Portal:Current events/2021 August 14

August 14, 2021 (Saturday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan
- Taliban insurgency
  - 2021 Taliban offensive
    - The Taliban captures the eastern Logar Province and seizes seven more provincial capitals, Gardez, Sharana, Asadabad, Maymana, Mihtarlam, Nili and Mazar-i-Sharif, as heavy fighting is reported amid a rapid advance of the group towards the capital Kabul. Mazar-i-Sharif had been visited on Wednesday by President Ashraf Ghani. (Deutsche Welle) (Al Jazeera)
    - President Ghani addresses the nation and says that he is in "urgent talks" with local leaders and international partners as the Taliban advances closer to Kabul. Ghani did not comment on the Taliban's demand that he resign in order to restore talks. (Reuters)
    - U.S. diplomatic staff and western nationals are airlifted out of a heavily fortified part of Kabul. (The Guardian)
    - It is reported that the Taliban has reached the outskirts of Kabul as the government seeks to control the city as a last stronghold. (Miami Herald) (Reuters)
    - Taliban forces seize the palace of U.S.-backed Afghan warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum in Mazar-i-Sharif amid reports that the warlord had left the country. Former warlord and Governor of Balkh Atta Muhammad Nur had also left the country, according to reports. (The Nation)
    - For the first time since the offensive began, the Taliban commandeers Mi-17 helicopters captured from the Afghan Air Force. The militants were filmed flying the aircraft over the city of Kandahar. The jihadist group has also seized several UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters. (MSN)
- Withdrawal of United States troops from Afghanistan
  - U.S. president Joe Biden authorizes the deployment of 5,000 American troops to Afghanistan to help evacuate diplomatic staff and personnel. He reaffirms that the United States should end its 20-year presence in the country. (NBC News)
Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
- Twelve people are killed and more are wounded during a grenade attack against a truck carrying a family from a wedding ceremony in a Karachi, Pakistan. (The Hindu)

Disasters and accidents

2021 Haiti earthquake
- A major 7.2 magnitude earthquake strikes Petit Trou de Nippes, Haiti, killing at least 304 people and wounding more than 1,800 others. Several homes and buildings collapsed, with the earthquake being felt across the Caribbean. No tsunami warning has been issued. Haiti is still recovering from a major earthquake that impacted the country in 2010. (Reuters) (BBC News)
2021 Turkish floods
- The death toll from the flash floods in Kastamonu Province and Sinop, Turkey, increases to 57. (Al Jazeera)
2021 Turkish wildfires
- A Beriev Be-200, sent to help those affected by the wildfires in Kahramanmaraş, crashes, killing all eight people on board, including five Russian servicemen and three Turkish citizens. (Al Jazeera)
2021 Akkar explosion
- A fuel truck explodes in Akkar District, Lebanon, killing at least 28 people and injuring 79 others. (Reuters)
Eleven people are killed by the waves in the sea area off Zhangzhou, Fujian, China. (China Daily)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Iran
    - Iran announces a six-day general lockdown in all cities that will include the closure of bazaars, markets, public offices, movie theaters, gyms and restaurants as well as a ban on intra-city travel. The lockdown will occur from August 16 to August 21. (The Times of Israel)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines
    - The Philippines surpasses 30,000 deaths from COVID-19. (Rappler)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam
    - Vietnam reports a record 9,716 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 265,464. (CNA)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Denmark
    - Denmark removes its mandatory face mask policy for public transport such as buses, trains or ferries, and also removes its recommendation of 1 meter of social distancing in public spaces. (NDTV)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
    - Russia reports a record for the third consecutive day of 819 deaths from COVID-19, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 169,683. (Florida News Times)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in New South Wales
    - New South Wales enters a statewide lockdown which also applies to all regional parts of the state that are currently under a stay-at-home order. All non-essential retail premises must close and all hospitality venues will revert to takeaway services after a record 466 new cases of COVID-19 were reported in the past 24 hours. (SBS World News)
Ivory Coast reports its first case of the Ebola hemorrhagic virus since 1994 in an isolated case of an 18-year-old girl who travelled from Guinea and is currently hospitalized in Abidjan. (Reuters)

International relations

Russia–United Kingdom relations
- BBC journalist Sarah Rainsford says that Russia is permanently expelling her after authorities told her to leave on Thursday. The expulsion is in response to two reporters from Russian state-run news channel Russia-24 being denied visas in the United Kingdom. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

2021 Zambian general election
- President Edgar Lungu declares that Thursday's elections were "not free or fair", citing instances of electoral violence in three provinces, such as the beating of polling agents representing his party Patriotic Front. Early election results showed Lungu trailing behind his opponent, businessman Hakainde Hichilema. (Reuters)