Portal:Current events/2021 September 19

September 19, 2021 (Sunday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Afghanistan conflict
- Kabul Airlift
  - A Qatar Airways charter flight carrying 200 passengers, including Afghans and Americans, departs from Kabul International Airport to Qatar. (Reuters)
- ISIL–Taliban conflict
  - Three Taliban members and two civilians are killed when a bomb, planted by ISIL–K, explodes near a Taliban vehicle in Jalalabad, Nangarhar. (The Guardian)
Papua conflict, Australia–Indonesia relations
- A recently declassified Australian intelligence report from 1998 reveals that the government was fully aware that the Indonesian military had massacred peaceful protesters from the Free Papua Movement, which was not publicly acknowledged or condemned by Australia at the time. Guardian Australia speculates that supporting photographic evidence may have been destroyed by Australian authorities. (The Guardian)
Killamarsh murders
- Police officers have discovered the remains of three children and one adult inside a residential property in Killamarsh, near Sheffield, England, after being called out to reports of a disturbance. A 31-year-old man has been arrested and a murder inquiry has been launched. (BBC News)

Arts and culture

Disasters and accidents

2021 La Palma eruption
- The Cumbre Vieja volcano on the island of La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain, erupts for the first time in fifty years. A few hours later, the first preventive evacuations of people with reduced mobility from nearby towns took place after the declaration of a state of pre-eruption. (Reuters) (elDiario.es)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Laos
    - Laotian capital Vientiane enters in a strict lockdown for two weeks as the city reported a record number of COVID-19 cases. Travel between the hard-hit provinces is also banned and anyone wishing to enter the city must be quarantined for 14 days. (Bangkok Post)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia, COVID-19 vaccination in Malaysia
    - The Malaysian government approves a plan to administer a COVID-19 vaccine booster dose for high-risk groups once the nationwide vaccination rate surpasses 80% of the adult population. (The Star)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore
    - Singapore reports 1,012 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, which is the highest single-day total of new cases since April 2020. (The Straits Times)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United Arab Emirates, Travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic
    - Abu Dhabi lifts the requirement for people from other emirates to receive COVID-19 testing before they enter the capital due to a decline in the number of COVID-19 cases. (The National News)
Sixty-three African penguins are dead after being stung by a swarm of bees in Simon's Town, South Africa. The African penguin is an endangered species. (BBC News)

International relations

Mexico–United States border crisis
- The United States closes the Mexico–US border near the Texas city of Del Rio after thousands of Haitian migrants arrived at the International Bridge near the city. The U.S. will also begin flying the migrants back to Haiti. (AP)

Law and crime

Gilboa Prison break
- The Israel Defense Forces announces that all six Palestinian fugitives have been recaptured, after the last two, who are part of the Islamic Jihad Movement, were arrested in the Palestinian city of Jenin through a joint operation with the Yamam. (AFP via The Times of India)
Women's rights in Afghanistan
- The new Taliban mayor of Kabul, Hamdullah Nomani, asks women to stay at home in case their job can be filled by a man. Nomani also added that the Taliban "finds it necessary to stop women from working for a while" and instead urged them to work in places where men cannot go due to gender segregation. (BBC News)

Politics and elections