Portal:Current events/2021 July 7

July 7, 2021 (Wednesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan
- Taliban insurgency
  - Taliban insurgents enter Qala e Naw, the provincial capital of Badghis Province, with heavy fighting reported as the militants move "towards the centre of the city". All government officials in the city have been moved to a nearby army base, while the Taliban have freed about 400 prisoners from the city's prison. (BBC News)
The United States Armed Forces report that two personnel were injured in rocket attacks on Al Asad Airbase in Iraq, which houses US troops. (Al Jazeera)
Assassination of Jovenel Moïse
- Haitian President Jovenel Moïse is assassinated by a squad of gunmen at his home in Pétion-Ville. His wife, First Lady Martine Moïse, is also shot and critically wounded. (AP)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh
    - Bangladesh reports a record 201 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 15,593. (Dhaka Tribune)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia
    - Indonesia reports a record for the third consecutive day of 34,379 new cases and a record for the fourth consecutive day of 1,040 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 2.37 million and the nationwide death toll to 62,908. (Kompas.com)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka
    - Sri Lankan authorities ban all public gatherings and protests under the instruction of the Director General of Health Services due to an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases. (ANI News)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Fiji
  - Fiji reports a record for the second consecutive day of 791 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the national total of cases to 7,940. The Ministry of Health and Medical Services also reports three deaths from COVID-19, all in Suva. (RNZ)
  - The Fiji police warns citizens that those caught not wearing a face mask when outdoors or in lockdown or containment areas will be arrested under possible penalties of five years' imprisonment, a fine of up to FJ$10,000 or both, as the country faces a wave of COVID-19 cases. (FBC)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Tunisia
  - Tunisia reports a record 9,823 new cases and 134 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the national total of confirmed cases to 464,914 and the nationwide death toll to 15,735. (Tunisie Numérique)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
  - The United Kingdom reports 32,548 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, which is the highest single-day total of new cases since January 22. (The Independent)

Law and crime

Centerra Gold files additional claims against the Kyrgyz government in binding arbitration and asserted claims against state-owned Kyrgyzaltyn JSC in response to the seizure of the Kumtor Gold Mine in Kyrgyzstan. (Lethbridge Herald)
The Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo votes 89–0 to pass a resolution officially condemning the Srebrenica massacre and establishing a commemorative holiday for its victims. Serb minority-interests party Serb List boycotted the vote. (RFEL)

Politics and elections

Political impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi dismisses 12 cabinet ministers, including Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, following intense criticisms over his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Ravi Shankar Prasad, who held multiple concurrent positions as Law, Information Technology, and Communications Minister, also resigns. (South China Morning Post)
- 2020–21 Malaysian political crisis
  - The United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), the largest party in the ruling Perikatan Nasional coalition, withdraws its support for Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and calls for his resignation. The move occurred despite Yassin appointing UMNO vice-president Ismail Sabri Yaakob as Deputy Prime Minister and major party stalwart Hishammuddin Hussein as Senior Security Minister earlier in the day in order to prevent this. UMNO president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi says that the decision was due to Yassin's poor handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, with Hamidi specifically singling out the ineffective and contradictory implementation of the lockdowns as the main point of contention. (The Straits Times) (South China Morning Post)
2021 Swedish government crisis
- Prime Minister of Sweden Stefan Löfven is narrowly re-elected to stay in power after losing a no confidence vote last month. (Euronews)
2021 Israeli presidential election
- Isaac Herzog is sworn in as the President of Israel in a ceremony at the Knesset, where he takes the oath of office using the same 107-year-old Bible that his father Chaim Herzog used when he assumed the presidency in 1983. (The Times of Israel)
Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, warns Hungary to repeal its controversial amendments to its Child Protection Act, which bans the dissemination of content in schools deemed to "promote homosexuality", or else face "the full force of EU law". Poland is expected to block any attempt to impose the maximum EU penalty of suspending Hungary's voting rights. (Reuters) (Euronews)

Sports

UEFA Euro 2020
- England defeats Denmark 2–1 after extra time to reach the UEFA Euro 2020 Final. (BBC Sport)
2021 Stanley Cup Finals
- The Tampa Bay Lightning wins the Stanley Cup Finals four games to one against the Montreal Canadiens. It is their second consecutive Stanley Cup victory and their third overall. Andrei Vasilevskiy won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP during the playoffs. (NHL)