Portal:Current events/2021 March 23

March 23, 2021 (Tuesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
- Afghan peace process
  - Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani rejects the United States peace plans, but says that he is open to holding a new presidential election in six months. (Business Recorder)
  - Afghan Foreign Minister Mohammad Hanif Atmar says that China is working closely with the country to restore peace there. He also urges India to play a role in restoring peace in the country. (The New Indian Express) (The Economic Times)
  - United Nations special envoy on Afghanistan Deborah Lyons says that efforts by the United States and Russia should be "focused and coherent" and complement peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban. She also urges an end to the violence in the country. (Reuters) (ReliefWeb)
Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
- A bombing in Chaman, Balochistan, Pakistan, near the border with Afghanistan, kills three people and injures 13 others. The Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan has claimed responsibility for the attack. (Reuters)
Naxalite insurgency
- At least five security personnel and a driver are killed when Naxalites attack their bus with an IED as it crossed a bridge over a culvert in Chhattisgarh, India. This is the biggest Naxalite attack of the year so far in the region. (Times of India)

Disasters and accidents

2020 California wildfires
- Zogg Fire
  - Investigations into the 2020 fire that destroyed 56,338 acres in northern California conclude that the fire began when a gray pine tree fell on power lines belonging to the Pacific Gas and Electric Company. (Bloomberg via MSN) (San Francisco Chronicle)
2021 Suez Canal obstruction:
- The Suez Canal is blocked in both directions after the Panamanian-flagged container ship Ever Given runs aground north of Egypt's Suez Port. (BBC News)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea
    - President Moon Jae-in receives a dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine in preparation for a visit to the United Kingdom to attend the G7 summit in June. (The Hill)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Tajikistan
    - Tajikistan begins their vaccination campaign against COVID-19 on the orders of President Emomali Rahmon. (AKIPress)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Germany
    - Chancellor Angela Merkel announces that the country imposes an "emergency brake" and extends their nationwide lockdown until April 18, which including the closure of shops from April 1 to April 5, amidst a spike of the COVID-19 cases. (DW)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Italy
    - Italy reports 551 new deaths in the past 24 hours, which is the highest single-day figure since January, thus bringing the nationwide death toll to 105,879. (Anadolu Agency)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
    - President Vladimir Putin receives a dose of a domestically-produced COVID-19 vaccine; it is unknown which of Russia's current three vaccine candidates was administered. Earlier in the day, the government had announced this ambiguity was deliberate, before noting that "all three Russian-made vaccines are absolutely reliable and effective." (Reuters via MSN)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine
    - Ukraine reports a record 333 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 30,431. (Kyiv Post)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Georgia (U.S. state)
    - Georgia reports its first case of the Lineage P.1 variant, which was originally detected in Brazil. It was found in a resident in Newton County. (WMAZ-TV)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil
  - Brazil reports a record 3,251 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 298,843. It is the first time that Brazil has recorded more than 3,000 deaths from COVID-19 in a single day. (France 24)
- COVID-19 vaccine
  - Pfizer says that they plan to develop new vaccines for other viruses following the success of their COVID-19 vaccine candidate. (CNBC)

Law and crime

2021 Boulder shooting
- The suspect in yesterday's mass shooting at a King Soopers supermarket in Boulder, Colorado, which resulted in the deaths of ten people, is charged with ten counts of murder. (CNN)

Child corporal punishment laws
- The Senate of Colombia unanimously votes to approve a bill that prohibits corporal punishment, and any form of violence, as a form of correctional punishment for the upbringing of children and adolescents. (DW)

Politics and elections

2021 Israeli legislative election
- Israelis go to the polls for the fourth time in less than two years. (BBC News)
Killing of Jamal Khashoggi
- Agnès Callamard, Special Rapporteur appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council, reveals that a senior Saudi Arabian official twice threatened to have her "taken care of" if the UN did not obstruct her investigation of the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi. Khashoggi, who had been critical of the al-Saud dynasty, was murdered and dismembered by Saudi agents in the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul in 2018 under what is believed to be the direct orders of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. (The Guardian)
2021 Myanmar coup d'état
- During a news conference in Naypyidaw, the Tatmadaw defended the reimposition of the junta and claimed that ousted national leader Aung San Suu Kyi was corrupt, tantamount to graft. No supporting evidence for these allegations was offered outside of the taped testimony of a former colleague of Aung San Suu Kyi, Phyo Min Thein, who has been detained by the military since the coup began. (AP)