Portal:Current events

Topics in the news

Alexei Navalny

• Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny (pictured) is awarded the Sakharov Prize.
• PAICV candidate José Maria Neves 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.

Ongoing:

• COVID-19 pandemic

Recent deaths:

• Martha Henry
• Halyna Hutchins
• Jean Rochon
• Hiroshi Ono
• Einár
• Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Current events of October 23, 2021 (2021-10-23) (Saturday)

Current events of October 22, 2021 (2021-10-22) (Friday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Attackers armed with guns and knives assault an Islamic seminary at a Rohingya refugee camp on the Bangladesh–Myanmar border, killing seven people. (Al Jazeera)

Business and economy

• Evergrande liquidity crisis
  • Chinese property developer Evergrande Group reports that it transferred US$83.5 million to pay off interests on its dollar bonds, allowing it to avert short-term default a day before its deadline. (Business Insider)

Disasters and accidents

• Sixteen people are killed and another is injured by an explosion at a chemical plant in Ryazan Oblast, Russia. (Reuters)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Iran, Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on religion
      • Mass Friday prayers resume in the capital Tehran after a 20-month suspension due to the pandemic. Worshippers must adhere to social distancing measures and use face masks during the gatherings, with most worshippers using their own prayer rugs and clay tablets. (Al-Arabiya English)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China, COVID-19 vaccination in mainland China
      • The Chinese capital Beijing begins administering booster doses of the COVID-19 vaccines to "at-risk" individuals over the age of 18, which includes those participating, organizing, or working in the 2022 Winter Olympics as well as people working in education, manufacturing, retail, and public facilities. (The Hill)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka, COVID-19 vaccination in Sri Lanka
      • President Gotabaya Rajapaksa orders security personnel and health care and tourism industry workers in Sri Lanka to receive a booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine beginning on November 1 in order to revive the economy and specifically the tourism industry due to the effects of the pandemic. (Reuters)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Belarus
      • Belarus ends its short-lived mask mandate that was introduced on October 9 despite a record number of COVID-19 cases as President Alexander Lukashenko dismissed the measures as "unnecessary". (AP)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
      • Russia reports a record for the fourth consecutive day of 1,064 deaths from COVID-19, bringing the nationwide death toll to 228,453. The country also reports a record for the second consecutive day of 37,141 new cases of COVID-19, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 8,168,305. (Saudi Press Agency)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine
      • Ukraine closes schools and public venues in Kyiv and will only permit the schools to reopen if teachers are vaccinated in other "red zone" areas after the country reported a record for the second consecutive day of 29,785 new cases and 614 deaths from COVID-19. (AFP via Barron's)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Oceania
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
      • COVID-19 pandemic in Victoria
        • Melbourne lifts its world-record lockdown restrictions as over 70% of the Victorian population are now fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Private and public gatherings are now allowed with limitations and schools and businesses will reopen with density caps. The controversial night-time curfew is also lifted. (ABC News Australia)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Fiji, COVID-19 vaccination in Fiji
      • After vaccinating most of its adult population, Fiji announces that it has already vaccinated 28,965 children between the ages of 15 and 17 with at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. (RNZ)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand
      • The New Zealand Government sets a target of 90% of the population fully vaccinated, which is very high by international standards, in order to end lockdown measures and shift to a new traffic light system giving vaccinated Kiwis more freedoms. (1 News)
  • COVID-19 vaccine
    • Pfizer says that its vaccine is 90% effective in children between the ages of 5 and 11. (CBS News)

Law and crime

• 2021 Eswatini protests
  • Police and the army open fire on a group of health workers protesting outside a hospital in Eswatini, injuring 30 people. (BBC News)
• Killing of David Amess
  • After appearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court and the Old Bailey, Ali Harbi Ali is charged with the murder of David Amess and remanded to Belmarsh prison. He is due to be tried on March 7, 2022. (BBC News)
• Trump–Ukraine scandal
  • Former Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas is convicted of campaign financing crimes and for illegally funding foreign cash to Republicans during the 2018 midterms. (NBC News)
• Cannabis in Luxembourg
  • Luxembourg legalizes cannabis, becoming the first country in Europe to do so. (TheStreet)
• Israeli–Palestinian conflict
  • The Israeli Defense Ministry designates six humanitarian Palestinian groups, including human rights organization Al-Haq and non-profit organization Union of Agricultural Work Committees, as "terrorist organisations" for their alleged connections to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. The Palestinian National Authority, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and several human rights groups harshly criticized the designations. (Al Jazeera)

Current events of October 21, 2021 (2021-10-21) (Thursday)

Disasters and accidents

• Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins is killed during the production of the upcoming American film Rust in Bonanza City, New Mexico, while film director Joel Souza is in critical condition, after actor Alec Baldwin reportedly misfired a prop gun. (AFP via The Straits Times)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
      • Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin announces a non-working week from October 28 until November 7 in order to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Only firms that serve essential goods and the city infrastructure would be allowed to operate. (The Moscow Times)
      • Russia reports a record 36,339 new cases and 1,030 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 8.13 million and the nationwide death toll to 227,389. (Anadolu Agency)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Latvia
      • Latvia enters a month-long lockdown until November 15 that closes non-essential shops, cinemas and hairdressers, as well as implements a curfew from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m., due to an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases. (Medical Xpress)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine
      • Ukraine reports a record 22,415 new cases and 546 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 2.7 million and the nationwide death toll to 62,389. (AP)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in India, COVID-19 vaccination in India
      • India reports that it has administered more than one billion COVID-19 vaccinations since it started its vaccination drive in January. (BBC News)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia, COVID-19 vaccination in Saudi Arabia
      • Saudi Arabia begins the rollout of booster doses of the COVID-19 vaccines for people aged above 18 and have received their second dose at least six months ago. (Gulf News)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand
    • New Zealand reports a record 102 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, which is the first the time that the country has reported more than 100 cases since the beginning of the pandemic. (The Guardian)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
    • COVID-19 vaccination in the United States
      • The Biden administration announces that the United States has donated 200 million COVID-19 vaccines to countries around the world, fulfilling a pledge from President Joe Biden that the U.S. would be the "world's arsenal" in vaccines. (The Hill)
      • The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention endorses booster shots of the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. (The New York Times)
  • COVID-19 misinformation
    • COVID-19 misinformation by China
      • The University of Oxford links the Chinese government to a disinformation campaign promoting the unfounded claim that COVID-19 could have been imported to China from the United States through Maine lobsters shipped to a seafood market in Wuhan in November 2019. (NBC News)
• Climate change
  • Greenpeace partially leaks a draft report from the International Panel on Climate Change, revealing that a number of large oil, coal, beef and animal feed-producing countries including Australia, Saudi Arabia, Brazil and Argentina are lobbying the IPCC for looser restrictions on global heating. (AP)

International relations

• 2021 North Kosovo crisis
  • A working group to find a more permanent solution to the license plate issue, consisting of negotiators from the governments of Kosovo and Serbia, meet for the first time in Brussels. If negotiations are successful, the group will announce their proposals in 6 months. (Gazeta Tema)

Law and crime

• Aftermath of the 2021 United States Capitol attack
  • The United States House of Representatives votes 229-202 to hold former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon in criminal contempt for refusing to comply with a subpoena issued by the January 6 select committee investigating the attack on the U.S. Capitol. The contempt is referred to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia and United States Attorney General Merrick Garland to decide whether to prosecute Bannon. (AP)
• COVID-19 pandemic in France, Vaccine passports during the COVID-19 pandemic
  • The French National Assembly votes 135 to 125 to approve the extension of the COVID-19 Health Pass until at least July 31, 2022. The bill will be debated at the French Senate on October 28 in preparation for adopting the bill on November 15. (The Connexion)
• Killing of Justine Damond
  • Former Minneapolis Police Department Officer Mohamed Noor is resentenced to four years and nine months in prison for the manslaughter of unarmed 9-1-1 caller Justine Damond. Noor had originally been sentenced to 12.5 years for murder in 2017. (CNN)
• Capital punishment in Syria
  • Twenty-four people have been executed in Syria for deliberately starting wildfires in late 2020 that killed three people. (BBC News)
• The leader of the Haitian gang who kidnapped 17 United States and Canadian missionaries has threatened to kill the hostages if the gang does not receive the $17 million ransom for their release. (CNN)
• The Benin National Assembly votes to legalize abortion within the first three months of pregnancy if it is likely to "aggravate or cause material, educational, professional or moral distress" or is "incompatible with the woman or the unborn child's interest", becoming one of the few countries in Africa to authorize abortions. (Africanews)

Politics and elections

• Ratu Wiliame Katonivere becomes the president-elect of Fiji. He will replace incumbent President Jioji Konrote when he is confirmed by parliament. (RNZ)

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 civilians in Ariha, Idlib Governorate. (BBC News)

Disasters and accidents

• 2021 Nepal floods
  • 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)
• Mount Aso in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, erupts, sending smoke 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 that they are currently investigating reports of climbers on the mountain before the eruption. (The Asahi Shimbun)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Africa
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Kenya
      • Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta lifts the nationwide curfew that had been in place since March 2020 and allows places of worship to be filled to two-thirds of their capacity as the number of COVID-19 cases decreases. (Bloomberg)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Senegal
      • Senegal reports zero COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic. (News 24)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
      • Russian President Vladimir Putin approves the cabinet proposal for non-working days for employees from October 31 until November 7 amid a persistent increase in the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths. (VOA)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Serbia
      • The Serbian government announces that they will introduce COVID-19 health passes for all indoor cafés and restaurants, which will be mandatory beginning from October 23 at 10:00 p.m. (N1)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, COVID-19 drug development
      • The British government signs an agreement to secure 480,000 courses of Molnupiravir produced by Merck Sharp and Dohme, and 250,000 courses of Ritonavir produced by Pfizer, where both of them need to be approved by health regulator. (Sky News)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore
    • Singapore reports a record 18 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 264. (Today)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, COVID-19 vaccination in the United States
    • The Food and Drug Administration authorizes booster doses of the Moderna and Janssen COVID-19 vaccines, as well as allow Americans to choose a different vaccine from their original inoculation as a booster. (NPR)

International relations

• President of Russia Vladimir Putin says that he will not physically attend the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow. (BBC News)

Law and crime

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

Politics and elections

• An indirect presidential election was held to choose the first ever President of Barbados. The outgoing Governor-General of Barbados, Dame Sandra Mason, was the only candidate nominated; Mason will be sworn in on 30 November, the 55th anniversary of Barbadian independence from the United Kingdom. The government of Barbados announced in September 2020 that they would transition to a republic by that date. (BBC)

Science and technology

• Xenotransplantation
  • Researchers at NYU Langone Health in New York City announce that a team of surgeons last month, led by Dr. Robert Montgomery, successfully attached a genetically-modified pig kidney to a brain dead patient for two days without rejection. (NPR)

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 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 asks Mali's main Islamic body, the High Islamic Council, to mediate peace talks between the government and the local branch of al-Qaeda, Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin. The move 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 order for unvaccinated or unrecovered people age 60 years and older for four months 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 are 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)
• 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)

Time: 06:16 UTC|Day: 23 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
• November
  • 4: Falkland Islands, Legislative Assembly

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: Lev Parnas, R. Kelly, Robert Durst

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

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

• 22: Peter Scolari
• 22: Udo Zimmermann
• 21: Martha Henry
• 21: Bernard Haitink
• 20: Jerry Pinkney
• 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: Patrick Walker
• 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

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