Portal:Current events/2021 July 2

July 2, 2021 (Friday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan
- Withdrawal of United States troops from Afghanistan; Taliban insurgency
  - Bagram Airfield is looted by locals following the sudden American withdrawal from the airbase, which was conducted without notifying local forces. Afghan troops later cleared the airbase of looters and secured control of it. (Newsweek)
  - Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby announces that U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has approved a new command to oversee troops who will remain in the country to protect diplomats at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul. The mission will be led by RDML Peter Vasely. (Stars and Stripes)
  - It is reported that, during June, the Taliban captured 700 Humvees as well as dozens of armored vehicles and artillery systems from the Afghan National Army as more districts fall under the group's control during their offensive in the north. (Times of India)
Tigray War
- Operation Alula
  - Thousands of captured Ethiopian prisoners of war are paraded through the streets of the Tigrayan capital of Mekelle flanked by Tigrayan fighters. Many of the soldiers appear to be wounded. Huge crowds form to taunt the captured soldiers. (FR24 News)

Disasters and accidents

Transair Flight 810
- Transair Flight 810, a cargo flight from Honolulu to Kahului, ditches off the coast of Oahu. The two pilots are injured. (BBC News)
A massive fire breaks out at an undersea gas pipeline which connects to the Ku-Maloob-Zaap oil field, off the coast of the Yucatán Peninsula. The fire took five hours to contain. Mexican state-run oil company Pemex, who is in charge of the oil field's operations, orders an investigation into the cause of the fire. (Reuters)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia
    - COVID-19 vaccination in Indonesia
      - The Food and Drug Authority grants an emergency use authorization for the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. (Antara)
    - Indonesia reports a record third consecutive day of 24,836 new cases and a record fourth consecutive day of 539 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total confirmed cases and death toll to 2.22 million and to 59,534, respectively. (detikHealth)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in India
    - India surpasses 400,000 deaths from COVID-19, becoming the third country to do so after the U.S. and Brazil. (Euronews)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan
    - Pakistan receives 2.5 million doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine from the United States, facilitated through the COVAX initiative, UNICEF and the Government of Pakistan. (AP)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand
    - Thailand reports a record for the third consecutive day of 61 deaths from COVID-19, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 2,141. (Bangkok Post)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia, COVID-19 vaccine
    - The Saudi Arabia Ministry of Education announces that it will vaccinate students aged 12 and 18. (Arab News)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Bosnia and Herzegovina
    - Bosnia and Herzegovina reports its first case of the Lineage B.1.617 Delta variant in a Spanish woman who visited the Catholic pilgrimage site of Medjugorje. (Reuters)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Portugal
    - Portugal imposes a curfew from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. in 19 "very high risk" municipalities, including Lisbon and Albufeira, and 26 "high risk" municipalities, due to the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant. (The Portugal News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
    - Russia reports a record for the fourth consecutive day of 679 deaths from COVID-19, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 136,565. (The Moscow Times)
- COVID-19 pandemic in North America
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, COVID-19 vaccination in Canada
    - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau receives his second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. However, Trudeau received the Moderna vaccine for his second dose instead of the AstraZeneca vaccine. (Global News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
    - COVID-19 vaccination in the United States
      - COVID-19 pandemic in Oregon
        The Oregon Health Authority announces that over 70% of adults in the state have received a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. (The Columbian)
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Nevada
      - The positivity rate for COVID-19 in Nevada reaches 6%, the highest in the state since March 7. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Oceania
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
    - Lockdown restrictions are lifted in the Northern Territory after a decline in the number of new COVID-19 cases. Masks will still be required indoors, private gatherings will be limited to 10 people, and gyms will remain closed. Lockdown restrictions are also lifted in regional Queensland, but masks will still be required indoors, and private gatherings will be limited to 30 people. (ABC News Australia)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Fiji
    - Fiji reports a record five deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the death toll to 29. (RNZ)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Colombia
  - Santa Cruz del Islote, one of the most densely populated islands on Earth, becomes the first Colombian territory to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. (El Tiempo)
- COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa
  - South Africa reports a record 24,270 new cases from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 2.02 million. (Bloomberg)

International relations

European migrant crisis, Belarus–Lithuania relations
- Lithuania declares a state of emergency amid an increase in the number of undocumented migrants crossing into the country from neighbouring Belarus. The Government of Lithuania accuses Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of deliberately trying to destabilize the country by encouraging and allowing refugees, mostly Syrians, to cross the border. (Politico)
Belarus–Ukraine relations
- Belarus closes its border with Ukraine after President Alexander Lukashenko claims that arms are being smuggled into the country in an attempt by "outside powers" to overthrow his regime, saying that "They have crossed the line. We cannot forgive them". Ukraine denies Lukashenko's claims, and says that closing the border would make its people "suffer". (BBC News)

Law and crime

COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil
- COVID-19 vaccination in Brazil
  - Brazil prosecutors open a probe into President Jair Bolsonaro for his role in a scandal involving the Covaxin vaccine. (Macau Business)
A court in Tonga sentences the former Minister for Infrastructure and Tourism ʻAkosita Lavulavu and her husband to six years in prison after the Supreme Court found them both guilty of obtaining money by false pretenses. (RNZ)

Politics and elections

Elections in the United Kingdom, Batley and Spen by-election
- The opposition Labour Party narrowly holds the West Yorkshire constituency of Batley and Spen with a reduced majority of just 323 votes, defying expectations of a loss. (BBC News)