Portal:Current events/2021 April 21

April 21, 2021 (Wednesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian civil war
- Qamishli clashes (2021)
  - The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports clashes from yesterday evening until this morning, resulting in the deaths of an Asayish commander and five NDF militiamen in the city of Qamishli, al-Hasakah. Fighting has ceased while Russian mediation is ongoing. (Star Tribune)
- Iran–Israel conflict during the Syrian civil war
  - Israeli Air Force warplanes launch airstrikes against Syria after a S-200 missile landed 30 kilometres (19 mi) away from the Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center in Southern Israel. The IDF says the missile was launched from southern Syria. Residents in both central Israel and the West Bank report loud explosions. (The Jerusalem Post)
War in Afghanistan
- Afghan peace process
  - Germany announces that it will withdraw its troops from Afghanistan by early July. (The Economic Times)
Northern Chad offensive
- Rebels of the Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT) threaten to press on and reach Chad's capital N'Djamena following the killing of President Idriss Déby. In the capital, many civilians choose to stay home as fears grow. FACT rebels reject the military junta led by Déby's son, Mahamat Déby Itno, and opposition politicians also call for a civilian transition. (Reuters)
Quetta Serena Hotel bombing
- A car bomb is detonated in a hotel parking lot in Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan, killing four people and injuring eleven others. (Al Jazeera)
Insurgency in the Maghreb
- At least four soldiers are killed in an ambush in the Sanmatenga Province of Burkina Faso. (News24)

Disasters and accidents

The Indonesian government reports the disappearance of the submarine KRI Nanggala during a torpedo live fire exercise, requesting search and rescue assistance from Singapore and Australia. (Reuters)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in India
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Gujarat
      - Gujarat reports a record 12,553 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours. (Devdiscourse)
      - Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani receives his first dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. (Daily News & Analysis)
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Maharashtra
      - In Nashik, 24 COVID-19 patients die after an oxygen tanker leaks outside a hospital in the city, causing the supply of medical oxygen to be disrupted for around 30 minutes. (NDTV)
      - Due to an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases, the Maharashtra state government announces new restrictions across the state beginning tomorrow at 8:00 p.m. until May 1 at 7:00 a.m. IST. (Hindustan Times)
    - India reports a record 295,041 new cases and 2,023 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 15.6 million and the nationwide death toll to 182,553. (Anadolu Agency)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Japan
    - Osaka Prefecture reports a record 1,242 new cases in the past 24 hours. (The Asahi Shimbun)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Laos
    - The Government of Laos announces a 14-day lockdown in the capital Vientiane following an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases during the Lao New Year. (Radio Free Asia)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Syria
    - Syrian opposition-controlled Idlib receives 54,000 doses of the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine distributed through the COVAX vaccine-sharing initiative. (Reuters)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in France, Lineage B.1.617
    - The French government announces that the country will lift its domestic travel restrictions and ease a nationwide curfew in May amidst an expectation that the number of COVID-19 cases will be reduced. The government also announces that they will impose a 10-day quarantine on all travelers from India in order to prevent the spread of the Lineage B.1.617 variant. (ABC News) (Mint)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Malta, Lineage P.1
    - Malta reports its first three cases of the Lineage P.1 variant first detected in Brazil. (Times of Malta)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey
    - Turkey reports a record 362 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 36,975. (Al Arabiya English)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Wales, Lineage B.1.617
      - Wales reports its first eight cases of the Lineage B.1.617 variant first detected in India. (ITV News)
- COVID-19 pandemic in North America
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Canada
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Quebec, Lineage B.1.617
      - Quebec reports its first eight cases of the Lineage B.1.617 variant first detected in India. (CFCF-DT)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
    - COVID-19 vaccination in the United States
      - U.S. President Joe Biden announces that the country has administered over 200 million doses. (Politico)
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Michigan
      - Michigan surpasses 800,000 confirmed cases and 17,000 confirmed deaths from COVID-19. (WEYI-TV)
    - COVID-19 pandemic in South Dakota, Lineage P.1
      - South Dakota confirms their first case of the Lineage P.1 variant in Pennington County. (Argus Leader)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Papua New Guinea
  - Papua New Guinea surpasses 10,000 cases of COVID-19. (CNA)
- COVID-19 vaccine
  - France's Valneva SE vaccine enters phase 3 of clinical trials. (PR Newswire)

International relations

Belarus–United States relations
- U.S. Ambassador to Belarus Julie D. Fisher visits Belarus opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya on the eve of a meeting between Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin. (U.S. News & World Report)
Afghanistan–United States relations
- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says that the Biden administration is working with Congress to provide $300 million in aid to Afghanistan in 2021 amid fears of a collapse of the Afghan government following the withdrawal of US troops in September. (Forbes)
Russia–Ukraine relations, War in Donbas
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky invites his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to a face-to-face meeting on the front line in the war-torn Donbas to negotiate an end to the conflict. (Daily Sabah)
Czech Republic–Russia relations
- Czech foreign minister Jakub Kulhánek issues Russia with an ultimatum to return all of the Czech diplomats it had expelled from the Czech embassy in Moscow, following a series of reciprocal moves between the two countries since April 17 to expel each other's diplomats after the Czechs discovered Russian intelligence involvement in the 2014 Vrbětice ammunition warehouses explosions. Kulhánek threatens to expel more diplomats from the Russian embassy in Prague if the ultimatum is not met. (The Moscow Times)

Law and crime

2020–2021 United States racial unrest
- 2020–2021 Minneapolis–Saint Paul racial justice protests, George Floyd protests in Minneapolis–Saint Paul
  - U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announces that the Department of Justice will investigate whether the Minneapolis Police Department engaged in a "pattern or practice of unconstitutional, unlawful policing". (ABC News)
COVID-19 pandemic in Germany, Protests over responses to the COVID-19 pandemic
- The Bundestag votes 342–250 to approve the proposed Infection Protection Act that will give Angela Merkel's government to impose uniform restrictions in areas where infection rate is very high. 152 people are arrested in demonstrations against the controversial law. (Euronews) (U.S. News & World Report)
Domestic violence in Australia
- A nine-month-old girl is murdered by her father at the Whispering Wall in South Australia. The perpetrator, already known by police for incidents involving domestic violence, commits suicide at the scene. (News.com.au)
The Sri Lankan government expels an Antigua-registered cargo ship docked at the Magampura Mahinda Rajapaksa Port after authorities discovered undeclared uranium hexafluoride bound for China. The government pledges to take legal action against the ship's owner. (France 24)

Sports

The Super League
- Following the withdrawal of most of its founding member clubs, The Super League announces that it is suspending the project, three days after it was officially announced. (ESPN)