2020 Bangladesh Election Commission scandal, Bangladesh election administrative system
Bangladesh Election Commission is trusted with the responsibilities of holding free, fair, and credible elections in Bangladesh. Since 2017, the commission is led by KM Nurul Huda as the chief election commissioner with four other commissioners. The commission oversaw the controversial 2018 Bangladeshi general election which was marred by unprecedented violence causing the death of dozens of individuals on the election day. The Bangladesh chapter of Transparency International found rampant irregularities in 94% of the constituencies during the election and the U.S. State Department opined "election-day irregularities prevented some people from voting, which undermined faith in the electoral process."


2020 Bangladesh Election Commission scandal, Corruption allegations
The election commission led by CEC KM Nurul Huda was criticized by the main opposition BNP and civil society because of its incapability to hold fair elections in city corporations polls. Though the opposition made several allegations, none of them were investigated.


2020 Bangladesh Election Commission scandal, Corruption allegations
In the lead-up to the 2018 Bangladeshi general election, the election commission planned a series of activities including purchasing of electronic voting machines (EVM) which raised the eyebrows of many observers, and corruption allegations started arising.


2020 Bangladesh Election Commission scandal, Corruption allegations, High-priced EVM purchase
The election commissioned purchased electronic voting machines (EVM) at a price of 234,373 BDT per piece where similar types of machines were procured by their Indian counterpart at a price of 21,250 BDT, almost 11 times lower than that of Bangladesh's paid amount. In 2011, Bangladesh's election body purchased 700 EVMs at a price of BDT 46,501 each from Bangladesh Machine Tools Factory Ltd, which was almost four times lower than the price of EVMs bought in 2018.


2020 Bangladesh Election Commission scandal, Corruption allegations, High-priced EVM purchase
The EVM used in India also has Voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) which was not included in Bangladesh's purchased ones, ignoring the recommendation of the technical committee led by Jamilur Reza Choudhury.


2020 Bangladesh Election Commission scandal, Corruption allegations, High-priced EVM purchase
One of the four election commissioners, Mahbub Talukdar walked out from the election commissioners' meeting protesting the move to change the RPO to buy and use the high priced EVMs in August 2018.


2020 Bangladesh Election Commission scandal, Corruption allegations, Honorarium for imaginary speeches
Chief Election Commissioner KM Nurul Huda, his four deputies, election commission secretary Helal Uddin Ahmed, an additional secretary and two joint secretaries of the commission took 20 million BDT fees for "special speeches" as "special speakers" at the training programs for the 11th national parliamentary election and the Upazila polls. In addition to that Helal Uddin Ahmed drew 4.7 million BDT, an abnormally high amount, for the role of ‘course consultant’ alone.


2020 Bangladesh Election Commission scandal, Corruption allegations, Honorarium for imaginary speeches
The list of "special speakers" include chief election commissioner (CEC) KM Nurul Huda, the four election commissioners Mahbub Talukdar, Rafiqul Islam, Shahadat Hossain Chowdhury, and Kabita Khanam, secretary Helal Uddin Ahmed, additional secretary Mokhlesur Rahman and two joint secretaries Abul Kasem and Kamrul Hasan.


2020 Bangladesh Election Commission scandal, Corruption allegations, Honorarium for imaginary speeches
According to the commission's secretariat records collected by Bangladesh's daily Prothom Alo, 9 ‘special speakers’ delivered talks in 520 places of the country in just a matter of 18 days, from 7 to 24 December 2018. According to the records and the documents each ‘special speaker’ had to speak at 14 different places on a single day in-person which is nearly impossible for them.


2020 Bangladesh Election Commission scandal, Corruption allegations, Honorarium for imaginary speeches
There has never been such costly training in the history of the election commission. In our time, the CEC, other commissioners and I spoke at training programs all over the country, but we didn’t take any allowance for this. The secretary too spoke, but took no payment either. That was the norm. What has taken place this time is blatant mismanagement and irregularity. Those involved must take responsibility for their actions.


2020 Bangladesh Election Commission scandal, Corruption allegations, Recruitment without monetary transperancy
In November 2019, the election commissioner Mahbub Talukdar made an allegation against his colleagues of misappropriating 40.8 million BDT during the recruitment of staff for the election commission against 339 vacant posts. According to commissioner Mahbub, a huge amount of money was given to a faculty of the University of Dhaka which was approved by the CEC KM Nurul Huda but there were no records whatsoever of how many examiners were paid how much money. He further claimed that the election commission was kept in dark about the examination, the recruitment committee did not know the details of the payment and the evaluation of the examinees was under serious question.


2020 Bangladesh Election Commission scandal, Citizen's letter to the President
Forty-two eminent citizens requested president Abdul Hamid to constitute a Supreme Judicial Council inquiry into corruption allegations against the chief election commissioner and election commissioners on December 19, 2020, and declared the sending of a letter with details over a virtual conference.


2020 Bangladesh Election Commission scandal, Citizen's letter to the President
You [president] are aware that Article 96(3) of the constitution of Bangladesh provides for the constitution of the Supreme Judicial Council for the removal of Judges. According to Article 96(5) of the constitution, "Where, upon any information received from the Council or from any other source, the President has reason to apprehend that a Judge may have been guilty of gross misconduct. The President may direct the Council to inquire into the matter and report its finding.


2020 Bangladesh Election Commission scandal, Citizen's letter to the President
You [president] are also aware that Article 118 of our Constitution provides for the constitution of the Election Commission. According to Article 118(5), "Subject to the provisions of any law made by parliament, the conditions of service of election commissioners shall be such as the president may, by order, determine: Provided that an election commissioner shall not be removed from his office except in the like manner and on the like grounds as a Judge of the Supreme Court.


2020 Bangladesh Election Commission scandal, Citizen's letter to the President
Among the signatories, there were: Professor emeritus Serajul Islam Choudhury, former caretaker government advisers M Hafizuddin Khan, Akbar Ali Khan, Sultana Kamal and Rasheda K Chowdhury, human rights activists Hameeda Hossain, Khushi Kabir and Nur Khan Liton, former cabinet secretary Ali Imam Mazumder, former Chittagong University professor Muinul Islam, Central Women's University vice-chancellor Parween Hassan, SHUJAN secretary Dr. Badiul Alam Majumdar, Transparency International Bangladesh executive director Dr. Iftekharuzzaman, former Dhaka University professors CR Abrar, Ahmed Kamal and Akmal Hossain, local government expert Tofail Ahmed, Supreme Court lawyers ZI Khan Panna, Shahdeen Malik, Sara Hossain, Syeda Rizwana Hasan and Jyotirmoy Barua, photographer Shahidul Alam, Jahangirnagar University professor Anu Muhammad, former Jahangirnagar University professor Rahnuma Ahmed, economist Ahsan H Mansur, Bangladesh Protibondhi Foundation director Naila Zaman Khan, Shadhona artistic director professor Lubna Marium, former secretary Abdul Latif Mandal, Association for Land Reform and Development executive director Shamsul Huda and Dhaka University professors Asif Nazrul, Gitiara Nasreen, Robaet Ferdous and Shahnaz Huda.


2020 Bangladesh protests
The 2020 Bangladeshi protests were protests by hundreds of thousands of protesters against France, government mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic and rape. Protests in Bangladesh erupted on 7 October after a video of a group of men attacking, stripping, and assaulting a woman went viral, Human Rights Watch said. Protesters called for the resignation of Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal over the government's failure to address an alarming rise violence against women and girls. Rape protests continued and demonstrators threatened to escalate the protests.


2020 Bangladesh protests
Demonstrations by schoolgirls took place on 11 October and soon, police tried to break up the protests with water cannon. At the end of the month and in November, tens of thousands of protesters marched daily against the regime of Emmanuel Macron and his discrimination of Islam. The protesters burned pictures of Emmanuel Macron and Charlie Hebdo and used slippers at police. Police opened fire on demonstrators and one death was reported and soon, Clashes broke out by November. After violence, protests turned peaceful and men dominated demonstrations. Protests ended on 3 November.


2020 Bank of America Roval 400
The 2020 Bank of America Roval 400 is a NASCAR Cup Series race that was held on October 11, 2020 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. Contested over 109 laps on the 2.28-mile (3.67 km) road course, it was the 32nd race of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season, the sixth race of the Playoffs, and final race of the Round of 12. It was also the first points race in Cup Series history to be declared a wet race.


2020 Bank of America Roval 400, Report, Background
Since 2018, deviating from past NASCAR events at Charlotte, the race will utilize a road course configuration of Charlotte Motor Speedway, promoted and trademarked as the "Roval". The course is  2.28 miles (3.67 km) in length and features 17 turns, utilizing the infield road course and portions of the oval track. The race will be contested over a scheduled distance of 109 laps, 400 kilometres (250 mi).


2020 Bank of America Roval 400, Report, Background
During July 2018 tests on the road course, concerns were raised over drivers "cheating" the backstretch chicane on the course. The chicanes were modified with additional tire barriers and rumble strips in order to encourage drivers to properly drive through them, and NASCAR will enforce drive-through penalties on drivers who illegally "short-cut" parts of the course. The chicanes will not be used during restarts. In the summer of 2019, the bus stop on the backstretch was changed and deepened, becoming a permanent part of the circuit, compared to the previous year where it was improvised.


2020 Bank of America Roval 400, Report, Background
If a driver fails to legally make the backstretch bus stop, the driver must skip the frontstretch chicane and make a complete stop by the dotted line on the exit before being allowed to continue. A driver who misses the frontstretch chicane must stop before the exit.


2020 Bank of America Roval 400, Qualifying
Denny Hamlin was awarded the pole for the race as determined by competition-based formula.


2020 Bank of America Roval 400, Media, Television
NBC Sports covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and Dale Earnhardt Jr. called the action from the booth live from the track for the first time since March. Dave Burns, Parker Kligerman and Dillon Welch handled the pit road duties and Rutledge Wood handled the features live from the track.


2020 Bank of America Roval 400, Media, Radio
The Performance Racing Network had the radio call for the race, which was also simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Doug Rice and Mark Garrow called the race from the booth when the field raced down the front straightaway. IMS Radio's Nick Yeoman was assigned the entrance to the road course and into the Bank of America bridge (Turns 1-3). Voice of the Indianapolis 500 Mark Jaynes was assigned the action from the Bank of America bridge to the middle of the infield section. Doug Turnbull called the action exiting in infield into the oval Turn 1 banking (Turns 7-9). Pat Patterson called the action on the backstretch and into the bus stop. Rob Albright was assigned to the oval Turn 3-4 end. (Turns 13-15). Brad Gillie, Brett McMillan and Wendy Venturini had the call from the pit area for PRN.


2020 Baptist Health 200
The 2020 Baptist Health 200 was the 5th stock car race of the 2020 NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series season, and the 25th iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, June 13, 2020 in Homestead, Florida at Homestead–Miami Speedway, a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) permanent oval-shaped racetrack. The race took 134 laps to complete. At the end, Kyle Busch of Kyle Busch Motorsports would cruise on the final restart to win the race, the 58th of his career in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series and the 2nd of the season. To fill the podium, Tyler Ankrum of GMS Racing and Ross Chastain of Niece Motorsports would finish 2nd and 3rd, respectively.


2020 Baptist Health 200, Background
Homestead-Miami Speedway is a motor racing track located in Homestead, Florida. The track, which has several configurations, has promoted several series of racing, including NASCAR, the NTT IndyCar Series and the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series


2020 Baptist Health 200, Background
From 2002 to 2019, Homestead-Miami Speedway has hosted the final race of the season in all three of NASCAR's series: the NASCAR Cup Series, Xfinity Series and Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series.


2020 Baptist Health 200, Background, Entry list
*Withdrew due to the team not passing technical inspection. This would cause Tim Viens to cut ties with Mike Affarano Motorsports, saying "I did everything I was supposed to do. Secured the ride with the team, Mike Affarano Motorsports. Did everything financially I was supposed to do. Paid for the ride. I paid for all of the hotels. I bought three sets of sticker tires today before the race, that was $6,500. I paid for a first-class pit crew that was $3,500. I paid $2,000 for the transporter to get down here. Everything I was supposed to do. I was at the track, and was ready to go. This sucks. It really sucks.”


2020 Baptist Health 200, Background, Entry list
* *Withdrew the car after Bayley Currey, who was originally supposed to drive the #49, left the team. Currey would leave the team due to Ray Ciccarelli's announcement that his team would leave NASCAR after the league banned the Confederate flag, causing major controversy on the team and Ciccarelli. Currey would later confirm he left in a reply to a question on Twitter. As a result, Ciccarelli would drive the #49.


2020 Baptist Health 200, Starting lineup
The starting lineup was based on a random draw. As a result, Austin Hill of Hattori Racing Enterprises won the pole.


2020 Barangay Ginebra San Miguel season
The 2020 Barangay Ginebra San Miguel season is the 41st season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).


2020 Barbados Premier League
The 2020 Barbados Premier League is the 75th season of the Barbados Premier League, the top division football competition in Barbados. The season began on 1 February 2020. The season was suspended on 17 March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


2020 Barcelona Formula 2 round
The 2020 Barcelona FIA Formula 2 round was a pair of motor races for Formula 2 cars that took place on 15-16 August 2020 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Catalonia, Spain as part of the FIA Formula 2 Championship. It was the sixth round of the 2020 FIA Formula 2 Championship and ran in support of the 2020 Spanish Grand Prix.


2020 Barcelona Formula 2 round, Report
Callum Ilott continued to score poles, outpacing Robert Shwartzman in the Barcelona Qualifying. Nobuharu Matsushita was the only driver who had a pit-stop during the safety car period after Sean Gelael and Giuliano Alesi tangled. It helped Matsushita to achieve win after start from the 18th on the grid, which as 2020 Barcelona Formula 2 round is the farthest starting position to take a race win in the history of FIA Formula 2 Championship, while Shwartzman and Guanyu Zhou completed the podium. Gelael was injured after collision with Jack Aitken on the final lap, resulting his missing in the sprint race and the four further race weekends.


2020 Barcelona Formula 2 round, Report
Ilott wasn't able again to convert pole into the race victory in the sprint race. While Matsushita's teammate Felipe Drugovich won the race ahead of Luca Ghiotto and Mick Schumacher.


2020 Barcelona Formula 3 round
The 2020 Barcelona FIA Formula 3 round is a motor racing event held on 29 and 30 August 2020 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain. It was the sixth round of the 2020 FIA Formula 3 Championship, and ran in support of the 2020 Spanish Grand Prix.


2020 Barcelona Formula 3 round, Entries
After having replaced Enaam Ahmed for the rounds at Silverstone, Ben Barnicoat returned to the British GT Championship with McLaren. The Brit was replaced by one-time F3 race winner Leonardo Pulcini.


2020 Barcelona Formula 3 round, Classification, Qualifying
The Qualifying session took place on 28 August 2020, with Logan Sargeant scoring pole position for the third weekend in a row.


2020 Barcelona Sporting Club season
The 2020 season was Barcelona Sporting Club's 95th season in existence and the club's 62nd season in the top flight of Ecuadorian football. Barcelona was involved in two competitions: the main national tournament Liga Pro, and the international tournament Copa Libertadores. The national cup called Copa Ecuador was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Ecuador.


2020 Barcelona Sporting Club season
2020 season was the first one with Carlos Alfaro Moreno as president of the club. In 2019 season, Barcelona had three different coaches, but on 17 December 2019 the club hires the Argentinean coach Fabián Bustos.


2020 Barcelona Sporting Club season
Barcelona participated in the 2020 Copa Libertadores. They began their participation from the first qualifying stage, a key they won 5-1 on aggregate against Progreso. In the second qualifying stage they beat Sporting Cristal 5-2 on aggregate. In the third qualifying phase they won 5-0 on aggregate to Cerro Porteño. However, in the group stage, Barcelona played in Group A, obtaining 5 defeats and only 1 victory, finishing last in the table and being eliminated from the tournament.


2020 Barcelona Sporting Club season
Barcelona was one of the sixteen teams disputing the 2020 Liga Pro. Barcelona finished the First stage in fourth place, but they won the Second stage, qualifying to the Finals. In the Finals, Barcelona and LDU Quito disputed the championship in round-trip matches. In the first leg, both teams tie 1-1. In the second leg, there was another tie 0-0. Barcelona won on penalties.


2020 Barcelona Sporting Club season, Competitions, Liga Pro, Finals
Tied 1–1 on aggregate, Barcelona won on penalties and became 2020 Ecuadorian Serie A champions


2020 Barcelona Sporting Club season, Competitions, Copa Ecuador
2020 Copa Ecuador was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Ecuador.


2020 Barcelona Sporting Club season, Competitions, Copa Libertadores, First qualifying stage
Barcelona won 5–1 on aggregate and advanced to the second stage (Match C8).


2020 Barcelona Sporting Club season, Competitions, Copa Libertadores, Second qualifying stage
Barcelona won 5–2 on aggregate and advanced to the third stage (Match G1).


2020 Barcelona Sporting Club season, Competitions, Copa Libertadores, Third qualifying stage
Barcelona won 5–0 on aggregate and advanced to the group stage (Group A).


2020 Barda missile attacks
The Barda missile attacks (Azerbaijani: Bərdənin bombalanması) was a series of three air attacks on the city of Barda, as well as the villages of Əyricə and Qarayusifli in the same district, in Azerbaijan during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war. The attacks involved BM-30 Smerch missiles with cluster warheads, and resulted in 27 civilian deaths.


2020 Barda missile attacks
The first attack took place on 27 October, killing 5 civilians and wounding 13 more. The next day, on 28 October, several missiles struck Barda, killing 21 civilians, including a Red Crescent volunteer, and wounding 60 more. It was the deadliest attack on civilians and the worst civilian death toll during the war. On 7 November, the Armenian forces fired a rocket on the village of Əyricə, killing a 16-year-old boy.


2020 Barda missile attacks
Azerbaijan accused Armenia of the attacks and stated that cluster munitions had been used against civilians. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International verified the use of cluster munition by Armenia, adding that the "firing of cluster munitions into civilian areas is cruel and reckless, and causes untold death, injury and misery." Armenia denied any responsibility, while the unrecognized Republic of Artsakh admitted responsibility for the attacks but stated that it had targeted military facilities.


2020 Barda missile attacks, Background
On 27 September 2020, clashes broke out in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, which is mostly de facto controlled by Artsakh, but de jure part of Azerbaijan. Barda is home to a population of 40 thousand people; and is situated about 20 kilometres (12 mi) northeast of the former Nagorno-Karabakh Line of Contact.


2020 Barda missile attacks, Background
Trilateral talks on the conflict between the foreign ministers of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan commenced on 9 October 2020 in Moscow. Sergey Lavrov, Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, and Jeyhun Bayramov participated in the talks. Lavrov issued a joint statement following ten hours of talks that ended at 03:00 local time, confirming that a humanitarian ceasefire would come into force at midday. Minutes after the truce was due to commence, the two parties blamed each other for violating the ceasefire.


2020 Barda missile attacks, Background
Since 4 October, Azerbaijan's second-largest city Ganja, had been hit four times by Armenian and Artsakh missiles, resulting in 25 civilians getting killed and 125 more injured. On 8 October Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense reported that Barda District was shelled by a OTR-21 Tochka missile launcher.


2020 Barda missile attacks, Background
On 26 October, the United States announced that both sides had agreed to a humanitarian ceasefire from the morning of 26 October, but it was violated minutes after taking into force, with both sides accusing each other of breaking it.


2020 Barda missile attacks, Attacks
The first attack took place on 27 October, in Qarayusifli, killing 5 civilians and injuring 15 others. It involved cluster missiles from a BM-30 Smerch  multiple rocket launcher. Human Rights Watch observed significant damage to 12 houses in the area.


2020 Barda missile attacks, Attacks
The second attack on 28 October occurred at around 13:00 local time. It involved cluster missiles that hit densely populated urban areas with trade facilities, which Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch confirmed. As a result, 21 civilians were killed and over 70 were wounded. Among the dead, was a 39-year-old Red Crescent volunteer, while two other volunteers were injured. Civil infrastructure facilities and vehicles were extensively damaged, including, according to Human Rights Watch, Barda Treatment and Diagnostic Center, State Migration Service office.


2020 Barda missile attacks, Attacks
According to Azerbaijan, the second attack also involved a BM-30 Smerch with a cluster warhead equipped with fragmentation warheads of 72–144 pieces in total. Azerbaijan accused Armenia for the attacks, which it denied any responsibility, while Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch also stated that it was Armenia who had carried out the attack. In the meanwhile, the unrecognized Republic of Artsakh admitted responsibility for the second attack, but stated that it had targeted military facilities. New York Times reporting team was caught in an Armenian rocket attack driving along the main street of Barda.


2020 Barda missile attacks, Attacks
The third attack on 7 November occurred in the village of Əyricə. According to a Human Rights Watch report, the Armenian forces fired a rocket that struck an agricultural field near the village and killed a 16-year-old boy while he playing with other children. Azerbaijani authorities stated that they had identified the munition as a 9M528 Smerch rocket, which carries a warhead that produces blast and fragmentation effect. HRW reported that the researchers did not observe any military objectives in the area.


2020 Barda missile attacks, Azerbaijani response
Soon after the attacks, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence released drone footage, claiming to have retaliated for the attacks, especially targeting the Armenian manpower, rather than the equipment as previously displayed.


2020 Barda missile attacks, Azerbaijani response
The firing position of the BM-30 Smerch launcher involved in the attacks was identified by Azerbaijani army and on 29 October it was destroyed. On 30 October, Azerbaijani Defense Ministry announced the destruction of two more Smerch launchers that had targeted Barda and Tartar.


2020 Barda missile attacks, Reactions
In Azerbaijan, the attacks were strongly condemned, with the country's Presidential Administration calling the first attack a "new act of genocide against the Azerbaijani people", while the Azerbaijani Ombudsman Sabina Aliyeva labelled the second attack a "terrorist act against civilians". President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev promised a befitting response for the attacks. Also, Vice President of Azerbaijan, Mehriban Aliyeva stated that the attacks were barbaric and expressed her condolences. Azerbaijan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the attacks "crimes against humanity".


2020 Barda missile attacks, Reactions
On international scale, the attacks were condemned by Turkey and Pakistani, Iranian, French, and Kazakh embassies in Azerbaijan, Iranian politician Hassan Ameli, and the Turkic Council.


2020 Barda missile attacks, Reactions
Marie Struthers, Amnesty International's Regional Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia stated that the "firing of cluster munitions into civilian areas is cruel and reckless, and causes untold death, injury and misery". Similarly, Human Rights Watch released a report about the attack, confirming the use of cluster munitions and called Armenia to stop using banned weapons.


2020 Bas-Rhin municipal elections
The 2020 Bas-Rhin municipal elections took place on 15 March 2020, with a second round of voting initially expected for 22 March 2020. Like the rest of France, the second round was initially suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On 22 May, Prime Minister Édouard Philippe announced that the second round of voting would take place on the 28th of June.


2020 Bas-Rhin municipal elections, Incumbent and elected mayors
Right-wing politicians have remained largely dominant in the department. Already weakened during the last elections by losses in Schweighouse-sur-Moder, Vendenheim and Schiltigheim. The left lost further ground in Erstein, Illkirch-Graffenstaden and Ostwald to the benefit of centrist and unaffiliated candidates. Even with divisions in her list during the second round of voting, Jeanne Baseghian, the mayoral candidate for Europe Écologie Les Verts, was able to maintain control of Strasbourg for the left.


2020 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting
Elections to the National Baseball Hall of Fame for 2020 proceeded according to rules most recently amended in 2016. As in the past, the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) voted by mail to select from a ballot of recently retired players. The results were announced on January 21, 2020, with Derek Jeter and Larry Walker elected to the Hall of Fame.


2020 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting
The Modern Baseball Era Committee, one of four voting panels that since 2016 have taken over the role of the more broadly defined Veterans Committee, convened at the Major League Baseball Winter Meetings in December 2019 to select from a ballot of retired players and non-playing personnel who made their greatest contributions to the sport in the 1970–1987 period. The committee elected former player Ted Simmons and former executive Marvin Miller.


2020 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting
The formal induction ceremony was to be held at the Hall's facilities in Cooperstown, New York, on July 26, 2020. However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the 2020 induction ceremony was canceled. Inductees from 2020 were honored during ceremonies on September 8, 2021.


2020 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, BBWAA election
The BBWAA election rules were largely identical to those that were in effect for the most recent elections. The most recent change to BBWAA voting rules, announced in 2015, tightened the qualifications for the BBWAA electorate. Beginning with the 2016 election, eligible voters must not only have 10 years of continuous BBWAA membership, but also be currently active members. When these changes were announced, the pool of eligible voters also included those who had held active status within the 10 years prior to the election.


2020 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, BBWAA election
A BBWAA member who has not been active for more than 10 years can regain voting status by covering MLB in the year preceding the election. However, as of the 2020 balloting process, the BBWAA and Hall of Fame have apparently redefined "active membership" to remove the vote from anyone who did not cover MLB games for two years, instead of 10.


2020 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, BBWAA election
On November 18, 2019, the Hall of Fame released the list of players on the ballot. The ballot included two categories of players:


2020 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, BBWAA election
A total of 397 ballots were cast, with 298 votes needed to reach the 75% threshold for election. A total of 2613 votes were cast for individual players, an average of 6.58 votes per ballot, a sharp decline from the year earlier. Derek Jeter fell one vote short of becoming the second player unanimously elected, a feat first (and to date, only) accomplished by Mariano Rivera, when elected in 2019. Larry Walker became the seventh player in the modern voting era (since 1966) to be elected in his final ballot, after Red Ruffing, Joe Medwick, Ralph Kiner, Jim Rice, Tim Raines, and Edgar Martínez.


2020 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, BBWAA election
Players who met first-year eligibility requirements but were not selected by the screening committee for inclusion on the ballot included: Mike Adams, Jason Bartlett, Erik Bedard, John Buck, Shawn Camp, Ronny Cedeño, Endy Chavez, Greg Dobbs, Ryan Doumit, Scott Downs, Mark Ellis, Kyle Farnsworth, Frank Francisco, Álex González, Matt Guerrier, Scott Hairston, Koyie Hill, Maicer Izturis, Jason Kubel, Brandon League, Ryan Ludwick, Paul Maholm, John McDonald, Nate McLouth, José Molina, Xavier Nady, Miguel Olivo, Lyle Overbay, Nick Punto, Humberto Quintero, Guillermo Quiroz, Ramón Santiago, Joe Saunders, Marco Scutaro, Josh Willingham and Jamey Wright.


2020 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, BBWAA election
The Hall itself apparently treated Jeter's induction as a foregone conclusion; since shortly after Jeter's retirement, it maintained a page on its official website that included the following statement:


2020 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, BBWAA election
While nothing is ever assured when it comes to election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame (after all, it is the responsibility of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America to vote on each year’s candidates), who among us would doubt that Jeter is a sure-fire first-ballot choice when he becomes eligible in 2020?


2020 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, BBWAA election
The BBWAA announced the results of its 2020 Hall of Fame balloting on January 21, 2020.


2020 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, Modern Baseball Era Committee
On July 23, 2016, the Hall of Fame announced changes to the Era Committee system. The system's timeframes were restructured to place a greater emphasis on the modern game, and to reduce the frequency at which individuals from the pre-1970 game (including Negro league baseball figures) will have their careers reviewed. Considering candidates whose greatest contributions occurred from 1970 to 1987, the Modern Baseball Era Committee met in 2019 as part of the elections for the next calendar year.


2020 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, Modern Baseball Era Committee
The Historical Overview Committee, which determined the Modern Baseball Era ballot in the fall, was composed of 11 veteran historians: Bob Elliott (Canadian Baseball Network); Jim Henneman (formerly Baltimore Sun); Rick Hummel (St. Louis Post-Dispatch); Steve Hirdt (formerly Elias Sports Bureau); Bill Madden (formerly New York Daily News); Jack O'Connell (BBWAA); Jim Reeves (formerly Fort Worth Star-Telegram); Tracy Ringolsby (InsideTheSeams.com); Glenn Schwarz (formerly San Francisco Chronicle); Dave van Dyck (formerly Chicago Tribune); and Mark Whicker (Los Angeles News Group).


2020 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, Modern Baseball Era Committee
The cutoff for election to the Hall of Fame remained the standard 75%; as the Modern Baseball Era Committee consisted of 16 members, 12 votes was the minimum for selection. The 16-member Hall of Fame Board-appointed electorate charged with the review of the Modern Baseball Era featured Hall of Fame members George Brett, Rod Carew, Dennis Eckersley, Eddie Murray, Ozzie Smith and Robin Yount; major league executives Sandy Alderson, Dave Dombrowski, David Glass, Walt Jocketty, Doug Melvin and Terry Ryan; and veteran media members/historians Bill Center, Steve Hirdt, Jack O’Connell and Tracy Ringolsby.


2020 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, Modern Baseball Era Committee
The most recent prior Modern Baseball Era Committee balloting was for 2018, which selected Jack Morris and Alan Trammell to the Hall of Fame. Considered, but not elected, on that ballot were players Steve Garvey, Tommy John, Don Mattingly, Dale Murphy, Dave Parker, Ted Simmons, and Luis Tiant. Also on the ballot was Marvin Miller, the former leader of the Major League Baseball Players Association union. Of those eight, Simmons came within one vote (11) of being elected, while Miller had seven votes; the other six candidates each received less than seven votes, as their vote totals were not released to the public.


2020 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, Modern Baseball Era Committee
On November 4, 2019, the Baseball Hall of Fame announced the below ten candidates for the Modern Baseball Era ballot, to be voted upon at the Baseball Winter Meetings on December 8. Miller and Munson were the only candidates who were deceased when the list was announced. Results of the committee's voting were announced on December 8; Miller and Simmons each received at least 75% of the votes, earning election to the Hall of Fame. Those not elected remain potential candidates for the next Modern Era Committee ballot for 2023.


2020 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, J. G. Taylor Spink Award
The J. G. Taylor Spink Award has been presented by the BBWAA at the annual summer induction ceremonies since 1962. Through 2010, it was awarded during the main induction ceremony, but is now given the previous day at the Hall of Fame Awards Presentation. It recognizes a sportswriter "for meritorious contributions to baseball writing". The recipients are not members of the Hall of Fame but are featured in a permanent exhibit at the National Baseball Museum.


2020 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, J. G. Taylor Spink Award
The three finalists for the 2020 award were announced on July 9, 2019, during the All-Star break:


2020 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, J. G. Taylor Spink Award
Of the finalists, only Cafardo was deceased at the time of the announcement. Reeves and Reusse had both been finalists in 2018 and 2019; Reeves had also been a finalist in 2017. On December 10, 2019, Cafardo was named the 2020 award recipient.


2020 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, J. G. Taylor Spink Award
Receiving the Spink Award entitles a baseball writer to eligibility for the Historical Oversight Committee, which selects the 10 candidates to be voted on by the applicable 16 member Eras Committee of the Hall of Fame. The number of Spink Award recipients who choose to participate on an Oversight Committee varies according to the interest and availability of these generally retired sports writers. Given that the 2017 and 2020 awards went to deceased writers, it is possible that only one new member, (Sheldon Ocker,2018), will sit on the Committee which meets in 2020 to make up the ballot to be considered by the 2020/21 Golden Age Era Committee.


2020 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, Ford C. Frick Award
Various changes in July 2016 were also made to the annual Ford C. Frick Award elections, presented annually to a preeminent baseball broadcaster since 1978. According to the Hall, the new criteria for selection are "Commitment to excellence, quality of broadcasting abilities, reverence within the game, popularity with fans, and recognition by peers."


2020 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, Ford C. Frick Award
Additionally, a ballot of eight candidates is now set, down from 10 in years past. The three ballot slots previously determined by fan voting on Facebook are now filled by a committee of historians.


2020 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, Ford C. Frick Award
A new election cycle has been established, rotating annually between Current Major League Markets (team-specific announcers) with the 2017 Frick Award; National Voices (broadcasters whose contributions were realized on a national level) with the 2018 Frick Award; and Broadcasting Beginnings (early team voices and pioneers of baseball broadcasting) with the 2019 Frick Award. Since this cycle repeats every three years, all finalists for the 2020 award were team-specific announcers.


2020 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, Ford C. Frick Award
The Hall announced finalists for the 2020 Ford C. Frick Award on November 1, 2019. Of the finalists, the only one not living at that time was Ned Martin, who died in 2002. Ken "Hawk" Harrelson was announced as the winner on December 11.


2020 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, Buck O'Neil Lifetime Achievement Award
Another Hall of Fame honor, the Buck O'Neil Lifetime Achievement Award, will be presented at the 2020 Awards Presentation. The award was created in 2008 in honor of Buck O'Neil, a Negro leagues star who went on to become one of baseball's leading ambassadors until his death in 2006. The first award was presented posthumously to O'Neil at the 2008 induction ceremony, and has since been presented three additional times, most recently to Rachel Robinson in 2017. According to the Hall,


2020 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, Buck O'Neil Lifetime Achievement Award
The Buck O'Neil Lifetime Achievement Award is presented by the Hall of Fame's Board of Directors not more than once every three years to honor an individual whose extraordinary efforts enhanced baseball's positive impact on society, broadened the game's appeal, and whose character, integrity and dignity are comparable to the qualities exhibited by O'Neil.


2020 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, Buck O'Neil Lifetime Achievement Award
On March 5, 2020, the Hall announced David Montgomery as the 2020 recipient. Before his death in 2019, Montgomery had worked in the Philadelphia Phillies organization for over 40 years, starting in the sales office staff and eventually becoming CEO and part-owner. After his retirement from full-time executive work in 2015, he served as the franchise's largely ceremonial chairman. During his career with the Phillies, he played a major role in the team's community service efforts, both in the Delaware Valley and in the areas of its minor-league teams.


2020 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, Buck O'Neil Lifetime Achievement Award
As with the media awards, recipients are not members of the Hall of Fame but are permanently recognized by the Hall. In this case, the recipients are listed alongside a life-size statue of O'Neil that stands at the entrance to the museum. Written nominations for the award are accepted by mail at any time; the nomination must specifically state how the nominee meets the traits exemplified by O'Neil.


2020 Basketball Champions League Final
2020 Basketball Champions League Final was the concluding game of the 2019–20 Basketball Champions League season, the 4th season of FIBA's premier basketball league in Europe. The final and the Final Eight were played in the O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall in Athens.


2020 Basketball Champions League Final
San Pablo Burgos won its first Champions League title after defeating AEK.


2020 Basketball Champions League Final, Background, San Pablo Burgos
Five years before, in August 2015, the professional section of CB Miraflores had been established. In 2017, Burgos made its debut in the Liga ACB, the highest Spanish league. In the 2019–20 ACB season, which was played out earlier that year, Burgos reached the semi-finals of the playoffs.


2020 Basketball Champions League Final, Background, AEK
For AEK, this was the second time it appeared in a final of the Basketball Champions League, having won the 2018 title. It was also the second time AEK hosted the Final Four/Eight tournament at the O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall.


2020 Basketball Champions League Final, Background, AEK
Keith Langford, the team's leading scorer, was named Most Valuable Player of the competition. AEK also had Tyrese Rice, the MVP of the previous 2018–19 season, on its roster.


2020 Basketball Champions League Final, Venue
The O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall was the stage of the final tournament for the second time, having already hosted the 2018.


2020 Basketball Champions League Final, Game details
Giannis Antetokounmpo, the reigning NBA Most Valuable Player, was in attendance for the final.


2020 Basketball Champions League Final Eight
The 2020 Basketball Champions League (BCL) Final Eight was the 4th concluding Basketball Champions League Final Four tournament. It was the concluding phase of the 2019–20 Basketball Champions League season, which marked the fourth season of Basketball Champions League (BCL). Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the following suspension of the league, the usual format of an Final Four was changed to a Final Eight.


2020 Basketball Champions League Final Eight
The tournament was played behind closed doors due to worries about COVID-19. San Pablo Burgos won its first Champions League title after defeating AEK.


2020 Basketball Champions League Final Eight, Venue
The O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall was the stage of the final tournament for the second time, having already hosted the 2018. AEK Athens, which won the championship that year, would serve as host again. The arena was completed in 1995, and was the largest indoor venue in use for sporting events at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. It is located in the Athens suburb of Marousi. It is considered to be one of the biggest and most modern indoor sports arenas in all of Europe.


2020 Basque regional election
The 2020 Basque regional election was held on Sunday, 12 July 2020, to elect the 12th Parliament of the Basque Autonomous Community. All 75 seats in the Parliament were up for election. The election was initially scheduled for 5 April 2020 but was postponed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was held simultaneously with a regional election in Galicia.


2020 Basque regional election
On 4 February 2020, Lehendakari Iñigo Urkullu had discussed holding a snap election within a cabinet meeting, fulfilling a legal requirement previous to any election call and sparking speculation that a regional election was imminent. Six days later, on 10 February, Urkullu confirmed the election for 5 April, seeking to distance himself from the convoluted political landscape in Catalonia after a 2020 election in the region was announced by Catalan president Quim Torra. The announcement of the Basque election prompted Galician president Alberto Núñez Feijóo to trigger a snap election in Galicia as well. However, on 16 March it was announced that the vote would be postponed for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain, shortly after Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's declaration of a nationwide lockdown in the country starting on the previous day.


2020 Basque regional election
Urkullu's Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) maintained its status as the largest party in the Basque Parliament with its best result since 1984, which coupled to an increase in support of one seat for the centre-left Socialist Party of the Basque Country–Basque Country Left (PSE-EE)—its coalition partner during the previous legislature—allowed Urkullu to establish a majority coalition government. The left-wing regional nationalist EH Bildu topped its best historical result, benefitting from the collapse of the United We Can–United Left (Elkarrekin Podemos) alliance, which lost nearly half its support.


2020 Basque regional election
The PP+Cs alliance compromising both the People's Party (PP) and Citizens (Cs) lost roughly half of the seats won by the PP in the 2016 election, although Cs entered the regional parliament for the first time with 2 seats whereas the PP was allocated the alliance's remaining 4. The far-right Spanish unionist Vox entered the Parliament for the first time with one seat. Equo was not able to secure parliamentary representation after having won one seat as a member of the Elkarrekin Podemos alliance in 2016.


2020 Basque regional election, Overview, Electoral system
The Basque Parliament was the devolved, unicameral legislature of the autonomous community of the Basque Country, having legislative power in regional matters as defined by the Spanish Constitution of 1978 and the regional Statute of Autonomy, as well as the ability to vote confidence in or withdraw it from a lehendakari.


2020 Basque regional election, Overview, Electoral system
Voting for the Parliament was on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprised all nationals over eighteen, registered in the Basque Country and in full enjoyment of their political rights. Additionally, Basques abroad were required to apply for voting before being permitted to vote, a system known as "begged" or expat vote (Spanish: Voto rogado). The 75 members of the Basque Parliament were elected using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional representation, with an electoral threshold of three percent of valid votes—which included blank ballots—being applied in each constituency.


2020 Basque regional election, Overview, Electoral system
Seats were allocated to constituencies, corresponding to the provinces of Álava, Biscay and Gipuzkoa, being allocated a fixed number of 25 seats each to provide for an equal representation of the three provinces in parliament as required under the regional statute of autonomy. This meant that Álava was allocated the same number of seats as Biscay and Gipuzkoa, despite their populations being, as of 1 January 2020, 329,857, 1,142,923 and 716,530, respectively.


2020 Basque regional election, Overview, Electoral system
The use of the D'Hondt method might result in a higher effective threshold, depending on the district magnitude.


2020 Basque regional election, Overview, Election date
The term of the Basque Parliament expired four years after the date of its previous election, unless it was dissolved earlier. The election decree was required to be issued no later than the twenty-fifth day prior to the date of expiry of parliament and published on the following day in the Official Gazette of the Basque Country (BOPV), with election day taking place on the fifty-fourth day from publication. The previous election was held on 25 September 2016, which meant that the legislature's term would have expired on 25 September 2020. The election decree was required to be published in the BOPV no later than 1 September 2020, with the election taking place on the fifty-fourth day from publication, setting the latest possible election date for the Parliament on Sunday, 25 October 2020.


2020 Basque regional election, Overview, Election date
The lehendakari had the prerogative to dissolve the Basque Parliament at any given time and call a snap election, provided that no motion of no confidence was in process. In the event of an investiture process failing to elect a lehendakari within a sixty-day period from the Parliament re-assembly, the Parliament was to be dissolved and a fresh election called.


2020 Basque regional election, Overview, Election date
On 4 February 2020, it was revealed that Iñigo Urkullu was considering holding a snap election within a short timeframe and that he had fulfilled legal requirements for it by raising such hypothesis within a cabinet meeting, with 5 April being regarded as the most likely date.


2020 Basque regional election, Overview, Election date
The decision of Catalan president Quim Torra on 29 January to announce a snap Catalan regional election to be held at some point throughout 2020 was said to have raised concerns within Urkullu's government, as the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) sought to prevent the next Basque regional election from being held simultaneously to prevent any interference from the Catalan political debate into the Basque campaign.


2020 Basque regional election, Overview, Election date
Asked in a plenary session of parliament on 7 February on whether he would be dissolving the chamber within the following days, Urkullu refused to either explicitly confirm or reject such hypothesis, but asked opposition parties for a commitment to approve as many legislation as possible "now and in the future".


2020 Basque regional election, Overview, Election date
Sources within the Basque government pointed out that, for an election to be held on 5 April, the dissolution decree would have to be published in the BOPV on Tuesday, 11 February, and that if a snap election was to be eventually called the announcement of it happening could be delayed up to that day. Finally, Urkullu confirmed on 10 February the election date for 5 April, with the subsequent dissolution of parliament to be made official on the next day.


2020 Basque regional election, Overview, Election date
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the election's original date was suspended on 16 March, with it being rescheduled for 12 July 2020 on 18 May after the easing of virus spreading conditions and a reduction in the infection rate, resulting in the lockdown established by the state of alarm lasting from 15 March to 21 June.


2020 Basque regional election, Parliamentary composition
The Basque Parliament was officially dissolved on 11 February 2020, after the publication of the dissolution decree in the Official Gazette of the Basque Country. The table below shows the composition of the parliamentary groups in the chamber at the time of dissolution.


2020 Basque regional election, Parties and candidates
The electoral law allowed for parties and federations registered in the interior ministry, coalitions and groupings of electors to present lists of candidates. Parties and federations intending to form a coalition ahead of an election were required to inform the relevant Electoral Commission within ten days of the election call, whereas groupings of electors needed to secure the signature of at least one percent of the electorate in the constituencies for which they sought election, disallowing electors from signing for more than one list of candidates.


2020 Basque regional election, Parties and candidates
Below is a list of the main parties and electoral alliances which contested the election:


2020 Basque regional election, Parties and candidates
In August 2018, Pilar Zabala, the leader of Elkarrekin Podemos, announced that she would not seek reelection and would leave politics by the end of the legislature. Ahead of the election, Equo was excluded from the coalition after the party had broken up with the Unidas Podemos nationwide alliance to join Más País in the lead up to the November 2019 Spanish general election.


2020 Basque regional election, Parties and candidates
Alfonso Alonso had been initially scheduled to repeat as the leading candidate for the People's Party (PP) in the regional election, having been confirmed for the post on 10 February 2020. However, the negotiation of a coalition with Citizens (Cs) which the Basque PP received with heavy criticism, amid claims of having been overruled and swept aside by the party's national leadership in the coalition talks, triggered an internal clash which led national PP leader Pablo Casado to force Alonso's removal as candidate on 23 February and propose Carlos Iturgaiz for the post instead.


2020 Basque regional election, Timetable
The key dates are listed below (all times are CET):


2020 Basque regional election, Opinion polls
The table below lists voting intention estimates in reverse chronological order, showing the most recent first and using the dates when the survey fieldwork was done, as opposed to the date of publication. Where the fieldwork dates are unknown, the date of publication is given instead. The highest percentage figure in each polling survey is displayed with its background shaded in the leading party's colour. If a tie ensues, this is applied to the figures with the highest percentages. The "Lead" column on the right shows the percentage-point difference between the parties with the highest percentages in a given poll. When available, seat projections are also displayed below the voting estimates in a smaller font. 38 seats were required for an absolute majority in the Basque Parliament.


2020 Basque regional election, Voter turnout
The table below shows registered vote turnout on election day without including voters from the Census of Absent-Residents (CERA).


2020 Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race
The 2020 Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race presented by Wendy's was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on September 19, 2020 at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee. Contested over 500 laps on the .533-mile (0.858 km) short track, it was be the 29th race of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season, third race of the Playoffs and final race of the Round of 16.


2020 Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race, Report, Background
The Bristol Motor Speedway, formerly known as Bristol International Raceway and Bristol Raceway, is a NASCAR short track venue located in Bristol, Tennessee. Constructed in 1960, it held its first NASCAR race on July 30, 1961. Despite its short length, Bristol is among the most popular tracks on the NASCAR schedule because of its distinct features, which include extraordinarily steep banking, an all concrete surface, two pit roads, and stadium-like seating. It has also been named one of the loudest NASCAR tracks.


2020 Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race, Qualifying
Brad Keselowski was awarded the pole for the race as determined by competition-based formula.


2020 Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race, Media, Television
NBC Sports covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, 2008 Food City 500 winner Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and Dale Earnhardt Jr. covered the race from the booth at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Dave Burns, Marty Snider and Dillon Welch handled the pit road duties on site, and Rutledge Wood handled the features from the Busch Fan Zone at the racetrack during the race.


2020 Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race, Media, Radio
PRN had the radio call for the race, which was also simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Doug Rice and Mark Garrow called the race from the booth when the field races down the frontstretch. Rob Albright called the race when the field races down the backstretch. Brad Gillie, Brett McMillan and Wendy Venturini handled the duties on pit lane.


2020 Bath shipbuilders strike
The 2020 Bath shipbuilders strike was a labor strike involving shipbuilders at Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine, United States. The strike, which started June 22, involved 4,300 members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. The strike ended on August 23 with the approval of a new labor contract.


2020 Bath shipbuilders strike, Background
Bath Iron Works (BIW) is a major shipyard and among the largest shipbuilders for the United States Navy. The shipyard, located in Bath, Maine, is a major employer for the region, with approximately 6,800 workers, of whom approximately 4,300 are members of Local S6 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM).


2020 Bath shipbuilders strike, Background
In 2020, labor contract discussions between the union and company stalled as neither side could come to an agreement on the terms of the contract. The three-year contract proposed by the company would have included a 3% pay raise each year, but according to the union, there were over a dozen concessions that they took issue with. Primarily, union members took issue with changes in seniority and policy regarding the hiring of subcontractors. Previous efforts by the company to bring temporary workers to the shipyard were blocked by the union in 2015.


2020 Bath shipbuilders strike, Background
On June 21, union members held a vote to approve a strike beginning at midnight, with 87% of the votes being to approve the strike. The strike is taking place during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has negatively affected operations at the shipyard, with production behind schedule by six months. The last time the union held a strike was in 2000, with the strike lasting 55 days.


2020 Bath shipbuilders strike, Course of the strike
Following the announcement of a strike on June 21, about a dozen union members left the union hall waving signs and cheering for the strike. Shortly after the announcement of the strike, Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Development and Acquisition) James Geurtz said, “my expectation is both sides will work aggressively and with a sense of urgency so we can get these programs [exected].” U.S. Representative Jared Golden and Democratic Presidential nominee Joe Biden both expressed their support for the strikers.


2020 Bath shipbuilders strike, Course of the strike
On June 22, about 1,000 strikers picketed in front of the shipyard, with plans for smaller groups of people to continue picketing in four-hour blocks. Several shipyard workers from two other unions that were not on strike showed solidarity with the strikers by taking lunch breaks and vacation time. To help alleviate financial difficulties caused by the strike, union members will receive $150 per week from a union fund. Police reported 30 overnight noise complaints stemming from supporters honking their car horns to show support for the strike.


2020 Bath shipbuilders strike, Course of the strike
In early July, BIW announced that they would be hiring additional subcontractors to avoid falling further behind schedule with their projects. On July 7, the company began to temporarily lay off workers from non-striking union Local S7, citing a lack of work caused by the strike. That same week, union representatives from Local S6 began to meet with a Federal mediator, with company representatives expected to meet with the mediators the following week.


2020 Bath shipbuilders strike, Course of the strike
On July 21, Local S6 President Chris Wiers criticized the company for hiring out-of-state contractors from several Southern states that were experiencing an increase in COVID-19 cases, such as Alabama and Mississippi. He alleged that this could lead to higher cases of infection in Bath and argued that BIW should "provide proof of testing with negative results for all out of state subcontractors immediately.”


2020 Bath shipbuilders strike, Course of the strike
On July 25, President Robert Martinez Jr. of the IAM spoke to strikers outside the union hall, calling for strikers to remain strong and calling the strike "the largest strike in the United States of America right now.” On August 3, union and company representatives held their first meeting since June, where they agreed to points relating to company holidays and merit pay. On August 8, it was announced that the union and company had reached a tentative agreement to end the strike, with union members slated to vote on the agreement between August 21 and August 23. The 3-year labor contract was officially approved by union members on August 23, officially ending the strike, with union members returning to work the following day.


2020 Bathurst 1000
The 2020 Bathurst 1000 (formally known as the 2020 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000) was a motor racing event for Supercars that was held on the weekend of 15–18 October 2020. It was held at the Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia and featured a single 1000 kilometre race. The event was the final round of the 2020 Supercars Championship and the final time Supercheap Auto was the naming rights sponsor, having been so since 2005, as United States-based Genuine Parts Company has acquired naming rights for both the Supercars Championship and the Bathurst 1000 starting in 2021. This was the first Bathurst 1000 in history to run with a limited crowd capacity, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


2020 Bathurst 1000
After a qualifying session held on the Friday, the top 10 drivers from that session competed in the shootout where Cameron Waters from Tickford Racing claim the pole position with a time of 2:03.5592. In the race, driver pairing, Shane Van Gisbergen and Garth Tander from Triple Eight Race Engineering who started in fourth place won the race with Van Gisbergen winning his first Bathurst 1000 and Tander his fourth. Cameron Waters and Will Davison from Tickford Racing finished in second, with Walkinshaw Andretti United's Chaz Mostert and Warren Luff completing the podium in third.


2020 Bathurst 1000
Following this, Scott McLaughlin who finished fifth in the race would win his third Supercars drivers' championship finishing 451 points ahead of Waters with Van Gisbergen finishing in third. In the teams' championship, DJR Team Penske claimed the title, finishing 262 points ahead of Triple Eight, with Tickford Racing rounding out the top three.


2020 Bathurst 1000, Report, Background and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
The event was the 63rd running of the Bathurst 1000, which was first held at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit in 1960 as a 500-mile race for Australian-made standard production sedans, and marks the 60th time that the race was held at Mount Panorama. It was the 24th running of the Australian 1000 race, which was first held after the organisational split between the Australian Racing Drivers Club and V8 Supercars Australia that saw two "Bathurst 1000" races contested in both 1997 and 1998.


2020 Bathurst 1000, Report, Background and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
This was the first time since 2000 that the race was also the final round of the championship.


2020 Bathurst 1000, Report, Background and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
The 2019 winners of the race were Scott McLaughlin and Alexandre Prémat, though Premat, a Clark County, Nevada (United States) resident who is the lead instructor at driving school for premium sportscars there, was unable to compete in the race due to border restrictions imposed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.


2020 Bathurst 1000, Report, Entry list
Twenty-five cars were entered in the event – 17 Holden Commodores and eight Ford Mustangs, the smallest entry list in the events' history and the first Ford and Holden-only race since 2012. In addition to the 24 regular entries, there was a single 'Wildcard' entry from the Garry Rogers Motorsport team for débutants Tyler Everingham and Jayden Ojeda from the Super2 Series. GRM had originally planned for Nathan Herne from the Australian TA2 Racing Series to race in place of Ojeda, however Herne's entry was blocked as Motorsport Australia denied him the required licence.


2020 Bathurst 1000, Report, Entry list
Seven drivers made their debuts in the race – Everingham and Ojeda, championship driver Zane Goddard, Australian and World TCR driver Dylan O'Keeffe, former Super2 driver Kurt Kostecki, and current Super2 drivers Jordan Boys and Broc Feeney. With 45 Australians and 5 New Zealanders in the line-up, it marked the first grid made up of solely Antipodean drivers since 1964.


2020 Bathurst 1000, Report, Entry list
Entries with a grey background are wildcard entries which do not compete in the full championship season.


2020 Bathurst 12 Hour
The 2020 Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour was an endurance race that was staged on the Mount Panorama Circuit near Bathurst, in New South Wales, Australia on 2 February 2020. The event was open to cars in GT and touring car classes, namely GT3 and GT4. It was the 18th running of the Bathurst 12 Hour, and the opening round of both the 2020 Intercontinental GT Challenge and the 2020 Australian Endurance Championship.


2020 Bathurst 12 Hour
39 cars were entered and 34 cars started, with five entries withdrawn following crashes in practice & qualifying.


2020 Bathurst 12 Hour, Class structure
No entries were recorded for Class B, for Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo Evo, Porsche 911 GT3 Cup and new Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo spec vehicles.


2020 Baton Rouge mayoral election
The 2020 Baton Rouge mayoral election was held on November 3, 2020 and December 5, 2020 to elect the mayor-president of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.


2020 Baton Rouge mayoral election
As no candidate won a majority in the first round, a runoff was held between the top two candidates, incumbent Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome of the Democratic Party and fmr. State Representative Steve Carter of the Republican Party. Despite initially tight polls in the runoff, which showed Carter within reach of winning the election, Broome won by a decisive margin.


2020 Baton Rouge mayoral election
Held in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, campaigning was limited to smaller private events, limiting both candidates' exposure and public attention on the race. Major issues of the race were: crime, economic development, pandemic recovery, infrastructure, and education. Due to consistently lack-luster public support of incumbent Mayor-President Broome, the race drew seven total candidates, the most a mayoral incumbent in East Baton Rouge Parish had faced in nearly 30 years.


2020 Baton Rouge mayoral election
Following the race's conclusion, runner-up Steve Carter contracted COVID-19, dying two months later from COVID-19 related complications on January 26, 2021. Carter's death was followed by an outpouring of fond emotion, including from his electoral opponent Broome, who stated, "You never saw him without a smile on his face and a hand extended to greet you, Steve was a Baton Rougean through and through. I am tremendously sad to have lost yet another friend and neighbor to COVID-19. Our thoughts and prayers are with Steve's family and his many friends as we mourn his great loss."


2020 Baton Rouge mayoral election, Results
The election resulted in a runoff between Broome and former Republican state representative Steve Carter, after no candidate received more than 50% of the vote.


2020 Baton Rouge mayoral election, Runoff results
Incumbent Mayor Sharon Weston Broome would win the December 5 runoff after securing a decisive 57% of the vote. Broome's opponent, former State Representative Steve Carter received 43%. Broome's victory was the first time any female had been re-elected to the position. Carter called Broome just after 9:30 p.m. December 5, 2020 to congratulate her on her victory. Baton Rouge has historically voted democrat in its local elections. Only two republicans have held the office over the last 100 years.


2020 Baylor Bears football team
The 2020 Baylor Bears football team represented Baylor University in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They played their home games at McLane Stadium in Waco, Texas, as a member of the Big 12 Conference and were led by first-year head coach Dave Aranda in the Bears' 122nd overall season.


2020 Baylor Bears football team, Previous season
The Bears finished the 2019 season with an 11–3 record, 8–1 Big 12 play, losing the conference championship to Oklahoma and losing the Sugar Bowl to Georgia. On January 7, 2020, head coach Matt Rhule was hired as head coach of the Carolina Panthers. On January 20, Baylor announced the hire of LSU defensive coordinator Dave Aranda as head coach.


2020 Baylor Bears football team, Offseason, Offseason departures
One Baylor player with remaining eligibility, James Lynch, declared early for the 2020 NFL Draft. In addition, 18 seniors from the 2019 team graduated.


2020 Baylor Bears football team, Preseason, Big 12 media poll
The Big 12 media days were held on July 21–22, 2020 in a virtual format due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


2020 Baylor Bears football team, Schedule, Spring game
The Bears planned to hold spring practices in March and April 2020. The Baylor football spring "Green and Gold game" was to take place in Waco, TX on April 18, 2020. The team's spring practices as well as the spring game were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


2020 Baylor Bears football team, Schedule, Regular season
Baylor initially released its 2020 schedule on October 21, 2019. An updated Big 12 schedule was released on August 12, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the updated schedule, the Bears will host one non-conference games against Louisiana Tech. Baylor will host Kansas, Oklahoma State, TCU, and Kansas State and travel to West Virginia, Texas, Iowa State, Texas Tech, and Oklahoma in regular season conference play. On September 8, the Louisiana Tech game was postponed indefinitely. On September 12, a new game against Houston was announced in its place. On September 18, Baylor announced that the Houston versus Baylor game would be postponed due to Baylor not meeting the Big 12 Conference COVID-19 game cancellation thresholds.


2020 Baylor Bears football team, Schedule, Regular season
The Bears had games against Ole Miss and Incarnate Word, which were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


2020 Beijing Sinobo Guoan F.C. season
The 2020 season was Beijing Sinobo Guoan F.C. 's 56th season in football competition and the club's 17th consecutive season in the Chinese Super League since the league's founding in the 2004. It is the team's 30th consecutive season in the top flight of Chinese football. It covers a period from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2020.


2020 Beijing Sinobo Guoan F.C. season, Summary, Pre-season
Guoan announced a 1-year contract extension for manager Bruno Génésio on 5 December 2019, confirming that he would remain for the start of the 2020 season.


2020 Beijing Sinobo Guoan F.C. season, Summary, Pre-season
Club veteran and former captain Yang Zhi parted with the club after his contract expired on 31 December 2019. Hu Yanqiang and Zhang Yu also left Guoan for trials at other football clubs. Chi Wenyi and Jin Pengxiang returned from their respective loan spells. Jiang Tao's contract with the club expired at the end of the previous season but was invited to pre-season training with the team.


2020 Beijing Sinobo Guoan F.C. season, Summary, Pre-season
The team regrouped on 3 January 2020 and headed to Murcia for the first pre-season training camp in hope of gaining fitness and match preparedness. The team participated in two friendlies, in which Guoan won 1–0 against the AFE Trial Team and lost 2–5 against 1. FC Heidenheim. All three Guoan goals came from Renato Augusto.


2020 Beijing Sinobo Guoan F.C. season, Summary, Pre-season
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the team altered original plans of training in Hainan and instead traveled to Jeju City on 29 January for further pre-season training after the Lunar New Year. On 30 January, the Chineses Football Association announced that all matches in Chinese soccer would be delayed indefinitely in order to minimize chances for infection. Asian Football Confederation also changed AFC Champions League schedule with Guoan playing first two group stage games away from home.


2020 Beijing Sinobo Guoan F.C. season, Summary, Pre-season
On 3 February, the club announced the arrival of Tianjin TEDA's Yang Fan. The transfer cost the club ¥2000M and Lei Tenglong joins Tianjin TEDA in the same deal. The club also announced the contract extension to the end of the 2020 season of Jiang Tao.


2020 Beijing Sinobo Guoan F.C. season, Summary, February
On 18 February, Wang Ziming scored the sole goal in the opening game of the season, putting Guoan 0–1 past Chiangrai United in both teams' first match in the AFC Champions League Group Stage. The team then went on another break as the coronavirus delayed the opening of Chinese Super League. The team planned on regrouping on 10 March for further preparation in the UAE. Players were instructed not to return to China as a measure to prevent infection.


2020 Beijing Sinobo Guoan F.C. season, Summary, February
On 23 February, Zhang Yu and Liu Huan's respective loans to Changchun Yatai and Chongqing Lifan were announced. The club announced on 29 February that A Lan would join the team on loan from Guangzhou Evergrande for the season.


2020 Beijing Sinobo Guoan F.C. season, Summary, March
On 2 March, The AFC announced postponement of Champions League matches due to the intensifying COVID-19 pandemic with the second to sixth round of the group stage to be played in May and June, and all previously postponed games must be rescheduled before August. Because of this rescheduling, the team no longer had matches in March and April, and therefore ordered players previously on break abroad to return to China on 9 March. After a short stay in Beijing, the team departed for Kunming on 31 March for a 25-day long preparation.


2020 Beijing Sinobo Guoan F.C. season, Summary, April
Players arrived in Kunming and began training. Li Ke, who was on break in Los Angeles, returned to China and underwent the mandatory 14-day coronavirus quarantine before joining the team in Kunming. On 14 April, AFC announced that previously rescheduled Champions League matches in May and June would be further postponed. The team concluded the Kunming training camp on 24 April and players again went on break. They were ordered not to leave China as the Chinese government restricted reentry in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.


2020 Beijing Sinobo Guoan F.C. season, Summary, April
China placed a nationwide ban on most foreign visitors, leaving the return date of foreign players, including Augusto, Bakambu, Viera and Fernando, as well as coach Bruno Génésio, unknown. Hou Yongyong and A Lan, although naturalized and allowed to return, faced travel difficulties as the number of international flights are greatly reduced.


2020 Beijing Sinobo Guoan F.C. season, Summary, May
The team regrouped on 11 May and underwent coronavirus testing. After being cleared, team members began their training camp at Beijing Renhe's training facilities. Hou Yongyong and A Lan landed in China on 11 May and 14 May respectively and began their mandatory quarantine per Chinese government regulations. On 16 May, Guoan defeated Beijing Renhe 2–0 in a friendly game with 30-minute halves. Zhang Yuning and Wang Ziming scored for Guoan. On 22 May, Guoan lost 0–2 to Renhe in the second friendly between the two teams.


2020 Beijing Sinobo Guoan F.C. season, Summary, June
Hou Yongyong and A Lan completed their quarantine requirements and joined the team on 3 June and 5 June respectively. On 5 June, Guoan defeated Tianjin TEDA 5–0 in a friendly with goals from Wang Ziming,  Zhang Yuning, Jin Pengxiang, and a brace from A Lan. Guoan moved to Gaoxin Training Base in the Fengtai District of Beijing on 8 June and held a public training session on 12 June.


2020 Beijing Sinobo Guoan F.C. season, Summary, June
However, after the reemergence of coronavirus cases in Beijing's Xinfadi Market, the scheduled friendlies against Hebei China Fortune on 13 June and against Shandong Luneng on 17 and 20 June were cancelled. The team subsequently announced a break on 15 June lasting until 22 June. Everyone involved in training were tested for coronavirus infection and everyone was cleared. The team resumed training at training facilities located in Xianghe, Hebei on 22 June.


2020 Beijing Sinobo Guoan F.C. season, Summary, June
It was reported on 23 June that Guoan's foreign players and coaches successfully obtained Chinese visa and the team is working on their return following other CSL Super League clubs' success in doing so. Manager Bruno Génésio entered China via Shanghai on 22 June and is currently undergoing mandatory quarantine. Bakambu and two assistant coaches arrived at Shanghai as well on 26 June. Guoan played a friendly against Beijing Sport University F.C. at its Xianghe training camp on 26 June as well. Guoan won 4–3 with Piao Cheng scoring two and Zhang Xizhe and Wang Ziming each netting one.


2020 Beijing Sinobo Guoan F.C. season, Summary, July
The Chinese FA announced on 1 July that the 2020 season of Chinese Super League would commence on 25 July. The 16 teams would be split into two groups competing respectively in Dalian and Suzhou. Guoan was placed into Group B and will play in Suzhou. The first four places of each group would enter the Championship stage to compete for the overall league winner, and the bottom four places of each group would enter the Relegation stage, through which three relegation teams would be determined. The summer transfer window also opened on 1 July and is set to last until 30 July. Chi Wenyi left the team for Hebei China Fortune.


2020 Beijing Sinobo Guoan F.C. season, Summary, July
Guoan flew to Shanghai on 2 July for final preparation before the league's official start and played 4 friendly matches to enhance match preparedness. Guoan played Zhejiang Greentown in a friendly on 4 July and won 1–0 courtesy of A Lan's goal. On 5 July, Viera arrived in Shanghai while Kim Min-jae landed in Shenyang, and both are undergoing mandatory COVID-19 quarantine. Augusto and Fernando landed in Shanghai on 7 July aboard a club-chartered plane, while manager Bruno Génésio completed his quarantine requirement and joined team training.


2020 Beijing Sinobo Guoan F.C. season, Summary, July
The team lost a friendly 1–4 against Nantong Zhiyun on 8 July with A Lan's penalty the only Guoan goal. Bakambu completed his quarantine and joined team training on 10 July. On 11 July, Guoan won 6–1 against Shanghai Jiading with A Lan and Zhang Yuning each scoring a brace along with goals from Wang Ziming and Ba Dun. 14 July saw Guoan victorious against Zhejiang Greentown in a friendly thanks to a penalty from A Lan and a goal from Bakambu.


2020 Beijing Sinobo Guoan F.C. season, Summary, July
On 17 July, Guoan emerged victorious in a friendly against Shanghai Shenhua with Hou Yongyong scoring in the 70th minute. The team headed to Suzhou on 19 July ahead of the opening league match. 20 July saw Viera and Kim complete their respective quarantine requirements and both players joined the team in Suzhou. Augusto and Fernando joined team training after completing their quarantine on 22 July, marking the first time the entire first team squad is together in training since the February.


2020 Beijing Sinobo Guoan F.C. season, Summary, July
In the Chinese Super League season opener on 26 July, Li Lei and Piao Cheng netted a goal each to secure a 1–2 victory against Chongqing Lifan despite Yang Fan's red card in the 25th minute.


2020 Beijing Sinobo Guoan F.C. season, Summary, August
On 1 August, Viera's goal in the third minute separated Guoan from Wuhan Zall. In the 6 August game against Tianjin TEDA, goals from A Lan and Zhang Xizhe together with an own goal from opposition player saw Guoan win 1–3. A Lan netted his first goal for the club and Zhang Xizhe became the club's all-time top scorer with 41 goals total. Piao Cheng suffered a torn ACL during the game and will be out for an estimated 8 to 10 months.


2020 Beijing Sinobo Guoan F.C. season, Summary, August
On 12 August, Jin Taiyan, Zhang Yuning and Hou Yongyong contributed goals in Guoan's 3–1 victory against Hebei China Fortune, extending the team's winning streak to four games as Guoan remains top of the Group B table. On 16 August, Guoan gave up the three goal lead courtesy from Bakambu, A Lan and Hou Yongyong and was only able to manage a 3–3 draw against Qingdao Huanghai. The team suffered its first loss of the season on 22 August against Shanghai SIPG. Despite Bakambu scoring an early lead, the game ended 1–2 in favor of Shanghai SIPG.


2020 Beijing Sinobo Guoan F.C. season, Summary, August
On 27 August, Guoan's winless streak stretched to 3 games as it tied Shijiazhuang Even Bright 2–2. A Lan scored in the 24th minute to give Guoan an early lead, but Guo Quanbo received a red card for his goalkeeping against an opposition free kick taken quickly. Bakambu scored the equalizing penalty in the 73rd minute.


2020 Beijing Sinobo Guoan F.C. season, Summary, September
On 1 September, Guoan won 5–2 against Chongqing Lifan with Bakambu scoring four and Wang Ziming netting the other, ending Guoan's three-game winless streak. Chinese FA announced the dates to CSL championship stage and Chinese FA Cup matches on 2 September. Guoan is drawn against Qingdao Huanghai in the FA Cup and the match is set to take place on 19 September. 6 September saw Guoan concede two after leading through goals from Bakambu and Zhang Yuning, resulting in a 2–2 draw against Wuhan Zall.


2020 Beijing Sinobo Guoan F.C. season, Summary, September
Guoan kept its first clean sheet in eight rounds in the 10 September match against Tianjin TEDA, winning 2–0 as Zhang Yuning and Augusto netted ond in each half. On 15 September, Guoan signed Bosnian center back Toni Šunjić from Russian club Dynamo Moscow. On the same day, Guoan led Hebei China Fortune 3–1 at the 88th minute with goals from Augusto, Bakambu and A Lan, but  only managed to produce a 3–3 draw at the final whistle.


2020 Beijing Sinobo Guoan F.C. season, Summary, September
On 19 September, Guoan played Qingdao Huanghai in the first round of the Chinese FA Cup. Cléo scored the opener in the 31st minute for Huanghai from a foul that resulted in a penalty. A Lan failed to convert the penalty from an opposition handball in the box but managed to score the rebound, tying the game just before halftime. A Lan scored a header in the 69th minute to put Guoan in the lead. Zou Dehai secured Guoan's win when he held onto Cléo penalty in the 91st minute. Guoan advances to the next round with a result of 2–1.


2020 Beijing Sinobo Guoan F.C. season, Summary, September
22 September saw Guoan win 5–1 against Qingdao Huanghai in the CSL. Viera scored two with Yu Yang, Fernando and Bakambu each netting one. With the win, Guoan secured its place in the league's Championship Stage two matchdays in advance as it became mathematically impossible for the team to fall outside of fourth place within its Qualification Stage group. On 25 September, Guoan lost 0–1 to Shanghai SIPG, a loss which made Guoan mathematically impossible to win in Group B of the CSL Group Stage.


2020 Beijing Sinobo Guoan F.C. season, Summary, September
The Guoan side was not satisfied with the match result and claimed foul play from the referee. Guoan finished the Group Stage with a 4–0 win against Shijiazhuang Ever Bright. Two goals from Fernando and a goal each from Bakambu and Ba Dun helped seal the victory. A short holiday commenced for the players until 11 October.


2020 Beijing Sinobo Guoan F.C. season, Summary, September
On 30 September, Guoan announced that new signing Toni Šunjić would be loaned out to Henan Jianye for the remainder of the season due to registration regulations of the CSL.


2020 Beijing Sinobo Guoan F.C. season, Summary, October
Guoan regrouped in Beijing on 7 October and player a friendly against Beijing Institute of Technology F.C. on 10 October, which Guoan won 7–1. Guoan headed for Suzhou for the CSL championship stage on 11 October.


2020 Beijing Sinobo Guoan F.C. season, Summary, October
Guoan's first game in the championship stage, which sees the top 8 teams from the qualification stage play two-leg elimination matches until the final winner is determined, was played on 17 October against Shandong Luneng. Guoan conceded twice in the first half, but managed to tie the game thanks to Bakambu converting a penalty in the 49th minute and then scoring a header off of Li Lei's cross in the 69th minute. The first leg ended 2–2. Bakambu, with the double, became Guoan's all-time top scorer in the top flight Chinese football with 44 goals, overtaking teammate Zhang Xizhe's 43 goals for the club.


2020 Beijing Sinobo Guoan F.C. season, Summary, October
Guoan played its second leg against Shandong Luneng, which was also the 900th competitive match in club history, on 22 October. Despite conceding in the 15th minute, Zhang Yuning scored twice in the 19th and 75th minute, leading a successful Guoan comeback and securing progression to the semi-finals of the championship stage, pitting Guoan against Guangzhou Evergrande. Zhang's first goal was also the 1400th goal in club history.


2020 Beijing Sinobo Guoan F.C. season, Summary, October
On 28 October, Guoan player the first leg of its semi-final in the CSL championship stage against Guangzhou Evergrande. Jin Taiyan deputized at left-back for the injured Li Lei. Both Augusto and Bakambu hit the woodwork in the first half, and Guangzhou Evergrande hit the woodwork twice during the match as well. However, neither team was able to score, and the game ended in a 0–0 tie.


2020 Beijing Sinobo Guoan F.C. season, Summary, November
On 2 November, Guoan played Guangzhou Evergrande in the second leg of the CSL championship stage semi-finals. In the 39th minute following a Guangzhou corner, Zhang Yuning was judged by the referee to have committed a foul in the penalty area, leading to an opposition penalty which Talisca converted. Before the halftime whistle blew, Wang Gang went to ground in Guangzhou's penalty area, but the Korean referee Kim Hee-gon deemed that there was no foul.


2020 Beijing Sinobo Guoan F.C. season, Summary, November
In the second half, Guangzhou scored a second in the 56th minute before Zhang Yuning was able to pull one back for Guoan off of a Li Lei cross in the 61st minute. However, Guangzhou managed to score again in the 81st minute, handing Guoan a 3–1 loss and thus eliminating the team from champion contention.


2020 Beijing Sinobo Guoan F.C. season, Summary, November
7 November saw Guoan play against Shanghai SIPG to determine the final league table in the first leg of a two-leg 3rd and 4th place play-off. Wang Gang fought his way through inside the penalty box after Zhang Xizhe's long cross-field pass found him, and fed Bakambu for the Guoan lead in the 26th minute. In the second half, Chi Zhongguo tapped in Guoan's second of the day when the opposition goalie spilled A Lan's shot. Unfortunately in the 90th minute, an opposition shot came off the crossbar and bounced off of Guo Quanbo for an own goal. Guoan managed a 1–2 away win in the end.


2020 Beijing Sinobo Guoan F.C. season, Summary, November
On November 11, Guoan played Shanghai SIPG in the second leg of the third-place playoff. A Lan netted the bottom right corner of the goal off of a Zhang Yuning through ball in the 31st minute, only for opposition player to equalize two minutes after half-time. Hou Sen made a series of outstanding saves to deny Shanghai SIPG of further chances, and the game ended in a 1–1 draw. With Guoan leading the aggregated score 3–2, the team finished this season's CSL campaign in 3rd place, clinching a direct qualification to next season's AFC Champions League.


2020 Beijing Sinobo Guoan F.C. season, Summary, November
Guoan arrived in Doha, where all further AFC Champions League games for this season would be held, on 17 November. On 21 November, Guoan played its second game in the group stage against FC Seoul. Fernando opened the scoring for Guoan after only 8 minutes in this tightly contested match, and A Lan doubled Guoan's lead in the 60th minute through a shot outside the box. However, a handball from Kim Min-jae allowed the opponent to pull one back in the 66th minute. With no further goal scored, the game ended with a 2–1 victory for Guoan, elevating Guoan into first place in group E.


2020 Beijing Sinobo Guoan F.C. season, Summary, November
Guoan player its third game in the AFC Champions League group against Australian side Melbourne Victory on 24 October. Augusto opened the scoring for Guoan in the 22nd minute with A Lan scoring a header to increase the Guoan's lead in the 34th minute. Wang Ziming netted another in the 74th minute. Despite an opposition shot that ricocheted off Kim Min-jae landing in Guoan's goal, the game ended in a comfortable 3–1 victory for Guoan.


2020 Beijing Sinobo Guoan F.C. season, Summary, November
Guoan's fourth game in the group stage came on 27 November, when the team played its against Melbourne Victory again. Viera opened the game in just 9 minutes, putting the ball past the opposition goalkeeper from a Wang Gang cross. Zhang Yuning then netted in the 35th minute, turning and shooting from a Viera through ball. The game ended 0–2 for Guoan and with 4 consecutive wins Guoan qualified two games in advance for the Round of 16.


2020 Beijing Sinobo Guoan F.C. season, Summary, November
On 28 November, Guoan played in the second round of the Chinese FA Cup against Chengdu Better City. As the first team was in Doha competing in the AFC Champions League, Guoan had to utilize its reserve team and named a starting lineup with an average age of just 19.19 years. In the 8th minute of the game, Ling Zhongyang floated a cross into the box, and with Li Boxi as a dummy attracting the attention of the opposition defender, Xie Longfei was able to produce a clean finish giving Guoan the 1–0 lead. After two red cards for the opposition and five yellows for Guoan, the lead held and Guoan advanced to the quarter-finals 1–0 to play Wuhan Zall.


2020 Beijing Sinobo Guoan F.C. season, Summary, November
30 November saw Guoan win its fifth straight group stage game in the AFC Champions League against FC Seoul. Viera struck first in the 23rd minute with a curling free kick beyond the goalkeeper. Augusto added to the tally just before half-time, side volleying home a Wang Gang cross. Opposition striker scored in the 89th minute, but Zhang Yuning sealed the game in the 93rd as he rounded the goalkeeper and put the ball into the empty net. The 3–1 victory put Guoan's group stage talley at 15 points and guaranteed Guoan's first place in Group E.


2020 Beijing Sinobo Guoan F.C. season, Summary, December
Guoan and its reserve team continued the journey in the Chinese FA Cup on 2 December, playing against Wuhan Zall. Guoan conceded in the 4th minute as goalie Ma Kunyue hesitated and had the ball taken from him within his own penalty area. Guoan fell two goals behind in the 12th minute as Ma Kunyue and Ling Zhongyang miscommunicated, allowing opposition striker to gain possession within Guoan's own penalty area. A counterattack by Wuhan in the 38th minute led to Guoan conceding a third goal. The game ended 0–3 to Wuhan, and Guoan was thus knocked out of the competition.


2020 Beijing Sinobo Guoan F.C. season, Summary, December
Guoan played its last group stage game in the AFC Champions League on 3 December against Chiangrai United. Guoan fell behind in the 55th minute, but A Lan came on and headed in a goal in the 76th minute to draw Guoan level. Guoan had the chance to win the game in stoppage time when a penalty was given against the opposition, but A Lan hit the post with his shot. The game ended 1–1, and Guoan will play FC Tokyo next in the round of 16.


2020 Beijing Sinobo Guoan F.C. season, Summary, December
Guoan faced round of 16 opponent FC Tokyo on 6 December. After a lackluster first half, A Lan power in a goal in the penalty box from an Augusto pass. Guoan held on to the lead and the game ended 1–0, with Guoan advancing to the quarter finals. Guoan drew against Ulsan Hyundai in the quarter-finals.


2020 Beijing Sinobo Guoan F.C. season, Summary, December
On 10 December, Guoan played against Ulsan Hyundai in the quarter-finals. Conceding a penalty and a goal, Guoan lost the game 0–2 and is thus eliminated from the competition.


2020 Beijing Sinobo Guoan F.C. season, Players
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2020 Beijing Sinobo Guoan F.C. season, Competitions, Chinese Super League
On 1 July, Chinese Football Association announced that the season would resume on 25 July and 16 teams would be split into two groups competing respectively in Dalian and Suzhou. Guoan is placed into Group B. The first four places of each group would enter the Championship stage to compete for the overall league winner, and the bottom four places of each group would enter the Relegation stage, through which three relegation teams would be determined. The Championship and Relegation stage consists of three rounds of home and away games against different opponents to determine the final league ranking.


2020 Beijing Sinobo Guoan F.C. season, Competitions, Chinese Super League, Championship Stage
The championship stage consists of the top 8 teams from the qualification stage. Teams play two-leg elimination matches until the final winner is determined.


2020 Beijing Sinobo Guoan F.C. season, Statistics, Disciplinary record
Last updated: 10 December 2020Source: Only competitive matches = Number of bookings;  = Number of sending offs after a second yellow card;  = Number of sending offs by a direct red card.


2020 Beirut explosion
On 4 August 2020, a large amount of ammonium nitrate stored at the Port of Beirut in the capital city of Lebanon exploded, causing at least 218 deaths, 7,000 injuries, and US$15 billion in property damage, and leaving an estimated 300,000 people homeless. A cargo of 2,750 tonnes of the substance (equivalent to around 1.1 kilotons of TNT) had been stored in a warehouse without proper safety measures for the previous six years, after having been confiscated by the Lebanese authorities from the abandoned ship MV Rhosus. The explosion was preceded by a fire in the same warehouse, but as of September 2021, the exact cause of the detonation is still under investigation.


2020 Beirut explosion
The blast was felt across Turkey, Syria, Palestine, Israel as well as parts of Europe, and was heard in Cyprus, more than 240 km (150 mi) away. It was detected by the United States Geological Survey as a seismic event of magnitude 3.3, and is considered one of the most powerful artificial non-nuclear explosions in history.


2020 Beirut explosion
The Lebanese government declared a two-week state of emergency in response to the disaster. In its aftermath, protests erupted across Lebanon against the government for their failure to prevent the disaster, joining a larger series of protests which have been taking place across the country since 2019.


2020 Beirut explosion, Background
The economy of Lebanon was in a state of crisis before the explosions, with the government having defaulted on debt, the pound plunging, and a poverty rate that had risen past 50%. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic had overwhelmed many of the country's hospitals, several of which were already short of medical supplies and unable to pay staff due to the financial crisis. The morning before the explosion, the head of the Rafik Hariri University Hospital, which served as the main coronavirus medical facility in Lebanon, warned that it was approaching full capacity.


2020 Beirut explosion, Background
The government-owned Port of Beirut serves as the main maritime entry point into Lebanon and a vital piece of infrastructure for the importation of scarce goods. The Beirut Naval Base is a part of the port. The port included four basins, sixteen quays, twelve warehouses, a large container terminal, and grain silos with a total capacity of 120,000 tonnes that served as a strategic reserve of cereals for the country. The silos were built in the 1960s as part of an expansion plan advanced by Palestinian banker Yousef Beidas.


2020 Beirut explosion, Background, MV Rhosus
On 27 September 2013, the Moldovan-flagged cargo ship MV Rhosus set sail from Batumi, Georgia, to Beira, Mozambique, carrying 2,750 tonnes (3,030 short tons) of ammonium nitrate. Rhosus was owned by a company based in Panama but was regarded by the captain as under the de facto ownership of Russian businessman Igor Grechushkin. The shipment had been ordered by an African explosives manufacturing company for mining in Mozambique.


2020 Beirut explosion, Background, MV Rhosus
However, reporting by Der Spiegel has found that it was not Russian national Grechushkin who owned the Rhosus, but rather the Cypriot businessman Charalambos Manoli, who maintained a relationship with the bank used by Hezbollah in Lebanon. On 21 November 2013, the ship made port in Beirut. Some sources said it was forced to port due to mechanical issues and possibly engine problems, while other sources claimed the owner did not have sufficient funds to pay tolls for the Suez Canal and attempted to take on a shipment of heavy machinery in Beirut.


2020 Beirut explosion, Background, MV Rhosus
The heavy machinery was stacked on top of the doors to the cargo space containing the ammonium nitrate, causing the doors to buckle, which damaged the ship. After inspection by port state control, the Rhosus was deemed unseaworthy, and was forbidden to set sail. Eight Ukrainians and one or two Russians were aboard, and with the help of the Ukrainian consul, five Ukrainians were repatriated, leaving four crew members to care for the ship.


2020 Beirut explosion, Background, MV Rhosus
Grechushkin went bankrupt, and after the charterers lost interest in the cargo, he abandoned the ship. The Rhosus soon ran out of provisions, and the remaining crew were unable to disembark due to immigration restrictions. According to Lloyd's List, the Beirut port authority seized the ship on 4 February 2014, due to US$100,000 in unpaid bills. The ship had accrued port fees and been fined for refusing cargo. Lawyers argued for the crew's repatriation on compassionate grounds, because of the danger posed by the cargo still aboard the ship, and an Urgent Matters judge in Beirut allowed them to return home. They had been forced to live aboard the ship for about a year.


2020 Beirut explosion, Background, MV Rhosus
By order of the judge, the cargo was brought ashore in 2014 and placed in Warehouse 12 at the port, where it remained for the next six years. The MV Rhosus sank in the harbor in February 2018.