Portal:Current events/2020 June 15

June 15, 2020 (Monday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
- The United Nations remove Saudi Arabia from a blacklist of countries accused of "killing or maiming children, following a sustained significant decrease in air strikes". Saudi Arabia had threatened to cut funding to the UN. (Reuters)
Mali War
- The armed forces say an ambush on a military convoy in central Mali has killed at least 24 troops and left others missing. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. (BBC News) (Al Jazeera)

Business and economy

China–United States trade war
- The U.S. Department of Commerce announces it will relax the blacklist against Huawei to allow American companies to work with the Chinese telecom on setting 5G network standards. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

A United States Air Force 48th Fighter Wing F-15 Eagle based at RAF Lakenheath, England crashes into the North Sea, 74 miles (119 km) off the East Yorkshire coast, killing the pilot. (BBC News)
At least three houses are damaged after an Indonesian Air Force Hawk 209 crashes into a residential area of Kampar, Riau. There are no fatalities in the incident. (The Jakarta Post)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in North America
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
    - Rep. Tom Rice (R-SC) tests positive for COVID-19, becoming the 8th member of Congress to do so. (The Hill)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia, COVID-19 pandemic in Africa
  - The World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF warn that 51,000 children could die in West Asia and North Africa due to the disruptive impact of the pandemic on healthcare systems. (Middle East Eye)

Law and crime

Killing of Rayshard Brooks
- The Fulton County medical examiner declares Rayshard Brooks' death a homicide. Brooks was shot in the back by an Atlanta Police officer while fleeing from an attempted arrest for driving under the influence in which he stole an officer's taser and fired it at him on June 12. (BBC News)
LGBTQ rights in the United States
- The Supreme Court of the United States delivers its decision in the case of Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, ruling that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination against individuals on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender identity. (BBC News)
Hundreds of French police are brought in as reinforcements to the city of Dijon, as over 150 Chechens from around France have gathered to avenge the alleged assault of a Chechen teenager by local drug dealers. During the violence, several people are reported injured and one person suffered gunshot wounds. (BBC News) (The Jerusalem Post)
Maria Ressa, CEO of Philippine news site Rappler, is found guilty of libel by a Manila court over a 2012 story linking a businessman to various crimes. She faces up to six years in prison. (Reuters)
Sudan's public prosecutor announces the discovery of a mass grave containing the remains of students who were killed in 1998 when they tried to evade conscription. The prosecutor accused former ruler Omar al-Bashir. (Reuters)
A court in Russia sentences former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan to 16 years in prison for espionage. The U.S ambassador to Russia John Sullivan condemns the sentencing as "a mockery of justice" in a statement to media after the verdict. (CNN)
Black Lives Matter activist Oluwatoyin Salau is found dead in Tallahassee, Florida, US, after going missing on June 6. Shortly before her disappearance, Salau tweeted that she had been sexually assaulted by a black man. Her death is currently being treated as a homicide. (CNN)
The Nepali Department of Immigration says that it will deport five foreign tourists (three Chinese, an American and an Australian) and ban them from entering Nepal for two years after they joined protests against the government's response to the coronavirus outbreak. (CNA)

Politics and elections

Politics of Kyrgyzstan
- Kyrgyz Prime Minister Mukhammedkalyi Abylgaziev resigns from in connection with allegations against the government in a criminal case on the extension and renewal of radio frequency resource. (Reuters)