Portal:Current events/2021 February 15

February 15, 2021 (Monday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Yemeni Civil War
- Saudi Arabian–Yemeni border conflict
  - The Houthis say that they have struck Saudi Arabia's Abha International Airport and King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah with drones. A Houthi spokesman said on Twitter that the attacks halted operations in the airports for two hours. The Saudi-led coalition says that it intercepted drones heading towards the kingdom but did not confirm the attacks. (Reuters)
Syrian civil war
- Iran–Israel conflict during the Syrian Civil War
  - Israeli airstrikes on Iranian weapons and missile depots near Damascus, Syria, kill six foreign nationals, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The headquarters of the Syrian Army's 4th Armoured Division is also hit. (Jewish Press)
Insurgency in the Maghreb
- Operation Barkhane
  - Chadian President Idriss Déby announces that his government will deploy 1,200 troops to the tripoint of the Burkina Faso–Mali and Burkina Faso–Niger borders. (AFP via France 24)
2021 Myanmar protests, aftermath of the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état
- Myanmar's military junta deploys Tatmadaw troops and cuts Internet services in many parts of the country hours after security forces fired live rounds to disperse a demonstration in the northern state of Kachin. (The Straits Times)
2021 Erbil missile attacks
- Multiple rockets strike near Erbil International Airport in Kurdistan Region, Iraq, killing a foreign civilian contractor and wounding nine others, including a U.S. service member. (Al Jazeera)

Arts and culture

Bishop David Zubik of the Pittsburgh Diocese announces that four Catholic elementary schools are merging to form two schools for the school year beginning in fall 2021. The decision comes after more than a year's deliberation and hours of study. (Catholic News Agency)

Business and economy

Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, COVID-19 recession
- COVID-19 pandemic in Denmark, Economy of Denmark
  - Denmark's GDP contracts 3.7% in 2020, which is the first annual economic contraction since 2009 due to the impact of the pandemic. (DR)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Japan, economy of Japan
  - Japan's GDP contracts 4.8% in 2020, which is the first annual economic contraction since 2009 due to the impact of the pandemic. (BBC News)
The World Trade Organization formally appoints former Finance Minister of Nigeria Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as its first African and first female Director-General. (Bloomberg)

Disasters and accidents

2021 Congo River disaster
- A passenger barge crashes and capsizes on the Congo River in Mai-Ndombe Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing at least 60 people, while 240 others are reported missing. At least 300 people have been rescued from the river. (Reuters)
At least 37 people are killed by a bus falling off a bridge into a canal in Madhya Pradesh, India. (Al Jazeera)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in North America
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico
    - Mexico begins the second phase of its vaccination programme for people over the age of 60 against COVID-19 in more than 300 municipalities. (Al Jazeera)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Connecticut, 501.V2 variant
      - Connecticut reports their first case of the 501.V2 variant in a person from Fairfield County with no known international travel history, which was notified by health officials in New York. (WVIT-TV)
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Mississippi, Lineage B.1.1.7
      - Mississippi reports their first case of the B.1.1.7 variant first detected in the United Kingdom. (Daily Journal)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Oceania
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
    - Travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic
      - Australia suspends its quarantine-free travel bubble arrangement with New Zealand after the discovery of three new community cases in Auckland. (BBC News)
    - Australia receives 142,000 doses of the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine. (ABC Australia)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand
    - New Zealand receives 60,000 doses of the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine. (Stuff.co.nz)
    - Auckland enters level three restrictions for the next three days in response to an ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, closing all non-essential businesses and suspending all in-person education. The rest of the country will enter level 2 restrictions, which will limit public gatherings. (The Guardian)
    - Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern confirms that three members of a family in Auckland who tested positive for COVID-19 are infected with the UK variant and that this is not connected to any managed isolation or quarantine facilities. (TVNZ)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Cambodia, Lineage B.1.1.7
    - Cambodia reports their first three cases of the B.1.1.7 variant first detected in the United Kingdom in 28-year-old man and a 23-year-old woman from India and a 23-year-old woman who travelled from China. (Khmer Times)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Iraq, Lineage B.1.1.7
    - Iraq announces that they will re-impose a partial lockdown from February 18 until March 8 after reporting their first cases of the UK variant of SARS-CoV-2. (Arab News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Japan
    - Japan surpasses 7,000 deaths from COVID-19. (ABS-CBN News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea
    - The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency scales back Q1 vaccination targets to 750,000 people due to delayed shipments from COVAX and the decision not to use the AstraZeneca vaccine on people aged 65 or older until more efficacy data becomes available. (Reuters)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam
    - Vietnamese authorities order two million people in Hải Dương province to stay at home for 15 days beginning tomorrow due to a growing COVID-19 outbreak in the province. Gatherings with more than two people are banned, and when leaving their homes, residents must stay 2 metres (6.6 ft) from others. (CNA)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
    - COVID-19 pandemic in England
      - The United Kingdom begins a mandatory hotel quarantine for all British and Irish citizens and all permanent residents arriving in England from 33 "high risk" countries, requiring them to stay for 10 days at government-designated accommodations. (ITV) (The Irish Times)
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland
      - Scotland begins a mandatory hotel quarantine for all international arrivals, requiring them to self-isolate for 10 days in one of six government-designated hotels. (STV)
- COVID-19 pandemic in South America
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Colombia
    - Colombia receives their first shipment of 50,000 doses of the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine. (MedicalXpress)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Africa
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Zimbabwe
    - Zimbabwe receives their first shipment of 200,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine. (South China Morning Post)
- COVID-19 vaccine
  - The World Health Organization announces the approval of the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine. (Forbes)
An Ebola vaccination campaign begins in the city of Butembo, in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Health workers are the first to be vaccinated. (Reuters)

International relations

Turkey–United States relations, Operation Claw-Eagle 2
- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan accuses the United States of supporting "the PKK terrorists", following the killing of 13 Turkish hostages held captive in Kurdistan Region. Turkey also summons the U.S. ambassador David M. Satterfield in response to the killings. (Daily Sabah)
Nuclear program of Iran
- Iran says that it has informed the International Atomic Energy Agency that it will no longer allow snap inspections of its nuclear facilities as of February 21. The snap inspections were a condition of the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Aftermath of the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol, January 6 commission
- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announces that Congress will establish a 9/11-style commission to investigate the January 6 riot at the United States Capitol. (AP)
Turkish authorities announce the detention of 718 people they accuse of having links to Kurdish militant groups. Among those arrested include pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party officials. The mass arrests are seen as a direct response to the murder of 13 Turkish hostages in Iraq. The Kurdistan Workers' Party blamed Turkish airstrikes on their bases for the deaths of the hostages. (France 24)

Politics and elections

Politics of Peru
- President Francisco Sagasti appoints Allan Wagner Tizón as new foreign minister, a day after Elizabeth Astete resigned over secretly receiving a vaccination against COVID-19. (Andina)

Sports

2021 NASCAR Cup Series
- Michael McDowell wins the 63rd running of the Daytona 500. It is McDowell's first career victory in the Cup Series. (NASCAR.com)