Portal:Current events

Topics in the news

Taliban fighters in Kabul

• Hakainde Hichilema is elected President of Zambia.
• The Afghan government collapses as the capital city of Kabul falls to the Taliban offensive (fighters pictured).
• A 7.2-magnitude earthquake in Haiti kills more than 2,100 people.
• The Inter­govern­mental Panel on Climate Change releases the first part of its Sixth Assessment Report on the state of knowledge of climate change and its effects.

Ongoing:

• COVID-19 pandemic

Recent deaths:

• Volodymyr Holubnychy
• Franz Josef Altenburg
• Olav Akselsen
• Joseph L. Galloway
• Bill Freehan
• Haydée Coloso-Espino

Current events of August 21, 2021 (2021-08-21) (Saturday)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in New South Wales
      • New South Wales reports a new single-day record of 825 new cases of COVID-19, the highest number reported than any state and territories since the start of the pandemic. (ABC News Australia)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Victoria
      • Regional Victoria re-enters a Lockdown as COVID-19 infections spreads from an ongoing cluster in Melbourne. (The Age)

Current events of August 20, 2021 (2021-08-20) (Friday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• War in Afghanistan
  • Taliban insurgency
    • 2021 Taliban offensive
      • An assessment by the United Nations reports that the Taliban is conducting "targeted door-to-door visits" searching for opponents and their families, deepening concerns that the group will seek revenge. (Al Jazeera)
      • The Russian ambassador to Afghanistan Dmitry Zhirnov says that the Panjshir resistance led by Amrullah Saleh and Ahmad Massoud is "doomed". Zhirnov also praises the Taliban and says that the situation in Kabul is better than it was when Ashraf Ghani was governing the country. (Reuters)
  • Operation Allies Refuge
    • U.S. President Joe Biden addresses the United States for a second time this week. During the address, Biden said that the U.S. will evacuate any Americans who want to return to the U.S. He also announces that 18,000 people have been evacuated from Afghanistan in the past few weeks, and that 5,700 people were evacuated in the past 24 hours. (CBS News)
    • Colombian President Iván Duque Márquez and the U.S. Ambassador to Colombia Philip Goldberg announce that Colombia will temporarily receive up to 4,000 Afghan nationals who are awaiting a Special Immigrant Visa clearance. (Reuters)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in India, COVID-19 vaccination in India
      • The Indian government approves the emergency use of the ZyCoV-D vaccine made by Cadila Healthcare, which is the world's first three-dose DNA-based COVID-19 vaccine. (BBC)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Israel, COVID-19 vaccination in Israel
      • Prime Minister Naftali Bennett receives his third "booster" dose of the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine as Israel expands its booster dose campaign eligibility to people over the age of 40. (The Guardian)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Japan
      • Japan reports a record for the third consecutive day of 25,876 new cases of COVID-19. (Jiji Press)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia
      • Malaysia reports a record for the third consecutive day of 23,564 new cases of COVID-19, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 1.51 million. (The Star)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines
      • The Philippines reports a record 17,231 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 1.8 million. (ABS-CBN News)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka
      • President Gotabaya Rajapaksa imposes a ten-day nationwide lockdown in Sri Lanka in an attempt to reduce the spread of COVID-19. (Al Jazeera English)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand
      • Thailand surpasses one million cases of COVID-19. (The Straits Times)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Croatia, COVID-19 vaccination in Croatia
      • The number of adults who received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in Croatia surpasses 50%. (International The News)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Portugal
      • Portugal eases its COVID-19-related restrictions two weeks earlier than planned. Beginning on August 23, the country will allow eight people indoors and 15 people outdoors to sit together in bars and restaurants, and will also allow cultural events, weddings and baptisms to increase their capacity to 75% and permit restaurants, cultural venues and other businesses to remain open until 2:00 a.m. as the vaccination rate surpasses 70%. (Reuters)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, COVID-19 drug development
      • The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency approves the country's first monoclonal antibody cocktail drug (Ronapreve) developed by Regeneron and Roche to treat severe COVID-19 patients in the United Kingdom. (Euronews)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Cuba, COVID-19 vaccination in Cuba
    • Cuba grants the emergency use approval for its second homegrown Soberana 2 vaccine. (Reuters)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa, COVID-19 vaccination in South Africa
    • South Africa expands the country's vaccine age eligibility to all adults over the age of 18 in order to increase the vaccination rate as the country deals with an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases caused by the Delta variant. (AP)

International relations

• Germany–Russia relations
  • On her last official trip as Chancellor, Angela Merkel urges Russian President Vladimir Putin to release jailed activist Alexei Navalny. The Russian government rebuffed Merkel, saying that Navalny is in prison due to reasons not linked to politics. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

• 2020–21 Malaysian political crisis
  • Ismail Sabri Yaakob is appointed as the 9th Prime Minister of Malaysia, following the resignation of Muhyiddin Yassin amid the collapse of the government. (Malaysiakini) (The Independent) (DW)

Current events of August 19, 2021 (2021-08-19) (Thursday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• War in Afghanistan
  • Taliban insurgency
    • 2021 Taliban offensive
      • A Taliban militant is stabbed by protestors in Asadabad while celebrating Independence Day. Fellow Taliban militants open fire on the crowd after the stabbing, killing two people and wounding eight others. Additionally, two people are injured during a protest in Jalalabad. (Al Jazeera)
      • More incidents are reported at the airport in Kabul, as civilians try to escape the country. A total of 12 people have been confirmed to have been killed at the airport since the fall of the city, primarily due to stampedes and gun incidents. (Business Insider)
      • Ahmad Massoud, the 32-year-old son of anti-Soviet mujahideen leader Ahmad Shah Massoud, vows to resist a potential assault of the Taliban on Panjshir. Massoud, who is allied with self-proclaimed acting president Amrullah Saleh, says that the Taliban will face a "staunch resistance" if they attack. (Reuters)
      • U.S. President Joe Biden says that the Taliban "must decide if it wants international recognition", but that the group had not changed its priorities during the past 20 years. (RTE)
    • Operation Allies Refuge
      • The Pentagon announces that 7,000 civilians have been evacuated since August 14. (Axios)
  • The Taliban declares the formation of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. (Forbes)
• Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
  • Three people are killed and 50 more wounded during a grenade attack at a Shiite religious procession in Bahawalnagar, Punjab, Pakistan. (Al Jazeera)
• War in Somalia
  • A suicide bomber blows himself up at a restaurant in Mogadishu, Somalia, killing three people and wounding several more. The restaurant was frequented by members of the security forces as it is near to a security agency. (Xinhua)
• Mali War
  • Jihadists ambush a convoy in Mopti, killing 11 soldiers and wounding 10 others. A roadside bomb hit the convoy, and gunmen then opened fire. (Republic World)
• Thirty-two people are killed in Far North, Cameroon, in clashes between fishermen and herders since the beginning of the month. Nineteen villages have been burned. (Reuters)

Business and economy

• Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020–2021 global chip shortage
  • Toyota reduces its production quota for next month by 40% due to the resurgence of COVID-19 in Asia severely impacting the company's supply chains, especially those involved in chip production. Up to this point, the company was one of the only major car manufacturers to avoid scaling back production during the pandemic. Volkswagen warns that it might also have to reduce its production quotas for similar reasons. (BBC)
• Content subscription service OnlyFans announces that it will ban sexually explicit material beginning in October. The policy changes, according to UK-based company, are "to comply with the requests of our banking partners and payout providers". (Variety)

Disasters and accidents

• 2021 Haiti earthquake
  • The death toll of the earthquake in Haiti reaches 2,189. (Associated Press)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Oceania
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
      • COVID-19 vaccination in Australia
        • The number of people over the age of 16 who have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in Australia surpasses 50%, with a record 309,010 doses administered yesterday. (ABC News Australia)
      • Australia reports a new single-day record of 754 new cases of COVID-19, including a record for the second consecutive day of 681 new cases of COVID-19 in New South Wales, surpassing the previous record set in August 2020 during the second wave of the pandemic in Victoria. (The Canberra Times)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Fiji
      • Fiji surpasses 400 deaths from COVID-19. (RNZ)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand, COVID-19 vaccination in New Zealand
      • Prime Minister Jacinda Arden's Cabinet grants approval for children between the ages of 12 and 15 to receive the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine beginning on September 1. (Newshub)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia, COVID-19 vaccination in Indonesia
      • Indonesia receives their first shipment of 1.56 million doses of the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine. (Kabar24)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Iran
      • Iran surpasses 100,000 deaths from COVID-19. (Reuters)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Japan
      • Japan reports a record for the second consecutive day of 25,156 new cases of COVID-19. (Jiji Press)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia
      • Malaysia reports a record for the second consecutive day of 22,242 new cases of COVID-19, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 1,489,460. (The Edge Markets)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines, COVID-19 community quarantines in the Philippines
      • Metro Manila and the provinces of Bataan and Laguna will have their restrictions eased under the slightly restrictive Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine beginning on August 21 for Metro Manila and Laguna and August 23 for Bataan. (Rappler)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore, COVID-19 vaccination in Singapore
      • Singapore begins reopening its borders with the launch of Vaccinated Travel Lanes for fully vaccinated travellers from Germany and Brunei, while quarantine-free restrictions will be eased for travellers from Hong Kong, Macau, Mainland China outside of Jiangsu Province, New Zealand and Taiwan. (CNA)
      • Beginning tomorrow, all travellers entering Singapore who are fully vaccinated with a World Health Organization-recognized COVID-19 vaccine will be issued a tamper-proof vaccination sticker in their passport upon the presentation of a COVID-19 vaccination certificate. (TODAY)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam
      • Vietnam reports a record 10,654 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 312,611. (Viet Nam News)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in France, Travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic
    • France designates Algeria and Morocco as "high-risk" countries, which means that beginning from August 21, unvaccinated travellers will have to prove that their trip is essential, requiring a proof of negative COVID-19 test, and must accept a 10-day self-quarantine. (Radio France Internationale)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Kenya, COVID-19 vaccination in Kenya
    • Kenya's Pharmacy and Poisons Board grants emergency use authorization for the Moderna and Sinopharm BBIBP-CorV vaccines. (Bloomberg)
• Ivory Coast reports an outbreak of the highly pathogenic H5N1 after a large number of poultry birds started dying in the Grand-Bassam commune near the capital Abidjan on July 20. (Reuters)

International relations

• COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong, COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore, Travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic
  • Hong Kong and Singapore abandon plans to resume a "travel bubble" for quarantine-free travel between the two cities due to differing COVID-19 policies. (The Straits Times)

Law and crime

• The U.S. Supreme Court Building, the headquarters of the Republican National Committee, and other locations in Washington, D.C.'s Capitol Hill area are evacuated after a man parked his truck in front of the Library of Congress and threatened to detonate a bomb while making anti-government statements. The man surrendered to the police several hours after he began his standoff. (CNBC)

Science and technology

• Climate Change
  • Rain falls on the summit of Greenland for the first time in recorded history. The rain shower dumped more than 7 billion tonnes of water on the ice sheet. (CNN)

Sports

• 2020 Summer Paralympics, Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports
  • The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games reports the first Paralympic-linked case of COVID-19 at the Olympic village that is not a Paralympic athlete or a Japanese resident. (BBC)

Current events of August 18, 2021 (2021-08-18) (Wednesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• War in Afghanistan
  • Taliban insurgency
    • 2021 Taliban offensive
      • 2021 Afghan protests
        • Three people are killed and 12 more are wounded during a shootout as civilians protest in Jalalabad against the Taliban banner replacing Afghanistan's national flag. (Reuters)
      • The United Arab Emirates confirms through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs that former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has been welcomed into the country along with his family on humanitarian grounds. (Reuters)
      • The Afghan embassy in Tajikistan issues a request to INTERPOL to arrest former President Ghani on the accusation that Ghani stole from the country's treasury when he left Afghanistan. (Forbes)
      • Former President Ghani says that he left the country to avoid being lynched. He also denies reports that he left the country with cash and says that he is in talks to return to Afghanistan. (The New York Times)
      • The Kyrgyz Ministry of Foreign Affairs announces that 15 more citizens of Kyrgyzstan have evacuated out of Afghanistan. (Kabar)
    • Operation Allies Refuge
      • During an interview with ABC News reporter George Stephanopoulos, U.S. President Joe Biden says that the U.S. is committed to getting every American out of Afghanistan, even if it means extending the mission past the August 31 withdrawal deadline. (ABC News)
      • Oregon Governor Kate Brown announces in a statement that Oregon will accept Afghan refugees, becoming the latest U.S. state to do so. (The Hill)
      • U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says that American troops will evacuate as many Americans and allied Afghan interpreters as they can, but also admits that the Pentagon lacks the capacity to do so. Austin also announces that around 5,000 people have already been evacuated. (Stars and Stripes) (NBC News)
• Insurgency in the Maghreb
  • Clashes between the armed forces of Burkina Faso and militants linked to al-Qaeda and ISIL kill dozens of people. In an attack in the northern town of Arbinda, militants killed 30 civilians, 14 soldiers and three pro-government militiamen. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

• 2021 France wildfires
  • Two people are killed by wildfires that are affecting Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France, mostly near the city of Saint-Tropez. (The Guardian)
• Flash flooding caused by torrential rains kills at least seven people in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. (Al Jazeera)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Israel
      • Israel begins to require people over the age of 3 to show their vaccination certificate, a negative test result, or proof that they have recovered from COVID-19 in order to enter indoor places other than malls and stores. Additionally, there will be crowd size restrictions at large events and malls and stores will be required to limit their capacity to no more than one person per 7 square metres (75 sq ft). (Haaretz)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Japan
      • Japan reports a record 23,917 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, with new records also being reported in 27 prefectures. (The Japan Times)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia
      • Malaysia reports a record 22,242 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 1.46 million. (Free Malaysia Today)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka
      • Due to an increase in the number of COVID-19 infections, Sri Lanka closes all swimming pools, shopping malls, spas, arenas, gyms, and playgrounds, restricts travel to one person from each household for essential reasons only, and also bans carnivals, beach parties and musical events. (Economynext)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand
      • Thailand reports a record for the second consecutive day of 312 deaths from COVID-19, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 8,285. (Inquirer)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam
      • Vietnam surpasses 300,000 cases of COVID-19. (Vietnam Plus)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Oceania
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
      • COVID-19 pandemic in New South Wales
        • New South Wales reports a record 633 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours. (The Sydney Morning Herald)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand
      • New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announces a snap lockdown, stating that the country's first community infection of COVID-19 in six months, reported yesterday, is suspected of being a Delta variant case. The lockdown will last for seven days in Auckland and the Coromandel Peninsula, and for three days in the rest of the country. (ABC News Australia) (Times of Oman)
      • New Zealand announces that the country's first community infection of COVID-19 in six months is also the country's first confirmed case of the Delta variant, and that the total number of cases associated with the current outbreak has increased to 10. (9 News) (Japan Today)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in North America
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico
      • COVID-19 vaccination in Mexico
        • The Mexican Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risk issues an emergency use authorization for the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. (El Financiero)
      • Mexico reports a record 28,953 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 3,152,205. (Bloomberg)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
      • COVID-19 pandemic in California
        • California announces that they will require people to show a proof of vaccination or negative COVID-19 test results in the previous 72 hours to attend any indoor “mega events” with more than 1,000 people beginning from September 20, becoming the first U.S. state to enact these rules. (Forbes)
      • COVID-19 vaccination in the United States
        • The Biden administration announces that, beginning on September 20, the U.S. will begin administering booster shoots of the Moderna and Pfizer–BioNTech vaccines for most people who received their second dose at least eight months ago. (Business Insider)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Tunisia
    • Tunisia eases its nightly curfew from midnight to 5:00 a.m. and allows restaurants to remain open until 10 p.m. as the number of COVID-19 cases decreases. (Reuters)
• Bulgaria reports an outbreak of African swine fever at an industrial farm with 13,000 pigs in the village of Apriltsi. (Reuters)

Sports

• 2021 Japanese Grand Prix, Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on motorsport
  • Formula One announces that this year's Japanese Grand Prix scheduled for October 8–10 has been cancelled due to an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in Japan. (BBC Sport)

Current events of August 17, 2021 (2021-08-17) (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)
    • 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)

Current events of August 16, 2021 (2021-08-16) (Monday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• War in Afghanistan
  • Taliban insurgency
    • 2021 Taliban offensive
      • Fall of Kabul
        • Russia accuses President Ashraf Ghani of fleeing the country with "four cars and a helicopter full of cash" and that he also left money behind that could not be transported with him. Ghani's whereabouts are still unknown although multiple sources say that he is currently in Tajikistan. (Reuters)
        • The first Afghan President after the 2001 United States invasion, Hamid Karzai, announces that he and his daughters will remain in Kabul as he appeals to the Taliban to respect his life and the lives of civilians in Afghanistan. (Indiatimes)
        • Saudi Arabia calls on the Taliban and "all Afghan parties" to "preserve lives and property" and also states that "Saudi Arabia stands with the decision of the Afghan people without interference". (Reuters)
        • The Taliban sets up a cordon and blocks access to Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport and also fires warning shots as civilians attempt to leave the country. (Al Jazeera English)
        • Kyrgyzstan says 500 visas will be issued to students from Afghanistan. (AKIpress News Agency)
  • Withdrawal of United States troops from Afghanistan
    • U.S. troops shoot dead two "armed men" at Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport as evacuations of Western diplomats and allied Afghans continue. (The Wall Street Journal)
    • Two people are recorded falling to their deaths from a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III flying over the airport. Local reports say that the stowaways landed on nearby rooftops. In a separate incident, three civilians are run over and killed while clinging to a U.S. jet on the runway. (NDTV)
    • U.S. President Joe Biden addresses the nation following his decision to withdraw from Afghanistan. In the address, Biden said that he "stands squarely behind" the decision to withdraw from the country and admits that the government's collapse was "quicker than anticipated". (The Independent) (USA Today)
  • Operation Pitting
    • The United Kingdom deploys an additional 200 troops to Kabul to help airlift UK nationals and Afghans who worked with British forces during the war. (BBC News)
  • Uzbekistan shoots down an Afghan Air Force jet that crossed into its airspace. The pilot ejected and survived, according to a statement from the Ministry of Defense. (Reuters)
• Insurgency in the Maghreb
  • 2021 Niger attacks
    • Gunmen on motorbikes storm the village of Darey-Daye, Niger, as they were tending their fields, killing 37 civilians. (Al Jazeera)
• Israeli–Palestinian conflict
  • Four Palestinians are killed and another is seriously injured after an undercover branch of the Israel Border Police raided a refugee camp in Jenin in the occupied West Bank. The raid, which was organized to arrest a suspected Hamas member, resulted in the highest death toll in the area in months. (BBC News)

Disasters and accidents

• 2021 Haiti earthquake
  • The death toll from the earthquake that struck Haiti two days ago increases to 1,297 people. More than 5,700 others are injured. (BBC News)
  • Tropical Storm Grace threatens earthquake-hit Haiti as it approaches the island of Hispaniola with sustained winds of 35 mph (56 km/h), and even stronger gusts. (CNN International)
• Wildfires in 2021
  • Around one thousand people are evacuated in Castile and León, Spain, as a wildfire spreads across the region. (Reuters)
• 2020–21 North American drought
  • The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation issues an official water shortage declaration at the Lake Mead reservoir for the first time. The shortage will mean reduced water apportionments to Arizona, Nevada and Mexico beginning in October. (Reuters)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh
      • Bangladesh reports its first case of the SARS-CoV-2 Lambda variant in the sample of a 49-year-old woman in Dhaka. (Dhaka Tribune)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong
      • Travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic
        • Hong Kong reclassifies 15 countries and territories, including the U.S., France, Malaysia, and Thailand, to the "high-risk" category, which means that beginning on August 20, there will be mandatory 21-day quarantines and tougher boarding requirements for travellers arriving from those countries due to an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases caused by the Delta variant. (South China Morning Post)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Iran
      • Iran reports a record 655 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 98,483. (Reuters)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Israel, COVID-19 vaccination in Israel
      • The number of people over the age of 50 who have received a booster COVID-19 vaccine dose in Israel reaches one million. (The Times of Israel)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia
      • Malaysian movement control order
        • The Government of Malaysia begins to allow 11 more economic sectors in states under Phase 1 of the national recovery plan to reopen. Operators of businesses in these sectors must ensure that their customers show a digital COVID-19 vaccination certificate before entering the business. (Free Malaysia Today)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
    • COVID-19 pandemic in France
      • France requires shoppers to show their "health pass" in order to enter 126 shopping centres that have a size of more than 20,000 m² (220,000 sq ft) in Paris and 12 departments that reached a threshold of 200 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people. (Radio France Internationale)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Germany, COVID-19 vaccination in Germany
      • The German Standing Committee on Vaccination recommends that all children between the ages of 12 and 17 receive a COVID-19 vaccine due to increased risks posed by the highly transmissible SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant. (The Tribune)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in North Macedonia
      • North Macedonia restricts the access of cafés, restaurants and public events to only those who have been vaccinated with at least one dose or who have recovered from COVID-19 within the past 45 days and also limits the capacity of restaurants to 30 people with only outdoor parts of restaurants to be open in order to reduce the spread of COVID-19 cases. (U.S. News & World Report)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
      • COVID-19 pandemic in England, COVID-19 pandemic in Northern Ireland
        • A requirement for fully vaccinated people and people under the age of 18 to self-isolate is removed in England and Northern Ireland if they come into contact with someone who has tested positive for the virus. These people are now advised to take a PCR test despite such tests being voluntary and also wear a face covering while in enclosed spaces. (BBC News)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the Northern Territory, COVID-19 pandemic in Victoria
      • Greater Darwin and Katherine enter a three-day lockdown after new community transmissions of COVID-19 were reported. Meanwhile, lockdown restrictions in Melbourne are extended and tightened for an additional two weeks, with a controversial nighttime curfew reinstated. (The Australian) (ABC News Australia)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
    • COVID-19 pandemic in New York (state)
      • Outgoing New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announces that healthcare workers in the state will be required to be vaccinated by September 27. (WIVB-TV)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Washington, D.C.
      • Washington, D.C. announces that they will require healthcare workers and other health-related professionals to be vaccinated with at least a first dose of the Pfizer–BioNTech or Moderna vaccine or a single-dose Janssen vaccine by September 30. (The Hill)
• Ivory Coast begins to vaccinate "healthcare workers, close relatives and contacts of the victim" against Ebola using 5,000 doses of Ebola vaccines donated by Guinea after the first case of the virus since 1994 was reported over the weekend. (Al Jazeera English)

Law and crime

• The Speaker of the Tongan Parliament, Lord Fakafanua, introduces the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Bill 2021 for debate in the legislative assembly. The Speaker wants a mandatory death sentence for serious drug offenses. Tonga has a moratorium on the death penalty and has not used it in more than four decades. (RNZ International)
• The last living Khmer Rouge leader, Khieu Samphan, appears before a court in Phnom Penh in order to appeal his conviction and attempt to overturn it. The 90-year-old's hearing is expected to last for only a few days as analysts say that it is very unlikely that he will succeed in his appeal. (Deutsche Welle)
• In an unanimous decision, the Supreme Court of Uganda strikes down a 2014 law outlawing the distribution of pornography and wearing of "indecent" clothes as unconstitutional. Women's rights groups in the country campaigned against the law since its inception, saying it unfairly singled out women for discrimination. (BBC News)

Politics and elections

• 2020–21 Malaysian political crisis
  • Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin resigns from office, as a result of the ruling Perikatan Nasional coalition government's collapse. Yassin will remain as caretaker prime minister until a new government is formed. (CNA)
• COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka, Political impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
  • President Gotabaya Rajapaksa replaces his health minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi with Keheliya Rambukwella, who was previously the media minister and government spokesman, with Wanniarachchi becoming the transport minister, amid public criticism over her understating of COVID-19 infections and her endorsement of sorcery and magic potions to combat the virus. (Al Jazeera English)

Sports

• Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports
  • 2020 Summer Paralympics
    • The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the International Paralympic Committee, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, and the Japanese government issue a joint statement indicating that spectators will be banned at Paralympic venues in Tokyo and other prefectures that are currently under a state of emergency due to the spread of COVID-19. (The Washington Post) (France 24)

Current events of August 15, 2021 (2021-08-15) (Sunday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• War in Afghanistan
  • Taliban insurgency
    • 2021 Taliban offensive
      • Fall of Kabul
        • The Taliban enters Kabul and seizes the presidential palace, overthrowing the government. (Sky News) (The Washington Post)
        • President Ashraf Ghani agrees to form a team for negotiations and also agrees to step down and allow an interim Taliban government to govern the country amid the insurgent group's advance. Among the people in the negotiation team is the first president of Afghanistan after the 2001 U.S. invasion, Hamid Karzai. (TOLO)
        • President Ashraf Ghani and Vice President Amrullah Saleh leave the country and are currently in Tajikistan. (BBC News)
        • Taliban officials indicate that there will be no "transitional government" in Afghanistan, saying that the group expects a complete transfer of power from the Ghani government. (Reuters)
        • Secretary-General of the United Nations António Guterres calls on the Taliban to exercise restraint and respect human rights, especially those concerning women and girls. Guterres also expressed concern at the civilian casualties in areas of conflict. (Reuters)
        • In his first public comments since going into exile, ousted president Ashraf Ghani concedes that the Taliban has "won the war" in Afghanistan, saying that "they are now facing a new historical test. Either they will preserve the name and honour of Afghanistan or they will give priority to other places and networks". (The Hindu)
      • The Taliban captures Jalalabad, the provincial capital of the Nangarhar Province. The jihadist group faced no resistance as the Afghan military and provincial governor surrendered. Taliban forces also enter the Char Asiab District of the Kabul Province, advancing within 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) of Kabul. (Reuters) (Sky News) (The Independent)
      • The Afghan military transfers control of Bagram Airfield, formerly the largest U.S. airbase in the country, to the Taliban. Five thousand unlawful combatants are freed from the airbase's military prison. (The Economic Times)
      • Embassies of Western countries are evacuated and relocated at Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport. The Russian embassy is not evacuated, as it considers that "the situation in Kabul is a bit tense, but there is no war in the city". The Turkish embassy also remains open. (The Guardian) (Financial Times)
    • Withdrawal of United States troops from Afghanistan
      • U.S. Department of State spokesperson Ned Price announces that the U.S. Embassy is successfully evacuated. (CBS News)
    • Taliban spokesperson Mohammad Naeem says on Al Jazeera Mubasher that the war in Afghanistan is over. (Reuters) (Al Jazeera English)

Disasters and accidents

• 2021 Algeria wildfires
  • The death toll from the wildfires in Algeria rise to 90 people, including 57 civilians and 33 soldiers. (Africa News)
• Heavy rain in Japan causes a landslide in Okaya, Nagano. Three people are dead after the landslide damaged their house. (The Japan Times)
• A passenger bus overturns on the M7 motorway, west of Budapest, Hungary, killing eight people and injuring dozens of other passengers. (Reuters)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Iran
      • Iran reports a record 620 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 97,828. (France 24)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Laos
      • Laos surpasses 10,000 cases of COVID-19. (Xinhua News Agency)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines
      • The Philippines reports its first case of the SARS-CoV-2 Lambda variant in a 35-year-old female who is asymptomatic and recovered after isolating for 10 days. (Rappler)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand
      • Thailand surpasses 900,000 cases of COVID-19. (The Star)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Australia, COVID-19 vaccination in Australia
    • A batch of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine arrived in Australia from Poland, in which half of vaccine doses will target people aged 20 to 39 years old in 12 local government areas of concern across New South Wales. (SBS World News)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Serbia
    • The Serbian health authorities authorise a third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine for immunocompromised people, health workers and anyone who was vaccinated at least six months ago, and would begin administering these doses on Tuesday. (Reuters)
• Singapore announces the first giant panda cub in the city-state when the 12-year-old panda Jia Jia gave birth to a cub at River Safari after being artificially inseminated with frozen semen from 13-year-old Kai Kai. (The Straits Times) (Radio France Internationale)

International relations

• Israel–Poland relations
  • Israel recalls a top diplomat from Poland, after the country passed a law limiting property restitution for Jewish Holocaust survivors. (Politico Europe)

Law and crime

• Hong Kong national security law
  • The Civil Human Rights Front in Hong Kong disbands. The pro-democracy group had been under pressure from the government for allegedly being internationally funded. The group's leader Figo Chan and prominent member Jimmy Sham are both in prison. (Deutsche Welle)
• Konstantin Pavlov, the pro-Russian mayor of Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, is found dead at his home with a gunshot wound. The National Police of Ukraine say that they are currently establishing the circumstances of the mayor's death and have also opened a criminal case. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

• 2021 Canadian federal election
  • Prime Minister Justin Trudeau obtains the dissolution of the House of Commons for an election scheduled on September 20. (CBC News)
• 2020–21 Malaysian political crisis
  • Reports emerge of the imminent resignation of Prime Minister of Malaysia Muhyiddin Yassin on August 16. (Reuters)

Science and technology

• Spain records the highest temperature ever of 47.4°C (117.3°F) in Montoro, province of Córdoba amid an historic heat wave. (Big News Network)

Time: 06:21 UTC|Day: 21 August

	August 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

Disasters

• COVID-19 pandemic
• 2020–21 European windstorm season
• 2020–2021 H5N8 outbreak
• 2021 Atlantic hurricane season
• 2021 Pacific typhoon season
• Madagascar food crisis
• Water crisis in Iran
• Yemeni famine

Politics

• Afghan peace process
• Arab protests
• Belarusian protests
• Belarus-European Union border crisis
• Brazilian protests
• Colombian tax reform protests
• Cuban protests
• Eswatini protests
• Haitian protests
• Indian farmers' protests
• Iranian protests
• Jersey dispute
• Libyan peace process
• Myanmar protests
• Nicaraguan protests
• Nigerian protests
• Persian Gulf crisis
• Peruvian crisis
• Sudanese protests
• Tigrayan peace process
• Thai protests
• Tunisian political crisis
• United States racial unrest (Stop Asian Hate)
• Venezuelan presidential crisis

Elections and referendums

Recent

• August
  • 12: Zambia, President, National Assembly

Upcoming

• September
  • 5: São Tomé and Príncipe, President (2nd) 

Trials

Recently concluded

• Belarus: Viktar Babaryka
• China: Sun Dawu, Michael Spavor
• Hong Kong: Jimmy Lai
• Indonesia: Edhy Prabowo, Muhammad Rizieq Shihab
• Russia: Lyubov Sobol
• South Africa: Jacob Zuma
• Spain: 2017 Barcelona attacks
• Switzerland: Alieu Kosiah
• Tonga: ʻAkosita Lavulavu
• United Kingdom: Apsana Begum
• United States: Cristhian Bahena Rivera, Stephen Calk, Ed Buck

Ongoing

• Argentina: Rodolfo Martín Villa
• Armenia: Serzh Sargsyan
• Belarus: Sergei Tikhanovsky
• Colombia: Álvaro Uribe
• France: Nicolas Sarkozy
• India: Disha Ravi
• Indonesia: Juliari Batubara, Nurdin Abdullah
• Israel: Benjamin Netanyahu
• Kyrgyzstan: Almazbek Atambayev
• Malta: Yorgen Fenech
• Spain: Bárcenas affair, Barçagate
• Sudan: Omar al-Bashir
• United States: R. Kelly
• Vatican City: Giovanni Angelo Becciu
• International: Ali Kushayb, The Gambia v. Myanmar

Upcoming

• Canada: Raj Grewal
• Kosovo: Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli
• Lesotho: Maesiah Thabane
• Rwanda: Paul Rusesabagina
• United States: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Elizabeth Holmes, Meng Wanzhou, Ghislaine Maxwell, Allen Weisselberg
• 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
• Women's association football
  • 2021 NWSL season
• Baseball
  • 2021 MLB season
• Cricket
  • 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
• Motorsport
  • 2021 Formula One Championship
  • 2021 Rally Championship
  • 2021 MotoGP
  • 2021 Supercars Championship
• Rugby league
  • 2021 NRL season
  • 2021 Super League
• Rugby union
  • 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
  • 2021-22 snooker season
  • 2021–22 curling season

More details – current sports events

Recent deaths

August

• 19: Sonny Chiba
• 19: Chuck Close
• 18: Joseph L. Galloway
• 16: Sean Lock
• 15: Gerd Müller
• 15: Joe Walton
• 14: Carlos Correia
• 14: Fez Whatley
• 13: Nanci Griffith
• 13: James Hormel
• 13: Leon Kopelman
• 13: Carolyn S. Shoemaker
• 12: Gino Strada
• 12: Dominic DeNucci
• 12: Una Stubbs
• 10: Neal Conan
• 10: Tony Esposito
• 10: Maki Kaji
• 10: Eduardo Martínez Somalo
• 9: Lester Bird
• 9: Cameron Burrell
• 9: Alex Cord
• 9: Pat Hitchcock
• 9: Bob Jenkins
• 9: Sergei Kovalev
• 9: Chucky Thompson
• 8: Bobby Bowden
• 8: Jaan Kaplinski
• 8: Walter Yetnikoff
• 7: Brad Allan
• 7: Trevor Moore
• 7: Markie Post
• 7: Jane Withers
• 6: Herbert Schlosser
• 5: Brian Henderson
• 5: Yevhen Marchuk
• 5: Richard Trumka
• 4: Razzy Bailey
• 4: Bobby Eaton
• 4: Graham McRae
• 4: J. R. Richard
• 3: Jody Hamilton
• 3: Arthur Dion Hanna
• 3: Kelli Hand
• 3: Antonio Pennacchi
• 2: Elias John Kwandikwa
• 2: Dave Severance
• 1: Francisco Weffort

July

• 31: Paco Cabanes Pastor
• 30: Rachel Oniga
• 29: Jaime Chamorro Cardenal
• 29: Richard Lamm
• 29: Carl Levin
• 29: Janet Banana
• 29: Albert Vanhoye
• 28: Ron Popeil
• 28: Giuseppe Giacomini
• 27: Dusty Hill
• 27: Gianni Nazzaro
• 26: Brazo de Plata
• 26: Mike Enzi
• 26: Mike Howe
• 26: Joey Jordison
• 26: Fernando Karadima
• 25: Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho
• 25: Bob Moses
• 24: Rodney Alcala
• 24: Dieter Brummer
• 24: Jackie Mason
• 23: Alfred Biolek
• 23: John Cornell
• 23: Steven Weinberg
• 22: Boris Chochiev
• 22: Greg Knapp

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)
  • Oromo conflict
• 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
    • 2021 Taliban offensive
• India
  • 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
• 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