Portal:Current events/2021 September 12

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Insurgency in the Maghreb
  • Mali War
    • Five Malian soldiers are killed in an ambush by "an as yet unidentified armed terrorist group" in the Macina Cercle of the Ségou Region, according to the army. (Anadolu Agency)
• War in Donbas
  • Two Ukrainian soldiers are killed by separatists in the Donetsk region, after intense artillery shelling by pro-Russian militants which began overnight. (Al Jazeera)

Arts and culture

• Aftermath of the Fall of Kabul
  • Taliban education minister Abdul Baqi Haqqani announces a series of restrictions on education for women and girls, including gender-segregated classrooms and mandatory hijabs. (Deutsche Welle)

Disasters and accidents

• Four passengers are killed when a Let L-410 Turbolet carrying 14 passengers and two crew makes an emergency landing in southeastern Siberia, Russia. The aircraft was flying from Irkutsk to Kazachinskoye. (Reuters)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh, Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on education
      • Schools are reopened in Bangladesh after an 18-month closure due to the pandemic. (VOA)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Iraq
      • Iraq receives a shipment of 100,800 doses of the Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine donated by Italy through the COVAX initiative. (Radio France Internationale)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Japan, COVID-19 vaccination in Japan
      • The number of people who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in Japan surpasses 50%. (ABC News)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand, COVID-19 vaccination in Thailand
      • The number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in Thailand surpasses 40 million. (The Star)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand, COVID-19 vaccination in New Zealand
    • New Zealand signs an agreement with Denmark to receive an additional 500,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. (Stuff)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa, COVID-19 vaccination in South Africa
    • SAPRAH approves the Pfizer vaccine for minors aged 12 to 18 IOL
  • COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
    • The British government reverses its decision to use vaccine passports for nightclubs, cinemas, and large events in England. (BBC News)

International relations

• Qatari foreign minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani becomes the first foreign diplomat to meet with the governing Taliban after arriving in Kabul today. Al Thani met with Taliban prime minister Hassan Akhund, former president Hamid Karzai and former chief negotiator Abdullah Abdullah. (Al Jazeera)
• Pope Francis begins his four-day apostolic journey to Hungary and Slovakia, his 34th apostolic journey outside Italy during his eight-year pontificate. At Budapest Pope Francis met with President János Áder and Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. The Pontiff then met with other Christian and Jewish leaders. Pope Francis celebrated the concluding Mass of the 52nd International Eucharistic Congress at Heroes’ Square in Budapest. (Catholic World News)

Politics and elections

• 2021 Argentine legislative election
  • Argentines head to the polls for the primaries of the election, with the ruling Peronist center-left government expected to suffer losses. The general midterm election will occur on November 14, where 127 seats of the Chamber of Deputies and 24 seats of the Senate will be contested. Right-wing political parties are expected to win most of the seats. (Reuters)

Sports

• 2021 US Open
  • In the men's singles tournament, Russian tennis player Daniil Medvedev defeats Novak Djokovic of Serbia in straight sets, 6–4, 6–4, 6–4, to win his first Grand Slam title. (AFP via France 24)

Religion and politics

• 2021 Dismantling Global Hindutva Conference
  • The 2021 Dismantling Global Hindutva conference, or the DGH, held between 10-12 September, apparently started out as a small group of academics planning a modest gathering to explore the dangers of Hindutva ideology. [1] [2]