Portal:Current events/2019 November 19

• War in Afghanistan, Afghan peace process
  • In Zabul Province, the Taliban releases two foreign hostages, American professor Kevin King and Australian professor Timothy Weeks, who had been held captive since being kidnapped outside the American University of Afghanistan in 2016. Three high-ranking Taliban militants are released in exchange for the hostages. (BBC News)
  • Afghan President Ashraf Ghani claims victory over ISIL, citing the surrender of over 600 of their fighters in the past weeks as an example that the group has given up. (Reuters)
• Second Libyan Civil War
  • Libyan National Army (LNA) warplanes carry out airstrikes on the port city of Misrata. The LNA say they were targeting munitions and armored vehicles that had been delivered from Turkey. (Reuters)
• 2019 Iranian fuel protests
  • Rioters armed with knives kill three members of Iran's security forces, bringing the death toll up to 11. (Al Jazeera)
  • Amnesty International reports that 106 protesters have been killed during the protest. Some reports indicate a much higher death toll. (BBC News) (National Post)
• 2019 Hong Kong protests
  • After the attack on pro-democracy activist Jimmy Sham the month prior, another pro-democracy activist, Albert Ho, is attacked by masked men at a minibus stop. (South China Morning Post)
• 2019 Bolivian protests
  • At least three people are killed and 22 injured after Bolivian police and military forces use armored vehicles and helicopters to unblock access to a major fuel plant that had been blockaded by supporters of former president Evo Morales. (The Guardian)
  • Bolivia's congress, controlled by lawmakers from Morales' Movement for Socialism (MAS) party, said it would cancel a contentious vote in the legislature that had been expected to reject Morales' resignation. (Reuters)

• 2019 Japan–South Korea trade dispute
  • Officials from Japan and South Korea hold their second round of trade talks as part of the World Trade Organization's dispute settlement process. (NHK World-Japan)
  • Japan and South Korea have failed to narrow their differences over Japan's export controls in the second round of bilateral talks. (NHK World-Japan)
• Amid continuing fallout over rape allegations against Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and controversy over his close friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, several businesses—including British banking group Standard Chartered, KPMG, Aon and drug giant AstraZeneca—cut ties with the Prince. Pitch@Palace, an initiative founded by Prince Andrew to support entrepreneurs, removes its entire web page listing its supporters. (Yahoo! News) (CNN)

• Fifteen children are confirmed (and three more suspected) dead from measles in Samoa as the illness epidemic continues within the country. (Radio New Zealand)

• Hong Kong–United States relations, China–United States relations, 2019 Hong Kong protests
  • The U.S. Senate unanimously passes the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, which mandates that the State Department at least annually checks to see if Hong Kong retains enough autonomy to retain its special trade status with the United States. The Senate also unanimously passes another bill banning the sale of certain crowd-control munitions to the Hong Kong police. The former's passage is condemned by China. (Reuters)

• Assange v Swedish Prosecution Authority
  • A Swedish prosecutor says she will drop charges of rape against Julian Assange after a review of the evidence. (Reuters)
• Death of Jeffrey Epstein
  • Two prison guards who worked at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City are arrested in connection with the death of American financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The guards are accused of falsifying the records of their watch the night Epstein was found dead. (Washington Examiner) (New York Post)
• The Northern Mariana Islands House of Representatives calls for the impeachment of Governor Ralph Torres amid an ongoing Federal Bureau of Investigation investigation into his businesses. (Radio New Zealand)
• Crime in Germany
  • Son of former German president Richard von Weizsäcker, a physician, is stabbed to death during a lecture. The attacker is reported as 57 years old. (Deutsche Welle) (The Berlin Spectator)
• Operation Car Wash
  • A Rio de Janeiro judge issues an arrest warrant against former President of Paraguay Horacio Cartes, accusing him of operating a money laundering scheme with a friend, Dario Messer, who is prosecuted as part of Operation Car Wash. (EFE) (Clarín)

• Shinzō Abe becomes the longest-serving Prime Minister of Japan. (The Straits Times)
• 2019 Chilean protests
  • An impeachment inquiry is launched against Chilean President Sebastián Piñera due to his alleged role in the violation of human rights in the ongoing protests. (World Socialist Web Site)
• Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Sabah is named by the Emir as the new Prime Minister of Kuwait, replacing Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah. (Gulf News)
• 2019 Montserratian general election
  • After his victory in the general election, Easton Taylor-Farrell is sworn in as Premier of Montserrat. (RJR News)
• Silveria Jacobs is appointed as the new Prime Minister of Sint Maarten. (The Daily Herald)