Portal:Current events/2021 May 17

May 17, 2021 (Monday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

2021 Israel–Palestine crisis
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that he has ordered the Israel Defense Forces to continue strikes in Gaza, including Hamas targets. (Times of Israel)
- The death toll in Gaza from the Israeli airstrikes rises to 212 people, including 61 children. (Al Jazeera)
- The Biden administration approves a $735-million weapons sale to Israel. (The Washington Post)
- The offices of the Qatar branch of the Red Crescent Society is destroyed by an Israeli air strike, killing two Palestinians and wounding ten others. The Qatari Foreign Ministry condemns the attack. (Al Jazeera)
- The Israeli military shells southern Lebanon after several Grad-type rockets were fired at Israel. (Deutsche Welle)
Kurdish–Turkish conflict
- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan says that security forces killed Sofi Nurettin, a high-ranking member of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, in northern Iraq. (AP)

Business and economy

Indonesian digital payment firm Gojek announces a merger with e-commerce site Tokopedia to form GoTo Group. Aiming for an IPO of between US$35 and 40 billion, Gojek claims that it is the country's largest business deal. (CNBC)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong, COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore
    - Hong Kong and Singapore postpone the start date of their air travel bubble agreement, which was initially scheduled to begin on May 26, due to an increase in the number of unlinked community cases of COVID-19 in Singapore. (CNBC)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia
    - Malaysia reports a record 45 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 1,947. (The Star)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines, COVID-19 vaccination in the Philippines
    - The government signs an agreement with Pfizer to purchase 40 million doses of the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine, the Philippines' largest supply agreement for a COVID-19 vaccine. (Bloomberg)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia, Travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic
    - Saudi Arabia eases an international travel ban for those who have been vaccinated against COVID-19. However, citizens from 20 countries remain banned from entering the country and Saudi citizens are banned from travelling to 13 high-risk countries, either directly or indirectly. (The Independent)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Taiwan
    - Taiwan reports a record 335 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, 333 of which are locally transmitted cases. This subsequently brings the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 2,017. (Taiwan News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand
    - Thailand reports a record 9,635 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, which includes 6,853 cases among prisoners from jail clusters. This subsequently brings the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 111,082. (The Straits Times)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Italy
    - Mario Draghi's government approves a decree that would gradually phase out curfew to 11 p.m. beginning tomorrow and making the six regions an lowest-risk "white zone" by the first week of June. The curfew then will start at midnight from June 7 and be abolished completely on June 21. (Wanted in Rome)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey
    - Turkey begins to gradually lift its COVID-19 restrictions, including the 17-day full lockdown, which will end at 5:00 a.m. as the number of infections has declined. This gradual normalization will last until June 1. (Anadolu Agency)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
    - Lockdown restrictions are eased in England, Wales, and Scotland with museums, cinemas, children's play areas, and hotels reopening. Pubs, bars, and restaurants can now serve customers indoors again with social distancing rules in place. In England, people can now gather in groups of 30 outdoors and meet indoors in groups of up to six. A ban on international travel is also lifted. (BBC News)
- COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa, COVID-19 vaccination in South Africa
  - South Africa begins the second phase of its vaccination campaign against COVID-19 for people aged 60 or older as the government has set a goal to vaccinate five million people by the end of June. (The New York Times)
Namibia bans all imports of poultry and poultry products from South Africa due to an outbreak of avian influenza that was detected there. (Reuters)
In the first global study of its kind, the World Health Organization and the International Labour Organization find that working more than 55 hours a week can lead to higher risks of strokes and ischemic heart disease. The study, which was conducted between 2000 and 2016, also found that people living in the Southeast Asia and Western Pacific regions, as well as men that are at least middle-aged, are particularly susceptible to risks from overworking. (Reuters)
Darwin's Arch collapses in the Galapagos Islands. (CNN)

International relations

European migrant crisis, Morocco–Spain relations
- More than 5,000 migrants cross the border into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in an unprecedented influx. The Spanish government in Ceuta says 50 additional Guardia Civil agents and 150 national police officers will be deployed to maintain security in the city. The crossings come amid tensions between Spain and Morocco over Polisario Front leader Brahim Ghali's hospital treatment in Spain for COVID-19. (The Guardian)

Law and crime

International protests over the 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis
- Protesters gather in Sanaa, Yemen, to protest Israel's attacks on the Gaza Strip. During the protest, demonstrators are seen calling for a boycott of Israeli and American goods, as well as chanting "Death to America" and "Death to Israel". (Al-Ahram)
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador apologizes for the Torreón massacre that happened during the Mexican Revolution in 1911, in which revolutionaries led by Francisco I. Madero targeted immigrant Asian merchants, among whom 303 Chinese Mexicans and five Japanese Mexicans were slaughtered. This is the first time the Mexican government apologizes for the massacre. (AP)
The United States approves the release of Saifullah Paracha, a 73-year-old Pakistani man who is currently the oldest prisoner held in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. He is expected to be formally released in the next few months. (Dawn)

Politics and elections

Elections in Chile
- Independent candidates win the largest number of seats in the election for the Constitutional Convention. The traditional center-right and center-left alliances reach their worst performance in an election since 1990, while the coalition between Broad Front and the Communist Party becomes the second-largest political force. (Reuters) (Al Jazeera)
- In the municipal elections, the center-right Chile Vamos loses some of the largest cities in the country, while Irací Hassler becomes the first Communist mayor of Santiago. In the first election of regional governors, Christian Democrat Claudio Orrego and leftist Karina Oliva move to the second round in the Santiago Metropolitan Region, while the officialist Catalina Parot gets fourth place. (Mercopress)
The Supreme Court of Samoa clears the way for Naomi Mata'afa to form a new government and thereby become the first female Prime Minister of Samoa, ending a political deadlock. This would end a long tenure by current Prime Minister Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi, who has held power since November 1998. (Reuters)

Science and technology

The Kyrgyzstan parliament announces that they have backed a plan to seize the country's Kumtor Gold Mine after Centerra Gold said it would take the Kyrgyzstan government to an international court. (Rferl)