Portal:Current events/2020 August 23

• War in Afghanistan
  • August 2020 Afghanistan attacks
    • Seven civilians are killed by a roadside bomb in Jaghatū, Ghazni. The Governor of Paktia, Mohammad Halim Fidai, survives an assassination attempt. No group claimed responsibility for either incident. (Al Jazeera)
• Second Libyan Civil War
  • A spokesman for Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA) rejects a ceasefire proposed by the Government of National Accord (GNA) and says it is a "marketing stunt". He says GNA forces are mobilising in different fronts in the country and the LNA will defend from any attack on its positions around Sirte and Jufra. Yesterday, the High Council of State, which advises the GNA, rejected dialogue with Haftar. (Al Jazeera)

• 2020 Atlantic hurricane season
  • Hurricane warnings are issued for the state of Louisiana and parts of Mississippi as it is expected that Tropical Storm Marco will become a hurricane later today. Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Laura is also advancing toward the United States after leaving torrential rain in parts of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards requests a federal emergency declaration; Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves declares a state of emergency. (The Guardian) (ABC News)
  • Marco becomes a hurricane and is expected to make landfall in Louisiana on Monday or early Tuesday. Laura is expected to become a hurricane as well by Wednesday. (USA Today)
• Flash flooding in Turkey's northern Giresun Province kills at least five people and leaves 11 others missing. (Reuters)

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in India
      • India's number of confirmed cases tops 3 million, making it the third country to surpass that number after the United States and Brazil as the country leads the world in daily new cases. (Al Jazeera)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea
      • South Korea reports 397 new cases, which is the highest number of reported cases since early March as the virus is reported in all cities and provinces across the country. From that number 387 were locally transmitted. (Reuters) (Yonhap News Agency)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
    • COVID-19 pandemic in France
      • France reports a post-lockdown record of 4,897 new cases in the last 24 hours, as the French health minister Olivier Véran warns that the situation is risky and that infections are essentially happening amongst people ages 20 to 40 at parties. (France 24)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine
      • Former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko is reportedly in serious condition, according to one of her party's spokespeople, after testing positive for COVID-19. (Bloomberg)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
    • The number of deaths in Australia surpasses 500. The majority of the deaths are in Victoria. (The Guardian)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
    • President Donald Trump and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announce the emergency use authorization of convalescent plasma for COVID-19 patients after days of White House officials suggesting there were politically motivated delays by the FDA in approving a vaccine and therapeutics for the disease that President Trump claims has harmed his re-election chances. The FDA said more than 70,000 patients have been treated with convalescent plasma, but they have not yet obtained enough randomized clinical trial data on convalescent plasma for COVID-19. Some of those trials are underway. (BBC News) (CNN)

• Iraq–United States relations, Withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq (2020)
  • The United States military withdraw from Camp Taji and hand it over to the Iraqi military; the base has been the target of many rocket attacks recently. The move comes after U.S. President Donald Trump redoubled his promise to withdraw troops from the country. (Reuters)

• Shooting of Jacob Blake, George Floyd protests
  • Protests have erupted in the Kenosha, Wisconsin after police shot a black man, Jacob Blake, many times while responding to what they claimed was a domestic incident. An online video shows Blake being shot in the back in broad daylight as he tries to get into a car. Authorities declared an emergency overnight curfew after unrest broke out following the shooting. Vehicles were set on fire and protesters shouted "We won't back down". (BBC News)
• Rioting erupts in Paris following the defeat of Paris Saint-Germain F.C. in the Champions League final. Riot police fire tear gas at groups of PSG fans, who responded by throwing fireworks and flares. Several arrests are made. (The Mirror)

• Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on politics
  • COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Ireland
    • Taoiseach Micheál Martin recalls the Dáil Éireann following reports that several members and other officials have breached COVID-19 regulations. (AFP via The Straits Times)
• 2020 Belarusian protests
  • Tens of thousands rally in Independence Square, Minsk, calling for President Alexander Lukashenko to step down, despite a police ban on protests in the capital. (BBC News)
  • The Ministry of Defence describes anti-Lukashenko protesters as "fascists", and says the army will take over the protection of war memorials from local police forces. (Reuters)
  • Footage shows Alexander Lukashenko departing a military helicopter outside the Independence Palace in Minsk, brandishing an assault rifle and wearing a bullet-proof vest. He then greeted a cordon of security forces guarding the palace. He was accompanied by his son Nikolai Lukashenko. In another video, Lukashenko can be heard saying "They’ve run away like rats", while observing a protest in his helicopter. (The Guardian)
• Trump administration dismissals and resignations
  • Counselor to the U.S. President Kellyanne Conway announces her resignation, effective at the end of the month. (AP via Global News)
• The Mail on Sunday reports that British Chancellor Rishi Sunak plans to abolish an Internet tax expected to raise £500 million ($654M) a year. The tax was introduced in April 2020 and could reportedly be an impediment to a post-Brexit trade deal with the United States. (Reuters via The Jakarta Post)

• COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey, Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports
  • More than 2,000 athletes representing 46 nations participate in the 32nd annual Bosphorus Cross Continental Swim to empty audiences. It was scheduled for last month but was pushed back due to the ongoing pandemic. (Al Jazeera)
• 2020 IndyCar Series
  • Takuma Sato of Japan wins the 104th Indianapolis 500. It is Sato's second career Indy 500 victory. (US News & World Report) (CBS Sports)
• 2019–20 UEFA Champions League, 2020 UEFA Champions League Final
  • In association football, FC Bayern Munich defeat French opponents Paris Saint-Germain F.C. 1–0 at the Estádio da Luz, Lisbon, to win their sixth Champions League title and second continental treble. Bayern Munich become the first team to win any European competition with a 100% winning record. (BBC Sport)