Portal:Current events

Topics in the news

Naftali Bennett

• A new government is formed in Israel, with Naftali Bennett (pictured) becoming prime minister, ending Benjamin Netanyahu's 12-year tenure.
• The spacecraft Juno performs a flyby of Jupiter's moon Ganymede.
• Using a compromised encrypted device network, a multinational sting operation results in hundreds of arrests and the seizure of several tons of illegal drugs.
• Two trains collide in Sindh, Pakistan, killing at least 63 people.

Ongoing:

• COVID-19 pandemic

Recent deaths:

• Ann Russell Miller
• Larisa Shoygu
• Gottfried Böhm
• Milton Moses Ginsberg
• Mudcat Grant
• Ashok Panagariya

Current events of June 14, 2021 (2021-06-14) (Monday)

Health and Environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Andorra
      • Andorra begins vaccination of 16 and 17-year-olds with Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. (Diari d'Andorra)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
      • British media report that Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to announce the delay of the UK's final relaxing of pandemic-related restrictions by four weeks, due to the rising prevalence of the Delta variant. Reopening has apparently been pushed from 21 June to 19 July. (The Washington Post)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Fiji
    • Fiji reports 89 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours as the government warns that, due to the Delta variant, first detected in India, the situation is worse than that seen in Australia and New Zealand. Fiji now has a total nationwide cases of 1,118. (RNZ International)
  • COVID-19 vaccine
    • Phase III clinical trials for the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine candidate conclude in the U.S. and Mexico, showing an efficacy rating of 90.4%, down from the initial estimate of 96.4% efficacy back in March. (CNN International)
• The United States is investigating a leak at Taishan Power Plant, China, which is partially owned by EDF who has warned of a radiological threat. The Biden administration believes the facility is not at a crisis level, but has been discussing the situation with the French government, the United States Department of Energy, and the Chinese government. (CNN)

International relations

• Russia–United States relations
  • Russian President Vladimir Putin defends himself from accusations of hacking and suppressing dissent, saying the United States does the same. (Yahoo! News)
• 2021 Brussels summit
  • Leaders of the NATO countries gather at the 31st NATO summit in Brussels, Belgium. (The Washington Post)

Law and crime

• Trump administration data seizure
  • John Demers resigns as U.S. Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division amid a investigation over allegations that the U.S. Department of Justice has spied on Democrats. (NBC News)
  • U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland says that he will strengthen the U.S. Department of Justice and vows to investigate any officials who engaged in data seizure. (The Washington Post)
• Two American citizens, a U.S. Army Special Forces veteran and his son, plead guilty to helping former chairman of Nissan Carlos Ghosn escape from Japan in December 2019. Ghosn escaped to Lebanon - where he grew up - and although Japan has asked for his international capture, Lebanon has so far refused to extradite him. (Reuters)

Current events of June 13, 2021 (2021-06-13) (Sunday)

Disasters and accidents

• 2021 Shiyan pipeline explosion
  • Eleven people are killed and 37 others are seriously injured in a gas explosion in the Zhangwan District of Shiyan, Hubei, China. (CNN International)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Colombia
    • President Iván Duque Márquez receives his first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. (Reuters)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Germany, COVID-19 vaccination in Germany
    • Germany's Federal Health Ministry demands that Johnson & Johnson deliver 6.5 million doses of its vaccine by July in order to offset a vaccine shortfall. A spokesman for the ministry says that the situation is regretful and that only 1.15 million doses of the vaccine had been administered as of last Friday. (Deutsche Welle)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
    • Russia reports 13,721 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, which is the highest single-day total on daily cases since February 13. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Mongolia
    • Mongolia reports a record 2,188 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, which is the first time the number of daily cases reaches 2,000. It thereby brings the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 76,084. (Xinhua News Agency)

Law and crime

• Trump administration data seizure
  • It is revealed that, in 2018, the Justice Department, through a subpoena, requested from Apple the data of then-White House Counsel Don McGahn. Apple says that it complied and turned over the information to the government, and notified McGahn and his wife last month. (The Hill)
• Ardea shooting
  • Three people are killed when a gunman opens fire on bystanders at a park in Ardea, Rome, Italy. The attacker, identified as a man with mental problems, commits suicide after barricading himself at his home. (Reuters)
• Trial of Catalonia independence leaders
  • Thousands of Spaniards protest in Madrid the possible pardons to Catalonian independence advocates. Deputy Spanish Prime Minister Carmen Calvo had said that the move was "close" and had asked the People's Party "not to confront Catalonia". Polls show that 63% of Spanish citizens oppose the pardons as a threat to national unity and 25% support the pardons. (Reuters)
• Police in Nicaragua arrest opposition activist Suyen Barahona, who is a strong critic of President Daniel Ortega, under the charge of "inciting foreign interference in internal affairs, requesting military interventions and organizing with foreign financing". The arrest is condemned by the opposition. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

• 2019–2021 Israeli political crisis
  • Israel's parliament votes in favour of a new coalition government, ending Benjamin Netanyahu's 12-year tenure as Prime Minister. He has now been replaced by Naftali Bennett. (Reuters)
  • Anti-Netanyahu protesters gather at the Rabin Square in Tel Aviv to celebrate his replacement. (The Jerusalem Post)
• 2021 Chilean regional elections
  • Opposition candidates win in 13 of 14 regions holding the second round of the regional elections. Chile Vamos, the governing right-wing alliance, wins only in the Araucanía Region. (The Saxon)
  • Christian Democrat Claudio Orrego is elected as the first governor of the Santiago Metropolitan Region, after narrowly defeating Broad Front candidate Karina Oliva. (The Rio Times)
• 2021 Swiss referendums
  • Swiss citizens head to the polls to decide on two popular initiatives and three facultative referendums regarding a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, police measures to combat terrorism, the existing carbon tax policy, and a potential nationwide ban on the use of synthetic pesticides. (The Australian)

Current events of June 12, 2021 (2021-06-12) (Saturday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• War in Afghanistan
  • 2021 Afghanistan attacks
    • Two blasts against minibuses carrying civilians kill at least seven people near the Jinnah Hospital in Kabul. The government says that the number of deaths is expected to increase due to the seriousness of those wounded. No group claims responsibility for the attacks. (TOLO)
• 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, 2021 Armenia–Azerbaijan border crisis
  • Through the mediation efforts of Georgia and the United States, Azerbaijan agrees to release 15 Armenian citizens currently being held in captivity. In exchange, Armenia provides Azerbaijan with maps of 97,000 anti-tank and anti-personnel mines in the Agdam District. (Agenda)

Disasters and accidents

• Eight people die and three others are injured after a toxic chemical leak at a plant in Xiaohe District of Guiyang, southwestern China's Guizhou province. (The Washington Post)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Mongolia
      • Mongolia reports a record 1,792 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 73,869. (Xinhua News Agency)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia, Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Hajj
      • Saudi Arabia bans foreign travellers for the second consecutive year for the Hajj pilgrimage, only allowing a maximum of 60,000 citizens and residents between the ages of 18 and 65 who have been vaccinated and are free of chronic diseases to take part in it. (Reuters)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam
      • Vietnam surpasses 10,000 cases of COVID-19. (VnExpress International)
      • The Ministry of Health issues an emergency use authorization for the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, becoming the fourth vaccine to be approved for use in Vietnam. (CNA)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in South America
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil
      • Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is fined for violating the mask mandate imposed in São Paulo. (Associated Press)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Colombia
      • Colombia reports a record 577 deaths of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 95,192. (Anadolu Agency)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
    • President Félix Tshisekedi says that hospitals in the country's capital, Kinshasa, are "overwhelmed" by COVID-19 patients amid an increase in the number of cases as the country faces its third wave of the pandemic. (Reuters)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
    • Due to a rising number of COVID-19 cases, Moscow's Mayor Sergei Sobyanin announces that enterprises that do not normally work on weekends remain closed for the next week. In addition, food courts and children's play areas in shopping centers are to close for a week beginning tomorrow, and restaurants and bars must limit their service to takeout from 11:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. (France 24)
  • The total number of COVID-19 cases worldwide surpasses 175 million. (Voice of America)

Law and crime

• At least 14 people are injured in a mass shooting in Austin, Texas, United States. A suspect has been arrested while police are still looking for another. (CNN)
• Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Agnes Chow is released from prison after serving more than six months behind bars for participating in an unauthorized assembly during the 2019 protests. (Voice of America)
• Dozens of protesters in the Nigerian cities of Lagos and Abuja are arrested or injured after police fired tear gas at the crowds. The protests, coinciding with a public holiday marking Nigeria's transition to democracy, were organized to protest President Muhammadu Buhari's Twitter ban and numerous other issues plaguing his administration, with protestors calling for his resignation. (Al Jazeera English)
• Violent clashes between the youth and the police break out in the Tunisian capital of Tunis during the evening, following protests over the Tuesday killing of a police detainee. (France 24)

Politics and elections

• 2021 Peruvian general election
  • As counting nears an end and socialist candidate of Free Peru Pedro Castillo is set to win the presidency, right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori asks for thousands of votes to be annulled and blames "the international left" for Castillo's win. (Reuters)
• International protests over the 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis
  • Protesters in London gather at Downing Street to call for G7 leaders to end their support for Israel ahead of the G7 summit. (Al Jazeera English)
• 2021 Algerian legislative election
  • Algerian citizens head to the polls to vote for a new session to the People's National Assembly for the first time since former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika was deposed in 2019. Turnout is the lowest in 20 years due to boycotts over the arrest of seven Hirak movement leaders. (Al Jazeera English)

Science and technology

• Google announces that it is building the world's longest undersea cable that will run from the east coast of the United States to Las Toninas, Argentina, with additional connections in Praia Grande, Brazil, and Punta del Este, Uruguay. The cable will ensure fast, low-latency access to Google products, such as Search, Gmail and YouTube, as well as Google Cloud services. (Jagran Josh)

Sports

• 2021 French Open
  • In tennis, Barbora Krejčíková of the Czech Republic defeats Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia to win the women's singles title at the 2021 French Open, her first Grand Slam singles title. (ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs)
• UEFA Euro 2020
  • The group stage match between Denmark and Finland in Copenhagen is suspended following the collapse of Danish player Christian Eriksen during the first half. UEFA reports that Eriksen is in stable condition. (Al Jazeera English)

Current events of June 11, 2021 (2021-06-11) (Friday)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in North America
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Canada
      • COVID-19 pandemic in Manitoba
        • Manitoba surpasses one million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine administered. (CTV News)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
      • The death toll from COVID-19 surpasses 600,000. The United States accounts for 16% of COVID-related deaths worldwide. (The Washington Post)
      • COVID-19 pandemic in New Jersey
        • New Jersey reports 400 hospitalizations due to COVID-19, the lowest number in eight months. (NJ)
      • COVID-19 pandemic in Pennsylvania
        • COVID-19 pandemic in Philadelphia
          • Philadelphia lifts their mask mandate and COVID-19 restrictions. However, people who are not fully vaccinated are encouraged to wear masks. (WHTM-TV)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines
      • Fully vaccinated senior citizens will be permitted to go out in areas placed under the General Community Quarantine and Modified General Community Quarantine. (Rappler)
      • The Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases announces that gyms, museums, and other establishments in the Greater Manila Area will be allowed to reopen. (ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia, Malaysian movement control order
      • The government announces the extension of its nationwide total lockdown for another two weeks from June 15 to June 28 as the number of COVID-19 cases in the country continues to remain high. (CNA)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka
      • Sri Lanka surpasses 2,000 deaths from COVID-19 after a record 101 deaths are reported in the past 24 hours. (The Times of India)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Germany, Travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic
      • The Robert Koch Institute removes dozens of countries, including the United States, Canada, Austria, and Lebanon, from their travel risk list due to low COVID-19 infection rates. Foreign Minister Heiko Maas later announces that most of the countries still on the list will be removed on July 1. (Deutsche Welle)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Italy, COVID-19 vaccination in Italy
      • Italy suspends the use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine in people under the age of 60 nationwide following the death of an 18-year-old woman yesterday and reports of other young people who have been hospitalized in critical condition after receiving their first dose of the vaccine. The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines will be used for the vaccination of people under the age of 60, including for people who already received a first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine. (Euronews)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
      • Russia reports 12,505 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, which is the highest daily total since February, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 5.18 million. (Reuters)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
    • Lockdown restrictions are eased in Melbourne after a decrease in COVID-19 cases. Schools and businesses reopen in a limited capacity. People are allowed to travel up to 25 km (16 mi) from their home and hold public gatherings of up to 10 people. However, most home visits remain banned and masks are still mandatory in indoor settings. Restrictions are eased further in regional Victoria, where gyms are reopened and private gatherings of up to two people and public gatherings of up to 20 people are allowed. (The Guardian)
• 2019–2021 polio outbreak in the Philippines
  • The World Health Organization and UNICEF declare the end of the polio epidemic in the Philippines. (Xinhua News Agency)

International relations

• 2021 United Nations Security Council election
  • Gabon, the United Arab Emirates, Brazil, Ghana and Albania are elected non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council for the 2022–2023 term. (Reuters)
• Malawi–South Africa relations
  • The South Africa Department of International Relations orders several Malawian diplomats and their families to leave within 72 hours after police found they were illegally selling duty-free alcohol. (Al Jazeera English)
• The 47th G7 summit begins in Cornwall, England. It will run until June 13. (CNBC)
• Former Costa Rican Vice President Rebeca Grynspan is named the new Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development)

Law and crime

• Aftermath of the 2021 United States Capitol attack
  • Chicago Police officer Karol Chwiesiuk is arrested for allegedly breaking into U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR)'s office during the attack on the United States Capitol. (Chicago Tribune)
• Amnesty International reports that Algerian authorities arrested two journalists and a prominent activist days before the legislation election, as part of a wider crackdown on Hirak supporters. (Al Jazeera English)
• Security research firm Nordlocker publishes a report on an anonymous trojan virus program that has stolen 1.2 terabytes of login credential information and personally identifiable information from 26 million users between 2018 and 2020. The login credentials were stored in a cloud database and ranged across a large selection of website types from almost a million websites including Amazon, eBay, Facebook, Twitter, Walmart, Apple, Paypal, Gmail, Netflix, and Steam. The malware also targeted stored files in desktops and Downloads folders. Over 6 million files were stolen, with 50% being text files, 1 million images, and 650,000 Word or PDF files. The malware also took screenshots and images of users with their own webcams. (MSN) (Fox Business)

Politics and elections

• 2021 Peruvian general election
  • Vladimir Cerrón, leader of the socialist Free Peru party, claims victory for leftist candidate Pedro Castillo as vote counting approaches an end with more than 99.5% of votes counted and with Castillo more than 60,000 votes ahead of right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori. Some countries in the region have already congratulated Castillo on his apparent presidential election win. (Reuters)
• Viktor Sheiman, who served as head of the Presidential Administration of Belarus, resigns. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko accepts his resignation. (Belarusian Telegraph Agency)

Science and technology

• Discoveries of exoplanets
  • A group of scientists from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the University of New Mexico announces that water clouds are discovered on TOI-1231 b, a Neptune-like exoplanet that is located 90 light-years away from Earth. (CBS News)
• COVID-19 misinformation
  • YouTube announces that it has temporarily suspended U.S. Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) for violating their policies about promoting unproven alternative therapies to treat COVID-19. (NBC News)

Sports

• The investigation into Gansu ultramarathon disaster in China, which resulted in 21 died of hypothermia in May 2021, is released. Investigators say the incident was caused by extreme weather and unprofessional organization. (Al Jazeera English)
• The UEFA Euro 2020 tournament begins with the opening match between Italy and Turkey in Rome, ending in a 3–0 victory for Italy. (BBC Sport)

Current events of June 10, 2021 (2021-06-10) (Thursday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Israeli–Palestinian conflict
  • Israeli soldiers raid a home in the West Bank, due to an arrest warrant for two Palestinians accused of being the perpetrators of a recent shooting attack. One of the suspects is shot dead. Palestinian intelligence officers arrive at the scene after hearing gunfire and reportedly open fire on the Israeli soldiers, but are shot by the soldiers. Two of the Palestinian officers are killed and a third is wounded. (BBC News)

Business and economy

• Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
  • A report by the International Labour Organization and UNICEF states that approximately 160 million children, over half of them aged between five and 11, are involved in child labour, the highest figures in 20 years. The report blames the COVID-19 pandemic for increasing both the rates of child labour and the hours worked. It also cautions that the amount of children entering the workforce could rise between nine and 46 million by the end of next year if the pandemic is not put under control and if they continue to lack access to important social services. (NPR)

Disasters and accidents

• A Burmese military plane crashes near Mandalay, Myanmar, killing twelve people. (Al Jazeera English)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in India, COVID-19 pandemic in Bihar
      • India reports a world record of 6,148 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours due to the state of Bihar adding 3,951 backlogged deaths to their previous total of 5,478. This thereby brings Bihar's death toll to 9,429 and the nationwide death toll to 359,676. (Hindustan Times)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Iran
      • Iran surpasses three million cases of COVID-19. (France 24)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Japan
      • The Japanese government announces that it will lift the state of emergency in Gunma, Ishikawa, and Kumamoto prefectures on June 14 due to a decrease in the number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. (Kyodo News)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Italy
      • An 18-year-old woman dies in Genova, Italy, after being vaccinated with the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Five Italian regions already decided days prior to block AstraZeneca to people under the age of 60, a decision that may be imposed in the entire country in the next days amid a medical review. (Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata) (The Local Italy) (The New York Times)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Cyprus
      • Cyprus lifts their curfew and reopens nightclubs after 15 months. In addition, 50% capacity restrictions for private and public service workers are no longer required. (TheMayor)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Germany, COVID-19 vaccination in Germany
      • The German Standing Committee on Vaccination recommends that only children and teenagers with pre-existing illness conditions be given a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine due to lack of data on the vaccine's long-term effects. (Euronews)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
      • Russia reports 11,699 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, which is the highest daily total of cases since February, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 5,167,949. (Reuters)
  • Researchers from the University of Strathclyde and the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay announce that they have developed a low-cost, portable sensor that can detect fragments of the virus responsible for COVID-19 within wastewater in concentrations as low as 10 picograms per microlitre using the Polymerase Chain Reaction test. (The New Indian Express)
  • U.S. President Joe Biden announces his administration will donate 500 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine to poor countries suffering from supply problems "with no strings attached". (NBC News)
• 2020–21 North American drought
  • Lake Mead, the reservoir created by the Hoover Dam, drops to its lowest water level ever recorded. (MSN)

International relations

• China–Japan relations, Japan–Taiwan relations, Political status of Taiwan
  • Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin condemns Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga for referring to Taiwan as a country yesterday during a parliamentary debate, saying it violates the One-China policy. China also condemned Japan's decision to donate COVID-19 vaccines to Taiwan as "political performance". (Kyodo News)
• United Kingdom–United States relations
  • U.S. President Joe Biden and U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson meet a day ahead of the 47th G7 summit to sign the New Atlantic Charter, an updated version of the original 1941 Atlantic Charter signed during World War II. (NPR)

Law and crime

• Authorities in Myanmar charge deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi with corruption, a charge that carries a maximum sentence of 15 years' imprisonment. Her trial is expected to begin Monday as her lawyers say that all the charges against her are to "keep her out of the public eye". (Deutsche Welle)
• State-run China Central Television reports that the National People's Congress passed a law aiming to counteract foreign sanctions against China's enterprises and individuals. The law's content has yet to be revealed. (Al Jazeera English)
• The Frankfurt division of the German Special Task Force is ordered dissolved by Hesse Interior Minister Peter Beuth after 20 active and former members were suspected to be actively participating in far-right chatrooms. (Deutsche Welle)

Politics and elections

• COVID-19 anti-lockdown protests in the United States, COVID-19 pandemic in Oregon
  • Lawmakers in the Oregon Legislative Assembly votes 59-1 to expel Republican State Rep. Mike Nearman for allowing far-right protesters to breach the Oregon State Capitol on December 21, 2020, making it the first time a House member has been expelled in its 160-year history. (NBC News)
• Pope Francis rejects the offer of resignation by Archbishop of Munich Reinhard Marx over what Marx described as mishandling of the "catastrophe" of sexual abuse in the Church. Francis addresses a letter to Marx where he agrees that it is a worldwide "catastrophe" but that Marx should stay on as Archbishop. Francis further stated that they cannot remain "indifferent in the face of the crime". Marx is seen as a progressive ally of Francis within the Church. (Reuters)
• King Abdullah II of Jordan issues a royal decree assigning former Prime Minister Samir Rifai to assemble a 92-member committee dedicated to reforming Jordan's current political system. The committee's first areas of focus are on a new electoral law, and a law specifically governing political parties. (Roya News English)
• The entire cabinet of Central African Republic Prime Minister Firmin Ngrébada, including Ngrébada himself, resigns following the withdrawal of 160 French soldiers from the country earlier this week. The spokesman for President Faustin-Archange Touadéra states that Ngrébada nonetheless could be tapped to head the new administration. (Al Jazeera English)

Science and technology

• Solar eclipse of June 10, 2021
  • An annular solar eclipse lasting up to 3 minutes and 51 seconds is visible from central and eastern Canada, parts of the Arctic, and the Russian Far East. Observers in northeastern North America, as well as parts of Europe and Africa, also see a partial eclipse. (Space)

Current events of June 9, 2021 (2021-06-09) (Wednesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• War in Afghanistan
  • 2021 Afghanistan attacks
    • Ten mine clearers are killed and 12 others are wounded while working at a Halo Trust compound in Baghlan. Afghan officials blamed the Taliban for the attack while the ISIL claimed responsibility for it. The Taliban denied responsibility for the attack and Halo Trust reports that local Taliban militants arrived at the scene of the attack defending the miners and shooting the attackers. (BBC News)

Arts and culture

• The Economist Intelligence Unit releases its annual Global Liveability Ranking assessment, ranking the world's most livable cities. Auckland, New Zealand replaces long-time first place holder Vienna, Austria, largely because of New Zealand's handling of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. (MSN)

Business and economy

• North American energy company TC Energy terminates its Keystone Pipeline project, which many environmentalists and Native Americans have opposed, citing the risk of pollution and potential damage to wildlife. The move comes nearly five months after United States President Joe Biden signed an executive order to revoke the permit that was granted to the company for the construction of the project's fourth phase. (Business Times)
• El Salvador becomes the first country to accept Bitcoin as legal tender, after the Legislative Assembly votes 62–22 to pass a bill submitted by President Nayib Bukele classifying the cryptocurrency as such. (MercoPress)

Disasters and accidents

• Nine people are killed and eight more wounded as a five-storey building being demolished in Gwangju, South Korea, collapses onto a bus. Authorities are concerned that people may have been buried in the demolition site or on the nearby pavement. (CNA)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
    • COVID-19 pandemic in France
      • France reopens indoor dining for bars and restaurants as well as gyms as the number of COVID-19 cases continues to decline and the number of vaccinations increases. Rules for travellers from within the European Union are also eased, while cultural venues can relax their measures. The curfew has also been changed to 11:00 p.m. (The Straits Times)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in North Macedonia
      • North Macedonia receives 30,000 doses of Sinovac CoronaVac vaccine donated by Turkey. (Anadolu Agency)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Portugal
      • Portugal delays its easing of the COVID-19-related lockdown in Lisbon, Braga, Vale de Cambra and Odemira until June 27 amid an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases. (Barron's)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
      • The United Kingdom reports 7,540 new cases in the past 24 hours, the highest single-day total since February 26 amid an increase in the number of Delta variant cases. (ITV News)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Washington (state)
      • Seattle becomes the first major U.S. city to fully vaccinate 70% of residents 12 and older. (The Seattle Times)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan
    • The number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in Pakistan surpasses 10 million. (Arab News)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Peru
    • Peru reports its first case of the Delta variant, which was originally detected in India in the southern city of Arequipa. (The Rio Times)
• The World Mosquito Programme reports that an experiment in which mosquitoes purposefully infected with Wolbachia bacteria were released in Yogyakarta, Indonesia saw rates of dengue fever cases in the city drop by 77%, and an 86% reduction in related hospitalizations. (BBC News)

Law and crime

• A court in Russia begins the process of evaluation of a request to label opposition activist Alexei Navalny's network Anti-Corruption Foundation as "extremists", which, according to Navalny's lawyers and allies, would prevent them from running for office and carrying out their activities. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

• 2021 Mongolian presidential election
  • Mongolians head to the polls to elect a new president. (Al Jazeera English)
• Supreme Court of Vanuatu Justice Oliver Saksak places a stay on speaker Gracia Shadrack's vacation of 18 seats of parliament until a court can formally consider the dispute. (RNZ International)

Sports

• Vietnam announces that it plans to postpone the Southeast Asia Games, one of the five subregional Games of the Olympic Council of Asia, until next year, citing concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic. Eight of the 11 member states of the Southeast Asian Games Federation have objected to Vietnam's proposal to postpone the competition, according to a statement from the Olympic Council of Malaysia. (CNA)

Current events of June 8, 2021 (2021-06-08) (Tuesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• War in Afghanistan
  • 2021 Afghanistan attacks
    • Afghanistan's power distributor, Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat, says that 23 electricity pylons have been destroyed or damaged by explosions in the past month, disrupting imported power from Iran and Uzbekistan to numerous provinces and districts. ISIL has claimed responsibility for destroying the towers. (TOLO)

Arts and culture

• A 1933 U.S. double eagle gold coin once owned by King Farouk of Egypt is sold at auction in New York City for US$18.9 million, becoming the most expensive coin ever sold. (BBC News)

Business and economy

• The Iraqi Radioactive Sources Regulatory Authority announces that Iraq is seeking to build eight nuclear reactors capable of producing 11 gigawatts combined to address increasing electricity demand, which is predicted to rise 50% from roughly 28GW today to 42GW by 2030. Average electrical power output currently stands at about 18.4GW, of which 1.2GW is imported. The Authority says that they are in discussions with Korean, Russian, U.S., and French officials on how to implement the plan. (Bloomberg News)
• ProPublica reveals that it received an anonymous leak of personal tax filings for thousands of the wealthiest Americans over multiple years, and publishes a long form analysis of the 25 wealthiest individuals' filings and rates per year. IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig said that the IRS is investigating the leak of the tax data to ProPublica and that any violations of law would be prosecuted. (ProPublica) (ABC News)

Disasters and accidents

• 2021 Ghotki rail crash
  • The death toll from yesterday's train crash in Ghotki, Sindh, Pakistan, increases to 65 people, as more bodies are recovered from the scene. (Associated Press)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Kuwait
      • Kuwait approves the usage of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, becoming the fourth vaccine to be approved in the country. (Al Arabiya English)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea, COVID-19 vaccination in South Korea
      • South Korea reports a new single-day record of 857,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine administered. (CNA)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
    • Statistics of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
      • COVID-19 pandemic in Florida, COVID-19 pandemic in Alabama
        • Florida and Alabama will no longer report COVID-19 data as the two U.S. states will move on to their next phase of the pandemic. (CNBC)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Vermont
      • Vermont reports their first case of the Delta variant in a Chittenden County traveler. (VTDigger)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Argentina
    • Argentina surpasses four million cases of COVID-19 and 82,000 deaths from COVID-19 amid a second wave of the pandemic. (Trend News Agency)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Uganda
    • Uganda suspends their mass vaccination programme against COVID-19 due to a shortage of vaccines. (Asian News International)

International relations

• Saudi Arabia–Syria relations
  • Syrian opposition group Free Officers Movement reports that Saudi Arabia is close to reaching a re-normalization deal with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, seeing it as vital to reducing Iranian influence in the region. (Al Jazeera English)
• India-Pakistan relations, Kashmir conflict
  • Pakistan asked India to reverse its “unlawful and destabilizing actions” in Kashmir as a result of large scale movement of Indian army forces into the disputed region. Tension between the states have been high since Narendra Modi stripped Jammu and Kashmir of its autonomy in August 2019. There is concern that the territory would be further partitioned into the state of Jammu and union territory of Kashmir. (Deccan Herald)

Law and crime

• Death of Sarah Everard
  • Former Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens admits to kidnapping, raping and killing Everard, but not to murder. (BBC News)
• 2021 United States Capitol attack
  • A United States Senate report on the 2021 Capitol attack finds that intelligence was gathered regarding a potential storming of the building in December but was not relayed to the FBI, Homeland Security, the Justice Department or the Defense Department. (Axios)
• LGBT rights in Ghana
  • A court in Ghana denies bail to 21 gay rights activists arrested nearly three weeks ago during an assembly. The 16 women and five men are being prosecuted under the country's laws against homosexuality where gay sex is punishable with up to three years' imprisonment. A local LGBT organization says that the activists were in a meeting discussing human rights of gay people in Ghana, which is not illegal. The court has set June 16 for the next hearing on the case. (Reuters)
• ANOM sting operation
  • A global operation where crime gangs were sold encrypted phones that law enforcement could monitor has led to more than 800 arrests and the seizure of 30 tonnes of drugs, millions of dollars in cash, weapons and luxury cars. The FBI helped to infiltrate 12,000 devices into 300 criminal groups in more than 100 countries, providing the FBI and its partner forces around the world with access to 27 million messages. The operation also revealed that gangs were being tipped off about police actions, which prompted "numerous high-level public corruption cases in several countries", according to an affidavit from an FBI agent. (ABC News)
• Interpol reveals an operation in 92 countries that shut down 113,000 websites and online marketplaces selling counterfeit or illicit medicines and medical products last month, led to the arrests of 227 people worldwide, recovered pharmaceutical products worth $23 million, and led to the seizure of approximately nine million devices and drugs, including large quantities of fake COVID-19 tests and face masks. (The New Indian Express)
• The UN International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals at The Hague upholds the life sentence of war criminal and Bosnian Serb Army chief Ratko Mladić, who was convicted for his roles in the siege of Sarajevo and the Srebrenica massacre. The tribunal also rejects attempts by the prosecution to overturn the acquittal of one of Mladić's genocide charges. This was Mladić's final appeal. (Al Jazeera English)
• Two men are arrested for slapping French President Emmanuel Macron and shouting royalist slogans when Macron was greeting people in Tain-l'Hermitage, Drôme, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France. (BBC News)

Politics and elections

• 2021 Peruvian general election
  • Left-wing candidate Pedro Castillo takes a very slim but widening lead ahead of right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori, but the results still remain too close to call as Fujimori warns of "irregularities". (Al Jazeera English)
• South African Health Minister Zweli Mkhize is put on special leave following allegations that he awarded COVID-19-related contracts to a company headed by his former associates. (Al Jazeera English)
• Gracia Shadrack, Vanuatu's speaker, declares that the seats of the prime minister Bob Loughman, the deputy prime minister, and 16 other MPs are vacant after they boycott parliament for three days. (RNZ International)
• Protesters in Faizabad, the capital of Badakhshan Province, Afghanistan have called for the resignation of the governor after five protesters were killed and over 41 wounded in a clash with security forces. The protesters were demonstrating against the lack of regional security, the lack of electricity, and the lack of running water in their homes. The protesters claim the demonstration was non-violent until the arrival of security forces, while the government claims they attacked the governor's compound and the tax office. (TOLO)

Science and technology

• The U.S. Senate votes 68–32 to pass the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, a bill that is aimed to strengthen the U.S. against competition from China. The bill will head to the U.S. House of Representatives for a vote. (Axios)
• A global internet outage caused by an internal issue at content delivery network Fastly causes thousands of websites such as the UK Government's website, BBC, The New York Times, CNN, Financial Times, The Guardian, Pinterest, Reddit, Twitch, Spotify, Bloomberg News, and Amazon to be inaccessible for up to an hour. (CNA) (The New Indian Express) (Reuters)
• One of the largest X-ray surveys using the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton space observatory publishes their initial findings mapping the growth of 12,000 supermassive black holes at the cores of galaxies and galaxy clusters. (Phys)

Sports

• 2020–21 NBA season
  • In basketball, Serbian center Nikola Jokić of the Denver Nuggets wins the Most Valuable Player Award. He is the lowest-ever drafted player to win the award after being picked 41st overall in the 2014 NBA draft. (The Philippine Star)

Time: 19:10 UTC|Day: 14 June

	June 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

Ongoing events

Business

• COVID-19 recession

Disasters

• COVID-19 pandemic
• 2020–21 European windstorm season
• 2020–21 H5N8 outbreak
• 2021 Pacific typhoon season
• Yemeni famine

Politics

• Afghan peace process
• Anti-Netanyahu protests
• Arab protests
• Armenian protests
• Belarusian protests
• Brazilian protests
• Colombian tax reform protests
• Greek protests
• Haitian protests
• Indian farmers' protests
• Israel–Palestine crisis
• Indonesia omnibus law protests
• Jersey dispute
• Libyan peace process
• Myanmar protests
• Nicaraguan protests
• Nigerian protests
• Persian Gulf crisis
• Peruvian crisis
• Samoan constitutional crisis
• Sudanese protests
• Tigrayan peace process
• Thai protests
• United States racial unrest
• United States Stop Asian Hate protests
• Venezuelan presidential crisis
• Yellow vests movement

Elections and referendums

Recent

• May
  • 30: Cyprus, House of Representatives
  • 31: Somaliland, House of Representatives
• June
  • 6: Mexico, Chamber of Deputies
  • 6: Peru, President (2nd)
  • 9: Mongolia, President
  • 12: Algeria, People's National Assembly
  • 13: Switzerland, Referendums

Upcoming

• June
  • 18: Iran, President
  • 20: Armenia, National Assembly
  • 21: Ethiopia, House of Representatives
  • 24: Gibraltar, Referendum
  • 25: Aruba, Parliament

Trials

Recently concluded

• Brazil: Wilson Witzel
• Hong Kong: Jimmy Lai
• Indonesia: Muhammad Rizieq Shihab
• Israel: Faina Kirschenbaum
• Spain: 2017 Barcelona attacks
• United States: Derek Chauvin, Cristhian Bahena Rivera

Ongoing

• Argentina: Rodolfo Martín Villa
• Armenia: Serzh Sargsyan
• Colombia: Álvaro Uribe
• France: Nicolas Sarkozy
• India: Disha Ravi
• Indonesia: Edhy Prabowo, Juliari Batubara
• Israel: Benjamin Netanyahu
• Kyrgyzstan: Almazbek Atambayev
• Malta: Yorgen Fenech
• South Africa: Jacob Zuma
• Spain: Bárcenas affair, Barçagate
• Sudan: Omar al-Bashir
• International: Ali Kushayb, The Gambia v. Myanmar

Upcoming

• Canada: Raj Grewal
• Indonesia: Nurdin Abdullah
• Kosovo: Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli
• Lesotho: Maesiah Thabane
• Rwanda: Paul Rusesabagina
• United Kingdom: Apsana Begum
• United States: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Elizabeth Holmes, Meng Wanzhou, R. Kelly, Ghislaine Maxwell
• Zimbabwe: Ignatius Chombo

Sport

• Association football
  • 2021 Copa Libertadores final stages
  • 2020–21 UEFA Nations League
  • 2021 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A
  • 2021 Major League Soccer season
  • UEFA Euro 2020
• Women's association football
  • 2021 NWSL season
• American football
  • 2021 Spring NCAA Division I FCS
• Baseball
  • 2021 MLB season
• Basketball
  • 2021 NBA Playoffs
• Cricket
  • ICC World Test Championship 2019–21
  • ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Super League 2020–2023
  • 2019–2023 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup League 2
  • ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Challenge League 2019–2022
• Golf
  • 2021 European Tour
  • 2021 LPGA Tour
  • 2020 PGA Tour Champions
  • 2021 Ladies European Tour
  • 2020–21 PGA Tour
• Ice hockey
  • 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs
• Motorsport
  • 2021 Formula One Championship
  • 2021 Rally Championship
  • 2021 MotoGP
  • 2021 Supercars Championship
• Rugby league
  • 2021 NRL season
  • 2021 Super League
• Rugby union
  • 2020–21 Premiership Rugby
  • Pro14 Rainbow Cup
  • 2020–21 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 International cricket season

More details – current sports events

Recent deaths

June

• 14: Markis Kido
• 13: Ned Beatty
• 12: Mudcat Grant
• 11: Geoffrey Edelsten
• 9: Edward de Bono
• 9: Libuše Šafránková
• 8: Joseph Margolis
• 7: Douglas S. Cramer
• 7: Jim Fassel
• 7: Ali Akbar Mohtashamipur
• 6: Sanyika Shakur
• 5: T. B. Joshua
• 5: Richard Robinson
• 4: Richard R. Ernst
• 4: John Malcolm Patterson
• 4: Clarence Williams III
• 3: F. Lee Bailey
• 3: Karla Burns
• 3: Anerood Jugnauth
• 2: Raymond J. Donovan
• 1: Amedeo, Duke of Aosta

May

• 31: James Crawford
• 31: Arlene Golonka
• 30: Jason Dupasquier
• 29: Gavin MacLeod
• 29: Gwen Shamblin Lara
• 29: Joe Lara
• 29: Cornelius Sim
• 29: B.J. Thomas
• 28: Mark Eaton
• 27: Shane Briant
• 27: Carla Fracci
• 27: Foster Friess
• 27: Poul Schlüter
• 26: Jerome Hellman
• 25: Roger Gifford
• 25: John Warner
• 24: Robert Green Hall
• 24: Anna Halprin
• 24: Samuel E. Wright
• 23: Eric Carle
• 23: Lorrae Desmond
• 23: Bob Fulton
• 23: Ron Hill
• 23: Max Moseley
• 23: Alex Salaueu
• 22: Joe Beckwith
• 22: Cornelia Oberlander
• 22: Yuan Longping
• 21: Ibrahim Attahiru
• 21: Sunderlal Bahuguna
• 21: Tahir Salahov
• 21: Klemen Tinal
• 20: Francisco Brines
• 20: Margherita Marchione
• 20: Abubakar Shekau
• 19: Lee Evans
• 19: Paul Mooney
• 18: Franco Battiato
• 18: Charles Grodin
• 17: Buddy Roemer
• 17: Jesús Santrich
• 17: Héctor Silva
• 16: Bruno Covas

Ongoing conflicts

Africa

• Algeria, Libya and Tunisia
  • Maghreb insurgency
• Cameroon
  • Anglophone Crisis
• Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria
  • Boko Haram insurgency
• 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
• Ethiopia
  • Tigray War (spillover)
• Ethiopia and Sudan
  • Sudanese–Ethiopian clashes
• Ghana
  • Western Togoland Rebellion
• Mali
  • Mali War
• Mozambique
  • Insurgency in Cabo Delgado
• Nigeria
  • Communal conflicts in Nigeria
• Somalia
  • Civil war
• Sudan
  • War in Darfur
  • South Kordofan conflict
  • Sudanese nomadic conflicts (incl. South Sudan)
• 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
  • Afghanistan War
• India
  • Khalistan movement
  • Naxalite–Maoist insurgency
  • Insurgency in Northeast India
• 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 Donbass
    • Russo-Ukrainian War

Global

• War on terror

Middle East

• Egypt
  • Sinai insurgency
• Iran and the Persian Gulf
  • Iran–Israel proxy conflict
  • Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict
• 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
• Turkey
  • Kurdish–Turkish conflict
• 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 – Comics – Film – Home video – Literature – Music (Country, Rock, Metal, UK, US) – Radio – Television (UK, US) – 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 – 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