Portal:Current events/2020 January 20

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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. [https://www.trtworld.com/africa/suicide-bombing-in-western-chad-kills-at-least-9-33094 (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. [https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-51166943 (BBC News)]
• 2019–2021 Iraqi protests
• Four protesters and two police officers are killed during clashes in Baghdad. [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iraq-protests/four-protesters-two-policemen-killed-as-iraq-unrest-resumes-idUSKBN1ZJ0QQ (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. [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-kashmir/former-policeman-among-three-militants-killed-in-gunfight-with-indian-troops-idUSKBN1ZJ186 (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. [https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-51171491 (BBC News)]
• COVID-19 pandemic
• COVID-19 pandemic in Mainland China
• Chinese premier Li Keqiang has urged decisive and effective efforts to prevent and control the epidemic. [https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202001/21/WS5e26556ca31012821727269c.html (China Daily)]
• 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. [https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3046771/china-coronavirus-wuhan-reports-136-new-cases-over-weekend (South China Morning Post)]
• COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea
• A case of Chinese coronavirus is also confirmed in South Korea. [https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20200120004500320 (Yonhap News Agency)]
• 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. [http://outbreaknewstoday.com/brazilian-hemorrhagic-fever-case-reported-in-sao-paulo-state-69791/ (Outbreak News Today)]
• 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". [https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-51176312 (BBC News)]

;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. [http://northafricapost.com/37171-sahara-bolivia-abandons-polisario-separatists-isolation-deepens.html (The North Africa 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. [https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2020/01/20/world/europe/ap-eu-spain-catalonia.html (The New York Times)] [http://oklahoman.com/article/feed/10005748/ex-police-chief-on-trial-for-role-in-catalan-secession-bid (The Oklahoman)]
• 2020 VCDL Lobby Day
• Thousands of protesters gather in Richmond to protest tighter gun laws in the U.S. state of Virginia. [https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-51180452 (BBC News)]
• Crime in Florida
• A man is arrested for a series of 40 rapes in the Miami, Florida, United States area in the 1980s. [https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/crime/article239423768.html (Miami Herald)]

;Politics and elections

• 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. [https://meduza.io/en/feature/2020/01/21/how-russia-s-constitutional-reforms-went-from-nonexistent-to-fully-drafted-in-only-five-days (Meduza)] [https://news.yahoo.com/moving-quickly-putin-submits-controversial-reform-plan-mps-173946659.html (Yahoo! News)] [https://tass.com/politics/1110861 (TASS)]

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