Portal:Current events/2021 November 9

November 9, 2021 (Tuesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Tigray War
- According to a United Nations spokesperson, at least 16 UN staff and dependents have been detained in Addis Ababa. The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission also said that it had received many reports of arrests of Tigrayans in the city, including elders and mothers with children. (Reuters)
- The United Kingdom urges its citizens to leave Ethiopia and warns against all travel to the country amid fears that rebel forces will attack Addis Ababa and overthrow the Abiy Ahmed government. (BBC News)
2021 Tunisian political crisis
- A man is killed as police in the town of Aguereb, Sfax Governorate, Tunisia, use tear gas against a protest outside a hospital where injured protesters are recovering. A police station is also set on fire. (Al Jazeera)
Insurgency in the Maghreb
- Security forces in Togo repel an attack at a security outpost in Kpendjal Prefecture in the far north of the country, pushing back the attackers to Burkina Faso. It is the first Islamist incident in Togo. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

Freetown fuel tanker explosion
- The death toll from the fuel tanker explosion in Freetown, Sierra Leone, which occurred four days ago, increases to 115. (BBC News)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, COVID-19 vaccination in the United Kingdom
    - COVID-19 pandemic in England
      - Health Secretary Sajid Javid announces that frontline NHS workers in England will be required to be vaccinated beginning in April 2022 in order to keep their jobs or risk being fired. (Sky News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Bulgaria
    - Bulgaria reports a record 334 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 25,408. (Radio Bulgaria)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in France
    - President Emmanuel Macron announces that beginning from December 15, people aged above 65 years old will be required to receive the booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in order to maintain their Health Pass. He also announces that people aged 50 to 64 years old will become eligible for the booster dose from early December. (CNBC)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Greece
    - Greece reports a record for the second consecutive day of 8,613 new casea of COVID-19, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 801,208. (Anadolu Agency)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
    - Russia reports a record 1,211 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours after lifting workplace shutdowns, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 249,215. (The Moscow Times)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine
    - Ukraine reports a record 833 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 73,390. (AP)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, COVID-19 vaccination in Canada
  - Health Canada authorizes the use of booster doses of the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for people over the age of 18. (Global News)
China reports an outbreak of African swine fever at a pig farm that contains 1,063 animals in the island province of Hainan. (U.S. News and World Report)

International relations

2021 Belarus–European Union border crisis, Poland–Russia relations
- Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki blames Russian President Vladimir Putin for orchestrating the migrant crisis on the Belarus–Poland border, saying that the crisis "has its mastermind in Moscow". (BBC News)
- Lithuania announces a state of emergency for the first time since its independence as neighbouring Poland sees attacks on its border. LRT
Syria–United Arab Emirates relations
- Emirati Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan meets with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, for the first time since the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War ten years ago, to discuss "ways to develop cooperation in different sectors that are of common interest". (France 24)
Audrey Azoulay is re-elected for a second term as the Director-General of UNESCO. (AFP via The Times of Israel)

Law and crime

Capital punishment in Singapore
- Human rights organizations urge Singapore to cancel the execution of a 33-year-old Malaysian mentally impaired man who was convicted after being caught in 2010 with 42.72 grams of heroin. The court had postponed an initial execution date scheduled for last week and was expected to hang the man today. However, the court postponed the execution again after the man was diagnosed with COVID-19. (Al Jazeera)
Pandora Papers
- The process of impeachment against Chilean President Sebastián Piñera moves to the Senate after passing the lower-chamber overnight. In order to remove Piñera from power, the impeachment will need to pass the Senate with a two-thirds vote. (Reuters)
A man threatens passers-by with a knife in Bislett, Oslo, Norway, before being shot dead by police. The motive behind the perpetrator's act is currently unknown, but is under investigation. (The Washington Post)