Portal:Current events/2021 October 29

Armed conflicts and attacks

• 2021 Uganda bombings
  • Two children are killed by a bomb explosion at a village in Nakaseke District. The device looked like a jackfruit and was given to the children while they were playing. (Al Jazeera)
• 2021 Democratic Republic of the Congo attacks
  • The CODECO and the Alliance for the Liberation of the Congo militia groups attack two villages in Ituri Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing at least 14 civilians. (AFP via The Punch)
• Afghanistan conflict
  • Three people are killed and several injured when gunmen open fire at a wedding in Nangarhar. The Taliban are accused of being behind the attack, opening fire while music was being played. The Taliban has, however, said that the shooting was an internal dispute and that two of the attackers have been arrested. (The Guardian)
• Insurgency in the Maghreb
  • Two employees of the Canadian mining company Iamgold are reported missing following an attack on their convoy in Burkina Faso while travelling to Essakane, Mali. (Reuters)
• Internal conflict in Myanmar
  • Tatmadaw forces bombard the town of Thantlang in Chin State, western Myanmar, with artillery shells, destroying dozens of homes, after clashing with local self-defence forces who captured a soldier. (Al Jazeera English)

Business and economy

• Economy of Mexico
  • The National Institute of Statistics and Geography in Mexico shows that the economy shrank 0.2% in the third-quarter from the three previous months and the GDP also declined during the same period of time, both largely due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on businesses. (Reuters)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Oceania
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
      • COVID-19 pandemic in Victoria
        • Lockdown restrictions are further eased in Melbourne as 80% of the adult population are now fully vaccinated. Schools, non-essential retail, restaurants and gyms reopen with density limits, masks are no longer mandatory outdoors, and travel between Melbourne and regional Victoria resumes. (The Guardian)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Tonga
      • Tonga reports its first case of COVID-19 in a person who travelled from Christchurch, New Zealand to Nukuʻalofa and is now in isolation. (RNZ)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Andorra
      • Minister of Culture and Sports Sílvia Riva tests positive for COVID-19. (Diari d'Andorra)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Poland
      • Poland surpasses three million cases of COVID-19. (U.S. News & World Report)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
      • Russia reports a record for the fourth consecutive day of 1,163 deaths from COVID-19, bringing the nationwide death toll to 236,220. (ABC News)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine
      • Ukraine reports a record for the second consecutive day of 26,870 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 2.88 million. (Reuters)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in South America
    • After seeing a slight increase in the number of cases and deaths, Chile, Uruguay and Argentina intensify their vaccination rollouts. Chile has reported 37,719 total deaths from COVID-19 while Argentina has reported 115,916 total deaths from COVID-19. (El País Uruguay)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Kyrgyzstan
    • The Kyrgyzstan Cabinet of Ministers issues a change of regulations that would require workers in the cultural, leisure, entertainment, and sport sectors to be vaccinated against COVID-19 due to the ongoing pandemic situation in the country. (AKIpress)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, COVID-19 vaccination in the United States
    • The Food and Drug Administration authorizes the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children between the ages of 5 and 11, becoming the first vaccine to be approved for children in the United States. (CNBC)

International relations

• 2021 Belarus–European Union border crisis, Belarus–Poland relations
  • The Senate of Poland approves a plan to construct an estimated €353 million (US$407 million) wall along the country's border with Belarus, in response to an influx of migrants. (AFP via Barron's)
• Moldova–Russia relations
  • Moldova and Russian energy firm Gazprom extend their supply contract, following accusations of Russia raising oil prices against Moldova. (AFP via The Moscow Times)
• Lebanon–Saudi Arabia relations
  • Saudi Arabia recalls its ambassador to Lebanon and demands for Lebanon to reciprocate the action over "insulting" remarks about the war in Yemen made by Lebanese information minister George Kurdahi. (AFP via RFI)

Law and crime

• LGBT rights in Afghanistan, Treatment of women by the Taliban
  • Taliban-appointed chief of the Central Bank Shah Mehrabi says that gay rights will not be respected in Afghanistan because "That's against our Sharia law", but also said that, conversely, women's rights will be different than that of the 1990s. (Thomson Reuters Foundation)
• Aftermath of the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état
  • U Win Htein, aide to the deposed Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi, is sentenced to 20 years in prison for sedition. Htein became the first politician arrested in the aftermath of the February 2021 coup to be convicted. (Deutsche Welle)
• The European Parliament sues the European Commission for failing to properly enforce the Rule of Law Conditionality Regulation that is linked to the Next Generation EU recovery package, which refuses to fund member states that fail to comply with the European Union's rule of law standards. (CNN)

Politics and elections

• 2022 Bangsamoro Parliament election
  • President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte signs into law a bill postponing the Bangsamoro Parliament election to 2025. The interim government of Bangsamoro led by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front has requested the postponement due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the inability of the government to draw up an election code for the autonomous region. (AFP via The Straits Times)

Science and technology

• Solar cycle 25
  • An X-class solar flare, the second of the current solar cycle, erupts. An associated coronal mass ejection may graze Earth on October 30 or 31, which could cause bright aurorae and interfere with satellite communications. (Space)