Portal:Current events/2021 July 19

Armed conflicts and attacks

• ISIL insurgency in Iraq
  • July 2021 Baghdad bombing
    • A suicide bomber blows himself up at a market in Sadr City, Baghdad, Iraq, killing at least 35 people and wounding 50 others. ISIL claims responsibility for the attack. (Al Jazeera English) (Reuters)
• Communal conflicts in Nigeria
  • Bandits in Nigeria's Zamfara State shoot down an Alpha Jet of the Nigerian Air Force. The pilot ejected and survived. (AFP via Yahoo News)

Business and economy

• American ice cream company Ben & Jerry's announces that they will stop selling their products in areas of the Palestinian territories that are controlled by Israel, saying that continuing to do this is "inconsistent with our values". In the same statement, the company said that they will continue to sell within Israel proper. The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement applauded the decision, while Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Minister for Foreign Affairs Yair Lapid harshly criticized it. (NPR)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh
      • Bangladesh reports a record 231 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide death toll to 18,125. (Dhaka Tribune)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia
      • Indonesia reports a record 1,338 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide death toll to 74,920. (detikNews)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea
      • South Korea imposes a nationwide ban on private gatherings of more than four people in order to reduce the spread of COVID-19 cases. The ban is in effect until August 1 with some exceptions. (The Korea Herald)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand
      • Thailand reports a record for the fourth consecutive day of 11,784 new cases of COVID-19, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 415,170. (Bangkok Post)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam
      • Vietnam imposes "Directive 16", the most stringent social distancing measures so far, in 16 provinces for the next two weeks, amid an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases. (VNExpress)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Ireland, Travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic
      • Ireland begins to implement a EU Digital COVID Certificate and eases non-essential international travel restrictions for those who have been fully vaccinated, tested negative, or recovered from COVID-19. (RTÉ)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Italy
      • COVID-19 vaccination in Italy
        • The number of population fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in Italy reaches 27.1 million, or 50% of its total population. (The Local Italy)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Spain
      • Spain announces that half of the population has been fully vaccinated, the third EU nation to do so after Malta and Hungary. (El Mundo)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
      • COVID-19 pandemic in England
        • Most legal restrictions on social contact are ended in England. Face coverings in indoor public places are no longer required by law, though they are still recommended in some settings. There are no more limits on how many people can attend events, nightclubs can reopen and table service will not be necessary in pubs and restaurants. People working from home as a result of the pandemic are formally encouraged to return to their workplace. (BBC News)
      • COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland
        • Restrictions are also being eased across Scotland to level zero. Unlike in England, face coverings are still mandatory in indoor public places and on public transport. The change also means that four households can meet indoors at home, up to 10 households can meet in a pub or restaurant, up to 15 households can meet outdoors and up to 200 people can attend a wedding or funeral. (BBC News)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Texas
      • Texas reports their first case of the Lambda variant of SARS-CoV-2, which was first detected in Peru. (Newsweek)
    • Fox News host Sean Hannity urges viewers to take the threat of COVID-19 seriously, as well as urging viewers to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. (People.com)
• The Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation announces the second filling of the controversial Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is complete. (Al Jazeera)

International relations

• Afghanistan–Pakistan relations
  • Afghanistan withdraws all of its senior diplomats from Pakistan after the abduction and alleged torture of the ambassador's daughter in Islamabad. Pakistan calls Kabul's decision "regrettable" and says that they should reconsider. (The Times)
• Georgia–European Union relations, Moldova–European Union relations, Ukraine–European Union relations
  • Moldovan President Maia Sandu, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili announce in a joint statement their intentions to have their respective countries pursue closer relations with the European Union, effectively rebuking Russia. (Politico)

Law and crime

• Two United States citizens are convicted and sentenced in Japan for aiding former CEO of Nissan, Carlos Ghosn, in his escape from Japan to Lebanon in December 2019. Former U.S. Special Forces Michael Taylor is sentenced to 2 years' imprisonment while his son receives a 20 months' sentence. (DW)
• Moroccan citizen Abdul Latif Nasir becomes the first prisoner held at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp to be released by the Biden administration, as part of the process to reduce the camp's population and eventually close it. Nasir was cleared for release by the Periodic Review Board in July 2016, but was blocked by the Trump administration. (Al Jazeera)

Politics and elections

• 2021 Peruvian general election
  • Keiko Fujimori of the right-wing Popular Force (FP) concedes defeat to left-wing candidate Pedro Castillo, but accuses him of winning through "illegitimate" means. The accusation comes as the National Jury of Elections says that it will announce the winner later this week, and dismissed five challenges to the results brought last week by the FP party. (U.S. News) (Reuters)
  • The National Jury of Elections confirms Castillo as the winner of the election, thereby making him president-elect. He is expected to be sworn-in as President of Peru on July 28. (Mercopress)

Science and technology

• Project Pegasus revelations
  • A consortium of journalists led by NGOs Forbidden Stories and Amnesty International reveal widespread spying abuses on journalists, political opposition, businesspeople, human rights activists and others by various governments under the guise of fighting crime or terrorism. The NGOs accessed a list of over 50,000 individuals targeted by Israeli security and spying software company NSO Group and its customers within 50 countries. (The Guardian) (ForbiddenStories)
  • According to the leaked data, NSO Group's Pegasus spyware was used to target Saudi-American journalist Jamal Khashoggi and his family and friends in the months before and after Khashoggi's killing. Khashoggi was assassinated and dismembered in Saudi Arabia's embassy in Istanbul in 2018 by Saudi operatives. NSO previously denied any implication in the killing. (The Guardian)

Sports

• Nashville Predators prospect Luke Prokop comes out as gay, making him the first player in the NHL to do so. (NPR)