Portal:Current events/2021 August 1

August 1, 2021 (Sunday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

July 2021 Gulf of Oman incident
- The United Kingdom and the United States join Israel in blaming Iran for the strike. British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab says that the UK and its allies are planning a coordinated response. However, an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson says the allegation is "baseless." (AP) (The Hill)
Insurgency in the Maghreb
- 2021 Niger attacks
  - Fifteen troops are killed and six others are missing as Islamists ambush them in Torodi, Tillabéri Region, Niger. A bomb also explodes as the soldiers tried to evacuate their wounded. (France 24)
Central African Republic Civil War
- Militants belonging to the 3R group attack a military position in the village of Mann, Central African Republic, killing six civilians and wounding several more. (Al Jazeera)
Five people, including three Hezbollah members, are killed and several more are wounded as gunmen open fire at the funeral of Ali Shibli, a Hezbollah member who was assassinated yesterday in Khalde, Lebanon. Both the attacks are described as motivated by anti-shi'ism and as a revenge for the killing of a Sunni Arab teenager and a Syrian last year in the same town. (France 24)

Arts and culture

YouTube suspensions
- YouTube bans News Corp's Sky News Australia channel from uploading new content for seven days after commentator Alan Jones spreads COVID-19 misinformation. This comes shortly after The Daily Telegraph fired Jones and ended his regular column over similar concerns. According to a YouTube spokesman, "Specifically, we don’t allow content that denies the existence of Covid-19 or that encourages people to use hydroxychloroquine or ivermectin to treat or prevent the virus." (The Guardian)
Canada observes "Emancipation Day" nationwide for the first time. The holiday, commemorating the day in 1834 when the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 came into force and outlawed slavery in Canada and most of the British Empire, was unanimously declared by Parliament in March. (Al Jazeera)
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern formally apologizes to the Pacific Islander community for the Dawn Raids, a series of police raids in the 1970s that targeted and deported Pacific Islanders accused of overstaying their work visas, and says that the government will create new education and training scholarships for the community, and an official account of the raids in order to compensate for them. The apology was supposed to happen in June, but it was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Al Jazeera)

Disasters and accidents

2021 Afghanistan flood
- Flash flooding continues for the fourth day in Kamdesh District, Nuristan Province, killing several more people and bringing the death toll to 113. (Al Jazeera)
2021 Turkish wildfires
- The death toll from wildfires in southern Turkey rises to eight. Thousands of tourists are evacuated from Bodrum by the Coast Guard Command as the fires close in on the port city. (Reuters)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Cambodia
    - Cambodia begins a COVID-19 vaccination rollout for teenagers between the ages of 12 and 17 years using the Sinovac CoronaVac vaccine. Prime Minister Hun Sen's grandchildren are among the first to receive the vaccine. (France 24)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia, Travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic
    - Saudi Arabia lifts its travel restrictions for the first time since March 2020 for tourists who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 using government-approved vaccines. Vaccinated travelers must register themselves on the data registration portal introduced by the Ministry of Tourism, which also requires a negative PCR test from the previous 72 hours. (Hindustan Times)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand
    - Thailand extends its semi-lockdown measures in 13 provinces including the Bangkok Metropolitan Region until August 31 and also extends the restrictions into 16 additional provinces beginning on August 3 due to an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in the country. (Bloomberg News)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Africa
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria, COVID-19 vaccination in Nigeria
    - Nigeria receives four million doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine from U.S. government. (Africanews)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Tunisia, COVID-19 vaccination in Tunisia
    - Tunisia receives 1.5 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine from Italy. (Al Arabiya)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Florida
    - The number of patients hospitalized due to COVID-19 in Florida reaches a record 10,207, surpassing the previous record of 10,170 people recorded on July 23, 2020. (Associated Press)
  - The U.S. surpasses 35 million cases of COVID-19. (NBC News)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Germany, Travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic
  - Germany begins to require any travelers over the age of 12 years old who have been not fully vaccinated or recovered from COVID-19, regardless of transportation mode, to present a negative COVID-19 test result taken within the previous 48 hours for rapid antigen tests and 72 hours for PCR tests amidst concerns of the spread of the Delta variant. (Deutsche Welle)

International relations

North Korea–South Korea relations
- Kim Jong-un's sister Kim Yo-jong warns South Korea against conducting military drills with the United States, saying that such a move could damage the talks to resolve the Korean conflict. The two Koreas have been improving relations lately, with North Korea restoring the border hotlines, which Kim Yo-jong called a "physical" measure in case the drills take place. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Five high-ranking army officers and several police officers are arrested in Madagascar in connection with a failed attempt to assassinate the country's president, thereby bringing the number of people arrested in connection to the plot to 21. (BBC News)

Politics and elections

2021 Myanmar coup d'état
- On the six-month anniversary of the coup, military junta leader Min Aung Hlaing names himself Prime Minister "in order to perform the country’s duties fast, easily and effectively", according to the ruling State Administration Council. (Reuters)

Sports

2021 Formula One World Championship
- 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix
  - French racing driver Esteban Ocon of Alpine wins the first Formula One race of his career. (CNN)
2020 Summer Olympics
- Athletics at the 2020 Summer Olympics
  - United States at the 2020 Summer Olympics
    - American shot putter Raven Saunders raises and crosses her arms in the shape of an X while participating in the Women's shot put medal ceremony. Podium demonstrations are banned by the International Olympic Committee, with the IOC announcing an investigation to the incident. (CNN)
  - Belarus at the 2020 Summer Olympics
    - Belarusian sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya is forcibly removed from the Games by the Belarus Olympic Committee after criticizing officials for entering her in the 4 by 400 meter relay race without her consent. Tsimanouskaya has appealed to the IOC for support and asked Japanese police for protection at Haneda Airport after she refused to board a flight to Belarus. (Deutsche Welle)
  - Italy at the 2020 Summer Olympics
    - Italian sprinter Marcell Jacobs wins the men's 100-metres final in an Olympics upset, tying as the 10th-fastest man of all time. (Reuters)
2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup
- In association football, the United States defeats Mexico 1–0 after extra time in the final to win their seventh Gold Cup title. (The Straits Times)