Portal:Current events/2020 November 13

November 13, 2020 (Friday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan
- November 2020 Afghanistan attacks
  - A car bombing leaves at least four soldiers dead and five others injured in Paghman District, Kabul Province. (TOLOnews)
Tigray military intervention
- The United Nations says that war crimes might have been committed in the Tigray Region in Ethiopia. (NBC News)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in India
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Delhi
      - Delhi reports 104 new fatalities on Thursday, the highest single-day figure since the beginning of the pandemic and pushing the overall death toll to 7,332. (The New Indian Express)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia, COVID-19 vaccine
    - Indonesia reports a record 5,444 new cases in the past 24 hours, taking the nationwide total to 457,735 cases. Central Java reports the highest number than any other provinces, with 1,362 cases. (detikHealth)
    - President Joko Widodo informs that the country has sought emergency authorization to start a mass vaccination programme by the end of the year using CoronaVac and the Sinopharm vaccine. He also said that health workers, police and military will be the first to receive the vaccine. (Reuters)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China
    - China's General Administration of Customs suspends seafood imports from Basu International for one week after it detects COVID-19 infection on the outer packaging of the frozen cuttlefish. (The Times of India)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea
    - South Korea begins to fine people and operators who fail to wear masks in public. In the new rules, people caught without masks in public venues face fines of up to 100,000 won (US$90), while the operators of those places face fines of up to three million won. (The Japan Times)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Germany
    - The number of new confirmed cases in Germany surges to a record 23,542 cases over the past 24 hours, according to data from Robert Koch Institute. (Zeit Online)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Italy
    - The number of new confirmed cases in Italy surges to a record of 40,902 cases, pushing the nationwide total to 1.1 million cases as the government designate Tuscany and Campania regions to high-risk “red zones”. (ANSA)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Portugal
    - Portugal surpasses 200,000 cumulative cases of COVID-19. (DGS)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
    - Russia reports a record 21,983 new cases in the past 24 hours, pushing the cumulative case total since the start of the pandemic to 1.88 million cases. (The Moscow Times)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden
    - Sweden, whose government took a lighter approach to the pandemic, including not enforcing lockdowns, reports 5,990 new cases, a new single-day record that pushes the nationwide cumulative case total at 177,395. (Dagensvimmerby)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland; COVID-19 vaccine
    - Switzerland begins reviews of Moderna's potential vaccine candidate. (Reuters)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Oceania
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
    - Prime Minister Scott Morrison announces that all states and territories in Australia will reopen their borders by Christmas, with the exception of Western Australia. (9 News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand
    - The Auckland CBD reopens after contact tracing of a new case revealed it was linked to a known case from a border isolation facility, reversing an earlier call for people to work from home. (RNZ)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Michigan
    - Michigan reports 8,516 new cases, a new single-day record. (WDIV-TV)
- COVID-19 pandemic on cruise ships
  - SeaDream Yacht Club halts a cruise in the Caribbean after several passengers test positive for COVID-19. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Legality of cannabis
- Cannabis in Israel
  - Justice Minister Avi Nissenkorn announces that Israel will begin a nine-month process to legalise and regulate recreational use of cannabis. (The Jerusalem Post)
Corruption in South Africa
- Ace Magashule, a top official of the African National Congress, is expected to face 21 charges of corruption in Bloemfontein. (ABC News)

Politics and elections

2020 Belarusian protests
- Protesters gather in Belarus to mourn the death of 31-year-old protester Raman Bandarenka, who died in a hospital in Minsk after being beaten by security forces. (ABC News)

Sports

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports
- Egyptian Football Association announces that Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah tests positive for the COVID-19 on the eve of Egypt’s 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Togo. (Al Jazeera)