Portal:Current events/2021 August 13

August 13, 2021 (Friday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan
- Taliban insurgency
  - 2021 Taliban offensive, Battle of Lashkargah
    - The Taliban captures the provincial capitals of Lashkargah, Chaghcharan, Puli Alam, Qalati Ghilji and Tarinkot, bringing the number of provincial capitals taken in the past eight days to eighteen. (Al Jazeera)
    - Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid confirms that the jihadist group has captured Afghan warlord Ismail Khan, after the fall of Herat on Thursday. Footage shows Khan and other officials of Herat Province in the custody of the Taliban. (Reuters)
- Withdrawal of United States troops from Afghanistan
  - U.S. Marines begin arriving in Kabul to secure the Hamid Karzai International Airport and evacuate U.S. embassy staff and allied Afghan interpreters. (CNBC)
Sinai insurgency
- Eight soldiers are killed and six more are wounded when a roadside bomb explodes in Rafah, Egypt. The Islamic State claims responsibility for the attack. (Al Jazeera)
Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- Israeli security forces launch stun grenades to disperse a crowd of worshippers who were praying outside the Cave of the Patriarchs in the occupied West Bank. (Al Jazeera)

Disasters and accidents

2021 China floods
- Twenty-one people are dead and 6,000 are evacuated as heavy rains impact five cities in Hubei Province, China. (Al Jazeera)
2021 Russian wildfires
- A "non-working day" is declared in Russia's Sakha republic, and residents are urged to stay at home as smoke from wildfires covers the region. The wildfires in Siberia are now larger than the combined size of all other wildfires currently burning in the rest of the world. (The Guardian) (ABC News)
The death toll from flash flooding in Turkey increases to 31, of whom 29 died in Kastamonu Province and two in the city of Sinop. (Reuters)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Israel, COVID-19 vaccination in Israel
    - Israel lowers the minimum eligibility age for "booster" COVID-19 vaccine doses from 60 to 50 years old and expands the booster vaccine campaign to healthcare workers, prisoners, prison wardens and some high-risk patients under the age of 50 as part of an effort to protect the population from the highly-transmissible SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant. (Bloomberg News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Japan
    - Japan reports a record 20,365 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, including 5,773 new cases in Tokyo. It is also the first time that the country has reported more than 20,000 cases since the beginning of the pandemic. (Jiji Press)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea
    - COVID-19 vaccination in South Korea
      - South Korea signs an agreement with Pfizer to purchase 30 million doses of the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in 2022 as part of a plan to administer 50 million "booster" doses of the vaccine. (The Korea Herald)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka
    - COVID-19 vaccination in Sri Lanka
      - Sri Lanka announces that beginning on September 15, citizens will be required to show a vaccine card that states that they have received two vaccine doses in order to enter public places and travel between provinces. (Business Standard)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand
    - Thailand reports a record for the second consecutive day of 23,418 new cases of COVID-19, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 863,189. (Xinhua News Agency)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Africa
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Egypt, COVID-19 vaccination in Egypt
    - Egypt receives a shipment of 1.7 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine through the COVAX initiative, bringing the total number of COVAX-donated doses to 4.3 million. (Reuters)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Morocco
    - Morocco receives their first shipment of 600,000 doses of the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. (Morocco World News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Zambia
    - Zambia receives a shipment of 119,200 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine donated by the United Kingdom through the COVAX initiative. (Anadolu Agency)
- COVID-19 pandemic in North America
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, COVID-19 vaccination in Canada
    - Transport Minister Omar Alghabra announces that Canada will require vaccinations for federal public servants and air and train passengers. The mandate is expected to be implemented by the Crown corporation and other federally regulated businesses and will begin as soon as next month. (CBC News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
    - Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on education
      - COVID-19 pandemic in Florida, COVID-19 pandemic in Texas
        U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona announces that the Biden administration will offer financial help to schools who defy mask mandate bans imposed by Florida governor Ron DeSantis and Texas governor Greg Abbott. This comes following criticism of DeSantis and Abbott from the Biden administration for banning schools from imposing mask mandates. (Politico)
        
        Multiple appellate courts in Texas uphold the mask mandates imposed in Bexar, Dallas, Harris, and Travis counties in an effort to override Governor Greg Abbott's ban on mask mandates in schools. (The Hill)
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Hawaii
      - Hawaii reports a record 1,167 cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours. (Hawaii Public Radio)
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Michigan
      - Michigan surpasses 20,000 deaths from COVID-19. (MLive)
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Missouri
      - Missouri governor Mike Parson announces that around 500,000 residents have entered the MO VIP program, which incentives vaccination against COVID-19. (KMBC-TV)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Germany
    - Travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic
      - Germany reclassifies the United States, Israel, Turkey, Kenya, Montenegro and Vietnam as "high risk" COVID-19 areas, triggering mandatory 10-day quarantines for unvaccinated travellers unless they can show a negative test after five days. The changes will be in effect from August 17 for Turkey and from August 15 for the rest of the countries. (Deutsche Welle)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
    - Russia reports a record for the second consecutive day of 815 deaths from COVID-19, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 168,864. (Al Jazeera)

Law and crime

Andrew Cuomo sexual harassment allegations
- The New York State Assembly says that they will suspend impeachment investigations of outgoing governor Andrew Cuomo once he resigns on August 24. (Associated Press)
Samsung chairman Lee Jae-yong is released from prison in South Korea after his parole was announced on Monday. Lee served seven months out of a 30 month imprisonment sentence that had been imposed on him for financial corruption. Lee addressed journalists, saying that he will do "his best" from now on and apologizing for his crime. (France 24)
Nicaraguan police raid the offices of national newspaper La Prensa after the government announces an investigation into allegations of customs fraud and money laundering by its directors. La Prensa had published several critical stories against current president Daniel Ortega, whom they have called a "dictator" numerous times. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

COVID-19 pandemic in Argentina, Political impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
- Opposition lawmakers in Argentina present a formal impeachment against President Alberto Fernández for violating COVID-19 restrictions after a photo surfaced of a party that he held in 2020 while the country was under a strict quarantine. Opposition party leader Patricia Bullrich called for Fernández's removal as mid-term elections approach. (Reuters)