Portal:Current events/2020 July 2

• Mali War
  • Gunmen on motorbikes attack an ethnic Dogon village in Mopti Region, Mali, killing 32 villagers, according to local authorities. (Reuters)

• Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
  • Casual Dining Group, which owns the Bella Italia and Café Rouge United Kingdom restaurant chains, collapses into administration with 1,900 immediate job losses. (BBC News)

• 2020 Hpakant jade mine disaster
  • At least 162 miners are killed by a landslide at a jade mining site in Hpakant, Kachin, Myanmar. (BBC News)
• A fire and explosion hit a centrifuge production plant at a nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz, Iran. No deaths or injuries are reported. (AP)

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
    • COVID-19 pandemic in New Mexico
      • New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham announces there will be $100 fines for people and businesses that do not wear masks. (The Hill)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Kansas
      • Kansas Governor Laura Kelly issues an executive order mandating citizens wear facemasks in public and at their workplace. (AP via United States News & World Report)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Texas
      • Texas Governor Greg Abbott orders citizens must wear face coverings when in public. This follows yesterday's reported state record daily high of more than 8,000 virus cases. Those who do not comply will receive an initial warning; those who refuse will face a fine of up to $250. (BBC News)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Oman
    • Oman sees a jump of cases in a day, with 1,361 new cases and three deaths, reaching a total of 42,555 cases and 188 deaths. The Health Minister says that the country will boost its hospitals' capacity and intensive care units. (Reuters)
• The deaths of 275 elephants are confirmed in the Okavango Delta due to an unknown cause. Both poaching and anthrax have been ruled out by authorities. (CBS)

• Venezuelan presidential crisis
  • United Kingdom–Venezuela relations
    • In a case to decide who controls a $2 billion worth of gold from the Central Bank of Venezuela stored in the Bank of England, the High Court of Justice in London rules that the United Kingdom "unequivocally recognises Mr. Guaidó as President of Venezuela", refusing to give Nicolás Maduro access to the gold. (Reuters) (BBC News)
  • United States–Venezuela relations, Iran–United States relations
    • United States District Judge James E. Boasberg issues a warrant for the seizure of the more than 1.1 million barrels of gasoline in the four Iranian tankers en route to Venezuela. (Middle East Monitor)

• In a Europe-wide operation, police penetrate EncroChat, a top-secret communications system used by criminals to sell drugs and plan attacks. (BBC News)
• Nauru's President Lionel Aingimea announces tougher penalties for those convicted of sex offenses, including penalties on minors who, under the new law, will not have their age as a mitigating factor. (RNZ)
• British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, former girlfriend of American financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, is arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on suspicion of grooming victims of Epstein. She has also been charged with assisting Epstein's abuse of minors by helping to recruit and groom victims known to be underage. (BBC News)
• A court in Pakistan orders that the four killers of The Wall Street Journal journalist Daniel Pearl remain in jail for at least three further months. (AFP via Al Arabiya)

• COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand, Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on politics
  • David Clark resigns as New Zealand's Minister of Health after security mistakes at quarantine facilities just days after the country had been declared free of COVID-19. Clark also received strong criticism for personally breaching lockdown rules twice. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern had refused calls to sack the minister. (Reuters)
• 2019–20 Hong Kong protests
  • Prominent pro-democracy camp politician and activist Nathan Law confirms he has safely fled Hong Kong, following the passage of a new national security law by China. He did not disclose which country he had fled to. (Deutsche Welle)

• Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports, 2019–20 NBA season
  • The Los Angeles Clippers close their training facility after one of the players who is expected to play in Orlando tested positive for COVID-19. (Los Angeles Times)