Portal:Current events

Topics in the news

Taliban fighters in Kabul

• Ismail Sabri Yaakob is appointed as prime minister by the King of Malaysia.
• Hakainde Hichilema is elected President of Zambia.
• The Afghan government collapses as the capital city of Kabul falls to the Taliban offensive (fighters pictured).
• A 7.2-magnitude earthquake in Haiti kills more than 2,200 people.

Ongoing:

• COVID-19 pandemic

Recent deaths:

• Mangala Samaraweera
• Kyle Anderson
• Rod Gilbert
• Phil Valentine
• Tom T. Hall
• Arthur J. Ammann

Current events of August 24, 2021 (2021-08-24) (Tuesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Somali Civil War
  • Al-Shabaab insurgents attack a military base in Galmudug and capture the town of Amara after Somali forces retreat. The Somali forces conduct airstrikes and say they have killed insurgents. Local villagers confirm that the town has fallen into insurgents' control. Neither al-Shabaab spokespeople nor Somali officials could be reached for comment. (Reuters)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia
      • Indonesia surpasses four million cases of COVID-19. (detikHealth)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Iran
      • Iran reports a record 709 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide death toll to 103,357. (Barron's)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Israel
      • Israel surpasses one million cases of COVID-19. (The Times of Israel)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand
    • New Zealand reports 41 new community transmitted cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, which is the highest single-day total of new cases since April 2020. (The Australian Financial Review)

Politics and elections

• Andrew Cuomo sexual harassment allegations
  • Andrew Cuomo’s resignation comes into effect as Governor of New York. Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul is sworn-in, making her the first woman to serve as governor of New York. (NBC News)
• Hakainde Hichilema is sworn-in as the 7th President of Zambia, succeeding Edgar Lungu. (Al Jazeera)

Current events of August 23, 2021 (2021-08-23) (Monday)

Soldiers in Afghanistan

• Canada sends soldiers to Afghanistan
  • The U.S sends ~4,000 soldiers to Afghanistan
    • Great Britain sends ~400-600 soldiers to Afghanistan
      • • 36 Countries are evacuating soldiers from Afghanistan [1]

Armed conflicts and attacks

• War In Afghanistan
  • 2021 Taliban offensive
    • Panjshir resistance
      • The Taliban claim to have recaptured three districts in Baghlan Province that had been taken by local militias allied with Ahmad Massoud and Amrullah Saleh. Massoud and Saleh have established their resistance in the Panjshir Valley. (Yahoo! News) (Reuters)
    • The brother of deposed president Ashraf Ghani, Hashmat Ghani Ahmadzai, says he accepts that the Taliban won the war but that he "will not join them" and also calls for the formation of an inclusive government without Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and former president Hamid Karzai, blaming both men for "ruining the country". (India Today)
  • Operation Allies Refuge
    • A security guard is killed and three more people are wounded in a gunfight between an unknown gunman and Afghan forces at the north gate of Kabul airport. German and American forces are also involved in the shooting. (Reuters)
• Syrian civil war
  • 2021 Daraa clashes
    • Syrian Army troops and pro-Iranian militias launch a major ground assault on a rebel-held enclave in the city of Daraa. Rebel forces say that they have repulsed the attack from the western side of the enclave. State media says that the army was preparing to end a "state of lawlessness and chaos" and "reimpose army control" in the city. (Reuters)
• Tigray War
  • The U.S. Department of Treasury sanctions the chief of staff of the Eritrean Defense Forces Filipos Woldeyohannes, accusing him of leading his troops to commit multiple war crimes, including rapes, executions, massacres, looting, torture and purposely shooting civilians. The Department also called for the "immediate withdrawal of Eritrean troops" from Tigray. (Al Jazeera)

Disasters and accidents

• 2021 California wildfires
  • Around 400 homes are destroyed in the Caldor Fire in El Dorado County, California. Additionally, U.S. Route 50 remains closed in the area. (The Sacramento Bee)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines
      • COVID-19 vaccination in the Philippines
        • The Philippine Food and Drug Administration issues an emergency use authorization for the Sputnik Light vaccine, making the country the first in Asia to approve the Russian single-dose vaccine. (Rappler)
      • The Philippines reports a record 18,332 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 1.85 million. (ABS-CBN News)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Taiwan, COVID-19 vaccination in Taiwan
      • Taiwan begins the "contested" rollout of its first domestically-produced MVC COVID-19 vaccine, with President Tsai Ing-Wen among the first Taiwanese to receive a dose of the protein subunit vaccine. (Nikkei Asia)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam
      • Vietnam imposes their toughest lockdown in Ho Chi Minh City, prohibiting people from leaving their homes and also deploying the Vietnamese People's Army in order to enforce the lockdown in the country's largest city amid an increase in the number of COVID-19 infections and deaths. (U.S. News and World Report)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Oceania
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
      • COVID-19 pandemic in New South Wales
        • New South Wales imposes a 9:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. curfew in 12 LGAs of concern in Greater Sydney, limiting exercise to one hour in hotspot areas and mandating statewide outdoor mask wearing as the number of COVID-19 cases continues to remain high. (9News)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in French Polynesia
      • The French overseas department of French Polynesia closes all schools and tightens its lockdown for two weeks amid an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases caused by the Delta variant. (Radio France Internationale)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand
      • New Zealand extends its level 4 lockdown until August 31 in Auckland and August 27 in the rest of the country as the number of cases related to the Delta variant outbreak reaches 100. (The Guardian)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Belarus
      • Belarus will receive $1 billion from the International Monetary Fund to help fight the COVID-19 outbreak in the country. (Politico.eu)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Germany
      • Germany drops incidence levels from its yardstick for deciding if restrictions should be in force to contain the spread of COVID-19 as more people are vaccinated. (Reuters)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, COVID-19 vaccination in the United Kingdom
      • The United Kingdom signs an agreement with Pfizer to secure 35 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine due to be delivered in the second half of 2022 as the government focuses on a "future-proof vaccine programme" to prevent any virus variants that are resistant to the vaccine. (BBC)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
    • COVID-19 vaccination in the United States
      • COVID-19 pandemic in New Jersey
        • New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy announces that New Jersey will require teachers to receive a COVID-19 vaccine by October 18 or face mandatory COVID-19 testing. (The Center Square)
      • The Food and Drug Administration gives full approval to the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, becoming the first vaccine in the U.S. to be granted full licensure and thereby giving businesses, schools and universities more confidence to adopt vaccine mandates. (CNBC)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Florida
      • Palm Beach County announces that fans will be required to wear masks at athletic events amidst a cancellation of high school events in the county. (Palm Beach Post)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Washington
      • Washington reimposes its indoor mask mandate, requiring people over the age of 5 to wear masks in indoor public spaces regardless of their vaccination status. (Patch.com)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Argentina
    • The patient zero of the Lineage B.1.617 Delta variant in Argentina, a 62-year-old Peruvian national, dies from the disease. The man had been indicted while hospitalized with multiple crimes related to him not informing the authorities about his symptoms, breaching quarantine, entering the country unvaccinated and infecting 13 other people. (Perfil)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Egypt
    • Egypt reports its first case of the Delta Plus variant in a 35-year-old Egyptian woman who had shown “very mild” symptoms in July. (Ahram Online)

International relations

• 2021 Belarus–European Union border crisis, Poland–Belarus relations
  • Poland announces that it will build a wall on its border with Belarus in order to stop the flow of migrants entering the country through Belarus. (Euronews)

Law and crime

• Protests over responses to the COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, COVID-19 pandemic in London
    • Anti-vax protesters storm the ITN headquarters in London, United Kingdom. (The Independent)
• Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio is sentenced to more than five months in prison after admitting to burning a Black Lives Matter banner from a Black church during a pro-Trump rally on December 12 of last year. (NBC News)

Politics and elections

• 2021 New Caledonian independence referendum
  • New Caledonia's pro and anti-independence camps formally launch their campaigns ahead of a referendum on independence from France in December. (Post Courier)

Current events of August 22, 2021 (2021-08-22) (Sunday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• War in Afghanistan
  • Taliban insurgency
    • Panjshir conflict
      • Ahmad Massoud, who is leading the Panjshir resistance along with self-proclaimed acting president Amrullah Saleh, refuses to surrender the Panjshir Valley to the Taliban and says that war is "unavoidable" if the Taliban refuse dialogue on the formation of a comprehensive government. (Al-Arabiya English)
    • 2021 Afghan protests
      • Hundreds of people, including Afghans, hold a demonstration against the Taliban in Stockholm, Sweden. (Central Asia Times)
    • Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid says that they will form a new government soon. (The Times)
  • Operation Allies Refuge
    • U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says that the U.S. will ensure that all American citizens will be evacuated to the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul. (ABC News)
    • Austin also announces that the U.S. Department of Defense will activate the Civil Reserve Air Fleet for the third time and send 18 planes that will be used by the U.S. military to help evacuate American citizens. (Forbes)
    • U.S. President Joe Biden says that American troops may remain in Afghanistan beyond the August 31 deadline. He also announces that 11,000 people were evacuated from the country in the past 36 hours. (NBC News)
    • Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott announces that the network has evacuated 24 people from Afghanistan, including three Afghan nationals who assisted with the network's coverage of the war. (Variety)
  • Aftermath of the Fall of Kabul
    • The Netherlands increases its military presence in Afghanistan to help evacuate 700 Dutch nationals and Afghan allies. Dutch foreign minister Sigrid Kaag said last Friday that multiple Afghans are eligible for evacuation to the Netherlands. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

• 2021 Tennessee floods
  • Heavy rains cause 21 deaths in Tennessee, United States, with 45 people still missing. A record 17 inches (43 cm) of rain in 24 hours was reported in McEwen. (CNN)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Brunei
      • Brunei reports a record 314 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 1,769. (Borneo Bulletin)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Iran
      • Iran reports a record 684 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide death toll to 102,038. (Radio France Internationale)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Israel
      • Israel launches antibody COVID-19 testing for 1.4 million children between the ages of 3 and 12 as part of a study to measure the extent to which COVID-19 spread undetected among children in the past 18 months. (Haaretz)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam
      • Vietnam reports a record 737 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide death toll to 8,277. (Daily Sabah)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in New South Wales
      • New South Wales reports a record for the second consecutive day of 830 new cases of COVID-19, which is the highest number reported by any state or territory since the beginning of the pandemic. (ABC News Australia)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Maryland
      • Maryland Governor Larry Hogan receives his third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. State health officials also announce that 80% of adults in Maryland have received at least one dose of the vaccine. (Baltimore Sun)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Argentina, COVID-19 vaccination in Argentina
    • Argentina receives a shipment of 400,000 doses of the Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine donated by Spain. (Perfil)

International relations

• Iran–Japan relations
  • During a meeting with Japanese foreign minister Toshimitsu Motegi in Tehran, Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi urged Japan to release $3 billion in Iranian assets frozen in Japan due to international sanctions against Iran. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

• The far-right Proud Boys clash with Antifa demonstrators at an abandoned Kmart near downtown Portland, Oregon. (The Oregonian)

Current events of August 21, 2021 (2021-08-21) (Saturday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• War in Afghanistan
  • Operation Allies Refuge
    • Seven people are killed during a stampede at the airport in Kabul. (Reuters)
    • United States Army major general William D. Taylor announces that the United States has evacuated 17,000 people, including 2,500 Americans, in the past few weeks. (CNBC)
    • The U.S. and Germany both issue advisories warning nationals not to travel to the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul almost a week after the Taliban took control. (Reuters)
• Insurgency in Northern Chad
  • Chad recalls half of its 1,200 troops in the tri-border area of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. The decision notified to the coalition by Chadian military was explained as part of a plan to deploy troops elsewhere, where Chad is currently facing other conflicts. (Reuters)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Oceania
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
      • COVID-19 pandemic in New South Wales
        • New South Wales reports a record of 825 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, which is the highest number reported by any state or territory since the beginning of the pandemic. (ABC News Australia)
      • COVID-19 pandemic in Victoria
        • Regional Victoria re-enters a lockdown as COVID-19 infections spread from an ongoing cluster in Melbourne. (The Age)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand
      • New Zealand reports 21 new community transmitted cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, which is the highest single-day total since April 2020. (The Guardian)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Palau
      • Palau reports their first cases of COVID-19 in two people who travelled from Guam and were placed in quarantine with their known contacts. (France 24)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh, COVID-19 vaccination in Bangladesh
      • Bangladesh receives a shipment of 781,440 doses of the Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine donated by Japan. (Dhaka Tribune)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Brunei
      • Brunei extends its nationwide partial lockdown for two weeks until September 4 amid an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases. (The Straits Times)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam
      • Vietnam reports a record for the third consecutive day of 11,321 new cases of COVID-19, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 336,707. (The Star)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Morocco
    • Morocco surpasses 800,000 cases of COVID-19. (MAP News)

International relations

• Foreign relations of Afghanistan
  • The European Union says that there will be "no recognition, no political talks" with the Taliban. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen says that the EU will "measure the Taliban by their deeds and actions" before engaging in any recognition. Von der Leyen also announced an increase in humanitarian aid to Afghanistan. (Reuters)

Law and crime

• 2021 Taliban offensive, LGBT rights in Afghanistan, Persecution of homosexuals
  • Afghan-American LGBT rights activist Nemat Sadat says that gay Afghans are facing death under the Taliban, as a 21-year-old man from Balkh Province says that he is trying to seek asylum and thinks that he may never see his boyfriend again. Another gay man from Kabul who worked for the United Nations described the current situation for homosexuals as a "nightmare". (Yahoo! News)
• Former president of Bolivia Jeanine Áñez cuts her arm while in jail in what was allegedly a suicide attempt. (El Comercio) (Reuters)

Politics and elections

• 2020–21 Malaysian political crisis
  • Ismail Sabri Yaakob is sworn in as the ninth prime minister of Malaysia. (CNA)

Current events of August 20, 2021 (2021-08-20) (Friday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• War in Afghanistan
  • Taliban insurgency
    • 2021 Taliban offensive
      • An assessment by the United Nations reports that the Taliban is conducting "targeted door-to-door visits" searching for opponents and their families, deepening concerns that the group will seek revenge. (Al Jazeera)
      • The Russian ambassador to Afghanistan Dmitry Zhirnov says that the Panjshir resistance led by Amrullah Saleh and Ahmad Massoud is "doomed". Zhirnov also praises the Taliban and says that the situation in Kabul is better than it was when Ashraf Ghani was governing the country. (Reuters)
  • Operation Allies Refuge
    • U.S. president Joe Biden addresses the United States for a second time this week. During the address, Biden said that the U.S. will evacuate any Americans who want to return to the U.S. He also announces that 18,000 people have been evacuated from Afghanistan in the past few weeks, and that 5,700 people were evacuated in the past 24 hours. (CBS News)
    • Colombian president Iván Duque Márquez and the U.S. Ambassador to Colombia Philip Goldberg announce that Colombia will temporarily receive up to 4,000 Afghan nationals who are awaiting a Special Immigrant Visa clearance. (Reuters)
• Insurgency in the Maghreb
  • 2021 Niger attacks
    • Gunmen open fire against civilians who were praying at a mosque in the village of Theim, in southwestern Niger, killing 16 people. (Reuters)
• Insurgency in Balochistan
  • A suicide bomber in Gwadar, Pakistan, blows himself up targeting a vehicle carrying Chinese nationals, killing two children who were playing by the roadside. Three other people, including a Chinese citizen, are wounded. The Balochistan Liberation Army claim responsibility for the attack. (Al Jazeera)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in India, COVID-19 vaccination in India
      • The Indian government approves the emergency use of the ZyCoV-D vaccine made by Cadila Healthcare, which is the world's first three-dose DNA-based COVID-19 vaccine. (BBC)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Israel, COVID-19 vaccination in Israel
      • Prime Minister Naftali Bennett receives his third "booster" dose of the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine as Israel expands its booster dose campaign eligibility to people over the age of 40. (The Guardian)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Japan
      • Japan reports a record for the third consecutive day of 25,876 new cases of COVID-19. (Jiji Press)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia
      • Malaysia reports a record for the third consecutive day of 23,564 new cases of COVID-19, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 1.51 million. (The Star)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines
      • The Philippines reports a record 17,231 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 1.8 million. (ABS-CBN News)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka
      • President Gotabaya Rajapaksa imposes a ten-day nationwide lockdown in Sri Lanka in an attempt to reduce the spread of COVID-19. (Al Jazeera English)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand
      • Thailand surpasses one million cases of COVID-19. (The Straits Times)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Croatia, COVID-19 vaccination in Croatia
      • The number of adults who received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in Croatia surpasses 50%. (International The News)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Portugal
      • Portugal eases its COVID-19-related restrictions two weeks earlier than planned. Beginning on August 23, the country will allow eight people indoors and 15 people outdoors to sit together in bars and restaurants, and will also allow cultural events, weddings and baptisms to increase their capacity to 75% and permit restaurants, cultural venues and other businesses to remain open until 2:00 a.m. as the vaccination rate surpasses 70%. (Reuters)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, COVID-19 drug development
      • The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency approves the country's first monoclonal antibody cocktail drug (Ronapreve) developed by Regeneron and Roche to treat severe COVID-19 patients in the United Kingdom. (Euronews)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in North America
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Cuba, COVID-19 vaccination in Cuba
      • Cuba grants the emergency use approval for its second homegrown Soberana 2 vaccine. (Reuters)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
      • COVID-19 pandemic in California
        • Los Angeles County begins mandating face masks for all people who attend outdoor "mega-events" of more than 10,000 people such as open-air concert and sporting events regardless of their vaccination status. (Spectrum News 1)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa, COVID-19 vaccination in South Africa
    • South Africa expands the country's vaccine age eligibility to all adults over the age of 18 in order to increase the vaccination rate as the country deals with an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases caused by the Delta variant. (AP)

International relations

• Germany–Russia relations
  • On her last official trip as Chancellor, Angela Merkel urges Russian president Vladimir Putin to release jailed activist Alexei Navalny. The Russian government rebuffed Merkel, saying that Navalny is in prison due to reasons not linked to politics. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

• 2020–21 Malaysian political crisis
  • Ismail Sabri Yaakob is appointed as the 9th prime minister of Malaysia, following the resignation of Muhyiddin Yassin amid the collapse of the government. (Malaysiakini) (The Independent) (DW)

Current events of August 19, 2021 (2021-08-19) (Thursday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• War in Afghanistan
  • Taliban insurgency
    • 2021 Taliban offensive
      • A Taliban militant is stabbed by protestors in Asadabad while celebrating Independence Day. Fellow Taliban militants open fire on the crowd after the stabbing, killing two people and wounding eight others. Additionally, two people are injured during a protest in Jalalabad. (Al Jazeera)
      • More incidents are reported at the airport in Kabul, as civilians try to escape the country. A total of 12 people have been confirmed to have been killed at the airport since the fall of the city, primarily due to stampedes and gun incidents. (Business Insider)
      • Ahmad Massoud, the 32-year-old son of anti-Soviet mujahideen leader Ahmad Shah Massoud, vows to resist a potential assault of the Taliban on Panjshir. Massoud, who is allied with self-proclaimed acting president Amrullah Saleh, says that the Taliban will face a "staunch resistance" if they attack. (Reuters)
      • U.S. president Joe Biden says that the Taliban "must decide if it wants international recognition", but that the group had not changed its priorities during the past 20 years. (RTE)
    • Operation Allies Refuge
      • The Pentagon announces that 7,000 civilians have been evacuated since August 14. (Axios)
  • The Taliban declares the formation of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. (Forbes)
• Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
  • Three people are killed and 50 more wounded during a grenade attack at a Shiite religious procession in Bahawalnagar, Punjab, Pakistan. (Al Jazeera)
• War in Somalia
  • A suicide bomber blows himself up at a restaurant in Mogadishu, Somalia, killing three people and wounding several more. The restaurant was frequented by members of the security forces as it is near to a security agency. (Xinhua)
• Mali War
  • Jihadists ambush a convoy in Mopti, killing 11 soldiers and wounding 10 others. A roadside bomb hit the convoy, and gunmen then opened fire. (Republic World)
• Thirty-two people are killed in Far North, Cameroon, in clashes between fishermen and herders since the beginning of the month. Nineteen villages have been burned. (Reuters)

Business and economy

• Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020–2021 global chip shortage
  • Toyota reduces its production quota for next month by 40% due to the resurgence of COVID-19 in Asia severely impacting the company's supply chains, especially those involved in chip production. Up to this point, the company was one of the only major car manufacturers to avoid scaling back production during the pandemic. Volkswagen warns that it might also have to reduce its production quotas for similar reasons. (BBC)
• Content subscription service OnlyFans announces that it will ban sexually explicit material beginning in October. The policy changes, according to UK-based company, are "to comply with the requests of the banking partners and payout providers". (Variety)

Disasters and accidents

• 2021 Haiti earthquake
  • The death toll of the earthquake in Haiti reaches 2,189. (Associated Press)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Oceania
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
      • COVID-19 vaccination in Australia
        • The number of people over the age of 16 who have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in Australia surpasses 50%, with a record 309,010 doses administered yesterday. (ABC News Australia)
      • Australia reports a new single-day record of 754 new cases of COVID-19, including a record for the second consecutive day of 681 new cases of COVID-19 in New South Wales, surpassing the previous record set in August 2020 during the second wave of the pandemic in Victoria. (The Canberra Times)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Fiji
      • Fiji surpasses 400 deaths from COVID-19. (RNZ)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand, COVID-19 vaccination in New Zealand
      • Prime Minister Jacinda Arden's Cabinet grants approval for children between the ages of 12 and 15 to receive the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine beginning on September 1. (Newshub)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia, COVID-19 vaccination in Indonesia
      • Indonesia receives their first shipment of 1.56 million doses of the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine. (Kabar24)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Iran
      • Iran surpasses 100,000 deaths from COVID-19. (Reuters)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Japan
      • Japan reports a record for the second consecutive day of 25,156 new cases of COVID-19. (Jiji Press)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia
      • Malaysia reports a record for the second consecutive day of 22,242 new cases of COVID-19, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 1,489,460. (The Edge Markets)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines, COVID-19 community quarantines in the Philippines
      • Metro Manila and the provinces of Bataan and Laguna will have their restrictions eased under the slightly restrictive Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine beginning on August 21 for Metro Manila and Laguna and August 23 for Bataan. (Rappler)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore, COVID-19 vaccination in Singapore
      • Singapore begins reopening its borders with the launch of Vaccinated Travel Lanes for fully vaccinated travellers from Germany and Brunei, while quarantine-free restrictions will be eased for travellers from Hong Kong, Macau, Mainland China outside of Jiangsu Province, New Zealand and Taiwan. (CNA)
      • Beginning tomorrow, all travellers entering Singapore who are fully vaccinated with a World Health Organization-recognized COVID-19 vaccine will be issued a tamper-proof vaccination sticker in their passport upon the presentation of a COVID-19 vaccination certificate. (TODAY)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam
      • Vietnam reports a record 10,654 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 312,611. (Viet Nam News)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in France, Travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic
    • France designates Algeria and Morocco as "high-risk" countries, which means that beginning from August 21, unvaccinated travellers will have to prove that their trip is essential, requiring a proof of negative COVID-19 test, and must accept a 10-day self-quarantine. (Radio France Internationale)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Kenya, COVID-19 vaccination in Kenya
    • Kenya's Pharmacy and Poisons Board grants emergency use authorization for the Moderna and Sinopharm BBIBP-CorV vaccines. (Bloomberg)
• Ivory Coast reports an outbreak of the highly pathogenic H5N1 after a large number of poultry birds started dying in the Grand-Bassam commune near the capital Abidjan on July 20. (Reuters)

International relations

• COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong, COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore, Travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic
  • Hong Kong and Singapore abandon plans to resume a "travel bubble" for quarantine-free travel between the two cities due to differing COVID-19 policies. (The Straits Times)

Law and crime

• The U.S. Supreme Court Building, the headquarters of the Republican National Committee, and other locations in Washington, D.C.'s Capitol Hill area are evacuated after a man parked his truck in front of the Library of Congress and threatened to detonate a bomb while making anti-government statements. The man surrendered to the police several hours after he began his standoff. (CNBC)

Science and technology

• Rain falls on the summit of Greenland for the first time in recorded history. The rain shower dumped more than 7 billion tonnes of water on the ice sheet. (CNN)

Sports

• 2020 Summer Paralympics, Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports
  • The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games reports the first Paralympic-linked case of COVID-19 at the Olympic village that is not a Paralympic athlete or a Japanese resident. (BBC)

Current events of August 18, 2021 (2021-08-18) (Wednesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• War in Afghanistan
  • Taliban insurgency
    • 2021 Taliban offensive
      • 2021 Afghan protests
        • Three people are killed and 12 more are wounded during a shootout as civilians protest in Jalalabad against the Taliban banner replacing Afghanistan's national flag. (Reuters)
      • The United Arab Emirates confirms through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs that former Afghan president Ashraf Ghani has been welcomed into the country along with his family on humanitarian grounds. (Reuters)
      • The Afghan embassy in Tajikistan issues a request to INTERPOL to arrest former president Ghani on the accusation that Ghani stole from the country's treasury when he left Afghanistan. (Forbes)
      • Former president Ghani says that he left the country to avoid being lynched. He also denies reports that he left the country with cash and says that he is in talks to return to Afghanistan. (The New York Times)
      • The Kyrgyz Ministry of Foreign Affairs announces that 15 more citizens of Kyrgyzstan have evacuated out of Afghanistan. (Kabar)
    • Operation Allies Refuge
      • During an interview with ABC News reporter George Stephanopoulos, U.S. president Joe Biden says that the U.S. is committed to getting every American out of Afghanistan, even if it means extending the mission past the August 31 withdrawal deadline. (ABC News)
      • Oregon governor Kate Brown announces in a statement that Oregon will accept Afghan refugees, becoming the latest U.S. state to do so. (The Hill)
      • U.S. defense secretary Lloyd Austin says that American troops will evacuate as many Americans and allied Afghan interpreters as they can, but also admits that the Pentagon lacks the capacity to do so. Austin also announces that around 5,000 people have already been evacuated. (Stars and Stripes) (NBC News)
• Insurgency in the Maghreb
  • Clashes between the armed forces of Burkina Faso and militants linked to al-Qaeda and ISIL kill dozens of people. In an attack in the northern town of Arbinda, militants killed 30 civilians, 14 soldiers and three pro-government militiamen. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

• 2021 France wildfires
  • Two people are killed by wildfires that are affecting Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France, mostly near the city of Saint-Tropez. (The Guardian)
• Flash flooding caused by torrential rains kills at least seven people in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. (Al Jazeera)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Israel
      • Israel begins to require people over the age of 3 to show their vaccination certificate, a negative test result, or proof that they have recovered from COVID-19 in order to enter indoor places other than malls and stores. Additionally, there will be crowd size restrictions at large events and malls and stores will be required to limit their capacity to no more than one person per 7 square metres (75 sq ft). (Haaretz)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Japan
      • Japan reports a record 23,917 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, with new records also being reported in 27 prefectures. (The Japan Times)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia
      • Malaysia reports a record 22,242 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 1.46 million. (Free Malaysia Today)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka
      • Due to an increase in the number of COVID-19 infections, Sri Lanka closes all swimming pools, shopping malls, spas, arenas, gyms, and playgrounds, restricts travel to one person from each household for essential reasons only, and also bans carnivals, beach parties and musical events. (Economynext)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand
      • Thailand reports a record for the second consecutive day of 312 deaths from COVID-19, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 8,285. (Inquirer)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam
      • Vietnam surpasses 300,000 cases of COVID-19. (Vietnam Plus)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Oceania
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
      • COVID-19 pandemic in New South Wales
        • New South Wales reports a record 633 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours. (The Sydney Morning Herald)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand
      • New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern announces a snap lockdown, stating that the country's first community infection of COVID-19 in six months, reported yesterday, is suspected of being a Delta variant case. The lockdown will last for seven days in Auckland and the Coromandel Peninsula, and for three days in the rest of the country. (ABC News Australia) (Times of Oman)
      • New Zealand announces that the country's first community infection of COVID-19 in six months is also the country's first confirmed case of the Delta variant, and that the total number of cases associated with the current outbreak has increased to 10. (9 News) (Japan Today)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in North America
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico
      • COVID-19 vaccination in Mexico
        • The Mexican Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risk issues an emergency use authorization for the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. (El Financiero)
      • Mexico reports a record 28,953 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 3,152,205. (Bloomberg)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
      • The U.S. surpasses 37 million cases of COVID-19. (WSOC-TV)
      • COVID-19 pandemic in California
        • California announces that they will require people to show a proof of vaccination or negative COVID-19 test results in the previous 72 hours to attend any indoor “mega events” with more than 1,000 people beginning from September 20, becoming the first U.S. state to enact these rules. (Forbes)
      • COVID-19 vaccination in the United States
        • The Biden administration announces that, beginning on September 20, the U.S. will begin administering booster shoots of the Moderna and Pfizer–BioNTech vaccines for most people who received their second dose at least eight months ago. (Business Insider)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Tunisia
    • Tunisia eases its nightly curfew from midnight to 5:00 a.m. and allows restaurants to remain open until 10 p.m. as the number of COVID-19 cases decreases. (Reuters)
• Bulgaria reports an outbreak of African swine fever at an industrial farm with 13,000 pigs in the village of Apriltsi. (Reuters)

Sports

• 2021 Japanese Grand Prix, Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on motorsport
  • Formula One announces that this year's Japanese Grand Prix scheduled for October 8–10 has been cancelled due to an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in Japan. (BBC Sport)

Time: 14:12 UTC|Day: 24 August

	August 2021
S	M	T	W	T	F	S
1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
29	30	31

Ongoing events

Business

• COVID-19 recession
• Lebanese liquidity crisis

Disasters

• COVID-19 pandemic
• 2020–21 European windstorm season
• 2020–2021 H5N8 outbreak
• 2021 Atlantic hurricane season
• 2021 Pacific typhoon season
• Madagascar food crisis
• Water crisis in Iran
• Yemeni famine

Politics

• Afghan peace process
• Arab protests
• Belarusian protests
• Belarus-European Union border crisis
• Brazilian protests
• Colombian tax reform protests
• Cuban protests
• Eswatini protests
• Haitian protests
• Indian farmers' protests
• Iranian protests
• Jersey dispute
• Libyan peace process
• Myanmar protests
• Nicaraguan protests
• Nigerian protests
• Persian Gulf crisis
• Peruvian crisis
• Sudanese protests
• Tigrayan peace process
• Thai protests
• Tunisian political crisis
• United States racial unrest (Stop Asian Hate)
• Venezuelan presidential crisis

Elections and referendums

Recent

• August
  • 12: Zambia, President, National Assembly

Upcoming

• September
  • 5: São Tomé and Príncipe, President (2nd) 
  • 6: Ethiopia, House of Representatives (2nd) 

Trials

Recently concluded

• Belarus: Viktar Babaryka
• China: Sun Dawu, Michael Spavor
• Hong Kong: Jimmy Lai
• Indonesia: Juliari Batubara, Edhy Prabowo, Muhammad Rizieq Shihab
• Russia: Lyubov Sobol
• South Africa: Jacob Zuma
• Spain: 2017 Barcelona attacks
• Switzerland: Alieu Kosiah
• Tonga: ʻAkosita Lavulavu
• United Kingdom: Apsana Begum
• United States: Cristhian Bahena Rivera, Stephen Calk, Ed Buck

Ongoing

• Argentina: Rodolfo Martín Villa
• Armenia: Serzh Sargsyan
• Belarus: Sergei Tikhanovsky
• Colombia: Álvaro Uribe
• France: Nicolas Sarkozy
• India: Disha Ravi
• Indonesia: Nurdin Abdullah
• Israel: Benjamin Netanyahu
• Kyrgyzstan: Almazbek Atambayev
• Malta: Yorgen Fenech
• Spain: Bárcenas affair, Barçagate
• Sudan: Omar al-Bashir
• United States: R. Kelly
• Vatican City: Giovanni Angelo Becciu
• International: Ali Kushayb, The Gambia v. Myanmar

Upcoming

• Canada: Raj Grewal
• Kosovo: Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli
• Lesotho: Maesiah Thabane
• Rwanda: Paul Rusesabagina
• United States: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Elizabeth Holmes, Meng Wanzhou, Ghislaine Maxwell, Allen Weisselberg
• Zimbabwe: Ignatius Chombo

Sport

• Association football
  • 2021 Copa Libertadores final stages
  • 2020–21 UEFA Nations League
  • 2021 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A
  • 2021 Major League Soccer season
• Women's association football
  • 2021 NWSL season
• Baseball
  • 2021 MLB season
• Cricket
  • ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Super League 2020–2023
  • 2019–2023 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup League 2
  • ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Challenge League 2019–2022
• Golf
  • 2021 European Tour
  • 2021 LPGA Tour
  • 2020 PGA Tour Champions
  • 2021 Ladies European Tour
  • 2020–21 PGA Tour
• Motorsport
  • 2021 Formula One Championship
  • 2021 Rally Championship
  • 2021 MotoGP
  • 2021 Supercars Championship
• Rugby league
  • 2021 NRL season
  • 2021 Super League
• Rugby union
  • 2021 Bunnings NPC
  • 2021 Super Rugby season
• Tennis
  • 2021 ATP Tour
  • 2021 WTA Tour
  • 2020–21 Davis Cup (Finals)
• Other sports seasons
  • 2021 International cricket season
  • 2021-22 snooker season
  • 2021–22 curling season

More details – current sports events

Recent deaths

August

• 21: Nickolas Davatzes
• 21: Don Everly
• 21: Marie, Princess of Liechtenstein
• 21: Anthony Scotto
• 20: Tom T. Hall
• 19: Michael Cullen
• 19: Bill Freehan
• 19: Sonny Chiba
• 19: Chuck Close
• 18: Joseph L. Galloway
• 18: Jill Murphy
• 16: Sean Lock
• 16: Lucille Times
• 15: Gerd Müller
• 15: Joe Walton
• 14: Carlos Correia
• 14: Fez Whatley
• 13: Nanci Griffith
• 13: James Hormel
• 13: Leon Kopelman
• 13: Carolyn S. Shoemaker
• 12: Gino Strada
• 12: Dominic DeNucci
• 12: Una Stubbs
• 10: Neal Conan
• 10: Tony Esposito
• 10: Maki Kaji
• 10: Eduardo Martínez Somalo
• 9: Lester Bird
• 9: Cameron Burrell
• 9: Alex Cord
• 9: Pat Hitchcock
• 9: Bob Jenkins
• 9: Sergei Kovalev
• 9: Chucky Thompson
• 8: Bobby Bowden
• 8: Jaan Kaplinski
• 8: Walter Yetnikoff
• 7: Brad Allan
• 7: Trevor Moore
• 7: Markie Post
• 7: Jane Withers
• 6: Herbert Schlosser
• 5: Brian Henderson
• 5: Yevhen Marchuk
• 5: Richard Trumka
• 4: Razzy Bailey
• 4: Bobby Eaton
• 4: Graham McRae
• 4: J. R. Richard
• 3: Jody Hamilton
• 3: Arthur Dion Hanna
• 3: Kelli Hand
• 3: Antonio Pennacchi
• 2: Elias John Kwandikwa
• 2: Dave Severance
• 1: Francisco Weffort

July

• 31: Paco Cabanes Pastor
• 30: Rachel Oniga
• 29: Jaime Chamorro Cardenal
• 29: Richard Lamm
• 29: Carl Levin
• 29: Janet Banana
• 29: Albert Vanhoye
• 28: Ron Popeil
• 28: Giuseppe Giacomini
• 27: Dusty Hill
• 27: Gianni Nazzaro
• 26: Brazo de Plata
• 26: Mike Enzi
• 26: Mike Howe
• 26: Joey Jordison
• 26: Fernando Karadima
• 25: Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho
• 25: Bob Moses

Ongoing conflicts

Africa

• Algeria, Burkina Faso, Chad, Libya, Mali, Niger, and Tunisia
  • Maghreb insurgency
• Angola
  • Cabinda War
• Cameroon
  • Anglophone Crisis
• Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria
  • Boko Haram insurgency
• Central African Republic
  • Civil War
• Chad
  • Insurgency in Northern Chad
• Democratic Republic of the Congo
  • Kivu conflict
  • Allied Democratic Forces insurgency
  • Ituri conflict
  • Lord's Resistance Army insurgency
  • Kamwina Nsapu rebellion
• Ethiopia
  • Tigray War (spillover)
  • Oromo conflict
• Ethiopia and Sudan
  • Sudanese–Ethiopian clashes
• Ghana
  • Western Togoland Rebellion
• Mali
  • Mali War
• Mozambique
  • Insurgency in Cabo Delgado
• Nigeria
  • Communal conflicts in Nigeria
• Senegal
  • Casamance conflict
• Somalia
  • Civil war
• South Sudan
  • Ethnic violence in South Sudan
• Sudan
  • War in Darfur
  • South Kordofan conflict
  • Sudanese nomadic conflicts (incl. South Sudan)
• Tunisia
  • ISIL insurgency in Tunisia
• Western Sahara
  • Western Sahara conflict
    • 2020–2021 Western Saharan clashes

Americas

• Colombia
  • Colombian conflict
• Mexico
  • Mexican drug war
• Peru
  • Internal conflict in Peru
• Paraguay
  • Insurgency in Paraguay

Asia-Pacific

• Afghanistan
  • Afghanistan War
    • Panjshir conflict
• India
  • Insurgency in Northeast India
    • Assam separatist movements
    • Insurgency in Manipur
    • Ethnic conflict in Nagaland
  • Khalistan movement
  • Naxalite–Maoist insurgency
• India and Pakistan
  • Kashmir conflict
• Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines
  • Moro conflict
    • Cross border attacks in Sabah
• Indonesia
  • Papua conflict
• Myanmar
  • Internal conflict in Myanmar
    • Kachin conflict
    • Karen conflict
    • Rohingya conflict
• Pakistan
  • Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
  • Insurgency in Balochistan
• Philippines
  • Communist rebellion
  • Philippine drug war
• Thailand
  • South Thailand insurgency

Europe

• Armenia and Azerbaijan
  • Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
• Ukraine
  • War in Donbas
    • Russo-Ukrainian War
• Ireland and the UK
  • Dissident Irish republican campaign
• Turkey
  • Kurdish–Turkish conflict

Global

• War on terror

Middle East

• Egypt
  • Sinai insurgency
• Iran and the Persian Gulf
  • Iran–Israel proxy conflict
  • Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict
  • Sistan and Baluchestan insurgency
  • Arab separatism in Khuzestan
  • Kurdish separatism in Iran
• Iraq
  • American-led intervention in Iraq
  • Iranian intervention in Iraq
• Iraq and Syria (map)
  • International military intervention against ISIL
• Israel and Gaza
• Israel and Syria
  • Israeli-Syrian border conflict
• Syria
  • American-led intervention in Syria
  • Russian military intervention in the Syrian civil war
  • Turkish occupation of northern Syria
• Yemen and Saudi Arabia
  • Yemeni Civil War
  • Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
  • Houthi–Saudi Arabian conflict

Further information: List of ongoing armed conflicts

2021 events and developments by topic

Arts

Architecture – Animation – Anime – Comics – Film (Horror, Science fiction) – Home video – Literature – Music (Classical, Country, Rock, Hip hop, Latin, Metal, Rock, UK, US) – Radio – Television (UK, US, Italy, Scotland) – Video games

Politics and government

Elections – International leaders – Sovereign states – Sovereign state leaders – Territorial governors

Science and technology

Archaeology – Biotechnology – Computing – Palaeontology – Quantum computing and communication – Senescence research – Sustainable energy research – Space/Astronomy – Spaceflight

Environment and environmental sciences

Birding/Ornithology – Climate change

Transportation

Aviation – Rail transport

Establishments and disestablishments categories

Establishments – Disestablishments

Works and introductions categories

Works – Introductions – Works entering the public domain