This roundup summarises the most important news stories around the world in the last two weeks (November 1 to 15, 2020).

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In the United States (US), after days of vote counting, democratic nominee and former vice-president Joe Biden was elected the 46th president of the United States. President Donald Trump is the first incumbent to lose re-election since 1992. In Hong Kong, the opposition bloc quit the legislature in solidarity after the government stripped four pro-democracy lawmakers of their seats under an anti-dissent law imposed by Beijing.

In other countries: In the Ivory Coast, despite a two-term constitutional limit and disputed elections boycotted by the opposition, president Alassane Ouattara won a third term. In Myanmar, the party of civilian leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi secured a parliamentary majority. And in Peru, president Martín Vizcarra was voted out of office in congress following accusations of corruption and his poor handling of the pandemic.

Geopolitical tensions in Armenia and Azerbaijan and the threat of civil war in Ethiopia: Under a pact signed with Russia involving the deployment of Russian peacekeepers, Armenia and Azerbaijan announced an agreement to stop fighting. Armenians protested against the deal while those in Azerbaijan took a more celebratory tone. And Ethiopian prime minister Abiy Ahmed launched a military operation, ostensibly in response to an attack on a military base. There are fears that the country is on the brink of a civil war.

Other political developments in Bolivia, Kosovo, and Poland: In Bolivia, former president Evo Morales returned from exile. In Kosovo, the president resigned to faced charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, dating back to the country’s independence war from Serbia. He was transferred to The Hague, in the Netherlands. And in Poland, following weeks of large demonstrations, the government delayed the implementation of a court ruling which would have limited nearly 96 per cent of once legal abortions. It is now exploring a new proposal.

In other news: In China, the initial public offering of Ant Group, set to be the largest share sale in history, was suspended in Shanghai after Chinese regulators said the company did not meet requirements for listing. And the US formally left the Paris climate agreement.

Attacks, accidents, and natural disasters around the world: In Afghanistan: Gunmen killed at least 19 people at Kabul University. In Austria, multiple gunmen in a terrorist attack killed at least one person in Vienna. In Mali, gunmen killed eight people in an attack. And in Pakistan, a blast at a religious school killed at least seven students.

In Egypt, seven military members of a peacekeeping force were killed when their helicopter crashed. In India, the explosion of a chemical warehouse killed 12 people. In Malaysia, the mid-air collision of two helicopters left two dead. A landslide triggered by heavy rains also killed two people. And in the Philippines, a super typhoon killed at least two people.