Portal:Current events/2020 October 13

October 13, 2020 (Tuesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Mali War
- 2020 Mali attacks
  - Jihadist militants killed 25 people, including 13 soldiers, in multiple attacks across central Mali. A military camp near Bandiagara is looted and burned down by the militants. (Reuters)
War in Afghanistan
- As many as 35,000 people flee their homes amid intense fighting between Taliban insurgents and Afghan troops in the southern Helmand Province. (BBC News)
2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
- Iran reports that it shot down an unidentified armed drone, which then crashed inside its Ardabil Province on the northern border with Azerbaijan. According to Iranian media, the drone probably was launched by Azerbaijan's military, then erroneously entered Iranian airspace. (Almasdar)

Business and economy

Cannabis in Rwanda
- Rwanda legalizes the production of medical cannabis for export, but the Health Ministry states that cannabis consumption of any kind in the country will remain illegal. (The East African)

Disasters and accidents

2020 Pacific typhoon season
- Around 40 people die in Vietnam and Cambodia as Tropical Storm Nangka impacts the area. Scores of others, including rescue workers, are missing. Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc orders more rescue troops to be sent to the region. (CNN)
2017 Atlantic hurricane season, Effects of Hurricane Irma in Florida
- According to a study, over 400 seniors were found dead in Florida nursing homes during Hurricane Irma. (Fox News)
2020 California wildfires
- The Zogg Fire, which killed four people and scorched more than 50,000 acres in Shasta County, California, is fully contained. (CNN)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands
    - The number of daily cases in the Netherlands surges by 7,393, which is new record high for a single day. (CGTN)
    - Authorities reports the first confirmed death from COVID-19 reinfection. It comes after an elderly woman, aged 89, who had a rare bone marrow type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, called Waldenström's macroglobulinemia, which compromised her immune system, died because of reinfection of the virus. (The Daily Telegraph) (CNN)
    - Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Health Minister Hugo de Jonge announce new restrictions, such as restarting a partial lockdown. The new measures include closing bars and restaurants, banning alcohol sales after 8:00 p.m. local time, restricting retail opening hours, and banning gatherings of more than 30 people across the country. This measure also includes making wearing cloth masks mandatory for people at least 13 years old in indoor spaces. The government says the measures will take effect tomorrow and last for at least four weeks, with a review of their impact after two weeks. (France 24)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Italy
    - Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte signs a decree that restricts private gatherings to more than six people inside homes and sets a limit of 30 guests for banquets organized after religious or civil ceremonies. It also bans parties, school trips, and informal amateur contact sports, while also ordering restaurants, bars, and ice-cream sellers to stop serving non-seated customers after 9:00 p.m. local time to avoid crowds. (The New York Times)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Poland
    - Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki goes into quarantine after making contact with a person who has tested positive for COVID-19. (Reuters)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
    - Russia reports 13,868 new daily cases, setting a new record for a single day, pushing the overall number of infections to 1,326,178. The country also reports a record rise of 244 deaths, bringing the official death toll to 22,966. (CNA)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in San Marino
    - A new decree orders a mask mandate for every outdoor space should social distancing not be guaranteed. (San Marino RTV)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia
    - The number of recoveries in Indonesia surges by a record 4,777 in the last 24 hours, increasing the overall total to 263,296 recoveries. The country also conducted a record 50,418 tests in a single day. (detikHealth)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Jordan
    - Jordan reports a record 2,054 new daily infections in the past 24 hours, pushing the nationwide total at 28,127. (Anadolu Agency)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore
    - For the first time since February, Singapore reports no new daily cases. (Bloomberg.com)
- COVID-19 vaccine
  - Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard announces the country has signed agreements with AstraZeneca for 77.4 million, COVAX for 51.57 million, CanSino Biologics for 35 million, and Pfizer for 34.4 million vaccine doses, respectively. The vaccines by Pfizer, AstraZeneca, and the COVAX plan require two doses, whereas the CanSino product requires one dose. (Reuters)
  - Pfizer announces that it has received approval from the Food and Drug Administration for vaccine trials on children at least 12 years old. The trials are expected to begin at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center in Ohio. (NPR) (New York Daily News)
- COVID-19 drug development
  - Eli Lilly and Company suspends its clinical trial of its COVID-19 treatment that explored use of its antibody drug in combination with remdesivir because of a safety concern. (The Wall Street Journal)

International relations

The United Nations General Assembly votes on a slate of new members of the Human Rights Council. The election of certain countries—China, Russia, Cuba, Pakistan, and Uzbekistan—draws strong criticism over their human rights records, including from UN Watch executive director Hillel Neuer, who described the election as "making a gang of arsonists into the fire brigade". (CBC)

Law and crime

Indonesia omnibus law protests, Omnibus Law on Job Creation
- Thousands of protesters from various organizations, including alumni of PA 212 and the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), hold "Action 1310" to protest against the Job Creation Law in Jakarta. (Nusadaily.com)
- The police arrest eight high-ranking members of the Action for Rescuing Indonesia Coalition (KAMI), including Syahganda Naingolan, because they were suspected of incitement related to the demonstration against the Omnibus Law in Jakarta and Medan on October 8. (Okezone)
- TransJakarta temporarily suspends its operational services in all areas due to demonstrations taking place in the capital against the controversial omnibus law. (CNN Indonesia)
- The People's Representative Council issues a statement regarding the Job Creation Law. Deputy Speaker Aziz Syamsuddin guarantees that there are no contraband articles in the draft law, even the parliament changes the number of pages in the law to 812 pages due to pagination being changed to legal format. The final draft of the law will be submitted to the President tomorrow. (Jawa Pos) (Kabar 24)
Gretchen Whitmer kidnapping plot
- During a federal court hearing for six suspects accused of plotting to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, an FBI agent testifies that the suspects had also discussed kidnapping Virginia Governor Ralph Northam. (USA Today)
The Cypriot Interior and Finance Ministries announce they will abolish the country's "citizenship through investment" program by November 1, after Al Jazeera released a video yesterday showing that several senior officials, such as parliament president Demetris Syllouris and fellow MP Christakis Giovanis, were willing to help criminals obtain passports through the program. Attorney General George Savvidis also announced that he will launch a criminal inquiry into the officials involved. (Al Jazeera)

Politics and elections

One-China policy
- The premier of Malaita Province in the Solomon Islands, Daniel Suidani, survives a vote of no confidence by 24–9. Suidani, an outspoken critic of the central government's decision to switch recognition from Taiwan to China, has refused to accept any aid from China since the change in policy. (RNZ)

Science and technology

Exploration of the Moon
- The U.S.-led Artemis Accords are signed by the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan, Luxembourg, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates. According to NASA, the Accords aim to establish norms of behavior between countries regarding lunar resource extraction and exploration, outline "safety zones" on the lunar surface where other countries should not interfere, and protect heritage sites on the lunar surface such as the Apollo landing sites. Successive signatories since then have been announced. (Reuters) (The Verge)
Geology of Pluto
- Scientists determine that white mountains previously discovered on Pluto during New Horizons' flyby owe their color to methane frost directly condensed from the atmosphere, rather than snow. (NPR)
As Mars lines up with Earth and the Sun, it is expected to shine at its biggest and brightest during the night. (ITV) (NBC News)
Facebook announces that it will ban ads that discourage people from getting vaccinations. (CNBC)
Apple introduces the iPhone 12 and the iPhone 12 Pro, which are the first iPhones with support for 5G networks. (USA Today)

Sports

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports
- The Portuguese Football Federation announces that Juventus and Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo has tested positive for COVID-19. (FPF) (BBC Sport)
- In golf, Dustin Johnson, who currently holds the number one position in the World Golf Rankings, has tested positive for COVID-19 and withdrawn from this week's PGA Tour event, the CJ Cup at Shadow Creek Golf Course in Las Vegas. (Antara)