Portal:Current events/2020 May 20

May 20, 2020 (Wednesday)

International relations

Afghan peace process
- Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada says his group is "committed to a landmark deal with the U.S." despite carrying out hundreds of attacks against Afghan forces since February. Akhundzada also urged the U.S. "to not afford anyone the opportunity to obstruct, delay and ultimately derail this internationally recognised bilateral agreement". (Al Jazeera)

Law and crime

COVID-19 pandemic in Bolivia
- Bolivian Minister of Health Marcelo Navajas is dismissed and arrested in graft probe over ventilators bought in a Spanish company. (Bloomberg)
Crime in Arizona, gun violence in the United States
- A gunman opens fire near the Westgate Entertainment District in Glendale, Arizona. Three people are injured, one of them seriously. The gunman is then taken into custody. (CBS News)
In a hearing conducted over Zoom, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a court in Singapore sentences a 37-year-old Malaysian man to death for a 2011 heroin transaction. It is the first time that a death sentence has been imposed via teleconferencing in Singapore. (Reuters) (Al Jazeera)
Missing WWE wrestler Shad Gaspard's body is found on a California beach. (CNN)
U.S. authorities in Massachusetts arrest a father and son, aged 59 and 27, who have been charged in Japan with helping Carlos Ghosn, former Chairman of Nissan, to escape from Japan to Lebanon last year. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

2020 Burundian general election
- Citizens of Burundi head to the polls to elect their president and the members of the National Assembly. Following a campaign marred by violence, the election takes place amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and a social media blackout. Regional and international election observers have been blocked from monitoring the election, raising doubts about its fairness. (DW)