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Portal:Current events/2021 May 19

{{Current events|year=2021|month=05|day=19|content=

Armed conflicts and attacks

Health and environment

  • COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  • COVID-19 pandemic in India
  • It is revealed that the Ganges river in India has had hundreds of human bodies floating in its waters and buried in its banks in recent days, including some thought to have died of COVID-19. [https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-57154564 (BBC News)]
  • An anti-fungal drug, Amphotericin B, used in the treatment of a rare infection called mucormycosis, or "black fungus", is in short supply across states in India. Immunity to this infection can be reduced by the use of steroids in severely ill COVID-19 patients. [https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-57167322 (BBC News)]
  • India reports a new world record of 4,529 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 283,248. [https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/south-asia/india-reports-record-4529-daily-covid-19-deaths (The Straits Times)]
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia
  • Malaysia reports a record 6,075 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 485,496. [https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2021/05/19/record-high-6075-covid-19-cases-over-2000-in-selangor/ (Free Malaysia Today)]
  • COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines, COVID-19 vaccination in the Philippines
  • Vice President Leni Robredo receives her first dose of the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine. [https://cnnphilippines.com/news/2021/5/19/VP-Leni-Robredo-AstraZeneca-COVID-vaccine-first-dose.html (CNN Philippines)]
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Taiwan
  • Taiwan raises its COVID-19 alert level to level 3 nationwide, which is the same level as Taipei and New Taipei City, where masks are required to be worn at all times and gatherings of more than five people indoors and ten people outdoors are banned amid an increase in the number of locally transmitted cases. [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/19/taiwan-raises-covid-alert-level-amid-rise-in-infections (The Guardian)]
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Cyprus, Lineage B.1.617
  • Cyprus reports its first four cases of the Lineage B.1.617 variant, which was first discovered in India. [https://cyprus-mail.com/2021/05/19/coronavirus-first-cases-of-indian-variant-detected/ (Cyprus Mail)]
  • COVID-19 pandemic in France
  • Restaurants, bars, and cafés are reopened in France for outdoor dining for the first time in six months. Museums, theatres, and other cultural venues are also reopened as the curfew is changed to 9:00 p.m. as part of an easing of restrictions. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/grand-day-for-the-french-cafe-and-bistro-terraces-reopen/2021/05/19/50a5aac2-b86f-11eb-bc4a-62849cf6cca9_story.html (The Washington Post)] [https://www.france24.com/en/france/20210519-live-france-reopens-caf%C3%A9s-and-cultural-venues-after-six-month-covid-19-closure (France 24)]
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Argentina
  • Argentina reports 39,652 new cases of COVID-19, a record for the second consecutive day. This subsequently brings the national total to 3.4 million. [https://www.bignewsnetwork.com/news/269554207/argentina-daily-covid-19-cases-hit-record-high (Big News Network)]
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Zimbabwe, Lineage B.1.617
  • Zimbabwe reports its first cases of the Lineage B.1.617 variant. The variant had been detected among a group of people in the central town of Kwekwe after a student returned from India on April 29. [https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/zimbabwe-reports-first-cases-coronavirus-variant-india-2021-05-19/ (Reuters)]
  • COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
  • The U.S. surpasses 33 million cases of COVID-19. [https://www.kiro7.com/news/trending/coronavirus-total-us-covid-19-cases-top-33-million-death-toll-creeps-past-587000/TRED7KLK6JHXJGZMLL2RGPAXNQ/ (KIRO-TV)]
  • A tabular iceberg slightly larger than the size of Mallorca, dubbed A-76, calves from the Ronne Ice Shelf in Antarctica's Weddell Sea. [https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/19/world/iceberg-a-76-antarctica-intl/index.html (CNN)]

International relations

Law and crime

Politics and elections

  • 2021 Qatari general election
  • The Qatari cabinet approves a draft law scheduling elections to the Shura Council for October, after several years of delays. The law also provides guidelines for voter registration and campaigning, such as allowing government employees to run and limiting expenditures to QAR2 million per candidate. [https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/5/20/qatar-cabinet-approves-draft-law-on-shura-council-elections (Al Jazeera English)]
  • List of U.S. state partition proposals
  • In the United States, the Oregon counties of Baker, Grant, Lake, Malheur, and Sherman all approve measures that would require county officials to take steps to promote moving the Idaho border west to incorporate their populations. These counties join Jefferson and Union counties that have already passed similar measures, while Douglas and Harney counties are voting on similar measure in upcoming elections. [https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/oregon-counties-vote-to-secede-to-idaho/ar-BB1gUBIP (The Hill via MSN)] [https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/21/us/oregon-idaho-secession.html (The New York Times)]

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