Portal:Current events/2021 July 27

July 27, 2021 (Tuesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Afar–Somali clashes
- According to the government of Ethiopia's Somali Region, militants from the Afar Region attack for the fourth day the Somali town of Garbaiisa, killing up to 300 people. In response, protesters set up roadblocks along a highway leading to Djibouti and damaged parts of the Addis Ababa–Djibouti Railway, threatening Ethiopia's economy. This comes after multiple days of fighting between Afar and Somali militants in Garbaiisa. (Reuters) (Bloomberg)
The Cuban embassy in Paris, France, is attacked with three molotovs, resulting in a fire outside the building but without causing any injuries. The identities of the perpetrators of the attack are unknown. (Al Jazeera)

Arts and culture

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York orders American handicraft chain Hobby Lobby to forfeit a 3,600-year-old tablet containing a portion of the Epic of Gilgamesh to the federal government, after the company illegally purchased it in a private auction in 2014. The Justice Department had been looking to claim the tablet since 2013, as it was suspected to have been stolen from an Iraqi archeological site in the aftermath of the 1991 Gulf War, so it could be repatriated back to Iraq. (CNN) (NBC News)

Disasters and accidents

2021 Leverkusen explosion
- Two people are killed, 31 are injured and five more are missing after an explosion at an industrial park housing several chemical companies in Leverkusen, NRW, Germany. (The Washington Post)
2021 California wildfires
- The Dixie Fire grows to 208,206 acres, which is larger than the size of New York City. (San Francisco Chronicle)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh
    - Bangladesh reports a record for the second consecutive day of 258 deaths from COVID-19, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 19,779. (Dhaka Tribune)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia
    - Indonesia reports a record 47,128 recoveries and 2,069 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of recoveries to 2.596 million and the nationwide death toll to 86,835. (detikNews)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Iran
    - Iran reports a record for the second consecutive day of 34,951 new cases of COVID-19, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 3.758 million. (Gulf News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Japan
    - Tokyo reports a record 2,848 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours. (CBS News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Kazakhstan
    - Kazakhstan reports a record 6,797 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 542,703. (Azerbaijan Press Agency)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Kuwait, Travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic
    - Kuwait announces that it will ban unvaccinated people from travelling internationally beginning on August 1. However, the rule exempts children under the age of 16, those with a health ministry certificate saying that they cannot be vaccinated, and pregnant women who have a proof of pregnancy certificate. (Reuters)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia
    - Saudi Arabia will require COVID-19 vaccinations for people to access workplaces and attend social events. The order will come into effect on August 1. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Uzbekistan
    - Uzbekistan reports a record 789 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 125,784. (AKIPress)
- COVID-19 pandemic in North America
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Cuba
    - COVID-19 vaccination in Cuba
      - Over 8,900,000 people in Cuba have received a dose of the Abdala and Soberana 02 vaccine. (Radio Cadena Agramonte)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Washington, D.C.
      - The White House issues an indoor mask mandate for staff amid the spread of the Lineage B.1.617 Delta variant. (Axios)
      - U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas cancels in-person events and will self-isolate after coming in contact with an official in the department who later tested positive for COVID-19. (Politico)
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Arkansas
      - The Arkansas Children's Hospital reports 24 hospitalizations due to COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, a new single-day record. (KTHV-TV)
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Illinois
      - The Chicago Department of Public Health adds Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Kansas, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and Wyoming to their travel advisory amid an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases. (Newsweek)
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Mississippi
      - Mississippi Department of Corrections commissioner Burl Cain announces that the state will suspend visits to prisons as part of an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19. (Mississippi Today)
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Missouri
      - Kansas City will reimpose their mask mandate amidst a rise of COVID-19 cases in Missouri. (Kansas City Star)
    - U.S. CDC director Rochelle Walensky announces that residents, including vaccinated Americans, are recommended to wear masks in indoor public spaces amid the spread of the Delta variant. (NPR)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Iceland, Travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic
    - Iceland begins to require international travellers who have been vaccinated or who have recovered from COVID-19 to present a negative PCR or Antigen test result from the previous 72 hours due to the spread of the Delta variant. (Schengen Visa Info)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, NHS COVID-19
    - The United Kingdom eases its quarantine rules for essential workers in many fields who no longer need to quarantine for 10 days if they are fully vaccinated and only need to receive a COVID-19 test after the previous rules led to a shortage of workers. (The Hill)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Chile
  - Chile reports 753 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, the lowest daily total in the country since April 2020. (China.org)

International relations

North Korea–South Korea relations
- North and South Korea restore hotlines between the two countries, more than a year after Pyongyang cut ties in June 2020. The move comes after months of correspondence by letters of negotiations between South Korean president Moon Jae-in and North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un in an attempt to improve relations between the two countries. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Hong Kong national security law
- A court in Hong Kong found 24-year-old Tong Ying-kit, the first person to be charged under the national security law, guilty of terrorism and secession after driving his motorcycle into police. (DW) (Bloomberg)
The trial against Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu and ten others for financial crimes opens in the Holy See. Becciu and a monsignor are the only two to appear in court in person. Becciu denied any wrongdoing and the trial was adjourned. Pope Francis had previously stripped Becciu of his immunity and approved his indictment. Becciu's lawyers asked the court not to order the Cardinal's arrest. (Reuters)

Sports

2020 Summer Olympics
- Bermuda at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Triathlon at the 2020 Summer Olympics
  - Bermudian triathlete Flora Duffy wins the Women's event, giving Bermuda its first Olympic gold metal. (Reuters)
- Turkmenistan at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Weightlifting at the 2020 Summer Olympics
  - Turkmen weightlifter Polina Guryeva gets second place in the Women's 59 kg event, winning Turkmenistan its first Olympic medal. (AP News)
- North Macedonia at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Taekwondo at the 2020 Summer Olympics
  - Macedonian professional Taekwondo practitioner Dejan Georgievski wins second place in the Men's +80 kg, earning North Macedonia its first Olympic silver medal. It is also the first medal the country has won after its renaming in 2018 as well as the country's second medal overall. (Associated Press)