Portal:Current events/2020 November 15

• Pope Francis issues an appeal to authorities in Ivory Coast to establish a climate of mutual trust and dialogue in the West African nation, where controversial elections have led to violence and a mass exodus from the country. (Vatican News)

• Fifteen Asia-Pacific nations sign the world's largest free-trade agreement in Vietnam. It replaces the Trans-Pacific Partnership, from which the administration of Donald Trump withdrew the United States in early 2017. (DW) (Financial Times)

• 2020 Atlantic hurricane season
  • Iota becomes Hurricane Iota and is forecast to hit Central America. Nicaragua issues hurricane warnings near the border with Honduras while Honduras also issues warnings, whereas Colombia issues a warning to the islands of San Andrés and Providencia. (CNN)

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in North America
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
      • COVID-19 pandemic in Kentucky
        • Kentucky reports 3,303 new cases, a new single-day record. (WDRB-TV)
      • COVID-19 pandemic in Michigan
        • After several days of record highs for new cases, Governor Gretchen Whitmer issues an order closing several types of business and services, including high schools and universities, for three weeks, effective November 18. (WJBK-TV)
      • COVID-19 pandemic in New Jersey
        • New Jersey reports 4,540 new cases over the past 24 hours, a new single-day record. (North Jersey)
      • COVID-19 pandemic in Washington (state)
        • Governor Jay Inslee announces that bars, restaurants, and gyms in the state will no longer be able to operate indoor services. In addition, indoor social gatherings are prohibited. The new restrictions will take effect on November 17 at 12:01 a.m. PST and remain in effect for four weeks. (KOMO-TV)
      • The U.S. surpasses 11 million cases of COVID-19, just six days after surpassing ten million cases. (NBC News) (NPR)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Canada
      • COVID-19 pandemic in Manitoba
        • Manitoba reports a record 494 new confirmed cases, bringing the total number of cases in the province to 10,947. (CBC)
      • Canada surpasses 300,000 cases of COVID-19. (CTV News)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh
      • Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan, who tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday, tests negative within a day. Despite this, he and senior secretary Mostafa Kamal Uddin remain in isolation. (Anadolu Agency)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Iran
      • Iran reports 12,543 new infections of COVID-19, a new record, as well as 459 fatalities, bringing the death toll of the worst-hit country in the Middle East to 41,493. (Al Arabiya)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China
      • The municipal health commission in Jinan finds coronavirus on imported beef and tripe from Brazil, New Zealand, and Bolivia, as well as on packaging for these products, as China ramps up testing on imports of frozen foods. (Business Standard)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan
      • Pakistan reports 2,443 new confirmed cases, the highest single-day total in four months, bringing the total number of cases to 356,904. (The Nation)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea
      • The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency reports 208 new confirmed cases, the highest single-day total since early September and the eighth consecutive day of triple-digit increases, bringing the total number of cases to 28,546. (CNA)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Italy, COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in Italy
      • A lockdown is imposed in the Italian regions of Campania and Tuscany, bringing the number of regions in lockdown in the country to six. Nine more regions are under strict restrictions. (Il Messaggero)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine
      • Health Minister Maksym Stepanov tests positive for COVID-19. (Kyiv Post)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
      • Prime Minister Boris Johnson self-isolates after meeting with Ashfield MP Lee Anderson, who later tested positive for COVID-19. (BBC News)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
    • South Australia reports four new cases through community transmissions linked to a supermarket and a hospital in the northern suburbs of Adelaide, leading to fears of a second wave in the state. In response, Western Australia reimposes hard border controls with South Australia. (News.com.au)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Eswatini
    • Prime Minister Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini tests positive for COVID-19. (U.S. News and World Report)
  • Worldwide, a record 660,905 new cases are reported over the weekend, according to the World Health Organization's COVID-19 dashboard. (France 24)

• Michigan State Representative, Matt Maddock and a group of representatives began impeachment hearings for Michigan Governor, Gretchen Whitmer. (Michigan Bridge)
• 2020 Belarusian protests
  • A Belarusian human rights group says that over 500 people have been arrested during protests against President Alexander Lukashenko. (ABC News)

• 2020 Moldovan presidential election
  • The second round of presidential elections takes place in Moldova. (MSN News)
  • Pro-European Union candidate Maia Sandu defeats pro-Russian incumbent Igor Dodon to be elected the first female President of Moldova. (DW)
• 2020 Brazilian municipal elections
  • Brazilians attend polling stations all over the country to elect mayors and city councillors in an election deemed to be a test of President Jair Bolsonaro's popularity. (Financial Times)
  • Two-thirds of mayoral candidates openly supported by Bolsonaro are defeated in the first round of elections, including São Paulo candidate Celso Russomanno. (BBC News)
• 2020 United States presidential election
  • Incumbent president Donald Trump admits in a Twitter post that Joe Biden won the election. He follows up with a later tweet reaffirming his refusal to concede the election. (Sky News)
• 2020 Peruvian protests
  • President Manuel Merino resigns five days after taking office as two demonstrators are shot dead and most of his Cabinet step down. (BBC News)

• SpaceX Crew-1, Expedition 64
  • SpaceX successfully launches its Crew Dragon spacecraft carrying three NASA astronauts, Michael S. Hopkins, Victor J. Glover, Shannon Walker and JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi to the International Space Station. It is the first crewed operational flight of a Crew Dragon spacecraft and the first night launch in the United States since STS-130. (BBC News)