Portal:Current events/2021 November 5

November 5, 2021 (Friday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Insurgency in the Maghreb
- 2021 Niger attacks
  - Gunmen attack a military outpost in the village of Anzourou, Tillabéri Region, Niger, killing fifteen soldiers. (Reuters)
Tigray War
- Nine factions opposed to the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed form a political and military alliance "to reverse the harmful effects of the Abiy Ahmed rule on the peoples of Ethiopia and beyond". (DW)
- The United States urges its citizens to leave Ethiopia "as soon as possible", as rebels advance on the capital Addis Ababa. (The Independent)

Business and economy

Economy of Brazil
- The Ministry of Economy announces a measure to decrease the price of importation tariffs by 10%, amid an increase in inflation, which reached two digits in Brazil. The government also argued that the COVID-19 pandemic in the country has increased the prices of food. (Folha)

Disasters and accidents

Freetown fuel tanker explosion
- At least 99 people are killed and more than 100 injured by a fuel truck colliding with a truck causing an explosion in Freetown, Sierra Leone. (Reuters)
Astroworld Festival crowd crush
- Eight people are dead and hundreds more are injured during a stampede and crowd crush at the Astroworld Music Festival in Houston, Texas, United States. (USA Today)
2021 Piedade de Caratinga Beechcraft King Air crash
- A plane crashes in Minas Gerais, Brazil, killing all five people on board, including singer Marília Mendonça. (BBC News)
2021 floods in Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Heavy rain causes flash floods in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with evacuations, power outages, water-submerged roads, and the closing of an oxygen facility used for COVID-19 patients. (Seattle Times)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Germany
    - COVID-19 vaccination in Germany
      - German Health minister Jens Spahn and regional health ministers agree to offer booster doses of the COVID-19 vaccine for all vaccinated people amid a fourth wave of the pandemic. (DW)
    - Germany reports a record for the second consecutive day of 37,120 new cases of COVID-19. (Bloomberg)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Austria
    - The Austrian government announces that it will ban people who are unvaccinated and those who have not recovered from COVID-19 from entering cafes, restaurants, hairdressers, hotels, events with more than 25 people, and ski lifts beginning on 8 November due to an increase in COVID-19 cases. (Reuters)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Croatia
    - Croatia reports a record for the second consecutive day of 6,932 new cases of COVID-19, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 490,074. (N1)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Greece
    - Greece reports a record for the second consecutive day of 6,909 new cases of COVID-19, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 774,265. (Ekathimerini)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Oceania
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
    - COVID-19 pandemic in the Northern Territory
      - Katherine enters a lockdown after the Northern Territory records its first locally-transmitted infection since the beginning of the pandemic. In Greater Darwin, unvaccinated residents are told to lockdown while fully vaccinated residents are exempt with the exception of being required to wear a mask. (ABC News Australia)
    - New South Wales and Victoria reopen their internal borders as more than 80% of both states' populations are fully vaccinated. (The Guardian)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand
    - New Zealand reports a record 163 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours. (New Zealand Herald)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Metro Manila
    - The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases places the National Capital Region into the lesser restriction of Alert Level 2 beginning today due to a decrease in the number of cases in the area. This will allow for the resumption of limited face-to-face classes, nightlife, and increased operations of government departments and agencies. (Rappler)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Colorado
    - Two hyenas at Denver Zoo test positive for COVID-19, marking the first time the virus has infected that animal worldwide. (The Hill)
- COVID-19 drug development
  - A late-stage trial of the oral drug Paxlovid conducted by Pfizer shows an 89% reduction in hospitalizations and deaths. (Financial Times)
Climate change
- Researchers from James Cook University report that 98% of the Great Barrier Reef has been affected by coral bleaching as a result of climate change, which is more than was previously thought to have been affected. (The Guardian)
- A protest is organized by Fridays for Future during the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, with Swedish activist Greta Thunberg delivering a speech. (The Washington Post) (The Independent)
2020–2021 H5N8 outbreak
- France issues a nationwide high alert that requires all poultry farms to keep their flocks indoors, requires daily clinical monitoring of all farms, and enhanced conditions for bird transport, due to the spread of the current bird flu outbreak. (Politico)

Law and crime

COVID-19 pandemic in France, Vaccine passports during the COVID-19 pandemic
- Despite opposition from the predominantly right-wing senate, the National Assembly votes 118 to 89 to extend public health measures related to COVID-19, including the extension of Health Pass with its tightened sanctions against fraud, until 31 July 2022. (The Local France)
It is revealed that a Russian diplomat was found dead outside the country's embassy in Berlin, Germany, on October 19. The diplomat had apparently fallen from an upper floor, but it was unclear how this occurred. (BBC News)