October 21, 2020 (Wednesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- War in Afghanistan
- October 2020 Afghanistan attacks
- The Taliban kills at least 12 members of the police in Baharak District, Takhar Province. (TOLOnews)
- October 2020 Afghanistan attacks
- End SARS, Lekki massacre
- Nigerian police open fire on protestors in Lekki, Lagos State, killing several people; Amnesty International puts the death toll at "at least 12". (The New York Post) (The Guardian)
- 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
- Azerbaijani forces say they have captured the town of Mincivan and 13 other settlements in Zangilan District, Nagorno-Karabakh. (TASS)
Arts and culture
- Pope Francis says he supports civil unions for same-sex couples. (NBC News)
Disasters and accidents
- A stampede at a stadium in Jalalabad, Nangarhar, Afghanistan, kills 15 people and wounds 11 others. (Al Jazeera)
Health and environment
- COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
- COVID-19 pandemic in England, COVID-19 tier regulations in England
- It is announced that South Yorkshire will move into tier three restrictions at 00:01 a.m. BST on October 24, after a deal was reached between local leaders and the government to provide £41 million in extra support. The restrictions will cover around 1.4 million people in Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, Sheffield, and the surrounding areas. (BBC News) (ITV)
- The number of confirmed cases in the United Kingdom surges to a new record high of 26,688, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 789,229. (Sky News)
- COVID-19 pandemic in England, COVID-19 tier regulations in England
- COVID-19 pandemic in Italy
- Lombardy reports a new record high of new infections, with 4,120 new cases reported in the last 24 hours and positivity rates surging to 11%. (Il Giorno)
- Italy registers 15,199 new infections in the past 24 hours, according to the health ministry, the highest daily tally since the start of the outbreak in the country. While deaths increase by 127, this is the first time virus-related deaths have surged above 100 since May. (RTÉ)
- It is announced that Lazio will introduce a curfew between midnight and 5:00 a.m. local time starting October 23, becoming the third Italian region to impose a curfew, after Lombardy and Campania. (Il Messaggero)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the Czech Republic
- Czech Republic reports a new record high of new infections in a single day, with 11,984 new cases reported in the last 24 hours, taking the nationwide total to 193,246. (The Times Of India)
- In response to the surge of new cases, the Czech government announces that it will close non-essential shops and limit the people's movement to essential reasons only in new lockdown measures effective between tomorrow at 6:00 a.m. and November 3 at 11:59 p.m. local time. (Politico)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Spain
- Spain exceeds one million cases of COVID-19, becoming the first country in the EU to do so. (Sky News)
- La Rioja becomes the second region to go into perimetral lockdown. (La Vanguardia)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Germany
- Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn tests positive for COVID-19. (DW)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Greece
- Greece reports 865 new cases in the past 24 hours, a new record high, raising the number of confirmed cases to 27,334, according to data from the National Public Health Organization (Ekathimerini)
- Greek Civil Protection Deputy Minister Nikos Hardalias announces the designation of Kastoria into Level Four (red zone) and imposes a local lockdown in the region starting October 23 in an attempt to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the region. (Greek Travel Pages)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Croatia
- Croatia registers 1,424 new infections in the last 24 hours, a new record high since the beginning of the pandemic. (Croatia Week)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Poland
- Poland surpasses 200,000 COVID-19 cases after a record 10,040 new cases were reported by the Health Ministry in the last 24 hours. (Swiss Info)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
- Russia reports a record 317 new fatalities, taking the nationwide total to 24,952, as the country resists reintroducing strict lockdown measures. (The Moscow Times)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Slovakia
- COVID-19 pandemic in Slovenia
- COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine
- Ukraine registers a record 6,719 new infections in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases to 309,107, according to the interactive map of the NSDC. (Kyiv Post)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
- COVID-19 pandemic in Iran
- Iran announces a record-high single-day spike in new cases since the first case was reported in Qom in February, with 5,616 new infections reported in the last 24 hours, according to a statement from Health Ministry spokeswoman Sima-Sadat Lari. (Anadolu Agency)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Jordan
- COVID-19 pandemic in Iran
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
- COVID-19 pandemic in Ohio
- The Ohio Department of Health registers 2,366 cases in the last 24 hours. This is the highest single-day increase in cases for Ohio during the pandemic, and this brings the statewide total to 188,005. (WJW-TV)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Wisconsin
- COVID-19 pandemic in Ohio
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
Law and crime
- Trial of Catalonia independence leaders
- The former leadership of the Mossos d'Esquadra, the Catalan regional police, whose defendants are Major Josep Lluís Trapero, Pere Soler, Cèsar Puig, and Lieutenant Teresa Laplana, are acquitted by the National Audience of the crimes of sedition and disobedience for their role during the 2017 Catalan independence referendum. (La Vanguardia)