Portal:Current events/2020 September 23

September 23, 2020 (Wednesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Second Libyan Civil War
- Eastern-based forces of Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA) say they have killed Abu Moaz al-Iraqi, leader of ISIL in Libya, in the desert city of Sebha. (Reuters)
Terrorism in Egypt
- Three Egyptian police officers and four convicted terrorists on death row are killed during a failed attempt to escape from Tora Prison in Cairo. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

List of explosions
- A fuel tanker explodes on a highway in Kogi State, Nigeria, destroying several nearby vehicles and killing at least 25 people. The victims include a number of Kogi State Polytechnic students whose school bus was destroyed in the blast. (BBC News)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in India
    - The number of deaths in India exceeds 90,000. In the past 24 hours, the country reported 83,347 new cases and 1,085 more deaths. (The Nation PK) (Deccan Herald)
    - Railway Minister Suresh Angadi dies from the disease at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi. (Khaleej Times)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Israel
    - Israel reports a record jump of 6,923 new cases in the past 24 hours, as the country imposes a second nationwide lockdown to prevent the spread of the virus. Further restrictions are being considered. (Al Jazeera)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands
  - The number of cases in the Netherlands surpasses 100,000, after a record of 2,357 new cases is reported in the last 24 hours. (Dutch News)
- COVID-19 vaccine
  - Johnson & Johnson enters a Phase III clinical trial for its potential vaccine, becoming the fourth vaccine company backed by Operation Warp Speed to do so. The trial is expected to enroll up to 60,000 volunteers across 215 locations in the United States and other countries. (CNBC)

International relations

North Korea–South Korea relations
- List of border incidents involving North and South Korea
  - The South Korean defense ministry alleges that North Korean officials killed and cremated an official from the South Korean fisheries ministry who disappeared from a ship conducting maritime patrol activities along the Northern Limit Line on September 21 and entered North Korean territory by the following afternoon. (AP via NY1)
Iran–Saudi Arabia relations, Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict
- King Salman of Saudi Arabia calls for a "comprehensive and firm" response to Iran's nuclear program and condemns what he describes as "its expansionist activities, create its terrorist networks, and use terrorism", adding that it produces nothing but "chaos, extremism, and sectarianism". An Iranian official rebuffs the accusations as "baseless". (Al Jazeera)
Mexico–United States relations, Immigration detention in the United States
- Mexico is investigating claims that six Mexican women were sterilised while in a migrant detention center, says Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard. A whistleblower the previous week alleged hysterectomies were being performed on immigrants in the United States without their proper consent. Mexico called such operations "unacceptable". (BBC News)
Foreign relations of Argentina
- President Alberto Fernández demands Iran extradite the Iranian citizens accused of responsibility for the 1994 AMIA bombing in Buenos Aires and states that the demand is of "vital importance". (Argentine Official News Agency Télam)
Belarus–United States relations, International reactions to the 2020 Belarusian presidential election and protests
- The United States formally no longer recognizes Alexander Lukashenko as President of Belarus, according to a U.S. Department of State statement. A State Department spokesperson calls for a new "free and fair election" in Belarus under independent observation. (Axios)

Law and crime

Shooting of Breonna Taylor
- A grand jury in Louisville, Kentucky, indicts former police officer Brett Hankison on felony charges of wanton endangerment for firing into a neighboring apartment, but no officers are charged directly with Breonna Taylor's death. A large police presence is seen in Louisville as protests continue. (USA Today) (CNN)
- Two Louisville Metro Police officers are shot and wounded during protests over the Breonna Taylor indictment. One suspect is reportedly in custody. (AP)
- After the city declared a state of emergency, Governor Andy Beshear sends the Kentucky Army National Guard to Louisville in response to the protests. (The Hill)
LGBT rights in the Cook Islands
- Human rights campaigners urge Cook Islands' MPs to abolish Article 64 of the Crimes Act, which criminalises gay men with up to 14 years' imprisonment. The activists call on the lawmakers to abide by the Constitution. The Cook Islands is a sovereign territory belonging to New Zealand. (RNZ)
Hong Kong pro-democracy camp activist Joshua Wong loses a court case against his disqualification from running in last year's November election. The returning officer had disqualified him because she did not believe Wong had changed his stance on Hong Kong independence and his "subversive intentions". (South China Morning Post)

Politics and elections

Aftermath of the 2020 Belarusian presidential election, 2020 Belarusian protests
- President Alexander Lukashenko is sworn in for a sixth term in office at an unannounced inauguration at the Independence Palace in Minsk. The opposition and some foreign governments do not recognize the legitimacy of the inauguration, and call for continued civil resistance. (BBC News)
Death and funeral of Ruth Bader Ginsburg
- Deceased Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg lies in repose in the United States Supreme Court Building. She is both the first woman and the first Jewish American to receive such an honor. (BBC News)
2020 United States presidential election, Donald Trump 2020 presidential campaign
- U.S. President Donald Trump refuses to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses the November 3 presidential election, saying "We're going to have to see what happens". (AP)
Ishmael Toroama is declared President-elect of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville following an election process that began six weeks ago. Toroama secured 48,766 votes cast and promised to solve the issue of independence. (RNZ)

Science and technology

Astronomers announce the crescent shadow of Messier 87's supermassive black hole is wobbling. Back in April 2019, the Event Horizon Telescope captured the crescent shadow of the black hole, making it the first image ever taken of a black hole. (Sci News)
Archaeologists discover some chromium crucible steel (stainless steel) that was first made in Persia as early as the 11th century. (Sci News)