Portal:Current events/2021 August 8

August 8, 2021 (Sunday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Mali War
- Mali attacks
  - At least 51 people are killed as Islamist militants storm three villages in central Mali, near the border with Niger. It is one of the deadliest recent terror attacks in the country against civilians. (Reuters)
War in Afghanistan
- Taliban insurgency
  - 2021 Taliban offensive
    - The Taliban captures the capitals of the Kunduz, Takhar, and Sar-e Pol provinces. In Kunduz, the Taliban seize key government buildings, leaving the government forces only in control of the airport. In Takhar, the Taliban seize Taloqan, and heavy fighting was reported as the Taliban intensifies its offensive in the north. In Sar-e Pol, the Taliban drive government forces out of the main military base. (BBC News)
Insurgency in Balochistan
- Two policemen are killed and 21 more people are wounded as a roadside bombing explode in a street in Quetta, Pakistan, targeting a police mobile van near a hotel. (Al Jazeera)
Insurgency in Cabo Delgado
- Rwandan and Mozambican forces retake the city of Mocímboa da Praia, the last rebel stronghold in Cabo Delgado Province. Rwanda had sent 1,000 troops to help Mozambique fight the Islamist insurgency that began in 2017. (BBC News)

Arts and culture

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on religion, Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Hajj, COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia
- The Saudi Arabian government announces that it will begin to allow foreigners who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 to participate in Umrah. Saudi authorities will begin taking travel requests tomorrow. (BBC News)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh, COVID-19 vaccination in Bangladesh
    - Bangladesh reports a new single-day record of 2.8 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine administered as part of a six-day special vaccination campaign, in which 2.7 million people received their first dose of the vaccine. (Anadolu Agency)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Brunei
    - Brunei closes all places of worship, all leisure facilities including gyms and sport facilities, postpone social events and bans dine in at restaurants for two weeks after the first local COVID-19 cases in 15 months were reported in the country. All educational institutions also have ordered to return to online learning. (The Jakarta Post)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Iran
    - Iran reports a record of 39,619 new cases and 542 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 4,158,729 and the nationwide death toll to 94,015. (Barron's)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia
    - Malaysia reports a record 360 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide death toll to 10,749. (The Star)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam
    - Vietnam reports a record of 9,690 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 210,405. (The Straits Times)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Oceania
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Queensland
      - Cairns and Yarrabah enter a snap three-day lockdown after an "unexpected" case of COVID-19 was reported in a taxi driver from Kanimbla who was infectious in Far North Queensland for 10 days. (ABC News Australia)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Fiji
    - The Permanent Secretary of Health James Fong announces that the number of COVID-19 infections are continuing to increases in parts of the country, which began with the second wave in April. Fiji is now the hardest-hit country in Oceania and is only second in the number of infections in the region, with the most cases being reported in the U.S. state of Hawaii. (RNZ)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Tunisia, COVID-19 vaccination in Tunisia
  - Tunisia launches its "open-air" COVID-19 vaccination drive for people over the age of 40 in 300 vaccination centers across the country after six million doses of the vaccine arrived from overseas. (Al Arabiya)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, Travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic
  - The United Kingdom lifts its quarantine requirement for fully vaccinated travellers who are returning from or intend to visit France, due to changes in the 'traffic light' system for international travel that saw the suspension of plans to implement a "watchlist". (BBC News)

Law and crime

Tech company Alibaba Group fires multiple senior executives who had silenced an internal complaint of rape and had ordered a social media blackout of the complaint (Chinese: 阿里巴巴员工被性侵案). The case shed light on rape in China and exposed the business culture of forcing female employees to act as hostesses to entertain business clients. (The New York Times)
Chinese prosecutors file a lawsuit against the tech conglomerate Tencent, alleging that the company's "youth mode" for the WeChat application violates laws protecting minors. Authorities did not specify as to which laws the application violates. (The Verge)
Russian opposition activist Lyubov Sobol, a prominent ally of Alexei Navalny, leaves Russia, days after being sentenced to eighteen months of parole-like restrictions. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

2021 Myanmar protests
- Protests against the military government occur across Myanmar in honor of the anniversary of the 8888 Uprising. (Reuters)

Sports

2020 Summer Olympics
- The Summer Olympics officially end in Tokyo with the closing ceremony. The United States won the most medals and also won the most gold medals, with 113 total medals and 39 gold medals. The Olympic Flag is handed over to the Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo in preparation for the 2024 Games. (NBC News)
2021 MotoGP World Championship
- The Styrian Grand Prix is red-flagged in lap 3 after a collision involving Spanish Dani Pedrosa and Italian Lorenzo Savadori that destroyed both motorcycles. (Radio France Internationale)