Portal:Current events/2021 February 23

February 23, 2021 (Tuesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Kivu conflict
- Allied Democratic Forces insurgency
  - Suspected ADF militants kill 13 people during two attacks in Beni, North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo. (Al Jazeera)

Arts and culture

Historical Memory Law
- The last statue of Spanish dictator Francisco Franco in Spain is removed in Melilla. (El País)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in North America
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
    - COVID-19 pandemic in North Dakota
      - The North Dakota House votes 50–44 to pass House Bill 1323, which bans state and local officials from imposing mask mandates. (Grand Forks Herald)
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Washington (state), 501.V2 variant
      - Washington reports their first case of the 501.V2 variant first detected in South Africa in King County. (The Seattle Times)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Canada
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Saskatchewan, 501.V2 variant
      - Saskatchewan reports their first case of the 501.V2 variant first detected in South Africa. The patients are two people from the Regina zone who tested positive for COVID-19 at the end of January. (CKCK-DT)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Northern Ireland, 501.V2 variant
      - Northern Ireland reports their first three cases of the 501.V2 variant first detected in South Africa. (The Irish Times)
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland
      - First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announces a roadmap to ease the lockdown, with four people from two households being allowed to meet outdoors as of March 15 and the lifting of the stay-at-home order on April 5. Non-essential businesses such as bars, restaurants, and gyms can be reopened on April 26, and Scotland will return to the levels system at the same time. (BBC News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the Czech Republic
    - Former president Václav Klaus tests positive for COVID-19. (Aktuálně.cz)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Italy
    - Italy raises the age limit for Oxford–AstraZeneca's vaccine to 65 years old from previously 55. (The Local Italy)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands
    - Prime Minister Mark Rutte extends the curfew until March 15 while easing some lockdown restrictions, with senior high schools and vocational schools reopening on March 1. (ABC News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Ireland
    - Taoiseach Micheál Martin announces the phased reopening of schools beginning on March 1 with junior and senior infants as well as senior students facing Leaving Certificate exams. Meanwhile, the government extends the level 5 lockdown restrictions until April 5. (The Guardian)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in San Marino
    - San Marino receives their first shipment of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine. (Reuters)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine
    - Ukraine receives their first shipment of 500 doses of the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine manufactured by the Serum Institute of India. (RFE/RL)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Afghanistan
    - Afghanistan begins a vaccination campaign against COVID-19 following the WHO's emergency use approval of the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine. (Anadolu Agency)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh
    - Bangladesh receives their second shipment of two million doses of the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine from the Serum Institute of India. (All India Radio)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Oman, travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic
    - Oman announces a ban on all travelers from 10 countries for 15 days beginning February 25 with the exception of Omani citizens, diplomats and health workers. (Gulf Business)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Africa
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Egypt
    - Egypt receives 300,000 doses of China's Sinopharm vaccine. (Asharq Al-awsat)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Senegal
    - Senegal begins a vaccination campaign against COVID-19 using 200,000 doses of China's Sinopharm vaccine. Government ministers and health workers are the first to receive the vaccine. (U.S. News and World Report)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Suriname
  - Suriname begins a vaccination campaign against COVID-19 using a small number of vaccine doses donated by Barbados. (Reuters)
Guinea begins a vaccination campaign against Ebola for high-risk people in Gouecke, Nzérékoré Prefecture, as an emergency measure to reduce the spread of the virus that was detected for the first time since 2016. (WHO Regional Office for Africa)

International relations

Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action
- Iran says that it is restricting the access of international inspectors to its nuclear installations. (AP via Al Arabiya)

Law and crime

Crime in Italy
- A man stabs and wounds two police officers and tries to stab two passersby, who escape unharmed, during a random stabbing rampage in Milan. The attacker is shot dead by police. (Milano Today)
At least 79 inmates are killed in simultaneous fights in three jails in Ecuador, prompted by a battle for control of the jails after a gang leader was killed in December. (BBC News)
Malaysia deports 1,086 Burmese citizens back to Myanmar, defying an order by the Kuala Lumpur High Court halting their deportation in light of the coup on February 1. (Reuters)

Science and technology

News Media Bargaining Code
- Facebook unblocks Australian news pages after the Australian government offers to make it exempt from their new News Media Bargaining Code if Facebook, Inc. can form enough private agreements to pay Australian news companies for their content. (The Guardian)

Sports

U.S. golfer Tiger Woods is involved in a serious car accident in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, sustaining multiple leg injuries, requiring surgery. (CNN)