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Topics in the news

Coronaviruses viewed under an electron microscope

In China, a new strain of coronavirus (examples pictured) infects more than five hundred people, killing at least seventeen.
Mikhail Mishustin is appointed Prime Minister of Russia following the resignation of Dmitry Medvedev and his cabinet.
Scientists announce that presolar stardust grains in the Murchison meteorite formed five to seven billion years ago, and are the oldest solid material found on Earth to date.

January 23, 2020 (Thursday)

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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)

January 22, 2020 (Wednesday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Libyan Civil War (2014–present)
- Mitiga International Airport, the only functioning airport in Libya's capital Tripoli closes and a flight from Tunisia is diverted after forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar fire rockets toward the airport. (Reuters)

Business and economy

Elliott Management a prominent hedge fund, has sold all its shares in the Hyundai Motor Group of South Korea. It had long quarreled with Hyundai's management, demanding more generous dividend pay-outs. Their departure from the shareholder ranks is likely welcomed by Hyundai executives. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

Police in the Solomon Islands launch search operations to find nine people from a capsized boat near Isabel Province. Five men, two women and two children were on board. (RNZ)
A small plane crashes shortly after takeoff from Corona Municipal Airport in California, killing all four on board. (CNN)

Health and environment

2019–20 outbreak of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV)
- Chinese authorities quarantine the entire city of Wuhan to prevent the further spread of the novel coronavirus as the death toll rises to 17. Nobody in the city will be able to leave starting from 10 a.m. local time on January 23, and all public transport in the city is suspended. (The Guardian)

International relations

U.N. special rapporteurs Agnès Callamard and David Kaye demand an investigation into claims made by The Guardian yesterday that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman ordered the 2018 hacking of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’s phone. The hack was allegedly done months before the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi, who was employed at Bezos’s newspaper The Washington Post and was a fierce critic of the Saudi government. The Saudi Foreign Ministry dismisses the allegations as “absurd”. (Reuters)
Libyan peace process
- Algeria announces it will host a meeting with foreign ministers from six North and sub-Saharan African nations, all of whom share a border with Libya, following the Berlin peace summit to help strengthen support for a tentative peace deal to end the Second Libyan Civil War. (Al Jazeera)

Law and crime

List of mass shootings in the United States in 2020
- Eight people are shot, one fatally, following a dispute outside a McDonald's in downtown Seattle, Washington. (The Seattle Times)
LGBT rights in South Korea
- A South Korean transgender soldier says she will sue the armed forces after it discharged her. The soldier, Byun Hui-su, says she will take her claim "until the end, to the Supreme Court". (Reuters)

Politics and elections

Impeachment trial of Donald Trump
- The United States Senate hears opening statements in the impeachment trial of Donald Trump. (The Washington Post) (The Washington Post via dpaste) (The Washington Post via archive.ph)
Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benítez is confirmed to have dengue fever amid a nationwide outbreak. (Reuters)
Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio resigns as leader of the ruling Five Star Movement, as polls show the party losing support ahead of a regional election in Emilia-Romagna next Sunday. (BBC)
Brexit
- The European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill passes the House of Lords and is now awaiting royal assent to become law, finalizing the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union on 31 January 2020. (BBC)

Science and technology

The Seattle metropolitan area becomes the first place in the United States to allow vote by smartphone, which they authorized for a board of supervisors election in King County, Washington on February 11. (NPR)

January 21, 2020 (Tuesday)

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Arts and culture

The United Kingdom and United States governments announce they have agreed to protect the wreckage of the RMS Titanic. The agreement, signed by the British government in 2003, has come into effect after being ratified by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. An official also says the UK will work with Canada and France to bring "even more protection" to the wreckage. (BBC)
Rock musician Ozzy Osbourne announces that he has been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. (ABC News)

Business and economy

Gold Fields Ltd, a South African mining company, has hired an investment bank, RBC Capital Markets, to help it sell 30% of its gold project in northern Chile. (Reuters)
Boeing 737 MAX groundings
- After having announced it the previous month, Boeing temporarily stops production of the new 737 MAX planes. Already produced ones will remain grounded an additional month until June or July. (CNN) (NPR)

Health and environment

2019–20 outbreak of coronavirus
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announces the first U.S. case of novel coronavirus in Snohomish County, Washington. (The Washington Post)
- The Centers for Disease Control for Taiwan announces that the first case of novel coronavirus was identified at Taoyuan International Airport. (The Wall Street Journal)
- North Korea reportedly bans foreign tourists and closes the China–North Korea border to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus. (Al Jazeera)

International relations

Ukraine–United Kingdom relations
- Ukraine demands the United Kingdom's National Counter Terrorism Policing Network remove the country's Tryzub coat of arms from a guide on hate symbols associated with white supremacy and Neo-Nazism. Counter Terrorism Policing says the coat of arms was included due to its use by National Action, a proscribed far-right terror group. (BBC)

Law and crime

Two judicial sources announce that the trial of seven Cameroonian soldiers has begun for the killing of two women and two children in July 2018, in a case that sparked international outcry. Six of the soldiers admit to the charges, but say they were given the order to open fire. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

2020 Labour Party leadership election
- Birmingham Yardley MP Jess Phillips drops out of the UK Labour Party leadership race. (BBC)
2019–20 Lebanese protests
- Lebanon forms a new government with former American University of Beirut professor Hassan Diab as its Prime Minister, ending a three-month deadlock. Protestors subsequently march on Parliament to protest the new government. (Al Jazeera)
The 2020 United States Census begins, with Census Bureau director Steven Dillingham visiting Toksook Bay, Alaska to meet with indigenous leaders and distribute census materials to residents. (BBC)

January 20, 2020 (Monday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Boko Haram insurgency
- A Boko Haram female suicide bomber kills at least nine civilians in Kaiga-Kindjiria, western Chad. Two other civilians are injured. (TRT World)
Yemen Civil War (2015–present)
- 2020 Ma'rib attack
  - The death toll from the drone and missile attack on a mosque in a military training camp in Ma'rib, Yemen, has risen to 116. (BBC)
Iraqi protests (2019–present)
- Four protesters and two police officers are killed during clashes in Baghdad. (Reuters)
A former special police officer and two militants are killed during a gun battle with Indian troops in the region of Jammu and Kashmir. (Reuters)

Health and environment

Phase-out of plastic bags
- China's National Development and Reform Commission announces that single-use plastic bags will be banned in major cities by the end of the year, and then nationwide by 2022. (BBC)
2019–20 outbreak of coronavirus
- The National Health Commission of China reports a third death from coronavirus, the number of infected having increased by 136 during the weekend. The report comes as authorities confirmed that the virus spread from Wuhan to major cities, including Shenzhen, Beijing, and Hong Kong. (South China Morning Post)
- A case of Chinese coronavirus is also confirmed in South Korea. (Yonhap News)
The fifth-ever case of Brazilian hemorrhagic fever, caused by the Sabiá virus, is reported in São Paulo, Brazil. The patient visited at least three hospitals in three different cities before the diagnosis was established; contact tracing is underway. (Brazilian Ministry of Health)
Malaysia ships back 3,737 metric tonnes of illegally-imported plastic waste to 13 countries as Environment Minister Yeo Bee Yin declares that the country "[will] not become the garbage dump of the world". (BBC)

International relations

International recognition of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
- Bolivia withdraws its recognition of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic as an independent nation, and cuts ties with the ruling Polisario Front. (North African Post)

Law and crime

Trial of Catalan police leaders
- The trial against the Mossos d'Esquadra leadership begins in the National Audience for the role of the regional police in the 2017 Catalan independence referendum and the 2017–18 constitutional crisis. Then-Major of the Mossos Josep Lluís Trapero, Pere Soler and Cèsar Puig face 11 years of imprisonment for rebellion, while Teresa Laplana is accused of sedition, facing four years of imprisonment. (El Periódico) (La Vanguardia) (The New York Times) (The Oklahoman)
2020 VCDL Lobby day
- Thousands of protesters gather in Richmond to protest tighter gun laws in the U.S. state of Virginia. (BBC)
Crime in Florida
- A man is arrested for a series of 40 rapes in the Miami, Florida, United States area in the 1980s. (Miami Herald)

Politics and elections

Argentina extends freezing of assets of Hezbollah and the government of Alberto Fernández reaffirms that the country will continue to consider it a terrorist organization. (TN in Spanish)
The draft law on making amendments to 14 articles of the Constitution of Russia was presented by the working group in only five days. The same day Russian President Vladimir Putin formally submitted a bill on amendments to the lower house of parliament. (Meduza) (AFP) (TASS)

January 19, 2020 (Sunday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

The Philippines military announce that they have launched search and rescue operations for five Indonesian fishermen kidnapped by militants belonging to the ISIL-linked Abu Sayyaf group in Malaysian waters last week in Sabah. (Reuters)

International relations

India–Malaysia relations
- Indian trade minister Piyush Goyal states when he attends the World Economic Forum next week, he will not meet with his Malaysian counterpart Darell Leiking to discuss India's tightening of palm oil imports from his country. India tightened imports from Malaysia last week in response to Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's criticisms of the revocation of Jammu and Kashmir's special status and the Citizenship Amendment Act. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Crime in Hawaii
- A man facing eviction shoots three police officers, killing two, then sets a house on fire, which spreads to four nearby houses, in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. He is presumed dead in the fire. (Hawaii News Now)
Crime in Kansas City, Missouri
- Two people (including the perpetrator) were killed and fifteen others were injured during a shooting at a nightclub in Kansas City, Missouri. (WDAF)

Politics and elections

2020 Comorian legislative election
- Citizens of Comoros cast their votes in the country's latest legislative election which is boycotted by opposition parties. (Aljazeera)

January 18, 2020 (Saturday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
- Afghan presidential spokesman Sediq Sediqqi says that the government rejects the proposed "reduction in violence" by the Taliban as an "ambiguous term with no legal or military parameters". On Friday, the Taliban proposed a ten-day truce and to hold follow-up discussions with Afghan government officials. (Al Jazeera)
Yemen Civil War (2015–present)
- 2020 Ma'rib attack
  - Eighty military personnel are killed by ballistic missiles and drone strikes in an attack reportedly carried out by the Houthis against a military camp in the Yemeni city of Ma'rib, according to Saudi state TV. The Houthis have not claimed responsibility for the attack. (BBC)
Somali Civil War (2009–present)
- 2020 Afgooye bombing
  - An al-Shabaab car bombing kills four people and injures at least 20 others near Afgooye, Lower Shabelle, Somalia.

Arts and culture

Megxit
- Officials within Buckingham Palace announced that effective around Q2 2020, Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex will retain, but will no longer publicly use, the style His/Her Royal Highness, and will no longer receive public funds for royal duties. (BBC)
- The couple will also repay £2.4 million of public money spent on renovating Frogmore Cottage. (RTÉ News)
- The couple will keep their titles as Duke and Duchess of Sussex. While Prince Harry will lose all his military appointments, he will remain a prince. (Sky News)

International relations

Seoul-based NK News reports that North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho has been replaced. His successor is expected to be publicly announced next Thursday. (Reuters)

Law and crime

List of mass shootings in the United States in 2020
- A boy shoots and kills three children and a woman before being arrested in Grantsville, Utah, United States. A fifth victim is shot but is in a stable condition in hospital. (The Guardian)

January 17, 2020 (Friday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Iraqi protests (2019–present)
- At least two people are killed and dozens injured after Iraqi security forces fire upon protesters at Sinak bridge in central Baghdad. (Al Jazeera)

Arts and culture

Sea level rise driven by effects of global warming on oceans
- Foreign Minister of the Maldives Abdulla Shahid says that his country could lose entire islands unless it can access cheap financing to fight climate change. (Reuters)

Business and economy

Icelandic fishing company Samherji announces it will cease operations in Namibia. The company was embroiled in a bribery scandal there that resulted in the resignation of Namibian Fisheries Minister Bernhardt Esau and Justice Minister Sacky Shanghala, as well as the arrest of two employees of South African banking corporation Investec. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Politics of Lesotho
- Prime Minister Tom Thabane announces his forthcoming resignation after an arrest warrant is issued for his current wife, first lady Maesiah Thabane, who is wanted in connection for the 2017 murder of Thabane's estranged wife, Lipolelo Thabane. (Sowetan)
Crime in China
- A man is sentenced to death for murdering a doctor in Beijing on New Year's Eve. The murder was the latest in a string of attacks on medical staff in China by angry relatives blaming them for the lack of medical resources and services. (Asia One)

Politics and elections

Brazilian federal government secretary of culture, Roberto Alvim, is dismissed after the broadcast of a video where he announces a new national prize on culture. In the video, Alvim seems to paraphrase a speech by Joseph Goebbels, Nazi Germany's Reichsminister of Propaganda. (The Guardian)
Ukrainian Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk submits his resignation after an audio clip of him allegedly criticizing President Volodymyr Zelensky’s economic policies was leaked earlier this week. Zelensky subsequently announces that Honcharuk is allowed to keep his position. (Reuters)
Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 protests
- At a Friday sermon by Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, his first in eight years, he defends the Revolutionary Guards’ accidental killing of passengers onboard Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 and praises Operation Martyr Soleimani for giving a “slap on the face” to the United States. His sermon comes as public anger mounts against the government for their handling of Flight 752. (Al Jazeera)
Protesters squat an oil terminal in the eastern Libyan town of Zuwetina at the request of tribal leaders, who claim that the Government of National Accord is using oil revenue to pay for foreign fighters, a reference to Turkey's sending of troops and arms in support of the GNA. The protesters are swiftly condemned by the state-owned National Oil Corporation. (Reuters)