Portal:Current events/2020 July 9

July 9, 2020 (Thursday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Afghan peace process, War in Afghanistan
- An Afghan government spokesman says it will continue to release Taliban prisoners though disagreement prevails over the release of some 600 of them that are considered a "threat to national security". The Taliban could not be reached for comment and it is not clear whether they are willing to accept to start talks based on the list of prisoners set to be freed. (Reuters)
Insurgency in the Sahel
- The United States says it is "deeply concerned" about abuses by state security forces in the Sahel and threatens to cut aid to the G5 nations that form a coalition in the area – Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, and Chad – if those issues are not addressed. The U.S. also welcomes a summit to be held between the G5 nations and France and Spain. (Reuters)

Health and environment

International relations

India–Nepal relations
- Nepal decides to block broadcasts of Indian news channels in Nepal with the exception of Doordarshan News, effective immediately. The move comes in the wake of reports on Nepal carried by some Indian news channels, including their allegedly "defamatory shows" on Nepali Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli along with the Chinese envoy. (Himalayan Times)
Chinese intelligence activity abroad
- In its annual report, Germany's domestic intelligence agency BfV warns consumers that personal data they provide to Chinese payment companies or other tech firms, such as Tencent, Alibaba and others, could end up in the hands of China's government. (WREX)

Law and crime

Supreme Court of the United States
- The court rules in McGirt v. Oklahoma and Sharp v. Murphy that nearly half of Oklahoma is Native American tribal land. (The New York Times)
- The court rules in Trump v. Vance that prosecutors in New York can seek President Donald Trump's financial records in a major case on the scope and limits of presidential power, but also ruled in Trump v. Mazars USA, LLP that lower courts had not properly assessed the separation of powers between Congress and the President when the House of Representatives attempted to similarly subpoena his tax returns. (The New York Times)
Governor of Khabarovsk Krai Sergey Furgal is arrested by Russian police over a series of murders of several businessmen in 2004 and 2005 in his region, according to the Investigative Committee of Russia. (Sky News)

Politics and elections

Park Won-soon, the Mayor of Seoul, is found dead after being declared missing earlier the same day. (Yonhap News Agency)
Irish Minister of Finance Paschal Donohoe is elected president of the Eurogroup, beating the candidatures of Spanish Minister Nadia Calviño and of Luxembourgish Minister Pierre Gramegna. He will succeed Mário Centeno. (Politico)