Portal:Current events/2021 March 19

March 19, 2021 (Friday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Houthi–Saudi Arabian conflict
- A Houthi drone strike on a Saudi Aramco oil refinery in the capital Riyadh causes a large fire. The Houthis say that they launched six drones at a Saudi Aramco facility and vow to continue operations against Saudi Arabia as long as its aggression against Yemen continues. (Al Jazeera)

Disasters and accidents

Volcanism in Iceland
- A volcano erupts south of Fagradalsfjall in Reykjanes, southwestern Iceland, according to the Meteorological Office. The eruption follows 40,000 earthquakes detected in the last month. (Iceland Monitor) (Daily Mirror) (Morgunblaðið)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines
    - COVID-19 vaccination in the Philippines
      - The Food and Drug Administration approves the emergency use of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine. (Rappler)
    - The Philippines reports a record 7,103 new confirmed cases in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 648,066. (ABS-CBN News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in India
    - India reports 39,670 new cases in the past 24 hours, the highest single-day total since November 28, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 11.5 million. (The Times of India)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Nepal
    - Nepal grants emergency use authorization for the Indian Covaxin COVID-19 vaccine, becoming the third country to do so. (Hindustan Times)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in France
    - The French National Authority for Health limits the use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to those aged over 55 years old after it was discovered that three patients who suffered blood clots are younger than 55 years old. (The New York Times)
    - Prime Minister Jean Castex receives his first dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. (France 24)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
    - Prime Minister Boris Johnson receives his first dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. (Sky News)
    - The United Kingdom reports a new single-day total of 660,276 doses of the vaccine administered. (U.S. News and World Report)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Finland
    - Finland suspends the use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine after reporting two cases of unusual blood clotting in the brain in vaccinated people. (Yle)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Georgia
    - A 27-year-old nurse dies in Akhaltsikhe, Georgia, from presumed anaphylactic shock following an Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine jab. (RFE/RL)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Germany
    - Germany resumes its use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine after the European Medicines Agency declares it to be safe and not associated with an increased risk of blood clots. (The Los Angeles Times)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Hungary
    - Hungary reports a record 213 deaths and 10,759 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 17,841 and the nationwide case total to 549,839. (Hungary Today)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Poland
    - Poland surpasses two million cases of COVID-19. (Daily Sabah)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Africa
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Kenya
    - Kenya reports a record 28 deaths in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 1,982. (Nation)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Seychelles
    - Seychelles approves the emergency use of the Russian Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine. (UrduPoint)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Mississippi, 501.V2 variant
    - Mississippi reports its first case of the 501.V2 variant, which was originally detected in South Africa, in a person in Harrison County. (Mississippi Today)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil
  - Brazil reports a record 90,570 new confirmed cases from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 11,871,390. (The Rio Times)

International relations

Myanmar–United States relations, 2021 Myanmar coup d'état
- The United States House of Representatives votes 398–14 on a resolution to condemn the military coup in Myanmar. (UrduPoint)

Politics and elections

The Troubles
- The head of the Loyalist Communities Council, David Campbell, says that the 1998 Good Friday Agreement is under threat under the current conditions of Brexit and Northern Ireland. Campbell warns that it could unleash a "political crisis" and says that the Northern Irish Protocol breaches the 1998 accord. (Reuters)
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko names former Interior Minister Yury Karayeu and Health Minister Vladimir Karanik as possible successors to lead the country. (TASS)