Portal:Current events/2021 August 20

August 20, 2021 (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)

Wrestling News

CM Punk returns to pro wrestling after 9 yearsCM Punk#All Elite Wrestling (2021–present)