Portal:Current events/2021 February 10

February 10, 2021 (Wednesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan
- 2021 Afghanistan attacks
  - Four bombings in the Afghan capital Kabul kill at least four people, including a district police chief and his bodyguard. Three others are reportedly wounded. (Reuters)
Tigray War
- Red Cross officials report that 80% of Tigray's 6 million people are unreachable. In the regional capital of Mekelle, which is now home to 250,000 displaced people, vaccines have expired and there are no longer any HIV or tuberculosis drugs. (Associated Press) (Europe External Programme with Africa)
- Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) forces ambush Ethiopian and Eritrean troops in May Keyah, 50–60 kilometers south of Mekelle. Fighting between the TPLF and Ethiopia is also reported in Guya, Kola Tembien. (Europe External Programme with Africa)
Saudi Arabian–Yemeni border conflict
- The Houthis carry out a drone strike on Abha International Airport in Saudi Arabia, damaging a civilian aircraft. A Houthi spokesman says that the attack is in response to coalition airstrikes and other actions in Yemen. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

Sriwijaya Air Flight 182
- Indonesia's National Transportation Safety Committee issues a preliminary report into the crash of Sriwijaya Air Flight 182, which reveals that a malfunctioning cockpit throttle caused the left engine of the aircraft to lose power before it plunged into the Java Sea. (Voice of America)
Earthquakes in 2021
- A magnitude 7.7 earthquake strikes off the Loyalty Islands Province, New Caledonia. It is the strongest recorded earthquake of the year so far. A tsunami warning was issued with the Australian Bureau of Meteorology confirming that a tsunami was generated by the earthquake. (The San Francisco Chronicle) (Metro) (NDTV)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in North America
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
    - COVID-19 pandemic in California
      - COVID-19 pandemic in the San Francisco Bay Area, 501.V2 variant
        California reports its first two cases of the 501.V2 variant in people from Alameda County and Santa Clara County. (The Los Angeles Times)
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Florida, Lineage B.1.1.7
      - Florida surpasses 300 cases of the B.1.1.7 variant of SARS-CoV-2. (Patch.com)
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Maine, Lineage B.1.1.7
      - Maine reports its first two cases of the B.1.1.7 variant first detected in the United Kingdom in a person from Franklin County who previously travelled internationally. (Portland Press Herald)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico
    - Mexico approves the use of China's Sinovac and CanSino vaccines. (Reuters)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Bahrain
    - Bahrain approves the emergency use of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine, becoming the fourth vaccine to be approved in the country. (Bahrain News Agency)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Cambodia
    - Cambodia launches a vaccination campaign against COVID-19 using 600,000 doses of Sinopharm's BBIBP-CorV vaccine. The son of Prime Minister Hun Sen, Hun Manet, and several cabinet ministers are among the first people to get vaccinated. (Nikkei Asia)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong
    - Hong Kong will reopen theme parks and sports and entertainment facilities, as well as extend dining hours in restaurants to 10:00 p.m. local time beginning February 18 as the number of cases continues to decline. (CNA)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea
    - A pet dog owned by a COVID-19 patient in South Korea tests positive for COVID-19 after it showed symptoms. (Reuters)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Croatia, Lineage B.1.1.7
    - Croatia detects the first case of UK variant of SARS-CoV-2 in a samples from three people including a three-year-old children. (MedicalXpress)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Germany
    - The federal government and leaders of 16 German states agree to extend the nationwide lockdown until March 7 due to concerns about variants of SARS-CoV-2 despite a decline in the number of new cases. (DW)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Portugal, Lineage P.1
    - Portugal reports its first two identified cases of COVID-19 infection with the Lineage P.1 variant of SARS-CoV-2, both of which were detected in the Lisbon metropolitan area. (RTP)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
    - Russia surpasses four million cases of COVID-19, becoming the fourth country to do so after the United States, India, and Brazil. (The Moscow Times)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, COVID-19 vaccination programme in the United Kingdom
    - Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall receive their first doses of the vaccine. (BBC News)
- COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand
  - The New Zealand Government grants a formal approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and announces that high-risk groups such as quarantine personnel, frontline health workers and airline staff will be the first to receive the vaccine. (ABC Australia)
- The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends the use of Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine by all adults worldwide, including people over age of 65 and recommends an interval of 8 to 12 weeks between the doses. (Financial Times)

International relations

Myanmar–United States relations, 2021 Myanmar coup d'état
- U.S. President Joe Biden announces sanctions on the military leaders who directed the coup in Myanmar. (CBS News)
Nuclear program of Iran
- The International Atomic Energy Agency confirms that Iran has carried out its plan to produce uranium metal at a nuclear facility in Isfahan, a major breach of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Uranium metal is essential to making the core of a nuclear weapon. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Capital punishment in Pakistan
- The Supreme Court of Pakistan commutes the death sentences of two schizophrenic prisoners after considering that if their illness makes them unable to comprehend the rationale of their crimes, the death sentence will not meet the ends of justice. The ruling is celebrated by human rights groups. (DW)
2021 Russian protests
- A court in Russia orders the arrest of Alexei Navalny's ally Leonid Volkov for "appealing to minors to join illegal protests". Volkov, who lives in the European Union and who will not be extradited, said on Facebook that he will "ignore the charges". (DW)
Attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election, Trump–Raffensperger phone call
- Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis opens a criminal investigation into former U.S. President Donald Trump for attempting to overturn Joe Biden's victory in Georgia, including conducting a phone call with Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger where he pressured Raffensperger to "find enough votes" for him. (NPR)
Crime in the United Kingdom
- British sex offender David Wilson is sentenced to 25 years imprisonment for 96 offences against 51 boys aged 4 to 14. (BBC News)
The Saudi government releases women's rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul from prison, after being held in custody for almost three years. She will still be banned from traveling for the next five years, and has been placed on a three-year probation. (Al Jazeera)

Science and technology

Chinese space program
- The China National Space Administration space probe Tianwen-1 enters into planetary orbit around Mars. It is the first Chinese spacecraft to reach Mars. A rover will be deployed to explore the Martian surface sometime in May. (BBC News)
Twitter suspensions, Donald Trump on social media, 2024 United States presidential election
- Twitter confirms that the ban on Donald Trump's account will remain permanent, even if he were to run for president in 2024. (NBC News)

Sports

2020–21 in English football
- Following their 3–1 win against Swansea City in the fifth round of the FA Cup, Manchester City sets a record for the most consecutive wins in all competitions by a top-flight English football club, with 15 consecutive wins. (Rappler)