Portal:Current events/2020 October 6

October 6, 2020 (Tuesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian civil war
- History of the Syrian Civil War (2020–present)
  - Al-Bab truck bombing
    - A truck bombing kills at least 18 people and injures another 75 in al-Bab, Aleppo Governorate, Syria. (Al Jazeera English)
2020 Kyrgyzstani protests
- Protesters in Kyrgyzstan break into parliament in the capital Bishkek, throwing paper from windows and setting the building on fire. A person is killed and 686 others are injured. (Reuters)
- The electoral authorities in Kyrgyzstan annul the results of the parliamentary elections following the protests. (BBC News)
- Opposition groups claim to be in power after seizing government buildings in the capital. President Sooronbay Jeenbekov says he is facing a coup d'état. Several provincial governors reportedly resign. (Reuters)
- Prime Minister Kubatbek Boronov, who is a close ally of the ruling President, resigns. He is replaced by Sadyr Japarov. (DW)
2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
- Azerbaijan accuses the Armenian Armed Forces of attacking the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline with banned cluster munitions, killing a civilian in Goranboy District. Armenia rejects the accusation. (RFE/RL)
Mali War
- Jihadist group Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin releases Malian opposition leader Soumaïla Cissé, who had been held captive since March, and French aid worker Sophie Pétronin, who had been held captive since 2016. (The Guardian)
Papua conflict
- Members of the Free Papua Movement fire five bullets at the Indonesian Army security post in Pasar Baru Kenyam, Nduga district, Papua. A civilian is injured. (Antara)

Disasters and accidents

Hurricane Delta
- Hurricane Delta strengthens into a powerful Category 4 hurricane, with additional strengthening anticipated until landfall in Quintana Roo, Mexico. (National Hurricane Center)
- Governor of Louisiana John Bel Edwards declares a state of emergency ahead of the storm. (WDSU-TV)
The death toll of the floods brought on by the 2020–21 European windstorm season, which is affecting France and Italy rise to 14 as the body of a worker is found in the Italian region of Liguria. The man went missing during the beginning of the floods three days ago. (TGCOM24)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Washington, D.C.
    - White House COVID-19 outbreak
      - White House senior policy adviser Stephen Miller tests positive for COVID-19. (CNN)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in New York (state)
    - New York state will reinstate restrictions on businesses, houses of worship and schools in and near areas where coronavirus cases are spiking, governor Andrew Cuomo said. The new rules will affect parts of Brooklyn and Queens in New York City, sections of Orange and Rockland counties in the Hudson Valley, and an area within Binghamton in the Southern Tier. This restrictions will take effect no later than Friday. (ABC News)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia
    - The number of daily cases in Malaysia reaches 691, a record for two consecutive days. The Health Ministry's director-general Noor Hisham Abdullah says that of those new cases, 397 of them were from Kedah, with most of them being caused by an outbreak in a prison. (The Straits Times)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United Arab Emirates
    - The United Arab Emirates surpasses 100,000 COVID-19 cases. In addition, six people have died in the past 24 hours, the highest single day figure since May. (The National)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Andorra
    - The Andorran Prime Minister Xavier Espot self-isolates for 10 days after having a close contact with a positive for COVID-19. (Diari d'Andorra)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Finland
    - Finland reports its highest daily number of COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic, with 227 new cases reported, surpassing the previous peak in April. They also exceed the rate that the country has set for other countries before their citizens are allowed to visit without being quarantined. (Reuters)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Poland
    - Poland reports 58 new deaths, a record high for a single day since the beginning of the pandemic. (The Hill)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Vatican City
    - The Secretary General of the Governorate of Vatican City State announces that as of 7 October it will also be mandatory to wear masks outdoors when it is not possible to maintain a safety distance. This rule will also apply in the extraterritorial properties of the Vatican in the city of Rome. (Catholic News Agency)
- COVID-19 vaccine
  - The European Medicines Agency announces that they will launch a review for vaccines developed by Pfizer and BioNTech. (CNBC)

International relations

Indonesia–Philippines relations
- Indonesian Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Edhy Prabowo says that they have detained two Filipino fishing boats with 21 crew members on board, in Indonesia's Exclusive Economic Zone. (Antara)

Law and crime

The European Court of Justice rules that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's higher education reforms violate the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, saying they placed undue burdens on foreign universities operating in the country. Philanthropist George Soros, whose Central European University was targeted by Orbán's laws, laments that "the decision [came] too late" and that the university will not return after being forced out because "[Hungary's] prevailing laws don’t meet the requirements of academic freedom". (ABC News)

Science and technology

Nobel Prize in Physics
- The Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded to Roger Penrose "for the discovery that black hole formation is a robust prediction of the general theory of relativity," and to Reinhard Genzel and Andrea M. Ghez "for the discovery of a supermassive compact object at the centre of our galaxy." (CBC)
Mars makes its closest approach to Earth since 2018. Mars will not be closer to Earth again until 2035. (Space.com)

Sports

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports
- Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on ice hockey, 2020 NHL entry draft
  - The NHL entry draft, originally postponed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, is held remotely with the New York Rangers selecting winger Alexis Lafrenière with the first overall pick. (New York Daily News)