Portal:Current events/2021 September 17

September 17, 2021 (Friday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Afghanistan conflict
- War in Afghanistan
  - 2021 drone strikes in Afghanistan
    - Marine Corps General Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr. acknowledges that a drone strike conducted by the U.S. military on August 29 near Kabul International Airport killed 10 civilians instead of ISIL-K militants. (The New York Times)
Internal conflict in Myanmar
- Eighty telecommunication towers owned by Mytel have been destroyed in Myanmar, leaving 700,000 people without communication. The People's Defence Force has claimed responsibility for the destruction. (CNA)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore
    - COVID-19 vaccination in Singapore
      - Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong receives a booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. (The Straits Times)
    - Singapore reports 935 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, which is the highest single-day total of new cases since April 2020. (U.S. News and World Report)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Cambodia, COVID-19 vaccination in Cambodia
    - Cambodia begins a COVID-19 vaccination rollout for children over the age of 6 using the Chinese-made Sinovac CoronaVac vaccine. (Bangkok Post)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in India, COVID-19 vaccination in India
    - India reports a new single-day record of 22.5 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine administered. (Livemint)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea, COVID-19 drug development
    - South Korea approves the Celltrion antibody COVID-19 treatment for infected adults in high-risk groups and adults with severe symptoms. (Reuters)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Oceania
  - COVID-19 pandemic in American Samoa
    - American Samoa reports its first case of COVID-19 in a resident who returned from travelling to the U.S. mainland and Hawaii earlier this week. (AP)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Fiji
    - Fiji lifts its containment area borders on the main island of Viti Levu as 60% of the targeted population has been fully vaccinated. However, a curfew remains in effect and inter-island travel remains suspended. (RNZ)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand, Travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic
    - New Zealand extends the suspension of the travel bubble agreement with Australia for a further eight weeks as the number of COVID-19 cases continues to remain high and also due to the spread of the Delta variant. (Al Jazeera)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Slovenia
  - The Slovenian government announces that all public sector employees, with the exception of employees working in the education sector, will have to show a proof of vaccination or recovery from COVID-19 beginning on October 1 or they risk losing their jobs. (AFP via Barron's)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, COVID-19 vaccination in the United States
  - Advisers to the Food and Drug Administration vote to reject a wider COVID-19 vaccine booster dose and to only recommend booster doses for people over the age of 65 and people who are at high risk of severe illness. (CNBC)
- COVID-19 vaccine
  - A five-month survey finds that the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine is the most effective vaccine against hospitalization due to COVID-19. The study found that Moderna’s vaccine candidate had a 93% effectiveness in reducing hospitalizations, compared to 88% for Pfizer’s, and 71% for Johnson & Johnson’s. (CBS News)
2021 Marburg virus disease outbreak in Guinea
- Guinea declares an end to the outbreak of the Marburg virus disease in the country. (CNN)

International relations

AUKUS
- The Australian Defence Minister announces that the new strategic partnership will also include increased numbers of U.S. bombers and airplanes being based out of Australia. In addition, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace notes that the deal has revealed a loophole in nuclear policy that does not bar states without nuclear weapons from obtaining nuclear technology for submarines and that this falls outside of IAEA inspections. (ABC News Australia) (Foreign Policy)
- France recalls its ambassadors from the United States and Australia in protest of the security pact, which also includes the United Kingdom. The French Foreign Ministry says that the "exceptional decision" was justified by the seriousness of the pact, which has replaced its own security agreement with Australia. (BBC News)
Foreign relations of Iran
- The Shanghai Cooperation Organization grants membership status to Iran. (Nikkei Asia)
Libya–Tunisia relations, Libya–Tunisia border, Travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic
- Libya and Tunisia reopen their borders with stringent health protocol requiring travellers to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and PCR tested negative, two months after the closure on July 8 due to an explosion of COVID-19 cases in the latter country. (AFP via France 24)
North Korea–United States relations
- In escalating tensions over the past week, North Korea accuses the United States of double standards when it comes to condemning missile tests, saying that the U.S. only condemned North Korea the same day that South Korea also tested missiles. North Korean state media cited its chief as saying that the American response was a "vivid revelation of the American-style double-dealing attitude" and also says that unless "the U.S. drops its hostile policies towards North Korea, denuclearization can never be put on the table" of negotiations. (Reuters)
Djibouti–Somalia relations
- Somali president Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed condemns Djibouti for detaining and forbidding a Somali security advisor from leaving the country. The president accused Djibouti of "destabilizing" relations amid a political feud between the Somali president and prime minister. (Reuters)
Ukraine–United States relations
- Ukraine and the United States announce that they will begin joint military exercises involving 15 other countries in western Ukraine next week. (VOA)

Politics and elections

Aftermath of the 2021 Argentine legislative election
- President Alberto Fernández reshuffles his cabinet, as demanded by Vice President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, following the poor turnout of their Peronist and Kirchnerist Frente de Todos coalition in the legislative primary election. Among the appointed ministers include Santiago Cafiero, Julián Domínguez, Aníbal Fernández, and Daniel Filmus. (AFP via Radio France Internationale)
Ank Bijleveld, the Minister of Defence of the Netherlands, resigns following a motion of censure for her handling of the Dutch evacuation during the Fall of Kabul, a day after the resignation of Minister of Foreign Affairs Sigrid Kaag. (NOS) (Radio France Internationale)
President of El Salvador Nayib Bukele says that the proposed constitutional reforms he sent for review will not include the legalization of abortion or same-sex marriage. El Salvador has one of the strictest anti-abortion laws in the world. (Reuters)