Portal:Current events/2021 August 4

August 4, 2021 (Wednesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

August 2021 Gulf of Oman incident
- Oman says the hijacking of the Asphalt Princess, a Panama-flagged ship, is over. The United Kingdom also confirms this report. The vessel was hijacked yesterday in the Arabian Sea in as-of-yet undetermined circumstances amidst rising tensions between some nations and Iran. (Reuters)
Insurgency in the Maghreb
- Militants attack four villages in the town of Markoye, Burkina Faso, opening fire in the streets and killing 11 civilians, 15 soldiers and four members of a government-backed civilian militia. Ten of the perpetrators are killed during a shootout after the attack. (Al Jazeera)
Rocket attacks on Israel
- Three rockets are fired from Lebanon at northern Israel, sparking fires near Kiryat Shmona; the Israel Defense Forces responds with artillery and airstrikes. (i24 News) (The Times of Israel)

Disasters and accidents

Milavče train crash
- Two passenger trains collide head-on near Milavče, Plzeň Region, Czech Republic, killing three people and injuring 58 others. (Reuters)
Seventeen people are killed in northern Bangladesh during a lightning strike on a boat celebrating a wedding. (CNN)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Japan
    - Japan reports a record 14,207 new cases in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 971,904. (NHK)
    - Tokyo reports a record 4,166 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours. (The Hill)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China, Travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic
    - The Chinese immigration authority suspends the issuing of ordinary passports and other documents needed for exiting the country for "non-essential and non-emergency" reasons as the country restricts overseas travel in order to prevent the spread of the Delta variant. (Radio France Internationale)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia
    - Indonesia surpasses 100,000 deaths from COVID-19. (Associated Press)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Iran
    - Iran surpasses four million cases from COVID-19 after a record 39,957 new cases were reported for the third consecutive day. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Macau
    - Macau launches compulsory COVID-19 testing for all 680,000 people at 41 testing centres and will close all cinemas, gyms, bars, and other entertainment venues beginning midnight after the first local cases were reported in the city in more than 16 months. Four members of a family were infected with the Delta variant. (Bloomberg News) (France 24)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia
    - Malaysia reports a record 19,819 new cases and 257 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 1,183,110 and the nationwide death toll to 9,855. (CNA)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand
    - Thailand reports a record 20,200 new cases and 188 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 672,385 and the nationwide death toll to 5,503. (Bangkok Post)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
    - COVID-19 pandemic in England, Travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic
      - The British government announces that France will be removed from England's "amber plus" category, meaning that fully-vaccinated travellers will no longer need to quarantine. Additionally, seven other countries will be added to the "green list" category. These changes will be in effect beginning August 8 at 4:00 a.m. (ITV News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine
    - Ukraine receives 509,400 doses of the Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine donated by Denmark. (Ukrinform)
  - European Union response to the COVID-19 pandemic, COVID-19 vaccine
    - The European Commission signs an agreement with Novavax to purchase 200 million doses of its protein-based COVID-19 vaccines, including an option to purchase another 100 million doses through 2023. (Politico Europe)
- COVID-19 pandemic in North America
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Illinois
      - Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker issues a vaccine mandate for healthcare workers, as well as a mask mandate for schools and indoor sporting events. (Patch)
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Louisiana
      - Louisiana reports 2,247 hospitalizations in the past 24 hours, a new single-day record. (The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate)
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Oregon
      - Oregon Governor Kate Brown announces that healthcare workers will be required to receive the COVID-19 vaccine or otherwise undergo testing. (Portland Tribune)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Canada
    - COVID-19 pandemic in British Columbia
      - British Columbia reports 342 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, the highest daily total since May 27. (CBC News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Guadeloupe
    - The French overseas territory of Guadeloupe enters a three-week partial lockdown that closes all bars, gyms, stadiums, and swimming pools; and restricts restaurants to only offer lunchtime service. A curfew from 8:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. is also enforced while the travel of individuals is restricted to a radius of 10 km (6.2 mi) from their residence except for urgent reasons. The new partial lockdown comes amid a "catastrophic" increase in the number of COVID-19 cases. (Euronews)
- COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand
  - COVID-19 vaccination in New Zealand
    - New Zealand surpasses two million doses of COVID-19 vaccine administrations, with almost 770,000 people having been fully vaccinated. (The New Zealand Herald)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil
  - Brazil surpasses 20 million COVID-19 cases. (Al Arabiya)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Ivory Coast
  - Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara self-isolates after coming in contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19. (Reuters)
- The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide surpasses 200 million. (The New York Times)

International relations

The Sudanese government unanimously approves a draft bill to join the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. (Al Jazeera)

Law and crime

Aftermath of the 2020 Belarusian protests
- The trial of Maria Kalesnikava, one of the main organizers of the anti-Lukashenko protests, opens in Minsk. Kalesnikava faces up to 12 years of imprisonment if she is found guilty on charges of extremism. (BBC News)
Police in Kyiv arrest a man with a grenade who entered the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers building, threatening to detonate it. (Reuters)

Sports

2020 Summer Olympics
- Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports, Greece at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Artistic swimming at the 2020 Summer Olympics
  - The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games confirms the first COVID-19 cluster infection since the Games began, after four athletes and one team official from the Greek artistic swimming group test positive. The five individuals, in addition to the seven other members of the team who tested negative, were moved away from the Olympic village and isolated. (United Press International)