Portal:Current events/2021 October 1

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Armed conflicts and attacks

• Allied Democratic Forces insurgency
• Thirteen Allied Democratic Forces terrorists are arrested in Rwanda after planning multiple bombing attacks in Kigali. The planned attacks came as Rwanda is helping Mozambique fighting ISIL-linked groups in the Insurgency in Cabo Delgado. [https://www.africanews.com/2021/10/01/rwanda-arrests-13-suspected-of-plotting-terrorist-attacks/ (Africa News)]
• Islamic State–Taliban conflict
• A bomb targets a Taliban security forces vehicle, injuring five people. Soldiers raided an ISIL-K hideout after the attack, killing several terrorists and arresting a few more. [https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-174877 (TOLO News)]

Arts and culture

• Aftermath of the Fall of Kabul
• It is announced that the Afghanistan pavilion at Expo 2020 in Dubai will remain closed to visitors due to the Taliban takeover of the country. [https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/afghan-pavilion-dubai-world-fair-stays-shut-after-taliban-takeover-2021-10-01/ (Reuters)]

Business and economy

• Economy of Venezuela
• Venezuela launches its second monetary overhaul in the past three years by cutting six zeros from its currency in order to simplify accounting. This move was in response to hyperinflation, which reached an annual record of 1,743%, amid a serious ongoing economic crisis. [https://en.mercopress.com/2021/10/01/fear-reigns-among-venezuelans-as-six-more-zeros-are-to-be-removed-from-local-currency (MercoPress)]
• Russian gas supplies via the Yamal–Europe pipeline fall almost 77% in a single day, raising European gas prices to an all-time high. European Parliament lawmakers request investigations of market manipulation, although Gazprom's exports outside the former Soviet Union rose 15.3% year on year in the first nine months of 2021 and German utility Uniper confirms that Russia was fulfilling its contractual obligations. [https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/european-gas-prices-hit-all-time-highs-russian-flows-slump-2021-10-01/ (Reuters)] [https://www.rferl.org/a/natural-gas-prices-record-highs/31488196.html (RFE/RL)]

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
• COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
• COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia, COVID-19 vaccination in Malaysia
• Malaysia grants the conditional approval of the Sinovac Coronavac vaccine for children aged above 12. [https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2021/10/01/covid-19-sinovac-vaccine-approved-for-those-aged-12-and-above (The Star)]
• COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines, COVID-19 pandemic in Bermuda, Travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic
• The Philippines adds the British territory of Bermuda to its red list due to COVID-19. Bermuda became the first British territory to be added to the Asian country's red list. [https://philippineslifestyle.com/bermuda-ph-red-list-october-15/ (PLS)]
• COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore
• Singapore reports a record for the fourth consecutive day of 2,909 new cases of COVID-19, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 99,430. [https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/8-seniors-die-of-covid-19-bringing-death-toll-to-103-in-spore-2909-new-cases (The Straits Times)]
• COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka
• Sri Lanka lifts a nearly six-week lockdown to contain the spread of COVID-19 but continues to maintain a night curfew and a ban on public gatherings and parties as the number of cases declines. [https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/sri-lanka-lifts-lockdown-retains-curfew-at-night/article36783784.ece (The Hindu)]
• COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
• COVID-19 pandemic in Greece
• Greece imposes a curfew and bans music at bars, cafés and restaurants in Thessaloniki, Larissa, Chalkidiki and Kilkis due to an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in the region. [https://www.ekathimerini.com/news/1168893/covid-curfew-for-thessaloniki/ (Ekathimerini)]
• COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
• Russia reports a record for the fourth consecutive day of 887 deaths from COVID-19, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 208,142. [https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2021/10/01/russia-breaks-covid-deaths-record-for-fourth-day-straight-a75188 (The Moscow Times)]
• COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
• COVID-19 vaccination in the United States
• COVID-19 pandemic in New York (state)
• COVID-19 pandemic in New York City
• Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor rejects an order to block the vaccine mandate for New York City schoolteachers and employees. [https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/sotomayor-declines-block-vaccine-mandate-new-york-city-public-school-n1280610 (CBS News)]
• COVID-19 pandemic in California
• California Governor Gavin Newsom announces that California will become the first U.S. state to mandate COVID-19 vaccines for all students in schools. [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/covid-vaccine-mandate-california-students/ (CBS News)]
• The United States surpasses 700,000 deaths from COVID-19. [https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-covid-19-death-toll-hits-700000-2021-10-01/ (Reuters)]
• COVID-19 pandemic in Argentina, COVID-19 vaccination in Argentina
• Argentina authorizes the approval of the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine for children between the ages of 3 and 11 years. Health minister Carla Vizzotti announces that Argentina will end the year with all of its population over the age of 3 years vaccinated against COVID-19. [https://www.eluniverso.com/noticias/internacional/vacuna-sinopharm-es-aprobada-en-argentina-para-infantes-de-3-a-11-anos-nota/ (El Universo)]
• COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
• Australia expands eligibility for the Pfizer–BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines to include seniors over the age of 60 who had previously only been eligible for the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine. [https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/sep/30/pfizer-and-moderna-covid-vaccines-now-available-to-all-australians-over-60 (The Guardian)]
• Deployment of COVID-19 vaccines
• It is announced that more than 50 countries have missed the World Health Organization's (WHO) target for 10% of their populations to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by the end of September. Most of these countries are in Africa, where the WHO's overall figure for fully vaccinated populations is currently 4.4%. [https://www.bbc.com/news/56100076 (BBC News)]

International relations

• Post-Brexit United Kingdom relations with the European Union
• British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says that the contentious arrangements regarding the Northern Irish Protocol could work in principle if they were "fixed" but warns the European Union that they could be "ditched" if they do not work. Johnson adds that this is a problem that "the United Kingdom did not want". [https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/fix-it-or-ditch-it-uks-johnson-warns-eu-nireland-deal-2021-10-01/ (Reuters)]

Law and crime

• Murder of Cécile Bloch
• The suicide note left by François Vérove, a 59-year-old French former military police officer who committed suicide two days ago in Le Grau-du-Roi, Occitanie, reveals that he murdered four people, including 11-year-old Cécile Bloch. The serial killer, nicknamed Le Grêlé, was also involved in a series of rapes. [https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/10/1/french-ex-policeman-leaves-serial-killer-suicide-confession-note (Al Jazeera)]
• September 2021 Guayaquil prison riot
• Ecuador says it will pardon more than 2,000 inmates after 118 inmates were killed during a riot at a prison in Guayaquil on 28 September. A government official said that some prisoners will be prioritized and that the main goal is to address prison overcrowding. [https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/death-toll-ecuadors-worst-ever-prison-riot-rises-118-2021-10-01/ (Reuters)]

Politics and elections

• Second Berejiklian ministry
• New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian announces her resignation after the Independent Commission Against Corruption revealed that they are investigating her over a series of suspicious historical community grants. [https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-10-01/icac-investigating-gladys-berejiklian-daryl-maguire/100506956 (ABC News Australia)]
• 2021 Georgian local elections
• Exiled Georgian politician Mikheil Saakashvili announces that he is back in Georgia despite threats by prime minister Irakli Garibashvili, who said that Saakashvili would be "immediately arrested and brought to prison" if he returned. Saakashvili, in his support for the United National Movement, concluded by saying that "I risked my life and freedom to be back". Saakashvili is arrested later in the day. [https://www.dw.com/en/georgias-exiled-ex-president-saakashvili-says-he-is-back-in-country-ahead-of-elections/a-59373706 (Deutsche Welle)] [https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/georgian-ex-leader-says-he-is-back-home-despite-jail-threat-authorities-deny-2021-10-01/ (Reuters)]

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