October 20, 2020 (Tuesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- War in Afghanistan
- October 2020 Afghanistan attacks
- The governor of Zazi Maidan District and a bodyguard are shot dead and another two injured in Khost Province. (TOLOnews)
- At least five people are killed and another nine injured after two bombing attacks. The attack occurred in Jalrez District, Maidan Wardak Province. (TOLOnews)
- At least twelve police officers, including the district chief, are killed when two bombs explode in Kang District, Nimruz Province. (TOLOnews)
- October 2020 Afghanistan attacks
- Allied Democratic Forces insurgency
- Gunmen storm a jail in Beni, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and free more than 1,300 inmates, also attacking the military camp that provides security to the prison. The town's mayor blames the Allied Democratic Forces, which he says used electrical equipment. Twenty inmates return, and two are shot dead. (Al Jazeera English)
- 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
- Azerbaijani troops capture the town of Zəngilan and several nearby villages in Zangilan District, Nagorno-Karabakh. (The Washington Post)
- End SARS
- Soldiers open fire against protesters for about an hour and a half during protests against police brutality in Lagos, Nigeria, killing about 20 people and wounding at least 50 others. It is reported that the soldiers had built a barricade and ambulances could not reach the protest area. (BBC News)
Arts and culture
- The Canadian town of Asbestos, Quebec, votes to rename itself as Val-des-Sources. The name change, approved by a majority of the town's 7,000 residents, must now be approved by the provincial government. (The Guardian)
Health and environment
- COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
- COVID-19 pandemic in Bulgaria
- After new infections in Bulgaria hit a record 1,024 cases in the past 24 hours, Health Minister Kostadin Angelov announces that the country will make wearing protective masks obligatory in all outdoor spaces on October 22 in an attempt to slow the spread of the virus by about 30% and help prevent the health system from being overwhelmed. (Sofia Globe)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Germany, COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns
- German authorities in Bavaria impose a lockdown in the district of Berchtesgadener Land starting at 2:00 p.m. local time today, making it the first area in Germany to go back into lockdown since April. Residents in the district for the next two weeks are not allowed to leave their homes unless for essential reasons, such as outdoor exercise, going to work, or buying groceries. (Reuters) (BBC News)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Greece
- Greece reports 667 new infections in the last 24 hours; 250 of them are from Attica. It is the highest number yet for the country since the beginning of the pandemic. (Greek Reporter)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Italy
- Authorities in Lombardy are given the green light by Health Ministry to impose a curfew in the region. The curfew will last between 11:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. local time, and it will take effect between October 22 and November 13. Medium and large shopping malls will close on weekends. (Arab News)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
- Russia reports 16,319 new cases in the last 24 hours, bringing its official number of cases to 1,431,635 and breaking its record for new infections since the pandemic began. (The Moscow Times)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Bulgaria
- COVID-19 vaccine
- Sinopharm is setting up production lines to supply up to one billion doses of two COVID-19 vaccines currently being tested on 50,000 people in Phase III trials. Sinopharm is currently testing the vaccines in ten countries, including Egypt, Argentina, Jordan, and Peru. (AP)
- AstraZeneca is expected to resume vaccine trials in the United States as early as this week. (CNBC)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Iran
- Iran reports a record 5,039 new cases in the last 24 hours, according to Health Ministry spokeswoman Sima-Sadat Lari, bringing the total number of cases to 539,670. It is the first time that the country has reported more than 5,000 cases in a single day. (Bloomberg)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
International relations
- Russia–United States relations
- Two United States F-22 fighters intercept a pair of Russian Tu-95 bombers in international airspace near Alaska. (Fox News)
Law and crime
- 2020 Thai protests
- A Thai court orders the suspension of an online TV station, critical of the government, named Voice TV, which has been accused of violating emergency measures aimed at ending three months of protests. Voice TV was also found to have breached the Computer Crime Act by uploading "false information". Voice TV is owned by the only son of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was overthrown in a military coup on September 19, 2006. (Reuters)
- Murder of Samuel Paty
- The French government orders the Grand Mosque of Pantin in the Paris suburb of Pantin to close for at least six months after an investigation found the mosque's Facebook page shared a video that incited hatred towards history teacher Samuel Paty, who was beheaded by a radical Islamist outside his school. Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin says France was confronted by an "enemy within". (Reuters)
- The United States Department of Justice files an antitrust lawsuit against Google. (BBC News)
Science and technology
- 2020 in spaceflight, New Frontiers program
- NASA's OSIRIS-REx space probe successfully lands and collects samples from the asteroid Bennu. The samples will be returned to Earth in 2023. (CNN) (BBC News)