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Portal:Current events/2020 August 17

{{Current events|year=2020|month=08|day=17|content=

;Armed conflicts and attacks

;Business and economy

;Disasters and accidents

;Health and environment

;International relations

;Law and crime

  • George Floyd protests
  • George Floyd protests in Washington
  • George Floyd protests in Seattle
  • 18 protesters are arrested in Seattle after a protest in the SODO neighborhood is declared a riot. [https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/17/us/seattle-riot-protesters-arrested/index.html (CNN)]
  • Hong Kong national security law
  • Pro-democracy activist Sunny Cheung reportedly flees to the United Kingdom after reporting fears of imprisonment. [https://hongkongfp.com/2020/08/17/more-hong-kong-democrats-complain-of-being-followed-as-another-activist-reportedly-flees-city/ (HK Free Press)]
  • Aftermath of the 2020 Beirut explosions
  • Badri Daher, the director general of the Lebanese Customs Administration, is arrested amid the investigation on the storage of ammonium nitrate at the Port of Beirut for six years. [https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/lebanese-customs-chief-arrested-over-beirut-blast-1.5067268 (AP via CTV News)]
  • A court in Malaysia jails a teenager until the King's decision for starting a fire that killed 23 people in 2017. He was not eligible for the death penalty due to being a minor at the time of the arson, the court explained. [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-malaysia-fire/malaysian-court-jails-teenager-for-killing-23-people-in-school-fire-idUSKCN25D17U (Reuters)]
  • Two men are charged with the death of Run-DMC member Jam Master Jay in Queens, New York, United States. The killing had remained unsolved as a cold case for 18 years. [https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/2-men-be-charged-2002-killing-hip-hop-legend-jam-n1236965?cid=eml_nbn_20200817 (NBC News)]
  • The government of Colombia offers a reward of 200M pesos ($53,000; €44,000; £40,000) for information about the four gunmen who burst into a house party and killed eight people in Samaniego in Nariño Department Saturday. [https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-53806359 (BBC News)]

;Politics and elections

  • Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on politics
  • COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
  • Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on education
  • Education Secretary Gavin Williamson announces that the Ofqual has discarded the use of an algorithm to award the final grades of GCE Advanced Level and General Certificate of Secondary Education candidates in lieu of the exams that were cancelled due to the pandemic, instead basing the qualifications on teacher-assessed grades. The decision comes after hundreds of students in England protested following the release of the Advanced Level results on August 13, which saw around 40% of teacher-predicted grades downgraded under the algorithm. [https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/aug/17/a-levels-gcse-results-england-based-teacher-assessments-government-u-turn (The Guardian)] [https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/britain-working-on-solution-to-exam-row-as-criticism-spirals?cx_testId=20&cx_testVariant=cx_4&cx_artPos=3#cxrecs_s (Reuters via The Straits Times)]
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, WE Charity controversy
  • Bill Morneau resigns as Canada's finance minister following his involvement in the WE Charity scandal. [https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6883831/canadas-finance-minister-quits/?cs=14264 (AAP via The Canberra Times)]
  • 2020 Belarusian protests
  • President Alexander Lukashenko says he is "ready to share power in Belarus, although not under pressure from the streets". Meanwhile, opposition leader in-exile Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya urges security forces to defect to her side and says she is prepared to lead the country. [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-belarus-election/lukashenko-says-he-is-ready-to-share-power-in-belarus-as-protests-mount-idUSKCN25D0IJ (Reuters)]
  • Addressing workers at a truck factory, Lukashenko states that there will be no fresh elections "until you kill me", he warns. He urges people to let people who want to work to work amid a general strike. He is booed and jeered by the crowd. [https://news.sky.com/story/belarus-uk-condemns-appalling-violence-against-protesters-and-does-not-accept-results-of-election-12050864 (Sky News)] [https://www.politico.eu/article/belarus-protests-alexander-lukashenko-jeered-by-workers/ (Politico)]
  • The Belarusian state media National State Television and Radio Company of Belarus headquarters in Minsk is reportedly emptied after staff members walked out and joined the general strike. State television is still on air but only showing an empty studio with music playing in the background. [https://www.dw.com/en/belarus-television-broadcasts-empty-studio-as-state-media-joins-general-strike/a-54593079 (DW)]
  • 2020 United States presidential election
  • The 2020 Democratic National Convention begins, running until Thursday. Former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris are expected to be officially nominated for their party's choice for President and Vice President, respectively, in the upcoming election. [https://www.npr.org/2020/08/15/902507449/the-democratic-national-convention-starts-monday-heres-what-you-need-to-know (NPR)]
  • In a show of bipartisan support for the Democrats national ticket, four longtime Republicans gave speeches: former Ohio governor John Kasich, former New Jersey governor Christine Whitman, former New York congresswoman Susan Molinari, and Quibi CEO Meg Whitman. [https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/08/17/dnc-former-republican-governors-and-gop-congresswoman-set-speak-for-biden/5600304002/ (USA Today)]
  • 2020 United States Postal Service crisis
  • Congressional Democrats have announced investigations and hearings into allegations of widespread mail delays ahead of the coming 2020 United States presidential election, which many expect will see a surge in mail-in voting due to the ongoing pandemic. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is calling the House of Representatives back from recess several weeks early in order to consider legislation to address the crisis. [https://thehill.com/homenews/house/512258-pelosi-calls-for-house-to-return-this-week-over-usps-issues (The Hill)] [https://www.axios.com/pelosi-house-postal-service-bbce98bd-6fe5-4640-995d-6061d4767940.html (Axios)]

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