Portal:Current events/2021 July 12

July 12, 2021 (Monday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan
- Taliban insurgency
  - 2021 Taliban offensive
    - Taliban insurgents surround the city of Ghazni as fighting intensifies and the group advances in the country. The government says the Taliban uses civilian houses as hideouts. (Reuters)
- Withdrawal of U.S. troops
  - General Austin Scott Miller formally relinquishes control of U.S. forces in Afghanistan. He is replaced by Marine Corps General Frank McKenzie. (NBC News)
Tigray War
- The Tigray Defense Forces say they have captured the town of Korem and are advancing on Alamata in southern Tigray. (Reuters)
- U.S. Department of State spokesperson Ned Price condemns retaliatory attacks on civilians "whether by organized military or security forces or by rogue elements". Previously, Secretary of State Antony Blinken had warned of ongoing crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide. (Reuters)
2021 South African unrest
- Ten people are killed and more than 490 are detained as rioting and looting occur in South Africa following the imprisonment of former President Jacob Zuma. In a televised address to the nation, President Cyril Ramaphosa vows that the police and army would "restore order". (AP)

Disasters and accidents

Nasiriyah hospital fire
- At least 92 people are killed and more than 100 others are injured in a fire at a COVID-19 isolation ward in Nasiriyah, Iraq. The fire started when sparks from faulty wiring spread to an oxygen tank, causing it to explode. (BBC News)
More than 53 people are killed by lightning strikes in the Indian states of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, with a single strike killing 16 at Amer Fort near Jaipur. (BBC News)
Collapse of Siji Kaiyuan Hotel
- Seventeen people are killed and five more are injured after an annex to a hotel collapses in Suzhou, east China's Jiangsu province. (BBC News)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 vaccines
  - GAVI signs purchase agreements for 170 million doses of BBIBP-CorV and 350 million doses of CoronaVac for distribution through COVAX. (Reuters)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh
    - Bangladesh reports a record 13,768 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 1.03 million. (Bdnews24.com)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia
    - Indonesia reports a record 40,427 new cases and 34,754 recoveries from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 2.56 million and the nationwide total of recoveries to 2.12 million. (detikNews)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Israel
    - COVID-19 vaccination in Israel
      - Israel becomes the first country in the world to offer a booster shot of the COVID-19 vaccine for immunocompromised adults. The decision comes as the Lineage B.1.617 Delta variant continues to spread in the country. (ISRAEL21c)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Japan
    - Tokyo enters a fourth state of emergency that will cover the duration of the 2020 Summer Olympics in an attempt to reduce the number of COVID-19 cases. The state of emergency will remain in place until August 22. (The Japan Times)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea
    - The Seoul Capital Area enters the most restrictive "Level 4" social distancing measures that bans all large-scale events including spectators at sporting events, private gatherings of more than two people after 6 p.m. and before 5 a.m., and closes churches, in an attempt to reduce the number of COVID-19 cases. (The Korea Herald)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand
    - Thailand begins to implement new restrictions in Bangkok that includes a ban on gatherings of more than five people, a curfew from 9:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m., and the closure of many retail stores due to a surge of highly infectious Alpha and Delta variants. (ABC Australia)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam
    - Vietnam reports a record for the fifth consecutive day of 2,367 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 32,199. (The Star)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in France
    - COVID-19 vaccination in France
      - French President Emmanuel Macron announces that COVID-19 vaccinations will be mandatory for healthcare workers by September 15 and will expand the use of Health Pass into events over 50 people beginning from July 21. (Financial Times)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Greece
    - COVID-19 vaccination in Greece
      - Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announces that COVID-19 vaccinations will now be mandatory for employees of retirement homes, while vaccinations for healthcare workers will be mandatory beginning on September 1. The Government also restricts access to some commercial venues for vaccinated people only from Friday until the end of August. (Barron's)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
    - COVID-19 vaccination in Russia
      - A study conducted by the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology shows that Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine is effective against all variants of SARS-CoV-2, including the Delta variant. (Mint)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Spain
    - Valencia's Office of the Public Prosecutor authorizes 32 municipalities that are considered "high-risk" to impose a curfew from 1:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. and restrict social gatherings due to an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases. (The Local Spain)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Fiji
  - Fiji reports a record 873 cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the national total to 11,386. (RNZ)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Panama
  - Panama authorizes the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine for people aged 12 years and over. (Reuters)

International relations

International sanctions during the Venezuelan crisis, United States–Venezuela relations
- The U.S. Department of the Treasury lifts Trump-era sanctions against Venezuela, allowing companies to export propane to the country. (San Francisco Chronicle)

Law and crime

2021 Samoan constitutional crisis
- The Supreme Court is set to determine if there was criminal contempt in preventing the Parliament to convene after the election which caused an ongoing dispute between the two prime ministers. (RNZ)
Venezuelan presidential crisis
- Opposition politician Freddy Guevara is arrested in Caracas as police also enter the house of disputed president and opposition leader Juan Guaidó and his wife Fabiana Rosales. Exiled opposition leader Leopoldo López denounces the situation from Spain. (El Mundo)
UK Home Secretary Priti Patel announces that American Neo-Nazi terrorist group The Base will be banned as a terrorist group, making it the fifth white supremacist group to be added to the country's terrorism list this year. (BBC News)
Former Drake & Josh star Drake Bell is sentenced to two years of probation for child endangerment. (NBC News)

Politics and elections

2021 Cuban protests
- Protesters and Cuban exiles gather in Tampa, Florida to call for freedom and democracy in Cuba. In South Florida, protesters gather at the Cuban restaurant Cafe Versailles in Miami to hold a “liberty” rally. (Tampa Bay Times) (WTVJ)
2021 Moldovan parliamentary election
- The Party of Action and Solidarity is projected to win a majority in the parliamentary elections. (ABC News)
The Nepalese Supreme Court declares that the dissolution of the Federal Parliament of Nepal by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli in May was unconstitutional, reinstating the Parliament and removing the duties of Oli. The Supreme Court also designates leader of the opposition Sher Bahadur Deuba as the new Prime Minister. (The New York Times)
Cardinal Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya, who championed human rights, freedom, and greater democracy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), died at the age of 81. (Catholic News Agency)