Portal:Current events/2021 February 17

February 17, 2021 (Wednesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Kagara kidnapping
- A school pupil is killed and 27 others are kidnapped from their school in the early hours in Kagara, Niger State, Nigeria. Three staff members and 12 of their relatives are also abducted. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack. (BBC News)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in India
    - The Indian government issues new Standard Operational Procedure (SOP) guidelines that would be mandatory for travelers from the United Kingdom, Europe, Brazil, and South Africa to conduct self-paid molecular COVID-19 testing, beginning from February 22 at 23:59 p.m. IST. (The Wire)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Israel, COVID-19 vaccine
    - COVID-19 vaccination in Israel
      - The Israeli Maccabi Healthcare Services confirm that, in a trial of 602,000 people who received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, the vaccine's effectiveness was 95%. (The Times of Israel)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Japan
    - Japan begins a vaccination campaign against COVID-19 beginning with 40,000 health workers. (The Japan Times)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the State of Palestine
    - The first shipment of the Sputnik V vaccine donated by Russia arrives in Gaza after Israel allows the shipment of 1,000 vaccines, which was previously blocked. (The Guardian)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Uzbekistan
    - Uzbekistan approves and certifies the use of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine for mass vaccination. (AKIPress)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Denmark, 501.V2 variant
    - Denmark reports their first community transmission of the 501.V2 variant. (The Local Denmark)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Spain
    - The Spanish Health Ministry introduces a ten-day quarantine for all travelers arriving from Brazil and South Africa. (Euro Weekly News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey
    - President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announces that the country will gradually lift COVID-19 restrictions, including curfews and weekend lockdowns beginning in March on a provincial basis, which will divide the country into four categories based on infection and vaccination rates. (Daily Sabah)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
    - The British clinical trials ethics body approves the world's first COVID-19 human challenge study, which will begin in the next few weeks. Volunteers aged 18 to 30 will be exposed to the virus in the trial. (BBC News)
  - The European Commission signs a deal with Moderna to secure additional 300 million doses of the vaccine in the European Union. (DW)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Africa
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Somalia
    - Somalia orders all government employees in ministries and departments except directors and senior staff to work from home following an increase in COVID-19 cases. (Anadolu Agency)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa
    - South Africa begins its vaccination campaign against COVID-19 using a vaccine from Johnson & Johnson, which has not yet been authorized worldwide. President Cyril Ramaphosa, government officials, and health workers are among the first to receive the vaccine. (The Wall Street Journal)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Tanzania
    - Zanzibar's first Vice President, Seif Sharif Hamad, dies from COVID-19. (The Citizen)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Maryland, Lineage P.1
    - Maryland reports their first case of the Lineage P.1 variant first detected in Brazil in a deceased adult aged older than 65 living in Washington metropolitan area, who had international travel. (The Baltimore Sun)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in North Dakota, Lineage B.1.1.7
    - North Dakota reports their first case of the UK variant of SARS-CoV-2. (Grand Forks Herald)

Politics and elections

2021 Myanmar protests
- Protesters in the capital Naypyidaw, Mandalay, and the country's largest city Yangon stage a record number of demonstrations against military junta since February 1 coup. Many of public and private employees and civil servant join demonstrations despite military's warning. (Voice of America)

Science and technology

Discoveries of exoplanets
- Astronomers announce the discovery of HD 110082 b, a sub-Neptune exoplanet that is three times larger than Earth and which orbits a relatively young star. (Phys.org)