Portal:Current events/2021 August 11

August 11, 2021 (Wednesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan
- Taliban insurgency
  - 2021 Taliban offensive
    - The Taliban captures its ninth provincial capital in six days, seizing Fayzabad, the capital of Badakhshan Province, amid a rapid advance in northern Afghanistan. The capture comes as President Ashraf Ghani appeals to local warlords to confront and fight the Taliban. The jihadist group also takes control of Kunduz Airport, after hundreds of Afghan National Security Forces personnel in the area surrender with all of their military equipment. (Reuters) (Al Jazeera)
    - United States officials warn that Kabul could be isolated and could fall under Taliban control in one to three months. (Asian News International)
    - Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan says that the Taliban "will not negotiate with the Afghan government as long as Ghani is the president". Khan further states that he "tried to persuade the Taliban" months ago but that they remained firm on their stance. (Reuters)
    - Chief of General Staff of the Afghan Armed Forces Wali Mohammad Ahmadzai is removed by President Ashraf Ghani as the Afghan military continues to collapse across the country. (BBC News)
    - The Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirms that the government will evacuate military personnel, interpreters and other local workers who collaborated with the Spanish mission. (Outlook) (Boston Herald)
Tigray War
- The leader of the Oromo Liberation Army announces that his group is now supporting Tigrayan forces fighting the government. (Associated Press)
Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
- Amnesty International and Project Ploughshares accuse the Canadian government of violating the Arms Trade Treaty—which the country signed in 2019—by supplying weapons to Saudi Arabia that could be used in Yemen. (Al Jazeera)
Second Libyan Civil War
- An investigation by the BBC into the involvement of the Russian Wagner Group in the war reveals that the group committed several war crimes, including the intentional killing of prisoners of war and civilians and the leaving of unmarked mines in civilian areas. The investigation also finds that Yevgeny Prigozhin, a businessman with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, was involved in the group's operations, and that the group likely received weapons and supplies from the Russian military. (BBC News)

Business and economy

Lebanese liquidity crisis
- The Central Bank of Lebanon ends fuel subsidies, announcing that it would instead offer "credit lines for fuel imports based on the market price for the Lebanese pound". The decision is likely to result in a significant increase in fuel prices amid an economic crisis in the country. (Reuters)
Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, COVID-19 pandemic in Germany
- Train drivers across Germany go on strike to demand better pay in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, bringing 700 trains, including 190 freights, to a standstill. The strike is expected to end early Friday. (Reuters)
Poland's Sejm votes 226–218 to pass a bill to strengthen the country's ban on non-European Economic Area entities from owning a majority stake in its broadcast networks. The opposition, American politicians, and TVN24, whose ownership by American media company Discovery, Inc. is being targeted by the bill, criticize it as a restriction on free speech. It goes to the Senate for a final vote. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

Wildfires in 2021
- 2021 Algeria wildfires
  - The death toll from the wildfires in northern Algeria increases to 65, as the country battles a total of 69 fires for the fourth consecutive day. President Abdelmadjid Tebboune declares three days of national mourning for the wildfire victims. (BBC News)
- 2021 Calabria wildfires, 2021 Sicily wildfires
  - Two more people are killed by wildfires in Calabria, Italy, bringing the death toll from the fires there to four. Meanwhile, a man is killed by wildfires in Sicily. (The Guardian)
At least 10 people are killed and dozens more trapped under debris after a landslide in a Himalayan district of Himachal Pradesh, India. (BBC News)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh
    - Bangladesh lifts most of its lockdown measures, allowing banks, shops and shopping malls to reopen and for buses and trains to operate at half capacity despite an increase in the number of COVID-19 infections and deaths from the Lineage B.1.617 Delta variant. (The New York Times)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China, COVID-19 vaccination in mainland China
    - The National Medical Products Administration approves China's first mixed-COVID-19 vaccine trial combining the CoronaVac vaccine made by Sinovac and the DNA-based vaccine made by Inovio. (France 24)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Iran
    - Iran reports a record 42,541 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 4.28 million. (Tasnim News Agency)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Japan
    - Japan reports a record 15,812 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours. (Jiji Press)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines
    - South Cotabato reports its first case of the Lineage B.1.351 Beta variant in a patient who had a history of traveling to Davao City. (MindaNews)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea
    - South Korea reports a record 2,223 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 216,206. (The Straits Times)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand
    - Thailand surpasses 800,000 cases of COVID-19. (The Star)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Denmark, COVID-19 vaccination in Denmark
    - Denmark confirms that it will purchase 280,000 doses of the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine for a total price of 37 million crowns ($5.84 million) or roughly $20.9 per dose as part of a European Union agreement with Novavax. (Reuters)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Spain, COVID-19 vaccination in Spain
    - The Spanish Agency of Medicines and Medical Devices approves the first round of clinical trials on humans of the PHH-1V vaccine made by Hipra. (Barron's)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey, COVID-19 vaccination in Turkey
    - The number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in Turkey surpasses 80 million, with 50% of people over the age of 18 being fully vaccinated. (Daily Sabah)
- COVID-19 pandemic in North America
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, Travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic
    - Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino announces that Canada will issue a vaccine passport for international travel. (U.S. News & World Report)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico
    - Mexico surpasses three million cases of COVID-19 after reporting a record 22,711 new cases in the past 24 hours. (Bloomberg News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, COVID-19 vaccination in the United States
    - COVID-19 pandemic in California
      - California Governor Gavin Newsom announces that healthcare workers in the state will be required to receive the COVID-19 vaccine or undergo COVID-19 testing. (KSBY)
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Minnesota
      - Minnesota Governor Tim Walz announces that state government employees will be required to receive the vaccine or undergo testing for COVID-19. (Associated Press)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Oregon
    - Oregon Governor Kate Brown reissues a mask mandate for indoor public spaces, making Oregon the 10th U.S. state to do so. (Newsweek)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Chile
  - Chile begins to administer booster shots of the COVID-19 vaccine for people over the age of 55 who have already received two doses of the Coronavac vaccine. (Reuters)
Vanuatu's health authorities warn citizens about the transmission of dengue fever after 18 cases are reported in Port Vila. Authorities urge all residents to take precautionary measures. (RNZ International)

Law and crime

A British man working at the British embassy in Berlin is arrested by German police on suspicion of spying for Russia. (Reuters)
A court in Russia opens a criminal investigation into Alexei Navalny, who is already serving a two and a half year sentence for parole violations. The move comes one day after another court opened a criminal investigation into Navalny's allies Leonid Volkov and Ivan Zhdanov. (Reuters)
The Libyan Military Prosecutor's Office issues an arrest warrant for Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of late dictator Muammar Gaddafi and prospective candidate in the upcoming elections, for his connections to the Wagner Group. (The Libya Observer)
Detention of Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig
- A Chinese court jails Canadian Michael Spavor for 11 years over alleged spying. (Hong Kong Free Press)
Pope Francis says that he is sorrowful at the news of the Aug. 9 murder of French priest Fr. Olivier Maire. Father Maire, 61, was the provincial superior of the Montfort Missionaries. His murder was announced by France’s Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin. (Catholic News Agency)

Politics and elections

The President of Bougainville Ishmael Toroama says that the region needs to take a holistic approach in order to gain full independence from Papua New Guinea. Toromoa pointed towards receiving international aid to build an economy for the region which overwhelmingly voted for independence in a referendum in 2019. (RNZ International)

Science and technology

Climate change in Africa
- Tunisia records its highest ever temperature of 50.3°C (122.3°F) in the city of Kairouan amid an unprecedented heat wave. (AllAfrica)
Climate change in Europe
- Amid an unprecedented heat wave and ongoing wildfires, authorities on the island of Sicily report a record temperature of 48.8°C (119.8°F). If verified by the World Meteorological Organization, it would be the highest temperature ever recorded in both Italy and Europe. (BBC News)
YouTube suspensions, COVID-19 misinformation
- YouTube suspends the account of U.S. Senator Rand Paul for one week for spreading misinformation about the effectiveness of face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic. Paul subsequently states in a tweet that he considers the suspension to be "a badge of honor". (The Guardian)