Portal:Current events/2020 October 16

October 16, 2020 (2020-10-16) (Friday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• War in Afghanistan
  • Afghan peace process
    • The Taliban says that it plans to suspend attacks in southern Afghanistan if the United States promises to halt all strikes and night raids in keeping with the peace agreement signed in February. (San Francisco Chronicle)
  • Withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan
    • National Security Advisor Robert C. O'Brien says that the Trump administration plans to lower the troop level in Afghanistan by early 2021. (CNBC)
• Gunmen attack a military base in Kindia, Guinea, about 85 km (53 mi) outside of the capital Conakry, killing the camp's commander, according to a statement released by the defence ministry. A prison in the city is also attacked, wounding an official and allowing several inmates to escape. The attacks come two days before the general elections. (Reuters)
• A history teacher is stabbed in the throat and decapitated in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, Île-de-France, according to police, who shoot and kill the alleged attacker. The French anti-terrorism prosecutor investigates the incident, which is described by President Emmanuel Macron as an "Islamist attack". The victim is believed to have shown caricatures of Islamic prophet Muhammad to his students during a lesson. (The Independent) (CNN)

Disasters and accidents

• 2020 Colorado wildfires
  • The Cameron Peak Fire grows into 167,153 acres and become the largest wildfire in Colorado, surpassing the Pine Gulch Fire. (The Hill)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium
      • The federal government closes all bars and restaurants for four weeks, imposes a nationwide curfew between midnight and 5:00 am local time, bans alcohol sales after 8:00 pm local time, sets telework as a rule, and reduces people's "social bubble", their number of close social contacts outside a household, to one in an attempt to curb the COVID-19 pandemic. (Le Soir)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Bulgaria
      • Bulgaria reports 914 new cases in the past 24 hours, the seventh time in the past ten days that the country has set a new record. (The Sofia Globe)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Croatia
      • Croatia reports 1,131 new cases in the past 24 hours, a new record for the third day in a row. (koronavirus.hr)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the Czech Republic
      • The Czech Republic reports a record 9,721 new cases in the past 24 hours, a new record for two days in a row, according to data from the Health Ministry. (The Daily Telegraph)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Germany
      • With 7,334 new infections reported in the last 24 hours, Germany sets a new record of daily cases for the second day in a row since the start of the outbreak, according to official figures released by the Robert Koch Institute. (Anadolu Agency)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Malta
      • Malta orders clubs, bars, and places of entertainment to close at 11 pm local time effective October 19, as the country makes mandatory the wearing of face masks in public in an attempt to reduce the spread of COVID-19. (Swiss Info)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Poland
      • Poland reports 132 new deaths, a record increase since the outbreak began, amid fears the pandemic is testing the country's supply of hospital beds and ventilators. (Reuters)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Portugal
      • Portugal reports 2,608 new daily cases, its highest daily increase yet, bringing the cumulative count to 95,902 confirmed cases. (DGS)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
      • Russia reports 15,150 new cases in the past 24 hours, a new daily record since the start of the pandemic as authorities grapple with the onset of a second wave. This is the first time that the country has reported more than 15,000 cases in a single day. (The Moscow Times)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Slovakia
      • Slovakia reports 2,075 new cases in the past 24 hours, a new record for the second day in a row. (spectator.sme.sk)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland, COVID-19 pandemic in Liechtenstein
      • Switzerland reports 3,105 new cases, the highest record number in a single day since the pandemic began, thus taking the total to 74,442 confirmed cases in Switzerland and Liechtenstein as the second wave of the pandemic grips the country. (Reuters)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Nebraska
      • Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts announces new restrictions amid rising cases and hospitalizations in the state. Indoor gatherings will be reduced from a capacity of 75% to 50%, people at bars and restaurants must remain seated with no more than eight people on tables, and table sizes for weddings and funerals must be limited to no more than eight people. The restrictions will go into effect on Wednesday. (The News & Observer)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Wisconsin
      • The Department of Health Services (DHS) reports that 3,861 people in Wisconsin have tested positive in the last 24 hours, the highest number since the beginning of the pandemic. The positivity rate of 26.47% of the 14,586 tests received is the highest positivity for any day with more than 10,000 tests. (WBAY)
    • Pfizer says that it will not seek emergency approval for its COVID-19 vaccine until after the upcoming election. (Politico)
    • The United States Department of Health and Human Services and the Trump administration announce a deal with Walgreens and CVS to provide COVID-19 vaccines to the elderly and staff in nursing homes. (CNBC)
    • The United States surpasses eight million COVID-19 cases. (The Wall Street Journal)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Oceania
    • Wallis and Futuna reports its first case of infection by SARS-CoV-2. The individual, who arrived on October 3, and later tested positive, is asymptomatic and in isolation in a hospital. The territory was the only French-administered region free of COVID-19 until today. (RNZ)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Azerbaijan
    • Azerbaijan announces that it will suspend secondary school classes and the use of Baku's metro system between October 19 and November 2 in an attempt to curb the spread of COVID-19. (National Post)

International relations

• Nuclear arms race, Russia–United States relations
  • President of Russia Vladimir Putin proposes to extend New START, the last major nuclear arms treaty standing between both Russia and the United States, "without any pre-conditions at least for one year to have an opportunity to conduct substantial negotiations". (PTI via Deccan Herald)

Law and crime

• COVID-19 pandemic in Germany
  • A Berlin court suspends an order to close bars and restaurants between 11 pm and 6 am local time in an attempt to tackle surging numbers of COVID-19 in the city as the court considers it disproportionate in the view of other measures taken to fight the pandemic. (TheJournal.ie)
• 2020 Thai protests
  • Two activists in Thailand are arrested on charges of attempting violence against the Queen. Bunkueanun "Francis" Paothong and Ekachai Hongkangwan are set to be charged under Section 110 of Thailand's criminal code and could result in a possible life sentence. (CNN)

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