October 3, 2021 (Sunday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Afghanistan conflict
- Five people are killed and four others are injured when a bomb explodes at the entrance to Id Gah Mosque in Kabul, during the funeral of Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid's mother. Three suspects are arrested. (Al Jazeera)
- 2020–2021 Indian farmers' protest
- Four farmers are rammed and killed in Uttar Pradesh by a convoy of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Other farmers then attacked the convoy, killing three members of the party and the driver of the vehicle. (Al Jazeera)
- Yemeni Civil War
- Libyan peace process
- Libyan foreign minister Najla Mangoush announces a "very modest start" to the withdrawal of foreign troops from the country following a permanent ceasefire of the Second Libyan Civil War. (AFP via Al Arabiya)
Business and economy
- North Sea Link
- The world's longest under-sea electricity cable interconnector begins transferring power between Kvilldal, Norway, and Blyth, Northumberland, United Kingdom. At its full 1,400 megawatt capacity, the interconnector is expected to supply at least 1.4 million homes with electricity. (BBC News)
Disasters and accidents
- 2021 North Indian Ocean cyclone season
- Six people are killed in Chabahar, Iran, and three more are killed in Muscat, Oman, as Cyclone Shaheen impacts the two countries. Shaheen is expected to make further landfalls in other parts of Oman later today. (Al Jazeera)
- 2021 Milan airplane crash
- Eight people are killed when their Pilatus PC-12 plane crashes into an empty building in San Donato Milanese, Lombardy, Italy. (i)
- 2021 Orange County oil spill
- An oil spill occurs off Orange County, California, U.S., amounting to 126,000 gallons (573,000 liters) of oil, which could affect popular Southern California locations such as Huntington Beach. (Deutsche Welle)
Health and environment
- COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Israel, COVID-19 vaccination in Israel
- Israel introduces a new rule that requires booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to be considered fully vaccinated for everyone aged 12 and older in "Green Pass", becoming the first country to do so. (The New York Times)
- COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand
- New Zealand moves Hamilton, Raglan, and other Waikato towns to alert level 3 after the discovery of two Delta variant cases and the spread of the virus beyond Auckland. (New Zealand Herald)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
- Russia reports a record for the fifth consecutive day of 890 deaths from COVID-19, bringing the nationwide death toll to 209,918. (Azeri Press Agency)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Israel, COVID-19 vaccination in Israel
International relations
- Algeria–France relations
- Algeria bans French military planes from using its airspace, and recalls its ambassador to France for consultations after accusing French President Emmanuel Macron of an "inadmissible interference" in its internal affairs. (Politico Europe)
- North Korean missile tests
- North Korea warns the United Nations Security Council against criticizing the country's renewed missile launches. The Council had convened an emergency meeting two days ago to discuss concerns over North Korea resuming missile testing. North Korea further threatens the Council with unspecified "consequences" should they "encroach upon the sovereignty" of the country in the future. (MSN)
Law and crime
- Catholic Church sexual abuse cases
- A commission to investigate sexual abuse by clergy in France reveals that since the 1950s, there have been about 3,000 pedophiles who have committed sex crimes. (France 24)
- Pandora Papers
- 11.9 million leaked documents are published by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, which expose hidden wealth, tax evasion and money laundering among 330 politicians, including 35 national leaders, and numerous celebrities worldwide, including 130 billionaires, totaling 29,000 beneficiaries among 27,000 companies. This is the largest offshore data leak in history, surpassing the Panama Papers by nearly half a million documents. (BBC News) (International Consortium of Investigative Journalists)
- The United Arab Emirates changes the death toll of those who died while working at the Expo 2020 to six. However, the actual death toll is suspected to be higher. (Reuters)
- Police in Tunisia arrest a lawmaker and a TV presenter for calling president Kais Saied a traitor over his seizure of power in July. The arrests were ordered by the military judiciary for "conspiring against state security and insulting the army". (Reuters)
- The Chairman of Mitsubishi Electric resigns after the company published a report about long-term test data falsification, organized coverup of the falsification, and extended use of unapproved materials. An investigative committee at Mitsubishi Electric is currently examining 2,300 reports of issues with its manufacturing plants. (The Asahi Shimbun)
Politics and elections
- Native title in Australia
- The Queensland Police Service refuses a request from the Adani Group to remove a group of Wangan and Yagalingu protesters occupying the Carmichael coal mine, saying that this would be a human rights violation. The Wangan and Yagalingu peoples previously held native title to the land before the Queensland Government extinguished it in 2019 in preparation for the contract with Adani. (The Guardian)
Sports
- 2021 NFL season
- In American football, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady returns to Foxborough, Massachusetts for the first time since departing the New England Patriots in March of last year. Tom Brady also becomes the fourth quarterback to defeat all 32 National Football League teams following the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 19-17 victory against his former team. He also surpasses Drew Brees as the NFL's all-time leading passer. (ESPN) (AP)