Portal:Current events/2020 July 11

July 11, 2020 (Saturday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan
- July 2020 Afghanistan attacks
  - At least six civilians are killed when their vehicle hits a roadside bomb in Ghazni Province, Afghanistan. A provincial government spokesman blames the Taliban though no group claimed responsibility. (AP via Al Arabiya)
Syrian civil war
- The United Nations Security Council approves aid deliveries to northwest Syria through one border crossing with Turkey, a day after its authorization for the six-year-long humanitarian operation ended. Russia and China abstain today on this week's fifth attempt to approve this help. (Reuters)
Bosnia and Herzegovina commemorates 25 years since the Srebrenica massacre. (BBC News)

Arts and culture

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on The Walt Disney Company
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, COVID-19 pandemic in Florida
  - Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom reopens at Walt Disney World with new safety guidelines despite rising cases in Florida. Masks are expected to be mandatory and capacity is expected to be limited. (CNBC) (The Wall Street Journal)
A sealed copy of the 1985 Nintendo Entertainment System game Super Mario Bros. sells for US$114,000, a world record for a video game. (Nintendo Life)
The World Council of Churches, which counts 350 churches as members, calls on Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to reverse his decision to turn the celebrated Hagia Sophia museum back into a mosque. (BBC News)

Disasters and accidents

In the second case in a week in Australia, a surfing teenage boy is killed by a shark near Grafton, New South Wales. (AP News)
A fire breaks out at the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel in San Gabriel, California, US, resulting in the collapse of its roof and considerable damage to the nearly 250-year-old building's interior. (The New York Times)

Health and environment

Law and crime

Police respond to a shooting and hostage situation at a pentecostal church in Zuurbekom, Gauteng, South Africa. At least five people are killed. South African police free an undetermined number of hostages, and arrest more than 40 people. Among those arrested were members of the police, defense forces and correctional services. The attackers reportedly were part of a splinter group in a leadership dispute at the long-troubled church. (Reuters) (BBC News) (AP)

Politics and elections

Protests against responses to the COVID-19 pandemic
- Serbia COVID-19 protests and riots
  - Serbians protest for a fourth consecutive day; the protest initially started out against the government COVID-19 measures but would morph into anti-government protests. 71 people are arrested. (DW News)
2020 Hong Kong pro-democracy primaries
- Election starts for pro-democracy politicians and activists to choose representatives to run in the upcoming legislative election in September. (Reuters)
Congolese Justice Minister Celestin Tunda resigns following disputes with President Félix Tshisekedi over Tunda and allies's proposal to allow politicians more control over criminal prosecution cases. (Al Jazeera)
Thousands of protesters march in Khabarovsk, Khabarovsk Krai, Russia, against Thursday's arrest of LDPR governor Sergey Furgal for allegedly organizing the murder of entrepreneurs 15 years ago. (Reuters)
Mali President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta announces dissolution of the constitutional court in an attempt to calm unrest that saw four people killed in anti-government protests in the capital Bamako on Friday. (Bloomberg) (BBC News)

Sports

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports
- Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on ice hockey
  - The National Hockey League announces that the 2019–20 NHL season will resume on August 1 at several hubs in Toronto and Edmonton following approval by the U.S. CDC. Players and team staff members will undergo daily testing when the season resumes. (NHL.com)