Portal:Current events/2020 October 9

October 9, 2020 (Friday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan
- Taliban insurgency
  - October 2020 Afghanistan attacks
    - The Taliban kills four Afghan soldiers and four police officers in Aliabad District, Kunduz Province. Five soldiers and two police are also injured in the attack. In Helmand Province, the Taliban kills at least three security forces and injures another three. (TOLOnews)
2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
- Armenia and Azerbaijan agree to a ceasefire in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh effective 03:00 a.m. local time, following Russian-brokered peace talks in Moscow. However, fighting continues and both sides accuse each other of violating the agreement. (BBC News)
Mali War
- Switzerland says it has been informed that a female Swiss hostage has been killed in Mali by jihadist group Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin. The exact circumstances of the killing are still unclear, according to Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis. (Reuters)
An attack leaves at least eight people dead at a camp for Rohingya people in Bangladesh. Bangladeshi authorities detain 12 people after multiple attacks, including arson and gunfire, occurred for several days. (Al Jazeera English)

Arts and culture

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the performing arts, COVID-19 pandemic in New York City
- The Broadway League announces that the Broadway theaters will remain closed through May 2021. (CNBC)

Disasters and accidents

2020 Atlantic hurricane season
- Hurricane Delta
  - Hurricane Delta makes landfall in the U.S. state of Louisiana. During its time in Louisiana, it downgraded to a Category 2 Hurricane. (CBS News)
- An explosion kills at least four people in Beirut, Lebanon. (Reuters)
Eighty-eight people are injured following an apartment fire in Ulsan, South Korea. (ABC News)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Spain
    - COVID-19 pandemic in the Community of Madrid
      - The national government imposes a 15-day state of emergency in Madrid and nine surrounding cities in an attempt to bring down COVID-19 infection rates in the capital, after a court yesterday overturned a partial lockdown imposed last week. (BBC News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in France
    - The reported number of new infections in France jumped by 20,339, a new record since the beginning of the pandemic, making the cumulative total at 691,977, according to data from the health ministry website. (France 24)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Germany
    - Chancellor Angela Merkel and mayors of 11 large cities agrees on stricter controls for urban areas exceeding the government COVID-19 threshold. She said for cities with more than 50 cases per 100,000 inhabitants over a seven-day period, which Berlin and Frankfurt already exceed that number, tighter restrictions should be implemented immediately. (DW)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Italy
    - Italy registers 5,372 new cases in the past 24 hours, which it is the first time that the country reports more than 5,000 cases since late-March, prompting fears of second wave of COVID-19 that happens in other countries in Europe. (RTÉ)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Portugal
    - Portugal reports 1,394 new daily cases, bringing the cumulative totals to 83,928 confirmed cases and 2,062 deaths. Ever since the end of national lockdown in May, this has been the ninth time that the country has registered some record increases in new cases, with all other eight records occurring since the beginning of September. (DGS)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
    - Russia reports 12,126 new cases, bringing the total number of cases to 1.27 million, according to data from health authorities. This sets a new record for daily infections surpassing the previous record on May 11, when 11,656 new cases were reported. (Anadolu Agency)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland, COVID-19 pandemic in Liechtenstein
    - The number of new cases in Switzerland and Liechtenstein increases by 1,487 in a single day, a record since the beginning of the outbreak, according to data from Switzerland's Federal Office of Public Health. (Reuters)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Northern Ireland
      - Northern Ireland reports 1,080 new cases in the last 24 hours, which become the highest daily total for the number of positive tests since the Department of Health rolled out its current testing model. (BBC News)
  - Europe reports 100,000 daily COVID-19 cases for the first time since the outbreak. (Reuters)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Nepal
    - Nepal surpass 100,000 cases of COVID-19. (Times of India)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Oman
    - It is announced that Oman will reintroduce a night-time ban on movement and enforce the overnight closure of shops and public places between October 11 and 24, in an attempt to reduce the spread of COVID-19. This new curfew will apply from 8:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. local time, and Oman's beaches will also be closed until further notice. (Arab News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Uzbekistan
    - The number of cases in Uzbekistan exceeds 60,000. (Trend News Agency)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Canada
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario
    - The government announces that bars, indoor dining, gyms, and theatres in Toronto, Ottawa, and Peel Region will close due to a rise in cases. This comes after the province recorded 939 cases. (CBC News)
- The number of confirmed cases worldwide increased over 350,000, sets a new record since the beginning of the outbreak in China, according to World Health Organization. (Voice of America)

International relations

Iran–United States relations
- In an expletive-laden interview on The Rush Limbaugh Show, U.S. President Donald Trump warns Iran, "not to fuck around" with the United States, and "if you do something bad to us, we are gonna do things to you that have never been done before". (The Hill)

Law and crime

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on religion, COVID-19 pandemic in New York
- A federal judge refuses to block New York governor Andrew Cuomo's plan to temporarily limit the size of religious gatherings in the virus hot spots. The district judge Kiyo Matsumoto issues the ruling after an emergency hearing in a lawsuit brought by rabbis and synagogues arguing that the restrictions were unconstitutional. (The New York Times)
2020 California wildfires
- Equipment from the Pacific Gas and Electric Company are seized as part of an ongoing investigation into the company’s role in the Zogg Fire. (Reuters)
George Floyd protests, 2020–2021 United States racial unrest
- Shooting of Alvin Cole
  - Police in Wauwatosa announces that tear gas has been deployed as protests against the killing of Alvin Cole has occurred for three consecutive days. (CNN)
Cannabis in the United States
- Cannabis in Vermont
  - Vermont will become the 11th state to legalize marijuana for recreational use after Governor Phil Scott said that he wouldn't veto a law passed by the state legislature. (The Hill)
Omnibus Law on Job Creation, Indonesia omnibus bill protests
- President Joko Widodo speaks about the controversy of Omnibus Law on Job Creation, which triggered demonstrations and riots in various regions across the country. Jokowi claims the demonstration against the Job Creation Law was motivated by "disinformation regarding the substance of this law and hoaxes on social media". (detikNews)
Crime in Nigeria; Capital punishment in Nigeria
- Gracious David-West, a serial killer who killed 15 women in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, between July and September 2019, is sentenced to death. (BBC News)

Politics and elections

2020 Czech Senate election
- The second round to elect a third of the Czech Republic's Senate takes place. The first round indicated an electoral victory for Prime Minister Andrej Babiš' party ANO 2011. (Foreign Brief)
2020 Nobel Peace Prize
- The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to the United Nations World Food Programme "for its efforts to combat hunger, for its contribution to bettering conditions for peace in conflict-affected areas and for acting as a driving force in efforts to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict." (CNN)
Cyprus dispute
- The self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus re-opens Varosha, Famagusta, to the public. The area was abandoned in 1974 during the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, and access is forbidden under international law imposed by the United Nations Buffer Zone in Cyprus. Russia condemns the decision, calling it "unacceptable", and Cyprus has requested the United Nations intervene to stop the re-opening. (The Guardian)
2020 United States presidential debates
- The Commission on Presidential Debates formally cancels the second presidential debate of the 2020 election, scheduled for October 15 between Donald Trump and Democratic Party nominee Joe Biden. It is the first time in U.S. history that a presidential debate has been cancelled. An alternative "virtual debate" was proposed due to health concerns after Trump tested positive for COVID-19, but was turned down by Trump. (CNN)
2020 Kyrgyzstani protests
- President Sooronbay Jeenbekov declares a state of emergency in the capital Bishkek and deploys the country's armed forces across the city following serious political unrest that came after the now-overturned 2020 elections. (CNN)
- Jeenbekov says that he is ready to resign once a new cabinet is approved. (Financial Times) (Nagaland Post)

Science and technology

Internet censorship in Pakistan, Censorship of TikTok
- Pakistan announces that it would ban Chinese app TikTok after it did not take down "immoral and indecent" content on the platform. The government kept the door open for a return of TikTok, saying "it is open for engagement" and would review its decision if TikTok develops a mechanism to moderate this content. (AP)

Sports

2020 Paris–Roubaix
- In road cycling, the organizers cancel the postponed 2020 edition of Paris–Roubaix, which was originally to be held in April, but then postponed to October 25, due to new restrictions that were announced in Lille to combat the COVID-19 pandemic in France. (Sky Sports)