Portal:Current events

Edit instructions

Topics in the news

Billie Eilish

At the Grammy Awards, Billie Eilish (pictured) wins the major categories of Best New Artist, and Song, Record, and Album of the Year.
American former basketball player Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and seven others die in a helicopter crash near Los Angeles.
An earthquake in Elazığ, Turkey, kills at least thirty-eight people and injures more than a thousand others.

January 29, 2020 (Wednesday)

edithistorywatch

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian civil war, Northwestern Syria offensive (November 2019–present)
- The Syrian Army say that the armed forces are now in full control of the city of Maaret al-Numan, after they entered it yesterday with little resistance. Bashar al-Assad's forces are now in control of most of Syria after a nearly nine-year conflict that left more than 400,000 people dead and displaced half of Syria’s population. (France24)

International relations

Algeria–Bangladesh relations
- Algeria reopens its embassy in Dhaka, after closing it in 1990. (New Age)

Disasters and accidents

In the Indian state of Maharashtra, two vehicles collide and plunge into a well, killing 26 people and injuring 32 others. (Reuters)

January 28, 2020 (Tuesday)

edithistorywatch

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian civil war, Northwestern Syria offensive (November 2019–present)
- The Syrian Army, backed by Russian Air Force support, enters the largely deserted city of Ma'arrat al-Nu'man in the northern Idlib Governorate. Only light resistance is reported as most rebel groups, including Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, withdrew their fighters. The city had been under rebel control since October 2012. (Middle East Eye)

Business and economy

The Barakah nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates, the first commercial nuclear plant in the Arab world, is declared ready for operation after years of delays. It is expected to go online sometime during this quarter. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

2020 Caribbean earthquake
- A magnitude 7.7 earthquake is recorded off the coast of Jamaica. (KRON 4 News)

Health and environment

2019–20 Wuhan coronavirus outbreak
- Palau's President Thomas Remengesau Jr. bans chartered flights from China and suspends charter flights from Macau and Hong Kong until further notice. Remengesau is set to issue an executive order to that effect after a meeting with the National Emergency Committee. (RNZ)
- The Health Commission in the central Chinese province of Hubei say there are 1,291 new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) and 24 more deaths, bringing the total death toll to 106 people. (AFP via New Straits Times)
- Chinese President Xi Jinping tells the World Health Organization he is confident about defeating the "devil virus". (Reuters)

Law and crime

Prosecutor General of Tajikistan, Yusuf Rakhmon, announces the arrest of 113 alleged members of the Muslim Brotherhood. (Reuters)
Investigations involving Benjamin Netanyahu
- Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu withdraws a request for immunity to the Knesset. Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit formally indicts Netanyahu on charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust in three cases of suspected corruption. (Vox)

Politics and elections

2020 New Zealand general election
- Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announces that the next general election is to be held on September 19. (The Guardian)

Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Trump peace plan
- U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unveil a peace plan developed by the Trump administration for three years. The plan recognizes Israeli sovereignty over major settlement blocs in the occupied West Bank, as well as the annexation of the Jordan Valley, in exchange for a freeze on new Israeli settlements in certain areas for four years. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas dismisses the plan as "nonsense", while Israeli opposition leader Benny Gantz casts his support for the plan. (Associated Press)

January 27, 2020 (Monday)

edithistorywatch

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian civil war, Northwestern Syria offensive (November 2019–present)
- The Syrian Army besieges the strategic rebel-held city of Ma'arrat al-Nu'man in the Idlib Governorate and cuts the M5 Highway between Ma'arrat al-Nu'man and Saraqib to the north. (Middle East Eye) (Reuters)

Arts and culture

Albert II of Belgium acknowledges being Delphine Boël's biological father. (The Guardian)

Business and economy

The World Bank delays its decision on granting a US$500 million loan to Tanzania, in response to pressure from activist groups over the country’s policy of banning pregnant students from attending state schools. (CNN)
Brazil's antitrust authority ruled in favor of a pending acquisition of the commercial aviation division of Embraer S.A. by Boeing, without restrictions. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

2020 United States Air Force E-11A crash
- A United States Air Force E-11A aircraft crashes and catches fire in Ghazni Province, eastern Afghanistan. All five people on board are killed. (BBC) (Voice of America)
2020 Brazilian floods and mudslides
- Widespread flooding and landslides in Brazil cause 50 deaths and force thousands to evacuate their homes. (Fox News)
Caspian Airlines Flight 6936
- A Caspian Airlines passenger airliner crash lands on a runway and skids onto a major highway in Mahshahr, Iran, leaving 2 injured. (Sky News)
A fire destroys at least 35 houseboats moored along the Tennessee River in Scottsboro, Alabama, United States, killing eight people. (Sky News)

Health and environment

2019–20 Wuhan coronavirus outbreak
- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visits Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, to direct epidemic prevention.(Reuters)
- Six travelers from China are denied entry and turned away from Samoa following the island country's introduction of a ban on all travelers from China. They later arrive in Fiji, where they are quarantined with no symptoms. These strict regulations come after a measles outbreak ravaged Samoa last month. (RNZ)
- Germany confirms its first case of novel coronavirus in the state of Bavaria. The infected man has been placed in an isolation ward and the risk of further infection is currently considered to be "low", according to the Bavarian Health Ministry. (Deutsche Welle)

Law and crime

A court in Cairo, Egypt, sentences 37 people to prison terms, including eight to life imprisonment for supporting or joining Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant affiliate in the Sinai Province. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

Politics of Slovenia
- Slovenian Prime Minister Marjan Šarec submits his resignation after losing the parliamentary support of The Left party in November and calls for snap elections. (Reuters)
2019–20 Lebanese protests
- The Lebanese government votes 49–13, with eight abstentions and the rest boycotting, to pass the government budget in the midst of escalating protests. The budget projects a deficit of six percent, with no new taxes and most of the cuts going to the state utility company Électricité du Liban. Economists criticize the bill for failing to address the issues that caused the protests. (Al Jazeera)

January 26, 2020 (Sunday)

edithistorywatch

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
- Afghan forces launch ground and air operations against the Taliban, killing 51 of them in nine provinces of the country. Afghanistan's Ministry of Defense say that the military conducted thirteen ground offensives and twelve airstrikes. In the northern province of Balkh, local officials say that three women and four children were killed. (Reuters)
Syrian Civil War, Northwestern Syria offensive (November 2019–present)
- Syrian government forces retake several cities in the Idlib Province area, amid a push from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to recapture the last rebel strongholds. (Reuters)
Mali War
- Nineteen Malian soldiers are killed in an attack on an army camp. No group has claimed responsibility. (France24)
Iraqi protests (2019–present)
- Amid further heavy clashes in Baghdad rockets hit the United States embassy wounding at least one. (Al Jazeera)(The Guardian)

Arts and culture

62nd Annual Grammy Awards
- Billie Eilish sweeps the major categories winning Song of the Year, Record of the Year, Album of the Year, and Best New Artist. (Los Angeles Times)

Health and environment

2019–20 Wuhan coronavirus outbreak
- A leading group on the prevention and control of the novel coronavirus outbreak is established, led by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang. The leading group decides to extend the Spring Festival holiday to contain the coronavirus outbreak. (Xinhua News)

Disasters and accidents

At least 39 people are dead in the Brazilian states of Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo after heavy rains hit the country's southeast region. (VEJA)
Death of Kobe Bryant
- Retired NBA player Kobe Bryant, his daughter and seven other people are killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, U.S. (ABC News)

Politics and elections

2020 Peruvian parliamentary election
- People in Peru head to the polls to elect the members of the country's congress after its dissolution in September 2019. (BBC)
Trump–Ukraine scandal
- An unpublished manuscript of former National Security Advisor John Bolton's book reveals that President Donald Trump told him that unfreezing military aid to Ukraine was conditional on their performing investigations into Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton. (The New York Times)

January 25, 2020 (Saturday)

edithistorywatch

Armed conflicts and attacks

Two women, one of them pregnant, are killed and seven others are injured when artillery hits a Rohingya village in Rakhine State. The locals blame Myanmar's armed forces. The armed forces deny responsibility and blame the Arakan Army, and say the artillery hit the village amid ethnic clashes. (Reuters)
Iraqi protests (2019–present)
- Iraqi security forces raid a protest site in Baghdad and try to remove protesters in southern cities, firing tear gas and live bullets, killing four and wounding dozens more. The raid comes after Muqtada al-Sadr ordered his followers to withdraw. (Reuters)

Health and environment

2019–20 Wuhan coronavirus outbreak
- General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Xi Jinping holds a special Party Politburo meeting where he says that the country faces a "grave situation" as he warns the virus is "accelerating its speed". (People's Daily)
- The United States orders the evacuation of the Consulate General of the United States, Wuhan employees and U.S. citizens in the city. (The New York Times)

Science and technology

The Boeing 777X completes its first test flight near Seattle, Washington, United States, after two delayed attempts. (CNN)

January 24, 2020 (Friday)

edithistorywatch

Armed conflicts and attacks

Iraqi protests (2019–present), American-led intervention in Iraq (2014–present), 2019–20 Persian Gulf crisis
- Hundreds of thousands march in Baghdad to protest the presence of the United States in Iraq. (CNN)

Business and economy

Indonesia agrees to increase its imports of buffalo meat, automobiles, and sugar from India in exchange for an increase in imports of Indonesian-produced palm oil, amid a growing trade dispute between India and Malaysia. (Times of India) (Yahoo! Finance)

Disasters and accidents

2020 Houston explosion
- Two people are killed and 18 wounded in a warehouse explosion in Houston, Texas, United States. (Associated Press)
2020 Elazığ earthquake
- At least 36 are killed and more than 1,600 injured in an earthquake centered near Elazığ in Eastern Anatolia. (BBC)

Health and environment

2019–20 Wuhan coronavirus outbreak
- Shanghai Disney Resort temporarily closes ahead of the Lunar New Year "in response to the prevention and control of the disease outbreak." (AFP via GMA News Online)
The Cook Islands Ministry of Health issues an edict mandating that all expatriate workers receive MMR vaccines, or risk losing their permits. (Cook Islands News)

International relations

Iran–Saudi Arabia relations
- Responding to Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif's comments that Iran is "open to dialogue with its neighbors", Saudi Arabia's Adel al-Jubeir blames Iran for recent tensions in the Middle East and for attacks on ships and oil facilities; which Iran denies. (CNBC)
Censorship in Singapore, Malaysia–Singapore relations
- Malaysian human rights advocacy group Lawyers for Liberty sues Singaporean Home Minister K. Shanmugam in Malaysian High Court after his office invoked the country's anti-fake news law to censor the group's criticisms of the death penalty there. The plaintiff argues that the move represents "an attempt by Singapore to encroach upon, stifle or crack down on freedom of speech in Malaysia". (South China Morning Post)
Morocco–Spain relations
- The foreign ministries of Spain and Morocco announce they will hold talks to resolve a dispute over territorial water rights in the North Atlantic, caused by the Moroccan parliament passing two laws that extended its claims to the coast of Western Sahara earlier this week. Spain expressed concerns that these laws would encroach on its claims near the Canary Islands. (Reuters)

Law and crime

2020 Rot am See shooting
- Six people are killed and two others wounded when a man opens fire on his family members in Rot am See, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The mass shooter's parents are among the dead. (ABC News)
LGBT rights in Mauritania
- Police detain a gay couple in Nouakchott after a video purportedly of them marrying in a secret location emerges, in what is considered to be the first major prosecution of its kind in recent years. The attendees in the video were also detained. (North African Post)

January 23, 2020 (Thursday)

edithistorywatch

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War and Northwestern Syria offensive (November 2019–present)
- The Russian Ministry of Defence says that hundreds of rebels stormed Syrian Army positions in Idlib Governorate, the ensuing fighting left 50 rebels dead and 90 wounded while government forces lost 40 dead and 80 wounded. A military source cited by Syrian state news agency SANA says the Jabhat al-Nusra terrorists used various weapons such as car bombs, under an "intensive fire cover". (Reuters via Al Arabiya English) (SANA) (BBC)

Arts and culture

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists advances the Doomsday Clock to 100 seconds before midnight, citing the threats to human survival posed by nuclear proliferation, climate change and "cyber-based disinformation." This is the closest to midnight that the clock has been since the project began in 1947. (BBC)

Business and economy

Malaysian agriculture giant FGV Holdings Berhad announces it will increase its sugar imports from India from 88,000 tonnes to 133,000 in an attempt to resolve the palm oil trade dispute between the two nations. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

2019–20 Australian bushfire season
- A C-130 water bomber crashes in southern New South Wales, Australia, while helping control a bushfire. Three American firefighters are killed. (ABC News)

Health and environment

2019–20 Wuhan coronavirus outbreak
- The death toll from the new coronavirus rises to 25 and 830 confirmed cases in China as four more Chinese cities, Huanggang, Ezhou, Chibi and Zhijiang are to be placed under quarantine. The total number of people under quarantine is now over 20 million people. (BBC) (Business Insider)
- Singapore confirms its first case of new coronavirus, a 66-year-old Chinese man from Wuhan who was travelling with his family. (Channel News Asia)

International relations

Heads of state and dignitaries from around the world attend the fifth World Holocaust Forum at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz extermination camp and to address the resurgence of antisemitism worldwide. (The Washington Post)

Law and crime

The International Court of Justice orders Myanmar to protect the Rohingya population from atrocities. The Gambia had brought a lawsuit before the court over charges of genocide. (Reuters)
A judicial source close to former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn says that Lebanon and Japan will have 40 days to decide whether he will be extradited back to Japan or stand trial in Lebanon. (Reuters via Al Arabiya)