Portal:Current events/2020 October 26

October 26, 2020 (Monday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian civil war
- A Russian airstrike on a camp ran by rebels of the Sham Legion in Kafr Takharim kills at least 20, according to a monitor and a rebel source. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) puts the death toll at 56. (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)

Disasters and accidents

2020 California wildfires
- Fast-moving fires around Orange County, California, United States, force over 70,000 residents to evacuate and critically injures two firefighters. (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 Czech government announces that they will impose a curfew between 9:00 pm to 5:00 am 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 pm 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, taking the nationwide total to 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 pm AEDT. (Premier of Victoria)

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 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)
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 shooting at a farm in Kanturk, County Cork, Ireland. (RTE)

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)
- 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 Europa League. The club also said that three other members of have also gone into isolation after testing positive. (BBC)