Portal:Current events/2021 August 26

August 26, 2021 (Thursday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Afghanistan conflict
- 2021 Kabul airport attack
  - A suicide bomber blows himself up at an entrance of the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, killing at least 90 Afghan civilians and 13 American servicemembers. More than 150 others are wounded. ISIL-KP, who have threatened the airport in recent days, have claimed responsibility for the attack. (The Wall Street Journal)
- 2021 evacuation from Afghanistan
  - Operation Pitting
    - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says that the United Kingdom will continue evacuations despite the terrorist attacks that occurred at Hamid Karzai International Airport. (Sky News)
  - Operation Allies Refuge
    - U.S. President Joe Biden, in an address to the nation, says that the evacuation of American citizens will continue despite the terrorist attacks. He also vows that the U.S. will avenge the deaths of the 13 service members killed in the attacks by "hunting down" those responsible and "making them pay". (AP)
    - The United States says that it is taking steps to boost humanitarian aid into Afghanistan despite the Taliban being blacklisted by the treasury. The United States also says that it is working with local partners to facilitate humanitarian aid to reach the Afghan population. (Reuters)
  - Canada, Belgium, Denmark, Russia and the Netherlands end their evacuation flights from Hamid Karzai International Airport ahead of a Taliban ultimatum to leave by August 31. Several shots are fired in the direction of an Italian military plane as it was departing the airport, although the airplane was not the intended target and no casualties or damage have been reported. (BBC News)
Oromo conflict, Tigray War, War crimes in the Tigray War
- The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission accuses the Oromo Liberation Army of killing 150 civilians during the past week. The group denies the report. The report says that gunmen targeted people of Amharan ethnicity. (Reuters)

Arts and culture

Political repression in the Soviet Union
- A mass grave containing between 5,000 and 8,000 skeletons is discovered in Odesa, Ukraine, during exploration works for a planned expansion of Odesa International Airport. The graves are believed to date back to the late 1930s during a major purge. (BBC News)

Disasters and accidents

A three-story building collapses in Peñíscola, Valencian Community, Spain, killing two people and injuring another person. The reason for the collapse is currently unknown. (Euronews)
At least 9 people are killed and more than 80 injured by an explosion at a military compound in southern Kazakhstan. The fire was caused by a fire at the ammunition depot. (Euronews)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Brunei
    - Brunei reports its first cases of the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant, which was first detected in India, in 20 samples of COVID-19 cases that were sent for genome sequencing. (The Scoop)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Japan, COVID-19 vaccination in Japan
    - Japan suspends the usage of 1.63 million doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine due to concerns of contamination in some unused vials. (BBC News) (The Washington Post)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia
    - Malaysia reports a record 24,599 new cases and 393 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 1.64 million and the nationwide death toll to 15,211. (CNA)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Mongolia
    - Mongolia surpasses 200,000 cases of COVID-19. (AKI Press)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka
    - Sri Lanka reports a record 209 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 8,157. (EconomyNext)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
    - Russia reports a record 820 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 179,243. (Barron's)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Slovenia
    - The Slovenian government announces that university students and anyone under the age of 15 who is not vaccinated or who has not recovered from COVID-19 will have to be tested once a week in order to enter a university or participate in indoor sports or recreational activities. (The Slovenia Times)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in New South Wales
    - New South Wales reports a record for the second consecutive day of 1,029 cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, which is the first time since the beginning of the pandemic that the state has reported more than 1,000 cases in a single day. (Newshub)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Honduras
  - COVID-19 vaccination in Honduras
    - Honduras signs an agreement with Pfizer and BioNTech to purchase additional 2.7 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in order to ensure the country will have enough supply to vaccinate all people over the age of 12 this year. (Reuters)

International relations

Pacific Islands Forum
- Kiribati confirms its decision to withdraw along with four other countries, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, Palau and Nauru. Despite efforts by multiple countries to have the countries remain in the forum, Kiribati says that there is "no value" in staying if the agreement is not honored in regards to disagreements over the designation of Henry Puna as Secretary-General of the forum. (RNZ)
Foreign relations of Argentina, Foreign relations of Iran
- Argentina condemns "energetically" the designation of Mohsen Rezai in a ministerial rank in the government of Ebrahim Raisi in Iran. Yesterday, Argentina had renewed its condemnation of the designation of Ahmad Vahidi as minister of the interior. Both men are wanted by Argentina and Interpol over alleged connections with the 1994 AMIA bombing. The Foreign Ministry condemns Iran for its "affront to Argentine justice". (Notimérica)

Law and crime

Gretchen Whitmer kidnapping plot
- Ty Garbin is sentenced to six years in prison and fined $2,500 for his role in the kidnapping plot of Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer last year. He is the first person to be sentenced in the conspiracy, which includes thirteen other accused plotters who are currently awaiting trial. (BBC News)
Aftermath of the fall of Kabul, 2021 Taliban offensive
- The Taliban announce the re-imposition of the public ban on music in Afghanistan. Zabiullah Mujahid, the official spokesperson for the Taliban, expressed the hope that the Emirate would be able to "persuade people not to do such things instead of pressuring them." (The Daily Telegraph)
Former Prime Minister of Mali Soumeylou Boubèye Maïga is arrested accused of corruption for his involvement in the purchase of a presidential plane in 2014. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

Pope Francis appoints Italian nun Alessandra Smerilli as Secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, becoming the first woman to do so. (Vatican News)