Portal:Current events/2021 November 2

November 2, 2021 (Tuesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Afghanistan conflict
- Islamic State–Taliban conflict
  - 2021 Kabul hospital attack
    - A bomb explodes at the entrance of the Daoud Khan Military Hospital in Kabul, followed by gunfire and a second explosion. At least 25 people are killed and more than 50 others are wounded. Four of the attackers are killed and a fifth is arrested by the Taliban. (The Guardian)
Insurgency in the Maghreb
- 2021 Niger attacks
  - At least 69 people are killed as Islamic State in the Greater Sahara gunmen attack a delegation led by the mayor of Banibangou, in Niger. The mayor is among those killed. (Al Jazeera)
Tigray War
- Ethiopia declares a six-month state of emergency as the Tigray Defense Forces (TDF) and Oromo Liberation Army gain control over areas outside of Tigray and the TDF announces its intention to advance to the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. Authorities in Addis Ababa, in a separate announcement earlier in the day, tell citizens to register arms and prepare to defend their neighbourhoods. (Reuters)
- The United States bans embassy personnel from traveling outside of Addis Ababa and strongly suggests that U.S. citizens seriously reconsider travel to Ethiopia and that those who are currently in Ethiopia consider making preparations to leave the country. (U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia)

Business and economy

The Taliban announces a complete ban on the use of foreign currency in transactions, threatening "legal action" against those who defy the ban. (Al Jazeera)

Disasters and accidents

Five people are dead after a small cargo plane belonging to Optimum Aviation Ltd. crashes shortly after take-off from the airport in Juba, South Sudan. (AP)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Bulgaria
    - Bulgaria reports a record 6,007 new cases and 310 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 608,499 and the nationwide death toll to 24,309. (Novinite)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Greece
    - Greece reports a record 6,700 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 754,451. (Ekathimerini)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Romania
    - Romania reports a record 591 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide death toll to 48,664. (Reuters)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
    - Russia reports a record 1,178 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide death toll to 240,871. (Anadolu Agency)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Oceania
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Tonga
    - Tonga's main island of Tongatapu enters a seven-day lockdown that closes non-essential businesses and bans sales of alcohol and mass gatherings, except small funerals, after the country reports its first case of COVID-19 in a person who travelled from Christchurch, New Zealand on a repatriation flight last week. (New Zealand Herald)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Tuvalu, COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand
    - A traveller from Tuvalu tests positive for COVID-19 upon arrival in Auckland, New Zealand. Tuvalu had not previously reported any COVID-19 cases in the country. (RNZ)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Argentina, COVID-19 vaccination in Argentina
  - Argentina begins administering booster doses of the COVID-19 vaccine for people over the age of 50 years old and people with immunization problems. (Infobae)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Bahrain
  - Bahrain's National Health Regulatory Authority approves the emergency use of the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children between the ages of 5 and 11 years old. (The Times of Israel)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
  - COVID-19 vaccination in the United States
    - The U.S. CDC approves the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5 and 11 years old. (Variety)

International relations

Foreign relations of Madagascar, Foreign relations of Seychelles
- Seychelles president Wavel Ramkalawan and Malagasy president Andry Rajoelina hold a bilateral meeting in Glasgow to discuss trafficking in the south of Seychelles and maritime security in the Indian Ocean. The two leaders also discuss ways to stop gold smuggling. (AllAfrica)

Politics and elections

2021 United States elections
- 2021 United States gubernatorial elections
  - 2021 Virginia gubernatorial election, 2021 New Jersey gubernatorial election
    - Voters head to the polls in Virginia to either re-elect former Governor Terry McAuliffe or elect former Carlyle Group CEO Glenn Youngkin. In New Jersey, voters head to the polls to either re-elect Governor Phil Murphy or elect former state legislator Jack Ciattarelli to replace him. (KITV-TV)
    - Youngkin defeats McAuliffe, making him the first Virginia Republican to win a statewide race since Bob McDonnell in 2009. Winsome Sears will become the first woman of color to be elected Lieutenant Governor of Virginia. (AP) (The Washington Post)
- 2021 United States House of Representatives elections
  - 2021 Ohio's 15th congressional district special election, 2021 Ohio's 11th congressional district special election
    - Voters head to the polls to replace Steve Stivers and Marcia Fudge. Fudge resigned in March in order to become U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. (Big News Network)
2021 Maine referendums
- Maine voters approve three questions on ballot in 2021, which ban the construction of Hydro Québec's high-voltage line to Massachusetts that passes through the state, authorize issuing $100 million in infrastructure bonds and amend the Constitution of Maine to declare a right to produce and consume food of their choice for personal usage. (Bangor Daily News)
Christian Schmidt, the United Nations' High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, issues a report warning that the country is likely to break apart and that there is a very high risk of the renewal of internal armed conflict. (The Guardian)

Sports

In Major League Baseball, the Atlanta Braves defeat the Houston Astros to win the World Series. This marks the Braves' first World Series title since 1995. (The Guardian)