Portal:Current events/2021 August 22

Armed conflicts and attacks

• War in Afghanistan
  • Taliban insurgency
    • Panjshir conflict
      • Ahmad Massoud, who is leading the Panjshir resistance along with self-proclaimed acting president Amrullah Saleh, refuses to surrender the Panjshir Valley to the Taliban and says that war is "unavoidable" if the Taliban refuse dialogue on the formation of a comprehensive government. (Al Arabiya)
    • 2021 Afghan protests
      • Hundreds of people, including Afghans, hold a demonstration against the Taliban in Stockholm, Sweden. (Central Asia Times)
    • Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid says that they will form a new government soon. (The Times)
  • Operation Allies Refuge
    • U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says that the U.S. will ensure that all American citizens will be evacuated to the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul. (ABC News)
    • Austin also announces that the U.S. Department of Defense will activate the Civil Reserve Air Fleet for the third time and send 18 planes that will be used by the U.S. military to help evacuate American citizens. (Forbes)
    • U.S. President Joe Biden says that American troops may remain in Afghanistan beyond the August 31 deadline. He also announces that 11,000 people were evacuated from the country in the past 36 hours. (NBC News)
    • Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott announces that the network has evacuated 24 people from Afghanistan, including three Afghan nationals who assisted with the network's coverage of the war. (Variety)
  • Aftermath of the Fall of Kabul
    • The Netherlands increases its military presence in Afghanistan to help evacuate 700 Dutch nationals and Afghan allies. Dutch foreign minister Sigrid Kaag said last Friday that multiple Afghans are eligible for evacuation to the Netherlands. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

• 2021 Tennessee floods
  • Heavy rains cause 21 deaths in Tennessee, United States, with 45 people still missing. A record 17 inches (43 cm) of rain in 24 hours was reported in McEwen. (CNN)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Brunei
      • Brunei reports a record 314 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 1,769. (Borneo Bulletin)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Iran
      • Iran reports a record 684 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide death toll to 102,038. (Radio France Internationale)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Israel
      • Israel launches antibody COVID-19 testing for 1.4 million children between the ages of 3 and 12 as part of a study to measure the extent to which COVID-19 spread undetected among children in the past 18 months. (Haaretz)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam
      • Vietnam reports a record 737 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide death toll to 8,277. (Daily Sabah)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in New South Wales
      • New South Wales reports a record for the second consecutive day of 830 new cases of COVID-19, which is the highest number reported by any state or territory since the beginning of the pandemic. (ABC News Australia)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Maryland
      • Maryland Governor Larry Hogan receives his third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. State health officials also announce that 80% of adults in Maryland have received at least one dose of the vaccine. (Baltimore Sun)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Argentina, COVID-19 vaccination in Argentina
    • Argentina receives a shipment of 400,000 doses of the Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine donated by Spain. (Perfil)

International relations

• Iran–Japan relations
  • During a meeting with Japanese foreign minister Toshimitsu Motegi in Tehran, Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi urged Japan to release $3 billion in Iranian assets frozen in Japan due to international sanctions against Iran. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

• The far-right Proud Boys clash with Antifa demonstrators at an abandoned Kmart near downtown Portland, Oregon. (The Oregonian)