Portal:Current events/2020 December 8

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Tigray conflict
  • Ethiopian National Defense Force troops open fire on United Nations staffers who were trying to reach areas where "they were not supposed to go" near Sheraro in the Tigray Region, according to senior Ethiopian government official Redwan Hussein. There are no reported casualties. UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric says the reports are "alarming". (AP)

Arts and culture

• Pope Francis issues the apostolic letter Patris Corde (“With a Father’s Heart”) for the 150th anniversary of the declaration of Saint Joseph as patron of the universal Church. The Pope declares a special Year of St. Joseph (December 8, 2020 — December 8, 2021). (Vatican News)

Disasters and accidents

• A helicopter crash in the French Alps, leaves five people dead and another injured. The helicopter was carrying an air rescue crew on a training mission. (Reuters)
• In Belle, West Virginia, United States, an explosion at the Chemours Chemical Plant prompts a now-cancelled shelter-in-place to be issued for Belle and in surrounding areas; the explosion leaves one person dead, and three others injured. Along with the shelter-in-place, schools in Kanawha County, the county Belle resides in, were closed for Wednesday. (USA Today)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Africa
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Morocco
      • Morocco says that its Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine will be free for all citizens and will be rolled out in the following weeks. (Reuters)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in India
      • India reports 26,567 new cases, the lowest in the country since July 10. (Reuters)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Japan
      • Japan reports 47 new deaths in the past 24 hours, a new single-day record since the beginning of the pandemic. (The Japan Times)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey
      • Turkey reports a new single-day record of 211 new deaths, bringing the nationwide death toll to 15,304. (Daily Sabah)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in North America
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
      • The U.S. surpasses 15 million cases of COVID-19, with about one out of every 22 Americans having tested positive since the pandemic began. (USA Today)
      • COVID-19 vaccination in the United States
        • American regulators from the Food and Drug Administration confirm that Pfizer's vaccine candidate is 95% effective. (The Washington Post)
        • President Donald Trump hosts an Operation Warp Speed vaccine summit. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, and Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards attend the event. (Business Insider)
        • President Trump says that he will invoke the Defense Production Act of 1950 to provide vaccine doses if necessary. (Bloomberg.com)
      • COVID-19 pandemic in Washington, D.C.
        • President-elect Joe Biden says that he will issue an executive order that would require face masks in federal buildings on the first day of his presidency. The order will last for the first 100 days that he holds office. (Newsweek)
        • Jenna Ellis, lawyer to President Trump, tests positive for COVID-19. This comes just two days after Rudy Giuliani, another of Trump's lawyers, also tested positive. (The New York Times)
      • COVID-19 pandemic in Michigan
        • Michigan surpasses 10,000 confirmed deaths from COVID-19. In response, Governor Gretchen Whitmer orders flags to fly at half staff for the next 10 days. (WDIV-TV) (WEYI-TV)
      • COVID-19 pandemic in Massachusetts
        • Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker announces that the state will tighten restrictions and move back to phase 3 of the reopening plan. (The Hill)
      • COVID-19 pandemic in Colorado
        • Colorado Governor Jared Polis announces that the state will extend its statewide mask mandate for 30 more days amid a rise of cases in the state. (KDVR)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Canada
      • COVID-19 pandemic in Manitoba
        • Manitoba extends its COVID-19 restrictions into January. However, drive-in church services will be exempted, thrift stores will be allowed to reopen, and sales of Christmas and holiday items will be permitted. (CBC)
      • COVID-19 pandemic in Alberta
        • Alberta imposes tough new restrictions in a bid to curb soaring COVID-19 infections including the closure of all casinos and gyms, banning dine-in service at restaurants and bars, imposing a mandatory provincewide mask requirement, banning all outdoor and indoor social gatherings, and imposing mandatory work-from-home measures. (CBC)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
      • COVID-19 vaccination in the United Kingdom
        • The United Kingdom's National Health Service begins a mass vaccination campaign against COVID-19 using the BNT162b2 vaccine developed by BioNTech and Pfizer. Seniors over the age of 80 and certain healthcare workers will be among the first to receive the vaccine. (BBC News)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Belarus
      • Belarus exceeds 150,000 cases of COVID-19. (TASS)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Spain
      • Four lions at the Barcelona Zoo tests positive for COVID-19. (NBC News)
• 2020 H5N8 outbreak
  • France's Ministry of Agriculture confirms an outbreak of the highly pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N8 (bird flu) at a duck farm in Bénesse-Maremne, Nouvelle-Aquitaine. (France 24)

Law and crime

• Hong Kong national security law
  • Police in Hong Kong arrest eight pro-democracy activists including Leung Kwok-hung (better known as Long Hair), Eddie Chu, Figo Chan and Wu Chi-wai. (South China Morning Post)
• Capital punishment in Iran
  • A spokesman for the Supreme Court of Iran says it upheld a death sentence against dissident journalist Ruhollah Zam "more than one month ago". Zam was found guilty of "corruption on earth" on charges of spying for France and Israel and trying to destabilise Iran by inciting unrest in 2017 on social media. In court, Zam denied most of the allegations against him and said he was only engaged in "media work". (Al Jazeera)

Politics and elections

• 2020 Liberian Senate election, 2020 Liberian constitutional referendum
  • Voters in Liberia head to the polls for mid-term senatorial elections. A constitutional referendum is also held, with questions about dual citizenship and a limitation of term limits for politicians being decided by the electorate. (Liberian Observer) (Al Jazeera)
• Internal Market Bill, Brexit
  • United Kingdom Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove announces that the UK government will withdraw all controversial clauses from the Internal Market Bill. Gove and Vice-President of the European Commission Maroš Šefčovič announce "an agreement in principle" on all issues of the Brexit withdrawal agreement, including the protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland, border checks, food and medicine supplies and "clarification" on state subsidy rules. (The National)

Science and technology

• Nepal and China agree that the height of Earth's highest mountain, Mount Everest, is 8,848.86 meters (29,031.7 ft). (Reuters)
• Pornographic website Pornhub, one of the internet's most visited websites, bans users from downloading videos and restricts uploads to certain "partner accounts", following allegations in The New York Times that the website hosted child abuse content. (Reuters) (BBC News)

• 2020–21 UEFA Champions League, Racism in association football
  • UEFA suspends the group stage match between Paris Saint-Germain and İstanbul Başakşehir inside the opening 15 minutes, after players from both teams abruptly left the pitch in protest of an alleged racist incident by a match official towards İstanbul Başakşehir assistant manager Pierre Webó. (CNN)