Portal:Current events/2021 December 20

December 20, 2021 (Monday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Allied Democratic Forces insurgency
- 2021 Democratic Republic of the Congo attacks, 2021 Uganda bombings
  - The governments of Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo reveal that they have captured 35 rebels and destroyed numerous enemy strongholds within the past week. (Voice of America)
Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- The Israeli Defense Forces report that they have arrested more than 100 members of the Palestinian Islamist organization Hamas, amid a recent increase in tensions. (Times of Israel)
Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
- Three members of the Islamic State are killed in Faqeerabad, Peshawar, during an operation by the Pakistani police. (Dawn)
Internal conflict in Myanmar
- An investigation by the BBC discovers that a massacre of 40 civilians took place in July, in Kani Township, a People's Defence Force stronghold in Sagaing Region. (BBC News)

Disasters and accidents

Cap-Haïtien fuel tanker explosion
- The death toll from the fuel tank truck explosion in Cap-Haïtien, Haiti, six days ago rises to 90. (Al Jazeera)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand
    - COVID-19 vaccination in Thailand
      - Thailand's Food and Drug Administration approves the usage of the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children between the ages of 5 and 11 years. (Inquirer)
    - Thailand reports its first locally transmitted case of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant in a 49-year-old woman. (Bangkok Post)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in India, COVID-19 vaccination in India
    - It is announced that more than 85% of eligible Indians have been partially vaccinated, and that over 55% have received both doses. (BBC News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Israel
    - Israel's government agrees to ban all travel to Germany, Italy, Belgium, Hungary, Morocco, Portugal, Canada, Switzerland, Turkey, and the U.S. without special permission beginning on December 22 due to the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant. (NBC News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Kuwait
    - Kuwait will require incoming travellers who fully vaccinated against COVID-19 more than nine months ago to receive booster dose beginning from January 2 and also requires them to self-isolate for 10 days unless they received a negative PCR test within 72 hours of their arrival beginning from December 26. (Al Arabiya) (Times of Oman)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in France, COVID-19 vaccination in France
    - The French Haute Autorité de santé [fr] approves the usage of the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children between the ages of 5 and 11 years. (France 24)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Germany, Travel during the COVID-19 pandemic
    - Germany bans all travel from the United Kingdom and imposes a mandatory 14-day quarantine and proof of a negative PCR test from the previous 48 hours for German residents and citizens returning from the UK, amid the spread of the Omicron variant in Britain. (Euronews)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
    - The United Kingdom ends its travel ban on Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. (Times of India)
  - European Union response to the COVID-19 pandemic
    - The European Commission authorizes the use of the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine after the European Medicines Agency recommended the use of the vaccine, becoming the fifth vaccine to be approved for use by the European Union. (Euronews)
- COVID-19 pandemic in North America
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Canada
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Quebec
      - Quebec closes all bars, gyms, spas, cinemas, and concert halls as well as suspends in-person learning and mandates remote working after the province reported a record 4,857 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours. (Global News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Texas
      - The United States reports its first confirmed death related to the Omicron variant in an unvaccinated man in his 50s in Harris County, Texas who had underlying health issues. (U.S. News and World Report)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Costa Rica
    - Costa Rica reports its first case of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant in an eight-year-old boy who recently travelled from the United States along with his family. (Tico Times)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Panama
    - Panama reports its first case of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant in a 50-year-old person who recently travelled from South Africa. (Reuters)
- COVID-19 pandemic in South America
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Argentina, COVID-19 pandemic in Bolivia
    - Argentina donates 1 million doses of the Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to Bolivia. (Infobae)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Colombia
    - Colombia reports its first case of the Omicron variant in two Colombia people who travelled from the United States and a U.S. citizen who travelled from Spain. (Reuters)

International relations

Russia–NATO relations
- Poland and Lithuania join Ukraine in calling for stronger Western sanctions on Russia, with Polish President Andrzej Duda saying that "everything must be done" to prevent a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine, and that he was "absolutely against any policy of concessions to Russia". (RFE/RL)
- Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby says a small Department of Defense team has returned from Ukraine after assessing the country's air defences. (The Drive)

Law and crime

The trial of Aung San Suu Kyi is delayed by Burmese courts until December 27. (Al Jazeera)

Politics and elections

Human rights in Egypt
- Egyptian blogger and activist Alaa Abdel Fattah is sentenced to five years in prison by Egyptian authorities for spreading fake news. His family continues to protest the verdict. (Al Jazeera)
The Nagaland Legislative Assembly publicly demands that the Government of India repeal the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, which has been in effect since 1958. This comes after a massacre occurred in Mon district, Nagaland on December 4. (Sangai Express)