow, pushing the case total to 1,415,316. (Reuters)
    - It is announced that the first results of Russia's clinical trial for its Sputnik V vaccine will include data from 5,000 to 10,000 people. (Reuters)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Austria
    - Chancellor Sebastian Kurz announces that private gatherings of more than six people indoors and twelve people outdoors will be banned in Austria from October 23, in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19. (Dpa international)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Ireland, COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns
    - Taoiseach Micheál Martin announces that Ireland will move to Level Five for a period of six weeks. The new restrictions will take effect at midnight on October 21 and remain in place until December 1. Under Level Five restrictions, non-essential business will close, people will only be able to exercise within 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) of their homes except for essential reasons, and no social or family gatherings are allowed in homes or gardens. However, schools and creches are to remain open, and elite sporting events can take place. (Gov.ie) (ITV)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Slovenia
    - The government formally declares 30-day nationwide "state of epidemic" (known overseas as state of emergency) starting today. There are no changes for employees, students and others, but 9:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. local time curfew will be imposed tomorrow. The decree also limits gatherings to six people and movement among regions unless for essential or emergency reasons will be banned. (Government of Slovenia) (Barrons)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Spain
    - The President of Navarra, María Chivite, announces a perimetral lockdown of the region, closing bars and restaurants, and limiting gatherings to cohabiting people, starting on Thursday and lasting for 15 days. In the last two weeks, Navarra has experienced a cumulative incidence of more than 900 per 100,000 inhabitants. (eldiario.es)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Iran
  - Iran reports 337 new deaths in the previous 24 hours, a new record of deaths since the beginning of the pandemic, pushing the death toll in the country to 30,712. (CNA)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Argentina
  - Argentina surpasses one million cases of COVID-19, becoming the fifth country to do so after the United States, India, Brazil, and Russia. (BBC News)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Canada
  - Canada surpasses 200,000 cases of COVID-19. (CTV News)
- COVID-19 vaccine, COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil
  - Sinovac Biotech's CoronaVac appears to be safe in providing protection against COVID-19, as preliminary results of Phase III clinical trial in Brazil show. São Paulo's Instituto Butantan, one of Brazil's leading biomedical research centres carrying out the trials, says CoronaVac proved to be safe after its two doses were applied to 9,000 volunteers, but said data on how effective it is in protecting people against COVID-19 will not be released until it has been tested on all 15,000 volunteers in newly expanded trials. (South China Morning Post)
- The total number of worldwide confirmed COVID-19 cases surpasses 40 million. The United States remains the global leader in case numbers, accounting for 20% of all cumulative cases, with India closely following at 19%. (The Guardian)

International relations

Sudan–United States relations
- U.S. President Donald Trump announces that the U.S. will remove Sudan from the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism after Sudan deposits US$335 million in a fund to compensate families of American victims of the 1998 United States embassy bombings. Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok thanks the U.S. government for the decision. The United States Congress would still have to approve restoring Sudan's sovereign immunity. (Reuters)
Japan–Vietnam relations
- Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga says that the country has agreed with Vietnam to boost its defense ties and resume flights amid Chinese influence in the regions. (AP)

Law and crime

Trial of Catalonia independence leaders
- The High Court of Justice of Catalonia sentences former members of the Bureau of Catalan Parliament Ramona Barrufet, Lluís Corominas, Lluís Guinó, and Anna Simó to 20 months of disqualification and a €30,000 fine for disobeying the court when this body warned them of the illegality involved in the processing of the disconnection and self-determination referendum laws in 2017 and acting against the prohibition of the Constitutional Court of Spain. (La Vanguardia) (El Periódico)
The United States Department of Justice announces charges against six current and former Russian military officers for allegedly attempting to engage in malware and hacking in the 2018 Winter Olympics and elections in other countries. (ABC News)
A court denies an appeal from British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell regarding the release of her 2016 deposition. (Bloomberg.com)

Politics and elections

2020 Bolivian general election
- Exit polls show Luis Arce of the MAS party winning a historic landslide. (The Washington Post)