Portal:Current events/2020 July 21

July 21, 2020 (Tuesday)

Arts and culture

Heads of Christian Denominations (ZHOCD) churches meet with Zimbabwe's political leaders to discuss pressing issues affecting the country. The southern African nation of 14.3 million is 72% Protestant and 11% Catholic, with 15% adhering to ethnic religions. (Vatican News)

International relations

Greece–Turkey relations
- Greece accuses Turkey of encroaching on its territorial waters after a NAVTEX was issued by the Turkish Naval Forces for "seismic surveys" off Greek islands in the Mediterranean Sea between Cyprus and Crete from July 21 to August 2. (Reuters)
- The government places the Hellenic Armed Forces on high alert after Turkish Air Force fighter jets entered Greek airspace over Strongyli Megistis. (Ekathimerini)
Iran–Iraq relations
- Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi meets Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President of Iran Hassan Rouhani where he says that "Iraq is a country that won’t allow any aggression or challenge to Iran from its territory", in the first trip abroad by Kadhimi. (Reuters)
Taiwan–United Kingdom relations
- Oxford City Council overwhelmingly passes a motion to establish sister city relationships with an as-yet-undetermined Taiwanese city due to Taiwan's strong human rights record and success at keeping the COVID-19 pandemic under control. This will be Taiwan and the UK's first sister city relationship and the first sister city in East Asia for Oxford. (Taiwan News)

Law and crime

Aftermath of the Sudanese Revolution
- Sudan's former president Omar al-Bashir goes on trial for several charges, including fomenting a coup in 1989 that overthrew the government of Sadiq al-Mahdi. The trial is adjourned to a bigger courtroom. If convicted, 76-year-old al-Bashir could face the death penalty. (Al Jazeera)
Lutsk hostage crisis
- A gunman carrying explosives takes 16 people hostage aboard a public bus in Lutsk, Ukraine. Police said they identified the man, who had expressed frustrations with the Ukrainian system on social media. All the hostages are freed unharmed following the gunman's surrender to police after hours of negotiations, shortly before the President Volodymyr Zelensky gave into one of the gunman's demands and posted a video on Facebook saying, "Everyone should watch the 2005 film Earthlings." (AP) (BBC News)
Censorship in Pakistan
- Pakistan blocks Bigo Live and threatens a similar move with the app TikTok over "immoral, obscene and vulgar" content. The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority says in a statement that the two platforms could have "extremely negative effects on the society in general and youth in particular", without elaborating. (AP)
Corruption in the United States
- Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder is arrested for bribery. (NBC News)
List of mass shootings in the United States in 2020
- Fifteen people are injured, six seriously, in a mass shooting at a funeral home in Chicago, Illinois. One person is in custody, but a motive remains unclear. (NBC News)
Islam in Germany
- The Landtag of Baden-Württemberg announces a full ban on face coverings in schools, including burqas and niqabs worn by Muslims. Previously, the ban only applied to teachers in Baden-Württemberg. Minister-President Winfried Kretschmann says that full-face veiling "does not belong in a free society". (DW)

Politics and elections

2020 Bulgarian protests
- The government survives a motion of no confidence by 124 votes against, 102 votes in favour, amidst ongoing large-scale anti-government protests. (Reuters)

Science and technology

Twitter suspensions
- Twitter bans 7,000 accounts and places restrictions on a further 150,000 that promote QAnon-related content. The social media site also announces that terms connected to the conspiracy theory will be barred from appearing on its trending topics and search feature. (NBC News)