Portal:Current events/2020 July 4

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July 4, 2020 (Saturday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Somali Civil War
- A remote-controlled mine detonates in Baidoa, Somalia, killing five people and injuring 10. (Xinhua)
- A suicide car bomber detonates at a checkpoint in Mogadishu, Somalia, injuring at least five people. (Reuters)
Territorial disputes in the South China Sea, China–United States relations
- The USS Nimitz and the USS Ronald Reagan participate in dual-carrier operations and exercises in the disputed South China Sea. (Reuters via NBC)
Syrian civil war
- The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights announces that 44 combatants have been killed in clashes between the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and Syrian Army since Thursday. (Al Arabiya)

Arts and culture

List of monuments and memorials removed during the George Floyd protests
- Black Lives Matter protesters tear down the Statue of Christopher Columbus in Baltimore, Maryland, and throw it into the city's Inner Harbor. Baltimore City Council President Brandon Scott had previously called for the statue to be removed. (CNN)
President Donald Trump announces the building of National Garden of American Heroes through executive order, which will consist of statues of notable American political figures, activists, businesspeople, and pop culture icons. (CBS News)

Business and economy

Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
- Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
  - Pubs and barbershops are allowed to re-open in England for the first time since March. (NBC)
- Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
  - Donald Trump signs an extension of the Paycheck Protection Program to extend the filing deadline to August 8. (AP via NBC)

Disasters and accidents

Heavy rains and mudslides occur in Kumamoto Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan. At least 14 residents of a nursing home in Kuma are feared dead after they are found "in cardio-respiratory arrest", according to prefecture Governor Ikuo Kabashima. Another 10 people are missing and dozens stranded on rooftops. (Al Jazeera)
A fire is reported at a power plant in the city of Ahvaz, in south-western Iran, while a chlorine gas leak injures 70 workers at a petrochemicals plant near Bandar-e Emam Khomeyni. The incidents come after a string of other unexplained blazes and explosions at Iranian facilities. (The Guardian)
A Siberian tiger kills a zookeeper at Zürich Zoo in Zürich, Switzerland. (Reuters)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Spain
  - The Catalan government locks down the county of Segrià, with 200,000 inhabitants, due to a major outbreak, becoming the first confinement after the end of the state of emergency. (Daily Mirror)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Iran
  - President Hassan Rouhani announces new measures to curb the spread of the virus, including mandatory wearing of masks in covered public areas. (Reuters)
- COVID-19 drug development
  - The World Health Organization suspends its trials of the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine and combination of HIV drug lopinavir/ritonavir after they fail to reduce mortality in infected patients. (Reuters)

International relations

North Korea–United States relations
- North Korean First Vice-Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui says her country has "no interest" in a face-to-face meeting with the United States unless the U.S. discards its "hostile" policies toward North Korea. (Al Jazeera)
Canada–China relations
- The Chinese embassy in Ottawa issues a rebuke of Canada, saying that it has "grossly interfered" in its affairs a day after Canada suspended its extradition treaty with Hong Kong. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Phoenix, Arizona police officers threaten, shoot and kill a man inside a parked car in an incident captured on bystander video, sparking protests in the city. Police say he pointed a gun at them first. (CNN)

Politics and elections

LGBT rights in Poland
- President of Poland Andrzej Duda announces that he will propose a constitutional amendment to outlaw LGBT adoption in Poland. (The Guardian)

Science and technology

For the first time scientists at the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope discover neutral hydrogen atoms outside of the Milky Way. (RT)