Portal:Current events
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Topics in the news

Haze over Jam Gadang in Indonesia
- An earthquake strikes Maluku, Indonesia, killing at least 30 people.
- During a prolonged period of haze (pictured) over Southeast Asia, more than 800,000 people endure respiratory diseases.
- An earthquake in Kashmir kills 38 people and injures more than 700 others.
- Astronomers announce that 2I/Borisov is the first verified interstellar comet, ahead of its closest approach to the Sun on 7 December.
October 2, 2019 (Wednesday)
International relations
- Japan–North Korea relations
- Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe condemns in the strongest terms the latest North Korean tests of missiles and says it clearly violates United Nations resolutions. (Reuters)
October 1, 2019 (Tuesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- War in Donbass, Minsk Protocol
- Ukraine agrees to the "Steinmeier formula", aimed at granting a special self-governing status to the Donbass and organising OSCE-validated elections according to Ukrainian law. (Kyiv Post) (TASS)
- 2015–19 Iraqi protests, New Arab Spring
- At least two people are killed and 200 are injured at protests against unemployment and government corruption in Iraq. Protestors also try to enter the fortified Green Zone in Baghdad. (Reuters)
- Northern Mali conflict
- Mali's government says jihadist militant attacks on military (FAMA) posts in Mondoro and Boulkessi, in the central Mopti Region, have killed 25 troops and left 60 others missing, possibly captured, while also inflicting heavy equipment losses. (Reuters) (Deutsche Welle)
- 2019 Hong Kong protests
- Violent clashes erupt between pro-democracy protesters and police in Hong Kong on National Day of the People's Republic of China. An 18-year-old protestor is shot in the chest by police and taken to hospital for surgery. While people have been shot with rubber bullets during these protests, this is the first reported injury from a live round. Video footage shows that the police officer pulls out his gun trying to stop an attack on another officer and his arm is hit by the protestor with a metal pipe immediately before the police officer fires. (The Charlotte Observer) (BBC)(Bastille Post)
Arts and culture
- 70th anniversary of the People's Republic of China
- China celebrates its National Day with parades across the country, including a large military parade in the capital Beijing. (CNN)
Business and economy
- Belfast shipyard Harland and Wolff owner Dolphin Drilling announces it has found a buyer for the shipyard, infrastructure-based InfraStrata, saving it from closure. (Reuters)
Disasters and accidents
- The Nanfang'ao Bridge, the only steel single-arch bridge in Taiwan, collapses on fishing boats in Su'ao. Ten people are injured and six are believed to have been trapped. (Reuters)
- Severe flooding affects Laxey, Isle of Man, with some residents evacuated from their homes. (Isle of Man Government)
Health and enironment
- Dutch farmers stage a protest in the Amsterdam area against proposals to halve livestock numbers in a bid to cut nitrogen emissions. Motoring group ANWB claims tractors on highways caused a total of 1,136km (700 miles) of traffic jams during morning rush hour, with tractors on one highway swerving back and forth to prevent traffic passing. (BBC)
International relations
- North Korean missile tests, Japan–North Korea relations
- North Korea fires a missile which lands in the exclusive economic zone of Japan, according to Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga. (Reuters)
Law and crime
- Crime in Finland
- A woman is killed and ten other people injured when a student attacks a teacher and students with a sword at a vocational school inside a shopping mall in Kuopio, Northern Savonia, Finland. Firearms are employed as the police disarm and arrest the suspect, who is one of the injured. (Evening Standard) (CNN) (NewsNow)
September 30, 2019 (Monday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Somali Civil War
- Islamist militants launch two attacks against foreign forces in Somalia. A U.S. military base in Baledogle, Lower Shabelle, is stormed by attackers using two car bombs and guns, and an Italian peacekeeping convoy is targeted by additional bombs in Mogadishu. United States and Italian authorities both state no injuries occurred, although the suicide bombing against the Italian convoy destroyed a military vehicle and heavily damaged nearby buildings. Al-Shabaab claims responsibility for both attacks. (Newsweek)
- Yemeni Civil War, Yemeni peace process
- The International Committee of the Red Cross says that the Houthis have unilaterally released 290 prisoners. The move is part of a peace agreement brokered in Stockholm by the United Nations in December. The Houthis call on their opponents to take a comparable step. (BBC)
- The Swedish Navy formally relocates its headquarters back to the underground Muskö naval base on the island of Muskö after a 25-year absence. The move from Karlskrona naval base to Muskö is based on the calculation that only Muskö could withstand a Russian attack, according to the Swedish Defence Research Agency. (The Guardian)
Business and economy
- The American clothing retailer Forever 21 files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and announces it will close up to 178 stores. (NPR)
- French airline XL Airways grounds all flights amid financial difficulties ahead of a bankruptcy hearing scheduled for Wednesday. (The Local)
- Slovenian airline Adria Airways cancels all flights and files for bankruptcy. (Reuters)
International relations
- Foreign relations of Vanuatu, 2019 Papua protests
- At the United Nations, the Prime Minister of Vanuatu, Charlot Salwai, calls for "action on West Papua". He was rebuffed by Indonesian diplomats. (RNZ)
- Iraq–Syria relations
- The main border crossing between Al-Qa'im, Iraq, and Albukamal, Syria, reopens. (AFP via The Daily Star)
Law and crime
- Eight alleged members of a far right terror cell go on trial in Germany. The defendents, from Chemnitz, are accused of plotting attacks against immigrants and "the economic establishment". The city saw far-right protests last year following the stabbing homicide of a German man. (BBC)
- Moroccan journalist Hajar Raissouni and her husband Rifaat al-Amin are each jailed for a year by a Rabat court for premarital sex and unlawful abortion, with doctor Mohammed Jamal Belkeziz receiving two years for carrying an abortion out. Her lawyer claims the evidence was fabricated to dissuade Raissouni and others from criticising the government. Observers including Amnesty International criticise the verdicts. (The Guardian)
- European migrant crisis
- Riots erupt following a fire yesterday which killed an Afghan woman at an overcrowded refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos. The camp in Moria houses 13,000 in tents and shipping containers but has facilities for only 3,000 residents. The Greek government declares it will step up transfers to the mainland in response. (The Guardian)
Politics and elections
- President of Peru Martín Vizcarra dissolves the Congress and calls for snap elections. Lawmakers reject the proposal, suspend him from office and name Second Vice President Mercedes Aráoz as acting president. The Peruvian Armed Forces continued to recognize Vizcarra as president of Peru and head of the armed forces. Popular protests takes place in the streets of Lima. (BBC) (The Guardian) (The New York Times)
Science and technology
- Scientists say the largest iceberg in 50 years has broken away from Antarctica's Amery Ice Shelf. The 1,636 sq km iceberg, known as D28, will continue to be monitored as it could pose a risk to shipping. (BBC)
- A near-record snowstorm drops large amounts of snow in some parts of Alberta, from September 27-30. 95 cm fell in Waterton, 50-60 cm fell in Lethbridge, and over 27-32 cm fell in Calgary. Impacts were relatively mild, with power outages, and businesses closing. (The Globe and Mail)
September 29, 2019 (Sunday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Saudi Arabian and Yemeni border conflict, Yemeni Crisis, Najran attack
- Yemen's Houthi movement releases footage appearing to show captured Saudi Arabian Army soldiers and burning armoured personnel carriers, after claiming to have conducted an "all-out" cross-border offensive inside Saudi Arabia's Najran Region that defeated three "enemy military brigades". (Al Jazeera)
Disasters and accidents
- A major blackout leaves almost all residents of the Spanish island of Tenerife without electricity. (Sky News)
- A fire at an overcrowded refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos kills an Afghan woman living in a shipping container. A local official claims "aggressive" residents at the camp prevented firefighters from accessing the blaze, and that thrown stones and other missiles injured first responders and damaged their vehicles. (The Guardian)
Politics and elections
- 2019 Austrian legislative election
- The Federal Electoral Authority, based on preliminary results, reports the People's Party, headed by the prior chancellor Sebastian Kurz, wins the snap election with 38.4 percent of the vote. Second place Social Democratic Party got 21.5%. (BBC), (The New York Times), (National Election Authority (in German)), (Reuters)
Sports
- 2019 UCI Road World Championships
- Mads Pedersen wins the men's Road race World Championship as the first rider from Denmark ever. (BBC)
September 28, 2019 (Saturday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- A bomb targeting the office of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam in Chaman, Balochistan, Pakistan, kills three people, including leader Maulana Mohammad Hanif, with nine more people injured. (Arab News)
- Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
- Houthi rebels claim that they have captured "thousands" of enemy troops near the Saudi town of Najran following a major, deadly attack near the two countries' border. Saudi officials have not confirmed the claim. (BBC) (Al Jazeera)
Disasters and accidents
- Flooding in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh kills at least 93 people and displaces thousands of others. Another 29 people were killed in Bihar. (BBC).
- An oil tanker ship explodes in Ulsan, South Korea, with flames subsequently spreading to an adjacent second tanker. At least ten people are injured. (CBC)
- A coach with a flat tyre swerves into oncoming traffic and strikes a lorry head-on in Jiangsu, China. The collision kills at least 36 and injures another 36. (The Guardian)
International relations
- Syrian Civil War, U.N. General Assembly 74th session, Rojava conflict
- Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem demands the immediate withdrawal of "occupying forces" from Turkey and the United States, maintaining they are an illegal presence in violation of the Charter of the United Nations and warning that Syria is entitled by international law to take countermeasures. (Reuters)
Politics and elections
- 2019 Afghan presidential election
- Voters in Afghanistan head to the polls to elect a new president. The process is overshadowed by "insurgent" attacks, which led to dozens of civilian casualties. (DW)
- The Independent Election Commission says it has reports that there is no contact with 901 of the 4,942 polling centers. (Reuters)
Sports
- The Richmond Football Club defeats the Greater Western Sydney Giants in the 2019 AFL Grand Final by 114 points to 25, marking the club's twelfth premiership and second in three years. The match, attended by 100,014 spectators, is the lowest single-match score by the Giants in their history, and the most lopsided Grand Final result in Richmond's history (89 points). (The Age)
- 2019 UCI Road World Championships
- Annemiek van Vleuten wins the women's road race after a 105-kilometre (65 mi) solo attack, with a lead of 2 min 15 s over second-placed defending champion Anna van der Breggen. (The Guardian)
September 27, 2019 (Friday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- American intervention in Libya (2015–present)
- The United States Africa Command says the US has carried out an airstrike against ISIL in southwest Libya, killing at least 17 militants. (The Straits Times)
Business and economy
- Collapse of Thomas Cook
- Portugal announces it has set aside 150 million euros to lend to the companies that have been hurt by the collapse of tour guide company Thomas Cook. (Reuters)
Health and environment
- September 2019 climate strikes, Individual and political action on climate change
- An estimated two million people across the world participate in strikes to encourage action on climate change, with a total of 6 million during the week, including up to 500,000 protesters in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (The Guardian) (CBC)
International relations
- Foreign relations of China, Foreign relations of Taiwan, Foreign relations of Kiribati, Cross-Strait relations
- Anti-China protests are held by the opposition in Kiribati's capital of Tarawa after the government severed ties with Taiwan and established relations with China. (RNZ)
- Turkey–United States relations
- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan says that it is "impossible" for his country to stop buying oil from Iran, despite United States sanctions against Iran. (Reuters)
- U.N. General Assembly 74th session, Foreign relations of North Macedonia
- 2019 Venezuelan presidential crisis
- Diplomats of several Western-aligned countries walk out of the UN General Assembly as Venezuelan Vice-President Delcy Rodríguez begins a speech.(Fox News)
Law and crime
- Honour killing in Pakistan
- The brother of Pakistani social media star Qandeel Baloch is sentenced to life in prison for her honour murder, while six others are acquitted. The case sparked international headlines and discussion of women's rights in the country. (BBC)
- Crisis in Venezuela
- A resolution is adopted by the United Nations Human Rights Council with 19 votes in favour, 7 against and 21 abstentions, accusing Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro government of thousands of extrajudicial murders, forced disappearances, and torture, after being proposed by the Lima Group and backed by many European countries. The UN resolves to send an investigative mission to the country. Maduro says the motion was "produced by the United States to run a hate campaign". Another Venezuelan representative calls the UN a "small group" that they "will not cooperate with". (BBC)
- Police in Kaduna, Nigeria, raid an Islamic learning centre, and free around 500 men and male children held captive there. The freed detainees allege torture, slavery, and sexual abuse, and some display evidence of injury and malnutrition. Two children self-identify as being from Burkina Faso, with the remaining captives thought by police to be mostly Nigerian. Eight suspects are arrested. (BBC)
Politics and elections
- UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is formally referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) amid allegations of corruption during his tenure as Mayor of London. Johnson is alleged to have awarded a close friend, American technology entrepreneur Jennifer Arcuri, "thousands of pounds" in public business funding, according to the The Sunday Times. (The Guardian)
- Trump–Ukraine controversy, Impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump
- Kurt Volker, United States special envoy to Ukraine, resigns one day after the release of a whistleblower report concerning a phone call between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky. (CNN) (Reuters)
- 2020 United States federal budget
- President of the United States Donald Trump signs a short-term spending bill that temporarily extends government funding through November 21, thereby avoiding a federal government shutdown when the 2019 budget funding ends on September 30. (The Hill) (CNN)
September 26, 2019 (Thursday)
Business and economy
- The world's largest airport, Beijing Daxing International Airport, formally opens to commercial flights. (CNN)
Disasters and accidents
- 2019 Ambon earthquake
- A 6.5-magnitude earthquake strikes the Maluku Islands in eastern Indonesia. 30 people are killed and 156 others injured. (Rappler)
- Around 100 people are evacuated from Breivika port in Tromsø, Norway, after Russian trawler FV Bukhta Naezdnik catches fire and develops a heavy list. The burning ship has a tank of ammonia and 200,000 litres of diesel oil on board. The ship is purposely capsized to reduce the risk of the ammonia tank exploding. (BreakingNews.ie) (The Independent)
- At least 30 miners are killed after a gold mine collapses due to a landslide in the Tibesti Region, Chad. (BBC)
International relations
- Foreign relations of Sudan, Aftermath of the Sudanese Revolution
- Sudan closes its borders with Libya and the Central African Republic citing the "threat they pose to the security and economy of Sudan". (Africanews)
- Japan–South Korea relations, 2019 Japan–South Korea trade dispute
- Japan and South Korea fail to make progress toward resolution, but agree to continue dialogue. (The Japan Times) (Bloomberg)
Law and crime
- The Major Criminal Court in Bahrain sentences four people to jail terms for setting up a terror group with the aim of launching attacks on police, and related crimes. Two are fugitives tried in absentia (Gulf News)
- Authorities in the Netherlands launch a probe into bank ABN Amro. The bank is suspected of breaching rules on money laundering and terrorism financing. (City A.M.)
Politics and elections
- National Emergency Concerning the Southern Border of the United States
- The United States Senate votes to end President Donald Trump's emergency declaration along the U.S.-Mexico border. (CBS News)
- September 2019 Indonesian protests and riots
- A student dies after allegedly being shot during a violent clash between the protesters and police force in front of the provincial parliament building in Kendari, Indonesia. (The Jakarta Post)
Science and technology
- The Soyuz-MS spacecraft Sarmat successfully docks with the International Space Station, with the first Emirati astronaut, Hazza Al Mansouri, and Expedition 61 astronauts Jessica Meir and Oleg Skripochka joining the crew of Expedition 60 aboard the station. (Gulf News)
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Ongoing events
Disasters
- 2018–19 Australian bushfire season
- 2018–19 European windstorm season
- 2018–19 Kivu Ebola epidemic
- 2019 North Indian Ocean cyclone season
- 2019 Pacific hurricane season
- 2019 Pacific typhoon season
- 2019 Atlantic hurricane season
- 2019 wildfire season
- Yemeni famine
Politics
- 1MDB scandal
- Afghan peace talks
- Algerian protests
- Brexit
- Egyptian protests
- European migrant crisis (timeline)
- Hong Kong protests
- Indonesian protests
- Iranian protests
- Iraqi protests
- Impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump (Mueller Report) (investigation) (timeline)
- Papua protests
- Persian Gulf crisis
- Qatar diplomatic crisis
- Rohingya persecution in Myanmar
- Thirty Meter Telescope protests
- Turkish purges
- Venezuelan presidential crisis (protests)
- Yellow vests movement
Religion
Sports
More details – ongoing conflicts
Elections and referendums
Recent
- September
- 17: Israel, Knesset
- 28: Afghanistan, President
- 29: Austria, National Council
Upcoming
Recently concluded
- Honduras: Rosa Elena Bonilla
- Sweden: ASAP Rocky
- Spain: Trial of Catalonia independence leaders
- United Kingdom: Tommy Robinson
- United States: Eddie Gallagher, Gregory B. Craig
- International
Ongoing
- Guatemala: Otto Pérez Molina, Roxana Baldetti, Juan Carlos Monzón and others
- Greece: Nikolaos Michaloliakos
- Israel: Faina Kirschenbaum
- Philippines: Leila de Lima, Maria Ressa, Leni Robredo
- South Africa: Jacob Zuma
- Spain: Bárcenas affair
- United States: Fat Leonard scandal, Varsity Blues scandal, Raid on the North Korean embassy in Madrid, 6ix9ine
Upcoming
- Guatemala: Álvaro Colom, Manuel Baldizón, Juan Alberto Fuentes
- Japan: Carlos Ghosn
- Philippines: Andal Ampatuan Jr.
- United Kingdom: Football sex abuse scandal, David Duckenfield
- United States: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Elizabeth Holmes, Meng Wanzhou, Chris Collins, Duncan D. Hunter, Roger Stone, R. Kelly, Harvey Weinstein, Michael Avenatti, Golden State Killer, 6ix9ine
- Zimbabwe: Ignatius Chombo
- Association football
- Women's association football
- American football
- Baseball
- Basketball
- Golf
- Ice hockey
- Motorsport
- Rugby league
- Rugby union
- Tennis
- Other sports seasons
More details – current sports events
October 2019
- 30: Wayne Fitzgerald
- 30: Jessye Norman
- 28: Mark Zakharov
- 28: José José
- 27: Joseph C. Wilson
- 26: Jacques Chirac
- 26: William Levada
- 26: Martin Wesley-Smith
- 25: Paul Badura-Skoda
- 23: Madhav Apte
- 23: Andre Emmett
- 23: Robert Hunter
- 21: Aron Eisenberg
- 21: Sid Haig
- 21: Sigmund Jähn
- 21: Christopher Rouse
- 21: Carl Ruiz
- 19: Zine El Abidine Ben Ali
- 19: Barron Hilton
- 18: Fernando Ricksen
- 17: Cokie Roberts
- 15: Lol Mahamat Choua
- 15: Phyllis Newman
- 15: Ric Ocasek
- 14: Asadollah Asgaroladi
- 13: Paul Cronin
- 13: Rene Espina
- 13: György Konrád
- 13: Eddie Money
- 12: ʻAkilisi Pōhiva
- 11: B. J. Habibie
- 11: T. Boone Pickens
- 10: Daniel Johnston
- 9: Robert Frank
- 9: Brian Barnes
- 9: Danny Frawley
- 8: Camilo Sesto
- 6: Chris Duncan
- 6: Robert Mugabe
- 6: Abdul Qadir
- 3: Peter Lindbergh
Africa
- Algeria, Libya and Tunisia
- Cameroon
- Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria
- Central African Republic
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Libya
- Mali
- Mozambique
- Nigeria
- Somalia
- South Sudan
- Sudan
Americas
- Colombia
- Mexico
- Peru
Asia
- Afghanistan
- China
- India
- India and Pakistan
- Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines
- Indonesia and Papua New Guinea
- Myanmar
- Pakistan
- Philippines
- Thailand
Europe
- Armenia and Azerbaijan
- Georgia
- Russia
- Ukraine