May 23, 2020 (Saturday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- War in Afghanistan, Afghan peace process
- The Taliban declares a three-day Eid ceasefire starting on Sunday. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid orders all attacks to cease and only use force "if any action is taken against you by the enemy". Afghan President Ashraf Ghani welcomes the ceasefire and orders the armed forces of Afghanistan to "comply with the three-days truce and to defend only if attacked". (National Post) (Reuters)
- Second Libyan Civil War
- 2019–20 Western Libya offensive
- Forces of the international-recognized Libyan government retake two military camps, Hamza and Yarmuk, from forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar south of Tripoli. (Anadolu Agency)
- 2019–20 Western Libya offensive
Disasters and accidents
- A four-alarm fire destroys a warehouse at Pier 45 at Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco, California. More than 150 firefighters are able to contain the blaze and save both the SS Jeremiah O'Brien, a World War II Liberty ship that saw action on D-Day at Normandy Beach in northwest France; and the USS Pampanito submarine, which had six war patrols from March 1944 through early 1945 in the northwestern Pacific Ocean. (KPIX) (The Guardian)
Health and environment
- COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China
- China reports no new cases for the first time since the pandemic began, according to the National Health Commission. (Reuters)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the State of Palestine
- The Gaza Strip reports the first death from COVID-19, a 77-year-old woman. (Al Jazeera)
Law and crime
- The Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs confirms that independent member of the Verkhovna Rada Valeriy Davydenko has been found dead in his office in Kiev with a gunshot wound to the head. (Kyiv Post)
Politics and elections
- COVID-19 pandemic in Spain, Protests over responses to the COVID-19 pandemic
- Thousands of protesters, mostly supporters of the far-right party Vox, participate in car protests in Madrid, Seville, Barcelona and other cities against the continuing lockdown and the national government. (BBC News)