Portal:Current events/2021 April 13

April 13, 2021 (Tuesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
- Afghan peace process
  - U.S. President Joe Biden says that he plans to withdraw all remaining American troops in Afghanistan by September 11. The United States also reiterates its support for the Afghan government against the Taliban, which declines to comment on the apparent change from the previously-agreed deadline of May 1. (Reuters)
  - The United Kingdom announces that it will withdraw nearly all of its troops from Afghanistan, following the announcement of a U.S. withdrawal. There are around 750 British soldiers still stationed in Afghanistan, mostly in the capital Kabul. (Reuters)
  - Turkey says that it will host a summit from April 24 to May 4 in an effort to end the war in Afghanistan. (Al Jazeera)
- 2021 Afghanistan attacks
  - A car bombing in Farah kills three civilians; and 10 security personnel are killed in the country's north. (ABC News)
Iran–Israel proxy conflict
- A missile strikes the Israeli-owned cargo ship MV Hyperion Ray off the coast of the United Arab Emirates. There is no immediate claim of responsibility, however Israeli officials suspect Iran of being behind the attack on the vessel. (Times of Israel)
Terrorism in Pakistan, Insurgency in Balochistan
- An improvised explosive device explodes at a football ground in Hub, Balochistan, Pakistan, injuring twelve people. The attack occurred during a game organised as a commemorative tribute to police officers killed in the line of duty. (The Times of India)
Nuclear program of Iran
- The New York Times says that a blackout at Iran's underground Natanz nuclear facility was sabotage perpetrated by remotely detonating an improvised explosive device that had previously been smuggled into the site. (i24news)
A military court in Burkina Faso indicts (in absentia) ex-President Blaise Compaoré, who is charged with the 1987 murder of his immediate predecessor Thomas Sankara. Compaoré ruled the nation for 27 years following Sankara's assassination before resigning in the face of protests in 2014 and fleeing into exile in Ivory Coast. The court indicts thirteen other Burkinabé ex-officials accused of various crimes including murder. (Al Jazeera)

Business and economy

COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland, Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
- Talks between rail workers and ScotRail aimed at preventing a strike collapse, as the rail firm cites financial pressures caused by the ongoing pandemic to justify refusing a pay raise and revocation of some day-off entitlements. The Unite union rejects this explanation. The Scottish Government and Transport Scotland are appraised of the situation. (The Glasgow Times)

Disasters and accidents

Discharge of radioactive water of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant
- Following a cabinet meeting, the Japanese government says it has decided to release 1.25 million tons of treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the Pacific Ocean over the course of 30 years, after concluding there will be no negative impact on human health or the environment. The decision is opposed by Russia, China, Taiwan, South Korea, North Korea and the Philippines, while being supported by the United States. (Kyodo News) (BBC News) (Reuters)
2021 Suez Canal obstruction
- A court in Ismailia grants the Egyptian Suez Canal Authority's request to seize CS Ever Given pending payment of a compensation claim of over US$900 million. (Bloomberg)
2019 Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress crash
- The National Transportation Safety Board concludes that pilot error and inadequate maintenance were behind the crash, which killed seven people, injured six others, and destroyed the historic aircraft. (The Connecticut Post)
At least 20 children are killed during a fire at an school in Niamey, Niger. (Al Jazeera)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Iran
    - Iran reports a record 24,760 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 2,118,212. (Arab News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Japan
    - Osaka Prefecture reports a record 1,099 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours. (The Japan Times)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Syria
    - Kurdish authorities impose a ten-day curfew in northeast Syria after a rapid increase of cases of COVID-19 in the region. The U.S.-backed Kurdish authorities also close all borders of its Syrian Democratic Forces territories with those controlled by the government and insurgent groups. (AP)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in France, variants of SARS-CoV-2
    - Prime Minister Jean Castex announces the suspension of flights from Brazil in order to prevent the spread of new variants of COVID-19 in the country. (Yahoo! News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Spain
    - President of Cantabria Miguel Ángel Revilla receives his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. (ABC.es)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey
    - President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announces a two-week partial lockdown across Turkey on Ramadan, which includes an expanded curfew from 7:00 p.m. and a ban on non-essential inter-city travel beginning tomorrow evening due to an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases. (Anadolu Agency)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Africa
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the Central African Republic
    - The first batch of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines arrive in the Central African Republic, with the MINUSCA mission agency staff being the first recipients. (Africanews)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa
    - South Africa voluntarily suspends its rollout of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommended temporarily suspending use of the vaccine due to rare cases of blood clots. (Business Tech)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in South Sudan
    - South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit receives his first dose of the AstraZenaca vaccine. (AllAfrica)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
  - COVID-19 vaccination in the United States
    - The United States suspends the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine following concerns of blood clots. (The New York Times)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Argentina
  - Argentina reports a record 27,001 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 2,578,946. (Página 12)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the Marshall Islands
  - The Marshall Islands reaches an adult population vaccination rate of nearly 75%. After completing the urban areas, the Ministry of Health and Human Services plans to distribute Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines to the most remote islands of the country to vaccinate the rest of the population. The vaccines were provided as a donation by the United States. (RNZ)
- COVID-19 vaccine, variants of SARS-CoV-2
  - Moderna says its vaccine is 90% effective against COVID-19, and 95% effective against severe disease for six months after the second dose. It also says its vaccine is effective against the 501.V2 variant from South Africa. (CNBC) (The Times)

Law and crime

Terrorism in Germany
- 2020 Dresden knife attack
  - An alleged ISIL recruiter goes on trial for stabbing two gay men in Dresden, killing one of them, because they were holding hands. The suspect has admitted to the attack and is charged with murder and attempted murder. (Pink News)
- Eleven alleged members of Gruppe S, an alleged far-right terror cell plotting anti-immigration attacks, go on trial in Stuttgart. A policeman accused of assisting the group also goes on trial. (BBC News)
2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Daunte Wright protests
- Protests spread across the country over the police killing of Daunte Wright. Demonstrations and marches are held in New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland, and other cities. (NPR)
Terrorism in England, Crime in London
- A court sentences terror convict Sahayb Abu to life imprisonment with a minimum term of nineteen years for plotting a gun and knife attack in Dagenham, London. (BBC News)
St Paul's Cathedral bomb plot, Terrorism in Norway
- Authorities in Norway charge a man with involvement in a plot to bomb St Paul's Cathedral as well as plotting a similar attack in Norway. (BBC News)