Portal:Current events/2021 February 28

February 28, 2021 (Sunday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

2021 Myanmar protests
- Myanmar security forces begin violently dispersing anti-coup protesters and clearing makeshift road blocks, killing a total of 18 protesters in several cities. More than 30 others are wounded by live rounds, and several have been arrested. (Al Jazeera)
Allied Democratic Forces insurgency
- Ten civilians are killed, of whom eight have been decapitated and two shot, in two ADF overnight attacks in Boyo and Kainama, Democratic Republic of the Congo. (Al Jazeera)
Chadian security forces raid the home of opposition leader Yaya Dillo Djérou in N'Djamena, killing five of his relatives, including his mother and son. A government statement says the raid was an operation to arrest Dillo. Two other people are also killed and five others are wounded in the ensuing fight. (Al Jazeera)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines
    - COVID-19 vaccination in the Philippines
      - The Philippines receives its first shipment of 600,000 doses of the Sinovac CoronaVac donated by China. (AP)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Iran
    - Iran surpasses 60,000 deaths from COVID-19, the highest death toll of a Middle Eastern country. (Al-Arabiya English)
    - Iran receives their first shipment of 250,000 doses of the Sinopharm BBIBP-CorV vaccine. (Tasnim News Agency)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Japan
    - Japan officially lifts the COVID-19 state of emergency in Aichi, Gifu, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo, and Fukuoka prefectures due to a decrease in the number of cases, while Tokyo and surrounding areas will remain in a state of emergency until at least March 7. (NHK World)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia
    - Malaysia surpasses 300,000 cases of COVID-19. (New Straits Times)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand
    - Thailand begins a vaccination campaign against COVID-19 using the Sinovac CoronaVac vaccine. Government ministers and health workers are among the first to receive doses of the vaccine. (Bloomberg)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
    - COVID-19 vaccination in the United Kingdom
      - The number of people who have received their first dose of the vaccine in the United Kingdom reaches 20 million, making it the fastest vaccination program in Europe. (The Independent)
    - Lineage P.1
      - The United Kingdom reports their first cases of the Lineage P.1 variant first detected in Manaus, Brazil in three people from England and three people from Scotland. (BBC News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Hungary
    - Prime Minister Viktor Orbán receives the first dose of the Sinopharm BBIBP-CorV vaccine. (AFP via Barron's)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Oceania
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
    - COVID-19 vaccination in Australia
      - Australia receives their first shipment of 300,000 doses of the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine. (ABC Australia)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand
    - Auckland enters alert level 3 lockdown for seven days, with the rest of the country entering alert level 2. This comes after a new COVID-19 case of unknown origin was detected. (NZ Herald)
- COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa
  - President Cyril Ramaphosa announces that South Africa's alert level will be lowered to level one effective midnight following a decrease in the number of COVID-19 cases. (Timeslive)
  - South Africa signs an agreement with Johnson & Johnson to secure 11 million doses of their vaccine. (Reuters)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
  - The Centers for Disease Control's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends Johnson & Johnson's single-shot vaccine for people over the age of 18, a day after the Food and Drug Administration approved the emergency use of the vaccine. (CBS News)

Law and crime

Hong Kong national security law
- Police charge 47 out of the 55 arrested last month during a mass raid with "subversion". Those charged include Professor Benny Tai, former legislator James To, activist and district councilor Lester Shum and League of Social Democrats politicians and activists Leung Kwok-hung and Jimmy Sham, who was particularly defiant in court. (BBC News)

Politics and elections

2020–2021 Thai protests
- Sixteen protesters are wounded after police use tear gas, water cannon and rubber bullets on pro-democracy protesters near the residence of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha in Bangkok. (Al Jazeera)
Police in Kazakhstan arrest 50 protesters who were calling for the release of political prisoners in line with a resolution passed by the European Parliament. (Al Jazeera)