Portal:Current events/2021 October 21

October 21, 2021 (Thursday)

Disasters and accidents

Rust shooting incident
- Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins is killed during the production of the upcoming American film Rust in Bonanza City, New Mexico, while film director Joel Souza is in critical condition, after actor Alec Baldwin reportedly shot a loaded gun. (AFP via The Straits Times)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
    - Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin announces a non-working week from October 28 until November 7 in order to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Only firms that serve essential goods and the city infrastructure would be allowed to operate. (The Moscow Times)
    - Russia reports a record 36,339 new cases and 1,030 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 8.13 million and the nationwide death toll to 227,389. (Anadolu Agency)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Latvia
    - Latvia enters a month-long lockdown until November 15 that closes non-essential shops, cinemas and hairdressers, as well as implements a curfew from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m., due to an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases. (Medical Xpress)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine
    - Ukraine reports a record 22,415 new cases and 546 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 2.7 million and the nationwide death toll to 62,389. (AP)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in India, COVID-19 vaccination in India
    - India reports that it has administered more than one billion COVID-19 vaccinations since it started its vaccination drive in January. (BBC News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia, COVID-19 vaccination in Saudi Arabia
    - Saudi Arabia begins the rollout of booster doses of the COVID-19 vaccines for people aged above 18 and have received their second dose at least six months ago. (Gulf News)
- COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand
  - New Zealand reports a record 102 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, which is the first the time that the country has reported more than 100 cases since the beginning of the pandemic. (The Guardian)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
  - COVID-19 vaccination in the United States
    - The Biden administration announces that the United States has donated 200 million COVID-19 vaccines to countries around the world, fulfilling a pledge from president Joe Biden that the U.S. would be the "world's arsenal" in vaccines. (The Hill)
    - The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention endorses booster shots of the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. (The New York Times)
- COVID-19 misinformation
  - COVID-19 misinformation by China
    - The University of Oxford links the Chinese government to a disinformation campaign promoting the unfounded claim that COVID-19 could have been imported to China from the United States through Maine lobsters shipped to a seafood market in Wuhan in November 2019. (NBC News)
Climate change
- Greenpeace partially leaks a draft report from the International Panel on Climate Change, revealing that a number of large oil, coal, beef and animal feed-producing countries including Australia, Saudi Arabia, Brazil and Argentina are lobbying the IPCC for looser restrictions on global heating. (AP)

International relations

2021 North Kosovo crisis
- A working group to find a more permanent solution to the license plate issue, consisting of negotiators from the governments of Kosovo and Serbia, meet for the first time in Brussels. If negotiations are successful, the group will announce their proposals in 6 months. (Gazeta Tema)

Law and crime

Aftermath of the 2021 United States Capitol attack
- The United States House of Representatives votes 229–202 to hold former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon in criminal contempt for refusing to comply with a subpoena issued by the January 6 select committee investigating the attack on the U.S. Capitol. The contempt is referred to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia and United States Attorney General Merrick Garland to decide whether to prosecute Bannon. (AP)
COVID-19 pandemic in France, Vaccine passports during the COVID-19 pandemic
- The French National Assembly votes 135 to 125 to approve the extension of the COVID-19 Health Pass until at least July 31, 2022. The bill will be debated at the French Senate on October 28 in preparation for adopting the bill on November 15. (The Connexion)
Killing of Justine Damond
- Former Minneapolis Police Department officer Mohamed Noor is resentenced to four years and nine months in prison for the manslaughter of unarmed 9-1-1 caller Justine Damond. Noor had originally been sentenced to 12.5 years for murder in 2017. (CNN)
Twenty-four people have been executed in Syria for deliberately starting wildfires in late 2020 that killed three people. (BBC News)
The leader of the Haitian gang who kidnapped 17 United States and Canadian missionaries has threatened to kill the hostages if the gang does not receive the $17 million ransom for their release. (CNN)
The Benin National Assembly votes to legalize abortion within the first three months of pregnancy if it is likely to "aggravate or cause material, educational, professional or moral distress" or is "incompatible with the woman or the unborn child's interest", becoming one of the few countries in Africa to authorize abortions. (Africanews)

Politics and elections

Ratu Wiliame Katonivere becomes the president-elect of Fiji. He will replace incumbent president Jioji Konrote when he is confirmed by parliament. (RNZ)
Cindy Kiro is sworn in as the 22nd Governor-General of New Zealand. (RNZ)