Portal:Current events/2021 August 17

August 17, 2021 (Tuesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan
- Taliban insurgency
  - 2021 Taliban offensive
    - Operation Allies Refuge
      - Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby says that evacuations have resumed at Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport. (The Hill)
    - Taliban member of the cultural commission Enamullah Samangani announces an amnesty across Afghanistan and urges women to join their government in the first mention of women's rights by the group since seizing Kabul: while Samangani did not specify what he meant by "amnesty", he said that "the Islamic Emirate doesn't want women to be victims" and that "they should be in the government structure according to sharia law". (Kyodo News) (KSTP-TV)
    - The Taliban says that they will respect women's rights and security under the Islamic Emirate, having encouraged women to return to work and allowed girls to return to school. (Associated Press)
    - Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid says that the Taliban will hold their first news conference this afternoon in a media center in Kabul previously used by the former Afghan government. (Reuters)
    - U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan says that the Taliban is prepared to provide safe passage to civilians who are attempting to leave Kabul. (CNBC)
    - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) announces that the U.S. Senate Committee will hold hearings into the Biden administration's execution of the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan, as well as the Trump administration's deal with the Taliban. (Axios)
  - Panjshir conflict
    - Amrullah Saleh, who served as First Vice President under former president Ashraf Ghani, claims on Twitter that he is now caretaker president, and that he refuses to surrender to the Taliban. Saleh is recorded travelling to Panjshir Province with Ahmad Massoud, who has declared his opposition to the Taliban and also called for anti-Taliban militia to assemble in Panjshir. (Hindustan Times) (Yahoo! Finance)
    - Russian intelligence sources reported that Panjshir resistance forces loyal to Amrullah Saleh had managed to re-capture Charikar and the surrounding areas of Parwan Province from the Taliban. (RIA Novosti)

Disasters and accidents

The eight people who went missing after their helicopter crashed into Kurile Lake in Kamchatka Krai, Russia, six days ago, are all found dead. Eight more people were on board but survived. (Wral)
A boat capsizes off the coast of Mauritania with 47 people on board presumed dead. The Mauritanian Coast Guard rescues several people from the sea. The boat had departed from Western Sahara and was travelling to the Canary Islands, Spain. (Reuters)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Iran
    - Iran reports a record 50,228 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 4,517,243. (Mehr News Agency)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Israel
    - Israel reports 8,716 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, which is the highest single-day total of new cases since February 1. (The Jerusalem Post)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Japan
    - The Japanese government extends the existing state of emergency in Tokyo, Osaka, Okinawa, Kanagawa, Saitama, and Chiba, and also expands it to seven other prefectures from August 20 to September 12. (The Japan Times)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand
    - Thailand reports a record 239 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 7,973. (Bangkok Post)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Serbia
    - Serbia begins to administer booster doses of the COVID-19 vaccine for immunocompromised people, healthcare workers, people over the age of 70, people who frequently travel abroad, and people who have previously received their second dose at least six months ago. (Florida News Times)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland, COVID-19 vaccination in Switzerland
    - The number of fully vaccinated people in Switzerland surpasses 50%. (The Local Switzerland)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, COVID-19 vaccination in the United Kingdom
    - The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency approves the usage of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine for children between the ages of 12 and 17, becoming the second vaccine to be approved for use in children after the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. (ITV News)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Oceania
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the Cook Islands
    - The Cook Islands suspends its travel bubble with New Zealand and moves to Alert Level 2 following the confirmation of the first community case of COVID-19 in six months in New Zealand. (Newshub)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand
    - New Zealand reports its first community transmission case of COVID-19 in six months in an unvaccinated 58-year-old man from Devonport who tested positive after visiting a GP surgery and travelling to the Coromandel Peninsula during the past weekend. (Stuff)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
  - COVID-19 pandemic in New York (state)
    - COVID-19 pandemic in New York City
      - New York City begins to implement mandatory proof of vaccination of at least one dose for people who want to dine in at restaurants or bars, watch public performances, or visit a museum or other cultural venue. However, the enforcement of these rules will not begin until September 13. (NBC News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in New Mexico
    - New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham announces that the state will reimplement its mask mandate and require vaccinations for high-risk settings. (The Santa Fe New Mexican)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Texas
    - Texas Governor Greg Abbott tests positive for COVID-19. His office says that he is fully vaccinated and is not currently experiencing any symptoms. (CNN)

Politics and elections

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Peru Héctor Béjar resigns after a video of him claiming the Shining Path guerrilla group was propped up by the Central Intelligence Agency was published in local media. (Bloomberg)

Science and technology

Researchers at the Graubuenden University of Applied Sciences in Switzerland announce that they have calculated pi to 62.8 trillion digits, a new world record. (The Guardian)