Portal:Current events/2020 September 9

September 9, 2020 (Wednesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan
- September 2020 Afghanistan attacks
  - Ten people are killed and 15 others injured in a roadside bomb attack in Kabul that targeted the first vice president, Amrullah Saleh, who is wounded by the attack. The Taliban denied responsibility for the bombing. (BBC News)

Disasters and accidents

2020 Oregon wildfires
- Governor Kate Brown orders mass evacuations across the state after reporting that a series of wildfires have "substantially destroyed" the cities and towns of Blue River, Detroit, Phoenix, Talent, and Vida. Brown also enacts an emergency fire act to grant "immediate powers" to the state's fire officials. (AFP via Deccan Herald)
- Smoke impacts a wide swath of California and Oregon. San Francisco is particularly affected by the smoke floating south from the Oregon fires. (SF Chronicle)
Multiple fires erupt in the Mória Reception & Identification Centre, Greece's largest migrant camp, causing widespread destruction. The fires happen shortly after the entire camp was put under quarantine due to the detection of positive COVID-19 cases. (DW)
Orange Skies Day
- Wildfire smoke from the 2020 Oregon wildfires creates an orange skyline in the San Francisco Bay Area. (BBC)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Portugal
    - Portugal reports 646 new cases and three new deaths. It is the biggest daily increase in new cases since the national lockdown was lifted in May, bringing the cumulative totals to 61,541 confirmed cases and 1,849 deaths in 191 days since the first infections were identified. (RTP)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Slovenia
    - Slovenia reports 79 cases, an all-time high. (RTVSLO)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands
    - The number of new cases registered in the Netherlands surges to 1,140 in the last 24 hours, the highest daily total since April. (Reuters)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
    - The United Kingdom reports 2,659 cases, up from 2,460 a day earlier. (Reuters)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia
  - Jakarta tightens its large-scale social restrictions in the province, which will take effect on September 14, due to the rise in new cases. All non-essential activities are ordered to be suspended and most workers, with the exception of 11 essential activities, are ordered to work from home. (Kompas)
- COVID-19 vaccine
  - AstraZeneca says that they might resume vaccine trials next week. This comes after the vaccine trial was put on hold due to a suspected adverse reaction the day before. (Financial Times)
The latest publication of the Living Planet Index reports that the world's wildlife populations have decreased by an average of 68 percent between 1970 and 2016. The World Wide Fund for Nature cites the increasing deforestation and agricultural expansion for the population decline. (AFP via Manila Bulletin)

International relations

Iraq–United States relations, Withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq (2020)
- United States Marine Corps general Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr. announces that the United States will reduce their troop presence in Iraq from 5,200 to 3,000. (NBC News)

Law and crime

2020–2021 United States racial unrest, George Floyd protests
- George Floyd protests in Portland, Oregon
  - Protesters and police clash near the Portland City Hall in Oregon. Portland Police Bureau announce that 11 arrests have been made. (The Star-Tribune)
Extradition of Yamil Abreu Navarro
- Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader signs the extradition to the United States of Yamil Abreu Navarro on crimes of Illegal drug trade. Yamil Abreu Navarro is currently the leader of the ruling Modern Revolutionary Party. (Dominican Today)
Sri Lanka announces legal action against the owner and manager of the MT New Diamond ship which caught fire last Thursday off the coast of the country. Sri Lankan authorities say the lawsuit will be issued under the nation's law. Neither the owner nor manager of the ship commented on the statement. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

Russian interference in the 2020 United States elections
- Former Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Intelligence and Analysis Brian Murphy claims in a whistleblower reprisal complaint that Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf had instructed officials at the department to fabricate intelligence assessments regarding the threat of Russian interference in the U.S. elections, which he claims is an effort by the Trump administration to understate the threat. (The Guardian)
Citizens in Tigray Region, Ethiopia begin casting their votes for a local election, defying the central government and increasing political tensions. Tigray's authorities object the postponement of the August general election and the time of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in office, and say that any intervention by the government would amount to a "declaration of war". (AP)