Portal:Current events/2020 October 31

October 31, 2020 (Saturday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, Armenia–Russia relations
- Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan formally requests "urgent consultations on providing security" to Russian President Vladimir Putin amid its escalating conflict with Azerbaijan in disputed Nagorno-Karabakh that has left thousands dead. Russia says it would provide "necessary" assistance to Armenia without alluding further. (France 24)
- Videos emerge allegedly showing Azerbaijani Armed Forces using white phosphorus munitions on forested areas in Nagorno-Karabakh, although Azerbaijan's Ministry of Defence denies the use of white phosphorus. (TASS) (Al Masdar News)
Kivu conflict; Allied Democratic Forces insurgency
- 2020 Democratic Republic of the Congo attacks
  - Allied Democratic Forces militants kills 21 civilians in an attack on a village in the village of Lisasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. More people were kidnapped, a health centre was ransacked, while homes were set on fire and a Catholic church desecrated. (Al Jazeera)
Iraqi insurgency
- Two children are killed and 28 wounded in a bombing targeting a gas pipeline in Muthanna Governorate, Iraq. It is the second time this week that an oil facility has been targeted. (Al Arabiya English)
2020 Nigeria hostage rescue
- SEAL Team Six conducts a predawn raid in northern Nigeria, rescuing American hostage Philip Walton, who was kidnapped in Niger. The Pentagon says no U.S. military personnel were injured in the operation. (CBS News)

Disasters and accidents

2020 Pacific typhoon season
- Typhoon Goni
  - Philippine authorities in Luzon order the evacuation of thousands as Goni approaches as a category 5 storm, the world's strongest this year. Ten people are killed by the typhoon. (Reuters)
2020 Aegean Sea earthquake
- The death toll of the earthquake that struck Greece and Turkey yesterday rises to 39, as 17 more people are found dead in Izmir. Rescue teams in the city are hunting through the rubble of collapsed buildings for survivors. (CNN)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
    - COVID-19 pandemic in England
      - Prime Minister Boris Johnson announces a month-long nationwide lockdown in England. The new rules are to come into effect at midnight on November 5 and will last until December 2. However, unlike the first lockdown in March, schools, colleges and universities can stay open and major sporting events will go ahead as normal. (BBC News)
    - The United Kingdom surpasses one million cases of COVID-19. (Sky News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Austria, COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns
    - Chancellor Sebastian Kurz announces a "second lockdown" that orders bars and restaurants to close except for deliveries and takeout and imposes a nighttime curfew from 8:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. local time beginning November 2 and lasting for four weeks. (OE24)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Germany
    - Germany reports a record 19,059 new cases and surpasses 500,000 cumulative cases, according to data from the Robert Koch Institute, making it the fourth consecutive time the country sets a new record of daily infections. (The Times of India)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Greece, COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns
    - Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis declares a one-month partial lockdown in Athens and other major cities beginning next week. Under the rules, restaurants, bars and gyms would be closed beginning November 3. However, in contrast to the first lockdown, travel within the country will not be affected and schools and shops will remain open. In the rest of the country, masks will become mandatory and a curfew will be imposed from midnight to 5:00 a.m. local time. (Ekathimerini)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Hungary
    - The number of new infections in Hungary surges by a record 3,908 in the last 24 hours, bringing the nationwide cases total to 75,321. (Daily News Hungary)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Italy
    - Italy reports 31,758 new cases in the past 24 hours, a new single-day record since the pandemic began. (Reuters)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Poland
    - Poland reports a record 21,897 new cases, bringing the total number of cases since the beginning of the pandemic to 362,731. (Poland In)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Portugal
    - Portuguese government reimposes a partial lockdown from 4 November affecting the 70% of the national territory. (BBC News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine
    - Ukraine reports a record 8,752 new infections in the last 24 hours, raising its cumulative case total to 387,481. (Kyiv Post)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Michigan
    - Michigan reports 3,792 new cases, a new single-day record. (WDIV-TV)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in New York (state)
    - Governor Andrew Cuomo announces that travelers outside of the New York metro area will be required to undergo mandatory testing. (New York Daily News) (WNBC-TV)
  - A study by Stanford University reports over 30,000 new cases and 700 deaths from COVID-19 have been linked to President Donald Trump's campaign rallies. (Los Angeles Times)
Environmental dumping
- Sri Lanka begins shipping back 242 containers of hazardous waste to the United Kingdom, after a Sri Lankan court ruled two weeks ago that their importation violated local and international shipping regulations. (Bangkok Post)

Law and crime

2020 Lyon shooting
- A Greek Orthodox priest is critically wounded after being shot twice while closing his church in Lyon, France. The attacker fled the scene. The victim, a Greek national, is being treated for life-threatening injuries. (BBC News)
2020–2021 United States racial unrest
- Kenosha unrest, Kenosha unrest shooting, George Floyd protests
  - Illinois authorities announce that Kyle Rittenhouse, the 17-year-old boy accused of fatally shooting two demonstrators in Kenosha, Wisconsin, will be extradited to stand trial on homicide charges. (The Washington Post)
- Killing of Walter Wallace
  - Protesters gather in West Philadelphia to protest the police killing of Walter Wallace Jr. (WHYY-TV)
2019–2021 Iraqi protests
- Iraqi security forces clear the camps set up by protesters in Baghdad's Tahrir Square and re-open a major bridge that connects to the Green Zone. (Al Jazeera)
Quebec City stabbing
- Two people are killed and five others are injured in a series of stabbings in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The suspect, a man in his 20s who was wearing medieval-style armor, is now in police custody. (Global News)

Politics and elections

Elections in Australia
- 2020 Queensland state election
  - Incumbent Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk's Labor Party expands their majority in the election. Palaszczuk becomes the first woman to win three elections in Australian history. (ABC)
2020 Tanzanian general election
- Opposition parties say that they will not recognize the election's result, which gave incumbent President John Magufuli another term. The Chadema party calls for fresh elections. (Reuters)
2020 Ivorian presidential election
- Ivorians head to the polls to elect their President. Incumbent Alassane Ouattara seeks a third term, while main opposition candidates Pascal Affi N'Guessan and Henri Konan Bédié say it is illegal for Ouattara to seek a third term and have boycotted the election and called for civil disobedience. (BBC News)
2020 Georgian parliamentary election
- Voters in Georgia head to the polls to elect the members of the country's parliament. (DW)