Portal:Current events/2021 September 21

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Boko Haram insurgency
  • Boko Haram militants raid and burn the village of Kadjigoroum, Chad, killing nine civilians. (Voa News)
• Korean conflict
  • Addressing the United Nations General Assembly, South Korean president Moon Jae-in asks for a formal end to the decades-long conflict between the two Koreas. (Reuters)
• 2019–2024 Sudanese transition to democracy
  • Sudanese forces thwart a coup attempt against the ruling civilian-military government by supporters of former president Omar al-Bashir that began overnight. According to sources close to the government, interrogation of instigators would begin today. (Reuters)

Business and economy

• Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer announces that Michigan will build an electrified road to charge wireless vehicles, becoming the first U.S. state to do so. (USA Today)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China
      • Harbin bans visits to retirement homes, closes spas, cinemas and mahjong salons, reduces the capacity of tourist attractions by half, and suspends religious activities in order to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in poorly ventilated spaces after one community transmitted case was reported. (Al-Arabiya English)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia
      • The number of recovered COVID-19 patients in Indonesia surpasses four million. (detikHealth)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia
      • The number of adult population fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in Malaysia surpasses 80%. (The Straits Times)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore
      • Singapore reports 1,178 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, which is the highest single-day total of new cases since April 2020. (Business Times)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam
      • Hanoi reopens non-essential services and removes travel permits for inner-city commuters. The city also allows food and drink establishments to reopen with takeaway only and a 9:00 p.m. closing time, due to a decline in the number of COVID-19 cases. (Sify.com)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Oceania
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
      • COVID-19 pandemic in New South Wales
        • Several regional areas of New South Wales enter a lockdown after an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases. At the same time, due to reaching statewide vaccination targets, lockdown measures are relaxed slightly across New South Wales, with children under the age of 18 years old able to form a "friends bubble" with one other household. (The Guardian)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the Solomon Islands
      • The government announces that public servants will soon be a target of the "no jab, no job" policy and that they will have to either resign or receive half-pay if they refuse to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. (RNZ)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
    • COVID-19 pandemic in California
      • COVID-19 pandemic in the San Francisco Bay Area
        • San Francisco Mayor London Breed announces that the San Francisco International Airport will mandate COVID-19 vaccines, making it the first U.S. airport to do so. (Los Angeles Times)
• African Swine Fever
  • Haiti reports the first outbreak of the African swine fever in 37 years when an operation in Anse-à-Pitre near border with the Dominican Republic suffered an outbreak that began on August 26. (Reuters)

International relations

• Australia–European Union relations, Australia–France relations
  • President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen suspends negotiations for a free trade agreement with Australia over Australia's recent cancellation of a submarine contract with France, demanding that Australia must apologise to France before the agreement can continue. (The Guardian)
• Foreign relations of Argentina
  • Argentine President Alberto Fernández asks Iran to "cooperate with the Argentine justice" regarding an investigation into the 1994 AMIA bombing in Buenos Aires and demands that countries where wanted Iranian officials are residing should comply with its Interpol red notices. (Infobae)
• Recognition of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, Foreign relations of Afghanistan
  • In a letter to the United Nations Secretary-General, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs requests representation at the seventy-sixth session of the United Nations General Assembly. The Emirate's Foreign Minister Ameer Khan Muttaqi also requests that Permanent Representative of Afghanistan to the United Nations Ghulam Isaczai be replaced by Mohammad Suhail Shasheen. The Taliban also note that former President Ashraf Ghani had been "ousted and [countries across the world] no longer recognize him as president." (CNN)
• Russia–United_Kingdom relations
  • British police announce a third Russian had been charged in absentia with the 2018 Novichok murder attempt on former double agent Sergei Skripal, saying they could also now confirm the three suspects were military intelligence operatives. (Straits Times)

Law and crime

• Death of Gabby Petito
  • A coroner in Teton County, Wyoming, confirms that the remains found on September 19 were that of Petito, who disappeared from Grand Teton National Park on August 27, and rules her death a homicide. (AFP via Today)
• The European Court of Human Rights rules that agents acting on behalf of the Russian government were responsible for the fatal poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko in 2006. (BBC News)
• The Court of Justice of the European Union imposes a daily fine of €500,000 (2.31M zł) on Poland for its refusal to close the Turów Coal Mine, which was declared illegal by a temporary injunction from the court in May. (WIAT-TV)

Politics and elections

• COVID-19 protests in Australia, COVID-19 pandemic in Victoria
  • Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews announces a two-week suspension of construction work in the state after yesterday's riot at the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) office. Rioters claimed that they were construction workers, although CFMEU officials and others claim that there were few construction workers present. (ABC News Australia)
  • Protesters return to the Melbourne CBD for the second consecutive day, assaulting journalists and blocking the West Gate Freeway. Riot police responded with rubber bullet rounds. (New Zealand Herald)
• Women's rights in Afghanistan
  • Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid says that girls will return to school soon, adding that "We are finalizing things ... it will happen as soon as possible". The announcement came as the Taliban banned girls from grades 6 to 12 from attending school, to which Mujahid said that this was only "temporary" and that new announcements would be made soon. (Deutsche Welle)

Sports

• 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification, Racism in association football
  • FIFA sanctions the Hungarian Football Federation with a US$216,000 fine and orders the Hungarian national team to play their next two World Cup qualification home matches behind closed doors, following incidents of racist behavior among their fans during a match against England on September 2. (CNN)