Portal:Current events/2021 August 6

August 6, 2021 (Friday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan
- Taliban insurgency
  - 2021 Taliban offensive
    - Dawa Khan Menapal, head of the Government Media and Information Centre, is assassinated in Kabul. The Taliban claims responsibility for the killing, saying that Menapal "was punished for his actions". (Reuters)
    - The Taliban captures Zaranj, the provincial capital of Nimruz Province, making it the first major capture of a provincial city by the group since the 2001 invasion. A spokesperson for the local police confirms that the city has fallen into Taliban control and blames the lack of reinforcements of military from the central government. (The West Australia)
Iran–Israel proxy conflict
- Hezbollah fires twenty rockets at northern Israel from Lebanon, its heaviest barrage since the 2006 war and the second firing of rockets in the past week. The Israel Defense Forces respond with artillery attacks. (The Times of Israel) (VOA)
- Lebanese Druze villagers confront the Hezbollah rocket-launch convoy after it fires at Israel, accusing the militant group of endangering them by firing projectiles near civilian houses. The Lebanese Army later confiscates the launcher and arrests four suspects. (The Times of Israel) (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

Wildfires in 2021
- 2021 Greece wildfires
  - Mass evacuations are carried out in the northern suburbs of Athens as wildfires continue to burn on the outskirts of the capital. A volunteer firefighter is killed by a fallen electricity pylon, while another man dies in a factory. Twenty more people are wounded. (BBC News)
- 2021 British Columbia wildfires
  - The village of Monte Lake is destroyed by the fast-moving White Rock Lake wildfire, while the city of Kamloops places several of its southern neighbourhoods on evacuation alert. Around 300 fires are currently burning in British Columbia. (The Guardian)
- 2021 California wildfires
  - The Dixie Fire becomes the third largest wildfire in California's history. (NPR)
- Severe fires erupt across the region of Calabria, Italy, killing two people in Reggio Calabria. The country is battling several fires, mainly in the centre-south regions and on the two islands. (Il Fatto Quotidiano)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Japan
    - Japan surpasses one million cases of COVID-19. (CBC News)
    - Japan reports its first case of the SARS-CoV-2 Lambda variant in a woman in her 30s who arrived at Haneda Airport on July 20 after travelling to Peru. (The Japan Times)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia
    - Malaysia reports a record for the third consecutive day of 20,889 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 1,224,595. (CNA)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines
    - COVID-19 community quarantines in the Philippines
      - Metro Manila, Laguna, Iloilo City, and Cagayan de Oro enter enhanced community quarantine until August 20 for Metro Manila and August 15 for the other regions. (Manila Bulletin)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore
    - COVID-19 vaccination in Singapore
      - Indoor dining and other leisure activities will resume in Singapore for fully vaccinated individuals in groups of up to five people beginning on August 10. (CNA)
      - The Ministry of Health announces that it will recognise all COVID-19 vaccines including those listed under the emergency use listing of the World Health Organization beginning on August 10 and that these vaccines will also be included in the statistics of the national vaccination programme. (The Straits Times)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka
    - Sri Lanka suspends state festivals and public gatherings until September 1 and restricts the number of people to 25 for funerals and 150 for weddings amid an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths. (France 24)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand
    - Thailand reports a record for the third consecutive day of 21,379 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 714,684. The country also reports a record 191 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 5,854. (Bangkok Post)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium
    - Seven fully vaccinated residents at a care home in Nossegem, Flemish Brabant, die after contracting the Colombian Lineage B.1.621 variant. (Newsweek)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Greece
    - Greece imposes a curfew and a full ban on music in entertainment venues on the islands of Crete and Zakynthos in order to reduce the spread of COVID-19. These measures will be in effect until August 13. (Reuters)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Italy
    - Italy begins to introduce the "Green Pass" where people over the age of 12 must present proof of vaccination of at least one dose, a negative test from the previous 48 hours, or having recovered from COVID-19 in order to enter gyms, theatres and bars, dine in at restaurants, and participate in some leisure activities. (ABC News)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
  - COVID-19 vaccination in the United States
    - The White House COVID-19 Response Team announces that 50% of Americans have been fully vaccinated. (VOA)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Arkansas
    - An Arkansas judge temporarily blocks a law signed by Governor Asa Hutchinson that bans the state from imposing mask mandates. (Hot Springs Sentinel-Record)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Florida
    - Florida reports a record 22,783 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours. (WTVJ)
  - The number of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. reaches an average of 100,000 new cases per day for the first time since February. (US News)
- COVID-19 pandemic in South America
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Argentina
    - Argentina surpasses five million cases of COVID-19 after reporting 13,549 new cases in the past 24 hours. (Infobae)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Peru
    - COVID-19 vaccination in Peru
      - Peruvian President Pedro Castillo, First Lady Lilia Paredes, and Health Minister Hernando Cevallos receive their first doses of the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine. (Xinhuanet)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
  - Prime Minister Scott Morrison states there will be no further laws on the Commonwealth or state levels requiring vaccines in certain workplaces and this will instead be left up to individual businesses to decide. (The Guardian)

International relations

The Pacific Islands Forum opens with U.S. President Joe Biden addressing the summit, after being invited by Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama. Biden urges the Federated States of Micronesia to rejoin after the country withdrew over disagreements in the election of Henry Puna as the forum's Secretary-General. (RNZ)

Law and crime

Aftermath of the 2021 United States Capitol attack
- Criminal proceedings in the January 6 United States Capitol attack
  - New Jersey gym owner Scott K. Fairlamb and Washington resident Devlyn D. Thompson pleads guilty to assaulting U.S. Capitol Police officers during the January 6 riot at the Capitol, becoming the first suspects to do so. (The Washington Post)
A man stabs passengers riding the Odakyū Odawara Line in Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan, injuring 10 people. The suspect, a man in his 30s, is arrested after turning himself in at a convenience store. (CNN)

Politics and elections

2021 Moldovan parliamentary election
- The Moldovan parliament elects Natalia Gavrilița as the new Prime Minister of Moldova. (Reuters)

Sports

2020 Summer Olympics
- Canada at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Football at the 2020 Summer Olympics, LGBT athletes in the Olympic and Paralympic Games
  - Canadian soccer player Quinn becomes the first out, transgender, non-binary athlete to earn an Olympic medal, after winning gold in the women's tournament with the Canadian national soccer team. (NBC News)