Portal:Current events

Topics in the news

José Maria Neves

• PAICV candidate José Maria Neves (pictured) is elected President of Cape Verde.
• British Member of Parliament Sir David Amess dies after being stabbed during a constituency meeting.
• Severe Tropical Storm Kompasu kills 40 people in the Philippines and Hong Kong.
• In cricket, the Indian Premier League concludes with Chennai Super Kings defeating Kolkata Knight Riders in the final in Dubai.

Ongoing:

• COVID-19 pandemic

Recent deaths:

• Colin Powell
• Dennis Franks
• Brendan Kennelly
• Edita Gruberová
• Emiliano Aguirre
• Enamul Haque

Current events of October 20, 2021 (2021-10-20) (Wednesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Syrian civil war
  • 2021 Damascus bus bombing
    • Two bombs attached to a military bus detonate as it passes under Jisr al-Rais bridge in Damascus, killing 14 people. Minutes later, military shellfire kills at least 10 people in Ariha, Idlib Governorate. (BBC)

Disasters and accidents

• Mount Aso in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, erupts, sending smoke to 3,500 meters into the sky. The eruption began around noon local time. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno says that there are no reports of injuries but says he heard there were climbers on the mountain before the eruption and they are checking the situation. (The Asahi Shimbun)
• The death toll due to floods and landslides in western Nepal increases to 77. The government has pledged aid to the hardest-hit areas. (NDTV)

Law and crime

• Stoneman Douglas High School shooting
  • Nikolas Jacob Cruz, accused of the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, United States, pleads guilty on all 34 charges. (CNN)

International politics and relations

• President of Russia Vladimir Putin says he will not attend the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, seriously weakening hopes of a breakthrough international deal on climate change. (BBC)

Current events of October 19, 2021 (2021-10-19) (Tuesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Yemeni Civil War
  • UNICEF says that 10,000 children have been either killed or injured in Yemen since Saudi Arabia entered the country support it in 2015, in reaction to the Islamist Houthis' ousting of the government. This equates to an average of four children killed or injured every day since the start of the conflict. (Reuters)
• Mali War
  • Defence minister Sadio Camara confirms that the Islamic branch of the government is willing to negotiate with the local affiliate of al-Qaeda, a move that is strongly opposed by France. (Al Jazeera)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Bulgaria
      • Bulgaria launches its COVID-19 Green Certificate which indicates that a person is either vaccinated, has tested negative, or has recovered from COVID-19. The certificate will be mandatory for all indoor activities beginning on October 21. (Novinite)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
      • Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin announces a stay-at-home for unvaccinated or unrecovered people age 60 years and older and ordering businesses to shift 30% of their workers to remote work beginning from October 25 due to record 1,015 deaths in Russia over the past 24 hours. (CBC)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
      • United Kingdom reports 233 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, which is the highest single-day total of daily deaths since March 3. (Inews.co.uk)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Israel
      • Israel reports its first case of the Delta subvariant "AY4.2" in a boy who travelled from Moldova. (The Times of Israel)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore
      • Singapore reports a record 3,994 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 154,725. (Today)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand
    • New Zealand reports a record 94 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours. (The Guardian)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa, COVID-19 vaccination in South Africa
    • The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority rejects the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine due to some safety concerns the manufacturer wasn’t able to answer such as failed HIV vaccines that use Adenovirus Type 5 that similar to Russian-made vaccine. (AP)

International relations

• International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi says that he plans to visit Iran by the end of November in an effort to revive the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. (Newsweek)

Law and crime

• National responses to the COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil
    • The Brazilian Senate releases a report recommending that President Jair Bolsonaro should face criminal charges for homicide regarding his response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. (Reuters)
• Aftermath of the 2021 United States Capitol attack
  • The January 6 select committee investigating the riot on the U.S. Capitol votes to hold former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon in criminal contempt for refusing to comply with a subpoena issued by the select committee. (NPR)
• 2021 Leverkusen explosion
  • Three people are charged in Germany for killing and causing an explosion by recklessness at a chemical park in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia, in July. Seven people were killed and 31 others were injured. (Reuters)
• The Federal Bureau of Investigation announces that it has raided the Washington, D.C. house of Russian oligarch and Vladimir Putin ally Oleg Deripaska, who was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department in 2018. (The Moscow Times)
• Global investment bank Credit Suisse agrees to pay a US$475 million fine to U.S. and British authorities after pleading guilty to conspiring wire fraud towards investors, which violated the anti-corruption law of Mozambique regarding bond offerings. (AFP via RFI)

Current events of October 18, 2021 (2021-10-18) (Monday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Tigray War
  • ENDF airstrikes on the city of Mekelle in Ethiopia's Tigray Region kill at least three people. (Al Jazeera)
• 2021 Eswatini protests
  • Prime Minister Cleopas Dlamini orders the closure of schools across Eswatini in an attempt to stop pro-democracy protests that have occurred across the kingdom in the past few months. Protesters demand an end to the absolute monarchy of King Mswati III, the last of its kind in Africa, as ministers back the move, saying that there "is no room for such anarchy in our society". (Bloomberg)

Business and economy

• Me Too movement
  • German publishing house Axel Springer dismisses Julian Reichelt as the editor-in-chief of its tabloid newspaper Bild following sexual harassment complaints against Reichelt from his co-workers. (The New York Times)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Africa
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Burundi
      • Burundi launches its COVID-19 vaccination rollout using part of a shipment of 500,000 doses of the Sinopharm BIBP COVID-19 vaccine donated by China in a shift to make the country more active in its approach to containing the pandemic. (Reuters)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Zimbabwe
      • Zimbabwe bans unvaccinated civil servants from working in an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19. (Newsday)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
      • Russia surpasses eight million cases of COVID-19 after reporting a record for the fourth consecutive day of 34,325 new cases. (ABC News)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Spain
      • President of the Government of Aragon Javier Lambán tests positive for COVID-19 after attending the PSOE's three-day party congress in Valencia. (El Mundo)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine
      • Ukraine reports a record 538 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide death toll to 61,348. (DIP)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in New South Wales
      • Restrictions are eased further in New South Wales as more than 80% of the adult population are now fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Limits on private gatherings and density caps at businesses are relaxed, and schools begin a phased reopening. (The Guardian)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Tasmania
      • The lockdown is lifted across southern Tasmania, including the state capital Hobart. The lockdown was initiated because a person with COVID-19 entered the state, but was lifted when no community transmission was reported. (News.com.au)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Maryland
      • Former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell dies from COVID-19 at the age of 84 at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. (The New York Times)
  • COVID-19 vaccine
    • Phase three trial results suggest that the Valneva COVID vaccine is effective at priming the immune system to fight COVID-19. (BBC News)

International relations

• Russia announces that it will be suspending its mission to NATO in Brussels as early as November 1, in response to the expulsion of 8 diplomats accused of espionage from the mission earlier this month. The NATO information bureau and military liaison in Moscow will also be terminated. (CNN)

Law and crime

• 2016 Karrada bombing
  • Iraq receives Ghazwan al-Zawbaee, the alleged mastermind of the ISIL suicide truck bombing that killed 340 people in Karrada, Baghdad, in 2016, which was the deadliest single-bomb attack in Iraq. Al-Zawbaee was arrested two days prior through a joint operation in a neighbouring country. (BBC News)
• 2021 Bangladesh communal violence
  • At least 300 suspected members of a Muslim mob are arrested for the killing of two Hindu men three days ago at a temple in Noakhali, Bangladesh. The violence occured after an alleged Quran desecration at a Hindu temple in Haziganj Upazila. Several Hindu temples were also damaged in the clashes. Four members of the mob were also killed when Bangladesh Police personnel opened fire in Chandpur. (Al Jazeera)
• 2021 Myanmar protests
  • State Administration Council chairman Min Aung Hlaing announces that his military junta will release a total of 5,636 jailed protesters to commemorate the Thadingyut Festival. (AFP via ABS-CBN News)
• Three people are killed and three more injured during a police raid at a compound of a religious group in Montego Bay, Jamaica, due to concerns that they were preparing ritual killings. (Reuters)
• Citing Roe v. Wade, the United States Department of Justice requests the Supreme Court to vacate the mandate of the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on allowing the Texas Heartbeat Act to remain in effect, thereby blocking the law. (AFP via RTL)
• Ecuadorian president Guillermo Lasso declares a nationwide state of emergency, citing an increase in drug-related crime. (AFP via Manila Bulletin)

Science and technology

• Egor Babaev and collaborators with the KTH Royal Institute of Technology publish an experiment showing evidence of a new state of matter called electron quadruplets. (Phys.org)

Sports

• 2022 Winter Olympics torch relay
  • The Olympic torch relay begins in Olympia, Greece, without public attendance. (ANI News)

Current events of October 17, 2021 (2021-10-17) (Sunday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Yemeni Civil War
  • Battle of Marib
    • The Saudi Arabia-led coalition says that they have killed 160 Houthi militants in Marib, Yemen, during 32 airstrikes in the past 24 hours. The coalition also reports that they killed a total of more than 700 Houthis during the past week. (Al Jazeera)
• Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir
  • Militants open fire on a group of non-resident workers from Bihar in Kulgam, Jammu and Kashmir, killing two people and wounding another. (Greater Kashmir) (The Times of India)

Disasters and accidents

• Floods in India
  • Twenty-six people are killed and dozens are missing as heavy rains affect the Indian state of Kerala. (BBC)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Brunei
      • Brunei reports a record 504 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 10,860. (Borneo Bulletin)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia
      • Saudi Arabia eases its COVID-19-related restrictions, lifting mandatory social distancing requirements as well as a requirement to wear face masks outdoors. (Arabian Business)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
    • Russia reports a record for the fourth consecutive day of 34,303 new cases of COVID-19, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 7.99 million. (Euronews)
• Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida says that the mass release of wastewater at the Fukushima nuclear plant cannot be delayed. The water, which has been inside the plant since the 2011 meltdown, is planned to be dumped into the Pacific Ocean over several decades despite strong opposition from local fishermen and the governments of China and South Korea. (CNA)

International relations

• Foreign relations of Belarus
  • The French ambassador to Belarus departs following a directive issued by the Belarusian government, which did not cite a rationale. The ambassador had not presented his credentials to President Alexander Lukashenko. (AFP via The Moscow Times)

Law and crime

• Honour killing in Pakistan
  • A man is wanted in Pakistan after killing his two daughters and four grandchildren after setting their house ablaze, as one of the daughters married against his wishes. Her husband also died in the fire. (Reuters)
• Authorities in Haiti says that members of the "400 Mawozo" gang are behind the kidnapping of 16 American citizens and one Canadian citizen yesterday near Port-au-Prince. Those kidnapped include seven women, five men and five children. (BBC)

Politics and elections

• 2021 Cape Verdean presidential election
  • Cape Verdeans head to the polls to elect their new president to replace outgoing term-limited president Jorge Carlos Fonseca. The candidates of Fonseca's right-wing MpD and the leftist PAICV are the main contenders. The election is seen as important to reopen the important tourism industry which was hard-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. (Reuters)
• The Instituto Nacional Electoral in Mexico says that 2.85 million signatures are needed for a recall election against president Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Before becoming president, López Obrador had promised the referendum on himself to keep him accountable, although it is opposed by opposition parties, as they see it as a way to polarize voters and galvanize supporters of the president. (Yahoo! News)

Sports

• 2021 WNBA Finals
  • The Chicago Sky win their first WNBA Championship in a series against the Phoenix Mercury. (Huffington Post)

Current events of October 16, 2021 (2021-10-16) (Saturday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Afghanistan conflict
  • 2021 Kandahar bombing, 2021 Kunduz mosque bombing
    • The Taliban says that they will step up security at Shi'ite mosques after IS-KP bombed mosques in Kunduz and Kandahar this month, killing over 120 people in total. (Reuters)
• Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir
  • Two workers are killed by gunmen in Srinagar and Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir, in a spike of civilians being killed by rebels in the area. (Greater Kashmir)
  • A Lashkar-e-Taiba commander and another militant are killed during a gunfight with security forces in Pulwama. The killed commander, who was involved in the murder of two policemen, was among the top 10 targets of Jammu and Kashmir police. It is also announced that two more rebels, involved in the recent killings of civilians, were killed yesterday during a gunfight in Srinagar. (India Today)
• Boko Haram insurgency
  • Twenty Boko Haram militants and three Nigerian Army soldiers are killed during a gunfight as the military has tried to recapture the Nigerian town of Maiduguri. (Sahara Reporters)
• Killing of David Amess
  • Yesterday's killing of MP Sir David Amess, who was stabbed to death in a Methodist church in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, is declared as a terrorist incident by police. (BBC News)

Disasters and accidents

• 2021 Bali earthquake
  • Three people are killed and seven are injured as a 4.8 earthquake hits Bali, Indonesia. (Al Jazeera)
• Eleven people drown during a school outing for a river clean-up in West Java, Indonesia. (Al Jazeera)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Tasmania
      • Southern Tasmania, including the state capital of Hobart, enters a lockdown after an increase in locally transmitted COVID-19 cases. (The Guardian)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
    • Russia reports a record for the fourth consecutive day of 1,002 deaths from COVID-19, which is the first time that the country has reported more than 1,000 COVID-related deaths in a single day since the pandemic began. Only 32% of the population has been fully vaccinated, amid wide distrust in vaccines. (France 24)

Law and crime

• Hong Kong national security law
  • Seven activists are sentenced to prison terms ranging from six to twelve months' imprisonment for protesting against the national security law in July 2020. Among those sentenced are Leung Kwok-hung and Figo Chan. Leung is currently serving two sentences of 18 months' imprisonment for other charges and Chan is currently serving a sentence of 18 months' imprisonment for unauthorized assembly. (Al Jazeera) (RTHK)
• Argentine federal judge María Romilda Servini indicts post Franco-era Spanish minister Rodolfo Martín Villa on four counts of homicide. Villa, who resides in Spain, says that he will appeal the decision of the Argentine judge. (SwissInfo)
• An unidentified armed gang kidnaps 15 American missionaries and their families in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. (AFP via Barron's)
• Colombian businessman Alex Saab is extradited to the United States from Cape Verde ahead of an initial court appearance in Florida on October 18 over his alleged money laundering for the Venezuelan government. (AFP via Deccan Herald)

Politics and elections

• French president Emmanuel Macron condemns the Paris massacre of 1961 on the eve of its 60th anniversary, but does not issue a formal apology. Macron is the first French president to attend a memorial ceremony for the victims. (AFP via WION)

Science and technology

• Chinese space program
  • Shenzhou 13 launches on a Long March 2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert, Inner Mongolia, for the Tianhe core module of the Tiangong space station, where the crew will stay for six months. It will be China's longest crewed mission to date. (AFP via NDTV)
• Discovery Program
  • Lucy, a NASA spacecraft that will visit Jupiter's trojan asteroids in twelve years, launches at 05:34 EDT from Cape Canaveral, Florida. (CNN)

Current events of October 15, 2021 (2021-10-15) (Friday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Afghanistan conflict
  • 2021 Kandahar bombing
    • Three suicide bombers attack a Shiite mosque in Kandahar, Afghanistan, killing 47 people and injuring 70 others. The explosions occur at the main door and inside the mosque. Taliban authorities later arrived and secured the mosque. Taliban interior ministry spokesman Qari Saeed Khosti says that authorities are currently collecting evidence in order to determine responsibility for the bombing. (Al Jazeera)
    • ISIL-K claims responsibility for the attack, reporting that two attackers shot and killed security guards outside the mosque before blowing themselves up inside, where people were worshipping. (Reuters)
  • Withdrawal of United States troops from Afghanistan
    • United States Marine Corps lieutenant colonel Stuart Scheller is reprimanded by a military judge following his criticism of the U.S. military’s handling of the withdrawal from Afghanistan. (ABC News)
• Killing of David Amess
  • David Amess, United Kingdom MP for Southend West, is stabbed to death in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, while meeting constituents at Belfairs Methodist Church. The suspect was arrested at the scene, and police are not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident. (BBC News) (BBC News)
• Anglophone Crisis
  • A Cameroonian policeman is lynched by a mob after he killed a five-year-old girl at a checkpoint in Buea Southwest Region. Protests involving hundreds of people occurred after the killing of the child. (The Guardian)
• Central African Republic Civil War
  • President Faustin-Archange Touadéra declares a unilateral ceasefire with the Coalition of Patriots for Change and the anti-balaka militia groups. (AFP via Barron's)

Disasters and accidents

• Four migrants are found dead by the Spanish Maritime Safety and Rescue Society in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Cape Trafalgar in the Province of Cádiz after their boat sank. The coast guard reports that 21 others from the boat are missing. (AFP via i24 News)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Brunei
      • Brunei surpasses 10,000 cases of COVID-19 after reporting a record 423 new cases in the past 24 hours. (The Scoop)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in India
      • India is expected to reopen its borders to overseas travellers as it relaxes COVID-19-related restrictions amid a decrease in the number of new cases. (BBC News)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines, COVID-19 community quarantines in the Philippines
      • The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases announces that the National Capital Region will be downgraded to Alert Level 3 beginning on October 16, which will allow cinemas and theme parks to reopen for the first time since March 2020. (Rappler)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea, COVID-19 vaccination in South Korea
      • President Moon Jae-in and first lady Kim Jung-sook receive booster doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. (Yonhap News Agency)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium
      • The Brussels-Capital Region expands the use of the COVID Safe Ticket to the hospitality industry, sports centres, and indoor events with more than 50 people. (The Brussels Times)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Italy
      • Italy's Green Pass becomes mandatory for all workplaces, but there are fears of disruption among transport workers and at ports where COVID-19 vaccination rates are relatively low. (BBC News)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
      • Russia reports a record for the fourth consecutive day of 999 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 221,313. The country also reports a record for the second consecutive day of 32,196 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 7.92 million. (Interfax)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Oceania
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
      • COVID-19 pandemic in Victoria
        • A COVID-19 vaccination mandate comes into effect in Victoria, with all essential workers required to have at least one dose of a World Health Organization-approved vaccine to continue working. (The Guardian Australia)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Papua New Guinea
      • The COVID-19 crisis worsens in Papua New Guinea, as the government seeks international help in order to combat the increase in new cases and deaths. The government has admitted to a slow response to the crisis and also blames vaccine hesitancy as part of the problem. The World Health Organization has agreed to help the country. (RNZ)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Canada
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Yukon
      • Yukon imposes a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for sports facilities, restaurants and other non-essential services. The mandate will take effect on November 30. (Yukon News)

International relations

• 2021 Myanmar protests
  • During an online emergency meeting, the foreign ministers of the ASEAN agree to exclude Myanmar's military junta chief Min Aung Hlaing from the upcoming ASEAN Summit to be held later this month. The country will instead be represented by non-political representative at the summit. (AFP via Al Arabiya)
• Paramount leader Xi Jinping of the People's Republic of China will not attend in person the Cop26 climate change conference in Glasgow, as it's told to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The announcement comes amid international pessimism that, now compounded by the absence of China, a global leader in pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, the event would not result in any substantiative change. (Reuters)

Law and crime

• Masten Wanjala, the Kenyan suspected serial killer of 14 boys, who escaped from prison two days ago, is murdered by lynching by a mob of villagers in Bungoma. Wanjala was hiding at his parents' home when he was identified by neighbours. (BBC News)

Current events of October 14, 2021 (2021-10-14) (Thursday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• 2021 Beirut clashes
  • Six people are killed and 32 more are injured during a shooting at a protest in Beirut, Lebanon, against the judge investigating the 2020 port explosion. Hezbollah and Amal accused the attackers of being members of the Christian Lebanese Forces. Clashes occurred for hours afterwards between the militias involving snipers, pistols, Kalashnikov rifles and rocket-propelled grenades even after the army was deployed. (BBC News)
• Kongsberg attack
  • The man accused of killing five people and injuring three more yesterday in the streets of Kongsberg, Viken, Norway, using a bow and arrow, is identified as a 37-year-old Norwegian man and convert to Islam with Danish citizenship, who police had been concerned about regarding radicalization. (Reuters)
• Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir
  • Four Indian soldiers are killed during a gunfight with rebels in a forest in Mendhar, Jammu and Kashmir. (Greater Kashmir)
• Islamic State–Taliban conflict
  • A Taliban police commander is killed and 11 more people are wounded as a bomb targeting the commander's vehicle explode in Shigal District, Afghanistan. (The Defense Post)
• The Nigerian Army confirms that Abu Musab al-Barnawi, the leader of ISWAP, died two months ago. However, the circumstances of al-Barnawi's death are not clear. (BBC News)

Business and economy

• Brazil's Central Bank sells US$1 billion to offset declines in the real, which has fallen ⅓ relative to the dollar in 2021 alone, with another US$1 billion in sales scheduled for later today. (Mercopress)
• LinkedIn announces that it will shut down its social media services in China later this year, citing heavy-handed compliance requirements from the government, and will replace it with a traditional job-listing site. LinkedIn was the only major Western-based social media site to legally operate within the country prior to the announcement. (BBC News)

Disasters and accidents

• 2021 Kaohsiung tower fire
  • At least 46 people are killed and 79 others are injured in a fire at a 13-storey tower block in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. (BBC News)
• Aftermath of Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302
  • A former Boeing chief test pilot is indicted by a United States grand jury for deceiving the Federal Aviation Administration during the certification process for the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, which resulted in two fatal crashes and a subsequent grounding of the aircraft. (AFP via The Australian)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia, Travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic
      • Bali reopens its borders to fully vaccinated travellers from 19 countries that met WHO's criteria as the number of COVID-19 cases declines in Indonesia. (AP)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore
      • Singapore reports a record 15 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 207. (The Straits Times)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam, COVID-19 vaccination in Vietnam
      • The Vietnamese Ministry of Health approves vaccination against COVID-19 for children between the ages of 12 and 17 years old, with those aged 16 to 17 years old receiving priority before vaccination expands to other age groups. (Vietnam Plus)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Latvia
      • President Egils Levits tests positive for COVID-19 after returning from a trip to Denmark and Sweden despite being fully vaccinated, prompting his Finnish counterpart Sauli Niinisto to self-isolate. (AFP via Barron's)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
      • Russia reports a record for the third consecutive day of 986 deaths from COVID-19, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 220,315. The country also reports a record 31,299 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 7,892,980. (Interfax)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Victoria
      • Victoria reports a record 2,297 new cases and 11 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, which is the highest daily total of any state of Australia since the beginning of the pandemic. Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews announces that the state will continue to reopen based on vaccination rates. (The Guardian)

Law and crime

• Armenia–Azerbaijan relations
  • Armenia expands its case before the International Court of Justice against Azerbaijan, accusing Azerbaijan of violating the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, to which both states are signatories, for allegedly promoting ethnic hatred against Armenians. Azerbaijan denies the accusation and accuses Armenia of violating the treaty. (Reuters)
• Murder of Giulio Regeni, Egypt–Italy relations
  • An Italian court in Rome drops charges against four Egyptian police officers for the 2016 murder of Italian PhD student Giulio Regeni in Cairo, citing its inability for the four officers to be tried in absentia since their prosecutors failed to inform them of their charges. (AFP via France 24)
• Sri Lanka drops charges against Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda, who was accused of being part of a group of 14 navy personnel who kidnapped 11 children and murdered them after attempting to extort money from their families. The actual number of children murdered by the group is suspected to be at least three times higher. The crimes were carried out in 2008 and 2009, amid the chaos of the Sri Lankan Civil War. (Al Jazeera)

Politics and elections

• 2021 Japanese general election
  • Prime Minister Fumio Kishida dissolves the lower house of the Japanese Parliament ahead of the election on October 31. (UPI)
• Pakistan International Airlines suspends flights to the Afghan capital Kabul, citing "heavy-handed" interference from the Taliban. It was the only foreign carrier operating regular flights out of Kabul. (BBC News)

Time: 16:51 UTC|Day: 20 October

	October 2021
S	M	T	W	T	F	S
					1	2
3	4	5	6	7	8	9
10	11	12	13	14	15	16
17	18	19	20	21	22	23
24	25	26	27	28	29	30
31

Ongoing events

Business

• COVID-19 recession
• Lebanese liquidity crisis
• Pandora Papers leak
• United Kingdom natural gas supplier crisis
• United Kingdom motor fuel panic buying

Disasters

• Climate crisis
• COVID-19 pandemic
• 2020–21 H5N8 outbreak
• 2021 Atlantic hurricane season
• 2021 Pacific typhoon season
• Madagascar food crisis
• Water crisis in Iran
• Yemeni famine
• 2021 La Palma eruption

Politics

• Belarusian protests
• Belarus−European Union border crisis
• Brazilian protests
• Colombian tax reform protests
• Eswatini protests
• Haitian protests
• Indian farmers' protests
• Insulate Britain protests
• Jersey dispute
• Libyan peace process
• Malaysian political crisis
• Myanmar protests
• Nicaraguan protests
• Nigerian protests
• Persian Gulf crisis
• Peruvian crisis
• Romanian political crisis
• Russian election protests
• Striketober
• Tigrayan peace process
• Thai protests
• Tunisian political crisis
• United States racial unrest (Stop Asian Hate)
• Venezuelan presidential crisis

Elections and referendums

Recent

• October
  • 8–9: Czech Republic, Chamber of Deputies
  • 10: Iraq, Council of Representatives
  • 13: Saint Helena, Legislative Council
  • 17: Cape Verde, President

Upcoming

• October
  • 24: Uzbekistan, President
  • 31: Japan, House of Representatives
  • 31: Mali, Constitutional referendum

Trials

Recently concluded

• Belarus: Maria Kalesnikava
• China: Sun Dawu
• France: Nicolas Sarkozy
• India: Shashi Tharoor
• Indonesia: Juliari Batubara
• Russia: Lyubov Sobol
• Rwanda: Paul Rusesabagina
• United Kingdom: Apsana Begum
• United States: R. Kelly, Robert Durst, Ed Buck

Ongoing

• Armenia: Serzh Sargsyan
• Belarus: Sergei Tikhanovsky
• Canada: Raj Grewal
• France: Brussels ISIL
• Indonesia: Nurdin Abdullah
• Israel: Benjamin Netanyahu
• Kyrgyzstan: Almazbek Atambayev
• Malta: Yorgen Fenech
• Philippines: Leila de Lima
• Sudan: Omar al-Bashir
• United States: Elizabeth Holmes, Lev Parnas

Upcoming

• Indonesia: Azis Syamsuddin, Alex Noerdin
• Kosovo: Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli
• Lesotho: Maesiah Thabane
• United States: Allen Weisselberg, Ghislaine Maxwell, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Jussie Smollett
• Vatican City: Giovanni Angelo Becciu
• Zimbabwe: Ignatius Chombo
• ICC: Ali Kushayb

Sport

• Association football
  • 2021–22 UEFA Europa League
  • 2021–22 UEFA Champions league
  • 2021–22 Premier League
  • 2021–22 Bundesliga
  • 2021–22 Serie A
  • 2021–22 La Liga
  • 2021 Copa Libertadores final stages
  • 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
  • 2020–21 UEFA Nations League
  • 2021 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A
  • 2021 Major League Soccer season
• Women's association football
  • 2021 NWSL season
• American football
  • 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season
  • 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season
  • 2021 NFL season
• Baseball
  • 2021 MLB season
• Basketball
  • 2021–22 NBA season
• Cricket
  • 2021–23 ICC World Test Championship
  • 2020–23 ICC Cricket World Cup Super League
  • 2019–23 ICC Cricket World Cup League 2
  • 2019–22 ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League 
  • 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup
• Canadian football
  • 2021 CFL season
• Golf
  • 2021 European Tour
  • 2021 LPGA Tour
  • 2020 PGA Tour Champions
  • 2021 Ladies European Tour
  • 2021–22 PGA Tour
• Ice hockey
  • 2021–22 NHL season
  • 2021–22 IIHF Continental Cup
• Motorsport
  • 2021 Formula One Championship
  • 2021 Rally Championship
  • 2021 MotoGP
  • 2021 Supercars Championship
• Rugby union
  • 2021–22 Premiership Rugby
  • 2021–22 United Rugby Championship
  • 2021–22 Top 14
  • 2021 Bunnings NPC
  • 2021 Super Rugby season
• Tennis
  • 2021 ATP Tour
  • 2021 WTA Tour
  • 2020–21 Davis Cup (Finals)
• Other sports seasons
  • 2021–22 International cricket season
  • 2021–22 snooker season
  • 2021–22 curling season

More details – current sports events

Recent deaths

October

• 19: Leslie Bricusse
• 18: Colin Powell
• 18: Edita Gruberová
• 18: Bandula Warnapura
• 18: Sean Wainui
• 17: Ahmad Shah Ahmadzai
• 16: Leo Boivin
• 16: Betty Lynn
• 16: Alan Hawkshaw
• 15: David Amess
• 15: Gerd Ruge
• 14: Diane Weyermann
• 14: Lee Wan-koo
• 13: Ray Fosse
• 13: Gary Paulsen
• 13: Viktor Bryukhanov
• 13: Agnes Tirop
• 12: Raúl Baduel
• 12: Brian Goldner
• 12: Paddy Moloney
• 11: Emiliano Aguirre
• 11: Deon Estus
• 11: Stewart Murray Wilson
• 10: Granville Adams
• 10: David Kennedy
• 10: Megan Rice
• 10: Ruthie Tompson
• 10: Luis de Pablo
• 10: Abdul Qadeer Khan
• 9: Abolhassan Banisadr
• 9: Farooq Feroze Khan
• 8: Raymond T. Odierno
• 7: James Brokenshire
• 4: Alan Kalter
• 4: Eddie Robinson
• 3: Todd Akin
• 3: Jorge Medina
• 3: Bernard Tapie
• 3: Lars Vilks
• 2: Matt Holmes
• 2: John Wes Townley
• 1: Frank LoCascio
• 1: Oğuzhan Asiltürk

September

• 30: Carlisle Floyd
• 30: John Rigas
• 28: Tommy Kirk
• 28: Dr. Lonnie Smith
• 28: Michael Tylo
• 28: Princess Lalla Malika of Morocco
• 27: Andrea Martin
• 27: Roger Hunt
• 26: George Frayne
• 26: Alan Lancaster
• 26: Bobby Zarem
• 25: Théoneste Bagosora
• 25: Patricio Manns
• 24: Robert Altman
• 24: Pee Wee Ellis
• 24: Jitender Mann Gogi
• 23: Jorge Urosa Savino
• 22: Jay Sandrich
• 22: Melvin Van Peebles
• 22: Roger Michell
• 22: Abdelkader Bensalah
• 21: Willie Garson
• 21: Mohamed Hussein Tantawi
• 20: Sarah Dash

Ongoing conflicts

Africa

• Angola
  • Cabinda War
• Cameroon
  • Anglophone Crisis
• Central African Republic
  • Civil War
• Chad
  • Insurgency in Northern Chad
• Democratic Republic of the Congo
  • Kivu conflict
  • Allied Democratic Forces insurgency
  • Ituri conflict
  • Lord's Resistance Army insurgency
  • Kamwina Nsapu rebellion
• Ethiopia
  • Tigray War (spillover)
  • Oromo conflict
• Ethiopia and Sudan
  • Sudanese–Ethiopian clashes
• Ghana
  • Western Togoland Rebellion
• Maghreb and Sahel regions
  • Maghreb insurgency
• Mali
  • Mali War
• Mozambique
  • Insurgency in Cabo Delgado
• Nigeria
  • Boko Haram insurgency (incl. Lake Chad region)
  • Communal conflicts in Nigeria
• Senegal
  • Casamance conflict
• Somalia
  • Civil war
• South Sudan
  • Ethnic violence in South Sudan
• Sudan
  • War in Darfur
  • South Kordofan conflict
  • Sudanese nomadic conflicts (incl. South Sudan)
• Tunisia
  • ISIL insurgency in Tunisia
• Western Sahara
  • Western Sahara conflict
    • 2020–2021 Western Saharan clashes

Americas

• Colombia
  • Colombian conflict
• Mexico
  • Mexican drug war
• Peru
  • Internal conflict in Peru
• Paraguay
  • Insurgency in Paraguay

Asia-Pacific

• Afghanistan
  • Panjshir conflict
  • Islamic State–Taliban conflict
• India
  • Insurgency in Northeast India
    • Assam separatist movements
    • Insurgency in Manipur
    • Ethnic conflict in Nagaland
  • Khalistan movement
  • Naxalite–Maoist insurgency
• India and Pakistan
  • Kashmir conflict
• Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines
  • Moro conflict
    • Cross border attacks in Sabah
• Indonesia
  • Papua conflict
• Myanmar
  • Internal conflict in Myanmar
    • Kachin conflict
    • Karen conflict
    • Rohingya conflict
• Pakistan
  • Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
  • Insurgency in Balochistan
• Philippines
  • Communist rebellion
  • Philippine drug war
• Thailand
  • South Thailand insurgency

Europe

• Armenia and Azerbaijan
  • Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
• Ukraine
  • War in Donbas
    • Russo-Ukrainian War
• Ireland and the UK
  • Dissident Irish republican campaign
• Turkey
  • Kurdish–Turkish conflict

Global

• War on terror

Middle East

• Egypt
  • Sinai insurgency
• Iran and the Persian Gulf
  • Iran–Israel proxy conflict
  • Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict
  • Sistan and Baluchestan insurgency
  • Arab separatism in Khuzestan
  • Kurdish separatism in Iran
• Iraq
  • American-led intervention in Iraq
  • Iranian intervention in Iraq
• Iraq and Syria (map)
  • International military intervention against ISIL
• Israel and Gaza
• Israel and Syria
  • Israeli-Syrian border conflict
• Syria
  • American-led intervention in Syria
  • Russian military intervention in the Syrian civil war
  • Turkish occupation of northern Syria
• Yemen and Saudi Arabia
  • Yemeni Civil War
  • Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
  • Houthi–Saudi Arabian conflict

Further information: List of ongoing armed conflicts

2021 events and developments by topic

Arts

Architecture – Animation – Anime – Comics – Film (Horror, Science fiction) – Home video – Literature – Music (Classical, Country, Rock, Hip hop, Latin, Metal, Rock, UK, US) – Radio – Television (UK, US, Italy, Scotland) – Video games

Politics and government

Elections – International leaders – Sovereign states – Sovereign state leaders – Territorial governors

Science and technology

Archaeology – Biotechnology – Computing – Palaeontology – Quantum computing and communication – Senescence research – Sustainable energy research – Space/Astronomy – Spaceflight

Environment and environmental sciences

Birding/Ornithology – Climate change

Transportation

Aviation – Rail transport

Establishments and disestablishments categories

Establishments – Disestablishments

Works and introductions categories

Works – Introductions – Works entering the public domain