Portal:Current events/2020 October 26

October 26, 2020 (2020-10-26) (Monday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Syrian civil war
  • A Russian airstrike on a camp run by rebels of the Sham Legion in Kafr Takharim kills at least 35, according to a rebel source. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) puts the death toll at 78. (Reuters)
• 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
  • A humanitarian ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh breaks down shortly after coming into effect, with both Armenia and Azerbaijan blaming each other for violating the truce. (Al Jazeera)

Business and economy

• Chinese financial technology firm Ant Group debuts on the Hong Kong and Shanghai Stock Exchanges, with its IPO worth up to US$34.4 billion. This surpasses Saudi Aramco, whose IPO was worth US$29.4 billion, as the strongest debut on a stock exchange. Jack Ma, whose company Alibaba Group is backing the debut, is expected to become the richest man in China as a result. (BBC News)

Disasters and accidents

• 2020 California wildfires
  • Fast-moving fires around Orange County, California, United States, force over 70,000 residents to evacuate. Two firefighters are critically injured while battling the blazes. (AP)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia
      • Malaysia reports 1,240 new cases, the highest number of infections since the pandemic began in March. The country's cumulative total stands at 27,805. Of those new cases, 927 are from Sabah. (The New Straits Times)
      • Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob announces that the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) in Putrajaya, Kuala Lumpur, and Selangor will be extended until November 9. (Mashable)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China
      • China reports 137 asymptomatic cases during a drive to test 4.75 million people in Kashgar. It is the highest number of asymptomatic infections in nearly seven months following the discovery of a cluster of cases linked to a garment factory in Xinjiang. (Anadolu Agency)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the Czech Republic
      • The government announces that they will impose a curfew between 9:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. local time beginning October 28 and ban Sunday shopping in order to curb the surge of COVID-19 cases. Shops that sell essential goods will have to close on weekdays at 8:00 p.m. local time and on Sundays. (Radio Prague International)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands
      • The Netherlands surpasses 300,000 COVID-19 cases after a record 10,353 new cases were reported by the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) in the past 24 hours. (NRC)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
      • Russia's number of new COVID-19 cases surges to a record high of 17,347, putting the nationwide total at 1,531,224. (Reuters)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
    • Victoria reports no new cases for the first time since June 9. (ABC Australia)
    • Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews announces the easing of restrictions on pubs, restaurants, religious gatherings, gyms and indoor swimming pools, accommodations, and other facilities in Melbourne effective tomorrow at 11:59 p.m. AEDT. (Premier of Victoria)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Canada
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Alberta
      • Alberta imposes restrictions to limit most social gatherings to 15 people in Edmonton and Calgary after the province reported record cases. (CBC)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in British Columbia
      • British Columbia reports a record 817 new cases over the weekend, including 317 new cases on Saturday, 293 on Sunday, and 207 on Monday. As a result, the provincial health officer Bonnie Henry announces plans to limit gatherings in private homes to no more than immediate household plus your “safe six," which refers to the six additional people in a household’s bubble. (Global News)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Quebec
      • Premier François Legault announces that restrictions in COVID-19 red zones are being extended until November 23. (Montreal Gazette)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
    • COVID-19 pandemic in New Jersey
      • Newark Mayor Ras Baraka imposes a curfew on non-essential businesses in the city at 8 p.m. ET except grocery stores, pharmacies and gas stations as COVID-19 cases in New Jersey continue to increase. (WPIX 11)

International relations

• France–Turkey relations, aftermath of the murder of Samuel Paty
  • Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan calls on all Turks and the Muslim world to boycott France over French President Emmanuel Macron's crackdown on radical Islam in French society. Erdoğan says Muslims in France are now "subjected to a lynch campaign similar to that against Jews in Europe before World War II". The leaders of Germany, Italy and the Netherlands condemn Erdoğan's comments and declare their support for France. (BBC News)
• Japan rejects the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons after all nuclear powers boycott the treaty. This rejection happened days after the United Nations said there was enough signatories for it to go into effect and following pressure from atomic bomb survivors to adopt it. Japan states it is unrealistic to pursue the treaty with both nuclear and non-nuclear states being sharply divided over it, and instead the country will serve as a bridge to narrow the gap between the two sides. (ABC News)

Law and crime

• Three men are killed in a murder–suicide at a farm located in Kanturk, County Cork, Ireland. (RTE)
• U.S. Supreme Court, Amy Coney Barrett Supreme Court nomination
  • Amy Coney Barrett is confirmed by a vote of 52–48 in the United States Senate and is sworn in as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court by Associate Justice Clarence Thomas. She is expected to take the second of two necessary oaths and fully become a Justice on October 27. (NPR)
• Mass shootings in the United States
  • Two people are killed and eight others injured in a mass shooting at a post-funeral gathering in Greenwood, Mississippi. Police believe the shooter used an AR-15 style rifle, but no suspects are in custody. (USA Today)
• Protests over responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, COVID-19 pandemic in Italy
  • Demonstrations take place across dozens of cities in Italy against the new restrictions to curb the second wave of COVID-19. The protests in Milan, Turin, and Trieste turn violent, where petrol bombs were thrown at officers. Twenty-eight people are arrested in Milan. In Naples the protests continue for the fourth day. (The Washington Post)
• Gretchen Whitmer kidnapping plot
  • Federal prosecutors announce the discovery of ghost guns and "explosive device components", which raises the possibility of them filing terrorism charges against six suspects accused of plotting to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. (The Detroit News) (Michigan Live)

Politics and elections

• 2020 Chilean national referendum
  • 78% of the voters approve the process to draft a new Constitution, replacing the one established during the Pinochet dictatorship. (BBC News)
  • A constituent assembly will be elected in April 2021 after 79% of the voters in the referendum chose this option to write the new Constitution. (Financial Times)
• 2020 Lithuanian parliamentary election
  • Preliminary results show the opposition Homeland Union winning the most seats in parliament, thus making a change of government highly realistic. (Politico)

Science and technology

• Lunar water
  • NASA confirms water has been spotted on the sunlit surface of the moon. (Fox News)

Sports

• Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports
  • AC Milan announces that goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and winger Jens Petter Hauge have tested positive for COVID-19 three days after playing against Celtic in the UEFA Europa League. The club also said that three other members of the team have gone into isolation after testing positive. (BBC Sport)

Month

October 2020

Previous day

October 25

Next day

October 27