Portal:Current events/2021 June 28

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Tigray War
  • Tigray Defense Forces capture the regional capital Mekelle after forcing Ethiopian troops to retreat. (The New York Times)
  • The Ethiopian government declares an immediate unilateral ceasefire in Tigray following the withdrawal of troops from Mekelle. (BBC News)
• American-led intervention in the Syrian civil war
  • The U.S. military says that it conducted airstrikes on facilities purportedly used by Iranian-supported militias near the Iraq–Syria border. Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi condemns the airstrikes as a "blatant and unacceptable violation of Iraqi sovereignty and Iraqi national security". (Politico) (Al Jazeera)
  • Syrian state media say that an air missile attack around 1 a.m. on residential houses in the countryside of al-Bokmal, presumably by American warplanes, killed a child and injured three civilians. (SANA)
• Allied Democratic Forces insurgency; 2021 Democratic Republic of the Congo attacks
  • A suicide bomber blows himself up at a busy intersection in Beni, Democratic Republic of the Congo. No additional casualties are reported. This is the first suicide bombing in the country and comes a day after a bombing occurred at a Catholic church, seriously injuring two people. Authorities ban public gatherings for two days in response to the attacks, warning about the possibility of further incidents. The Islamic State's Central Africa Province claimed responsibility for both bombings. (AP)(USNews)

Disasters and accidents

• Elephant & Castle fire
  • A fire occurs in an automobile repair shop near Elephant & Castle tube station in London, UK, causing disruption to transport. Six people are injured. (The Guardian)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh
      • Bangladesh reports a record 8,364 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 896,770. (BDNews24)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia, COVID-19 vaccination in Indonesia
      • President Joko Widodo announces that the Indonesian Food and Drug Authority approves the emergency use of the Sinovac CoronaVac vaccine for children aged 12 to 17 years old. (detikHealth)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia
      • Malaysia surpasses 5,000 deaths from COVID-19. (Malay Mail)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Oceania
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
      • Prime Minister Scott Morrison announces vaccination will be mandatory for all workers in the aged care sector. (The Guardian)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Fiji
      • Fiji locks down the Qauia settlement near Suva, amid a substantial increase in the number of cases of COVID-19 in the country, which is reporting up to 300 new cases a day, with several clusters and spread of the Delta variant. The government alleges that the infections began to increase after a breach of protocol by a Navy officer. (Reuters)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Italy
      • Italy drops its mandatory mask wearing requirement in outdoor areas as all of 20 regions are classified as "white" level, signifying a low-risk region. (France 24)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
      • The United Kingdom reports 22,868 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, which is the highest single-day total of daily cases since January 30. (ITV News)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa
    • South Africa imposes an adjusted alert Level 4 for the next 14 days that includes a curfew from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m., prohibition of alcohol sales and a ban on all social gatherings in order to prevent the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant. In addition, schools will also be closed beginning on June 30. (Independent Online)
• 2021 Western North America heat wave
  • The temperature reaches 47.9 °C (118.2 °F) in Lytton, British Columbia, breaking the all-time record for hottest temperature ever recorded in Canada for the second day in a row. The temperature reached 46.6 °C (115.9 °F) in Lytton on June 27, which was the previous record. (The Vancouver Sun)

International relations

• Ukraine–NATO relations
  • Ukraine and NATO forces launch joint naval drills in the Black Sea codenamed Sea Breeze 2021. Russia has condemned the drills, with the Russian Defence Ministry saying that they would closely monitor the drills. (AP)

Law and crime

• Police in Hong Kong ban a vigil to mark the anniversary of the British handover of the territory to China. In a letter addressed to the League of Social Democrats, police cite "great risk to citizens" due to COVID-19. Another letter was also sent to the Civil Human Rights Front whose former and current leaders, Jimmy Sham and Figo Chan, are both behind bars, the former on national security law charges and the latter convicted of unlawful assembly. (Euronews) (HKFP)
• Former Belarusian presidential candidate Viktar Babaryka tells a court in Minsk that he is innocent of the corruption charges against him. Babaryka was one of the main challengers to President Alexander Lukashenko and was arrested in June 2020. Babaryka says that he cannot confess to crimes that he did not commit and faces up to 15 years' imprisonment if he is found guilty. (Reuters)
• The Supreme Court of Mexico decriminalizes the recreational use of cannabis for adults. (France 24)

Politics and elections

• 2021 Samoan constitutional crisis
  • The Supreme Court of Samoa rules that the swearing in of the FAST party-led government on May 24th was illegal. However, the court also orders that the Legislative Assembly of Samoa sit within seven days, giving the opposition FAST, led by Naomi Mataʻafa, the ability to form a new government. FAST currently holds 26 seats in parliament, while the caretaker HRPP government of Tuila'epa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi has 24 seats. (RNZI)
• 2021 Swedish government crisis
  • Prime Minister Stefan Löfven resigns after he lost a no-confidence vote on June 21. (CNN)

Science and technology

• The Baihetan Dam, the third largest dam in China and the fourth largest in the world, officially opens. (Reuters)