November 4, 2020 (Wednesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Tigray War
- The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) launches a surprise attack on the Northern Command of the federal army of Ethiopia, resulting in multiple casualties and the capture of 5 federal military bases in Tigray Region including the Northern Command headquarters. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed orders a military response, saying that the "last red line has been crossed". Later in the day, federal troops enter the region and heavy fighting is reported. (BBC News) (Reuters)
Disasters and accidents
- 2020 Atlantic hurricane season
- Hurricane Eta is set to head towards Florida after hitting the Caribbean and Central America, especially Nicaragua and parts of Honduras. The slow-moving hurricane, which peaked at category 4, caused floods and devastation in Nicaragua and hurricane warnings are still in place for parts of Nicaragua. (CNN)
Health and environment
- COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
- COVID-19 pandemic in Austria
- COVID-19 pandemic in Cyprus
- President Nicos Anastasiades announce a curfew from 11:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. local time and orders bars, cafés, restaurants and cultural venues to close at 10:30 p.m. beginning November 6 and until the end of this month. (Politico)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Denmark
- Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen announces the extermination of the country's minks (around 15 million) after a mutated version of the coronavirus spreads to humans, reasoning mutations pose a risk to the efficacy of future COVID-19 vaccines. (DW)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Greece
- Greece reports 2,646 new cases in the past 24 hours, the highest single-day record since the pandemic began and bringing the nationwide total to 46,892. (The National Herald)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Hungary
- Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó tests positive for COVID-19 after arriving in Thailand for an official visit. (CNA)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Italy, COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in Italy
- A new lockdown is announced for four Italian regions: Lombardy, Piedmont, Aosta Valley, and Calabria. In two other regions, Apulia and Sicily, stricter measures will be imposed. The measures will start on November 6. (Corriere della Sera)
- Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte also signs a decree that would impose a nationwide curfew from 10:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. local time beginning tomorrow. Under new nationwide restrictions, museums will be closed and shopping centers will close on the weekend. (Corriere della Sera)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Lithuania; COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns
- COVID-19 pandemic in Poland
- COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
- Russia reports 19,768 new infections and 389 deaths in the past 24 hours, the highest single-day record of both cases and deaths since the pandemic began, bringing the nationwide totals to 1,693,454 cases and 29,217 deaths. (The Moscow Times)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines
- The Philippines records 987 new infections in the past 24 hours, the lowest single-day record since July 14, bringing the total to 388,137. The lowest figure is attributed to the 12 testing laboratories that failed to submit their reports on time. (ABS-CBN) (CNN Philippines)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Morocco
- Morocco reports 5,745 new infections and 82 deaths in the past 24 hours, the highest single-day record of both cases and deaths since the pandemic began, bringing the nationwide totals to 235,310 cases and 3,982 deaths. (Anadolu Agency)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
- COVID-19 vaccine
- Novavax signs an agreement with the Australian government to supply 40 million doses of their NVX-CoV2373 vaccine candidate to the country during the first half of 2021. (Reuters)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
International relations
- United States withdrawal from the Paris Agreement
- The United States officially withdraws from the Paris Agreement. (BBC News)
Law and crime
- French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin declares that the Turkish ultranationalist group Grey Wolves has been outlawed, stating they "[incite] discrimination and hatred and [are] involved in violent actions". The decision follows a string of high-profile attacks against the Armenian community in Lyon in recent weeks that have been attributed to the group. (Le Monde)
- War crimes in the Kosovo War
- Former President of Kosovo and Kosovo Liberation Army spokesman Jakup Krasniqi is transferred to the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in the The Hague to face trial on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Kosovo War. (Reuters)
Politics and elections
- 2020 United States elections
- 2020 United States presidential election
- The outcome of the 2020 United States presidential election is still undetermined. Incumbent President Donald Trump declares victory despite not reaching the required 270 electoral votes needed to win. Former Vice President Joe Biden, having more projected electoral votes, says, "We're on track to win this election." Trump has sued in several states, claiming, without providing evidence, widespread voter fraud. (The Guardian) (The Washington Post)
- 2020 United States election protests
- Protesters took to the streets for a second night in a row as the presidential election inched closer to results. Protests and marches were underway in cities such as Philadelphia, Detroit and Chicago. The National Guard was mobilized in Portland and arrests were made in Minneapolis and New York City, with police confiscating weapons. (USA Today)
- 2020 Puerto Rican status referendum
- In a nonbinding resolution, 52% of Puerto Ricans vote to make the island into a U.S. state. (Vox)
- 2020 United States presidential election
Science and technology
- SGR 1935+2154
- Astronomers announce the discovery of the first fast radio burst (FRB) signal detected in the Milky Way galaxy. The signal is believed to be coming from a magnetar. (The Independent)