Portal:Current events/2021 September 25

September 25, 2021 (Saturday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Afghanistan conflict
- Four men who kidnapped a businessman and his son in Herat are shot dead by Taliban police during a gunfight. The bodies of the kidnappers have been hanged in public, in an apparent warning to others to not commit similar crimes. (BBC News)
- A Taliban soldier is killed and seven more injured in Jalalabad when their convoy hits a roadside bomb planted by ISIL-K. (Hindustan Times)
Somali Civil War
- A suicide car bombing near the presidential palace in Mogadishu kills eight people and injures seven others. Al-Shabaab claims responsibility for the attack, saying they targeted a convoy of cars traveling to the palace. (Reuters)
Mali War
- Mali recruits Russia's PMC Wagner Group to fight Islamic terrorism in the country, according to a news outlet citing Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov. (Reuters)

Business and economy

Panic buying of fuel is reported at petrol stations in the United Kingdom amidst a shortage of lorry drivers. A fuel purchase limit of £30 per customer is introduced at many locations due to "unprecedented" demand. (The Guardian)

Disasters and accidents

2021 Montana train derailment
- An Amtrak passenger train derails near Joplin, Montana, U.S., killing at least three people and injuring at least 50 others. (CBS News) (The New York Times)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands
    - The Netherlands begins to require a COVID-19 pass for people over the age of 13 years old as a precondition to enter hospitality venues and arts and cultural events. The COVID-19 pass replaces most social distancing and mask requirements. (NL Times)
    - State Secretary for Economic Affairs and Climate Policy Mona Keijzer is dismissed from the Cabinet by Prime Minister Mark Rutte after publicly criticising the cabinet's position on COVID-19 measures. (Politico)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Norway
    - Norway lifts its social distancing rules and capacity limits on business, sport, and cultural venues, and other COVID-19-related restrictions, and also allows the reopening of nightclubs, as 67% of people have been fully vaccinated. (The New York Times)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Victoria
    - Victoria reports a record 847 new cases and one death from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours. (ABC News Australia)
- COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea
  - South Korea reports a record for the second consecutive day of 3,273 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 298,402. (The Asahi Shimbun)
Climate change
- Vanuatu launches a global campaign to seek an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Vanuatu bases its decision on being incapable with its own decisions to address rising sea levels and other challenges linked to climate change and wants the ICJ to establish responsibilities for climate change under international law. (Al Jazeera) (RNZ)

International relations

North Korea–South Korea relations
- Kim Yo-jong, sister of Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un, says that North Korea is open to holding another summit in South Korea if mutual respect between the two countries can be assured. (The Korea Times)
Foreign relations of Afghanistan
- Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov says that the international recognition of the Taliban government "at present juncture is not on the table". The comments come after Taliban-appointed foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi appointed Suhail Shaheen as the representative of the Taliban to the United Nations. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

2021 Icelandic parliamentary election
- Icelanders head to the polls to elect the members of the Althing, the oldest surviving parliament in the world. (The New York Times)
- Early election results show that the three-party coalition led by Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir of the Left-Green Movement is expected to retain their majority. (AFP via NDTV)

Sports

2021 AFL Grand Final
- The Melbourne Demons win the 2021 AFL premiership against the Western Bulldogs, winning 140–66. They also end their 57-year premiership drought, last winning the premiership in the 1964 VFL Grand Final. (Seven News AFL)