Portal:Current events
Topics in the news
- Kosmos 1408 is destroyed by a Russian anti-satellite weapon, producing space debris.
- We Continue the Change, led by Kiril Petkov and Asen Vasilev, wins the most seats in the Bulgarian general election.
- SpaceX's Crew-3 mission (launch pictured) takes four astronauts to the International Space Station.
- Former South African president F. W. de Klerk, who negotiated the end of apartheid with Nelson Mandela, dies at the age of 85.
Health and environment
- COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
- COVID-19 pandemic in Victoria
- Restrictions are further eased for fully vaccinated Victorians as 90% of adult Victorians are now fully vaccinated. Mask wearing is still required in some indoor spaces and limits remain on daily visitor numbers to care facilities. The unvaccinated remain banned from entering all non-essential businesses and banned from employment in many industries. (The Guardian)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Victoria
- COVID-19 pandemic in Austria
- Austrian chancellor Alexander Schallenberg announces full nationwide lockdown for entire population beginning from November amid the surge of COVID-19 cases that overwhelm hospitals. He also announces from February 1, 2022, COVID-19 vaccination will become mandatory. (The Independent)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Grenada
- Argentina officially announces that it will donate 11,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to Grenada; the equivalent to 10% of its target populations. (Memo)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Aftermath of the October 2021 Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan protests
- Saad Hussain Rizvi, the leader of the far-right Islamist party Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan, is released from prison under a deal to end weeks of protests by his followers, which resulted in the deaths of dozens of people. (Reuters)
Health and environment
- COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
- COVID-19 pandemic in Germany
- COVID-19 vaccination in Germany
- The Standing Committee on Vaccination recommends that a booster dose of an mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine should be given to all adults over the age of 18 years. (Deutsche Welle)
- Germany reports a record for the second consecutive day of 65,371 new cases of COVID-19. (Anadolu Agency)
- COVID-19 vaccination in Germany
- COVID-19 pandemic in Austria
- Austria reports a record 15,145 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 1,011,465. (Kronen Zeitung)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Greece
- Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announces that beginning on November 22, unvaccinated people will be banned from entering all indoor venues for which they could previously present a negative test result, due to an increase in new COVID-19 cases. Mitsotakis also announces that vaccine passports will expire after seven months for people over the age of 60 years and urges people in this age group to receive a booster dose. (Greek Reporter)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands
- The Netherlands reports a record for the fourth consecutive day of 23,860 new cases of COVID-19. (Dutch News)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
- Russia reports a record for the second consecutive day of 1,251 deaths from COVID-19, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 260,335. (The Moscow Times)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Germany
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
- COVID-19 pandemic in Laos
- Laos reports a record 1,041 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 58,798. (Vietnam Plus)
- COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea
- South Korea reports a record 3,292 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 406,605. (The Korea Herald)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Laos
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
- A lab in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States, is placed on temporary lockdown by the CDC after several vials labeled "smallpox" are discovered in a freezer. (CBS News)
International relations
- 2021 Belarus–European Union border crisis
- Belarus suspends electricity supplies to Ukraine, in "accordance with the established procedure for interaction within the framework of contractual relations", according to a statement from the Belarusian Ministry of Energy. (Ukranews)
Law and crime
- At the Birmingham Crown Court in England, Zephaniah McLeod is sentenced to at least 21 years imprisonment for manslaughter and four counts of attempted murder after killing one person and wounding seven others during a 90-minute stabbing spree in September 2020. (BBC News)
- The New York Supreme Court vacates the convictions of Muhammad Abdul Aziz (formerly Norman 3X Butler) and the late Khalil Islam (formerly Thomas 15X Johnson) for the 1965 assassination of Malcolm X. The two men were convicted alongside Thomas Hagan (formerly Talmadge Hayer) in 1966. An investigation led by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. discovered that the FBI and the NYPD had withheld evidence that would have acquitted Aziz and Islam. (The New York Times)
Politics and elections
- 2021 Tongan general election
- Tongans go to the polls to elect their new government. (RNZ)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Aftermath of the October 2021 Sudanese coup d'état
- Soldiers open fire on civilians in Khartoum, Sudan, protesting against last month's coup d'état, killing 14 people and injuring dozens more. This brings the total death toll of civilians killed during the protests to 38. (Al Jazeera)
- Insurgency in the Maghreb
- The death toll from the attack at a military post in Inata, Soum Province, Burkina Faso, three days ago, increases to 53, including 49 gendarmes and four civilians. (Al Jazeera)
- 2021 Belarus–European Union border crisis; Estonia–Russia barrier
- Estonia summons 1,700 reservists for a snap drill, which will include installing a 40-kilometer-long razor wire barrier along the border with Russia as the migrant crisis with Belarus intensifies. (Reuters)
Disasters and accidents
- November 2021 Pacific Northwest floods
- The Canadian government sends the Air Force to the Pacific coast to assist with supplies after torrential rains affected regions of British Columbia near Vancouver, causing damage to highways. Minister of Emergency Preparedness Bill Blair says that landslides and floods have blocked the town of Agassiz and residents are now being assisted by the military. (Al Jazeera)
- A Royal Air Force F-35 Lightning II jet crashes into the Mediterranean Sea during a routine operation. The pilot successfully ejects from the aircraft and has been rescued. (The Guardian)
Health and environment
- COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
- COVID-19 pandemic in Northern Ireland
- The Northern Ireland Executive votes to introduce a COVID-19 vaccine passport beginning next month, which will contain a person's vaccination status or negative COVID-19 test result, and will be used to enter bars, restaurants and pubs. (BBC News)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Northern Ireland
- COVID-19 pandemic in Austria
- COVID-19 pandemic in Germany
- Germany reports a record 52,826 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours. (ABC News)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
- Russia reports a record 1,247 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 259,084. (Anadolu Agency)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Spain, COVID-19 vaccination in Spain
- Spain’s panel of vaccine experts approves the extension of the COVID-19 vaccine booster dose to people between the ages of 60 and 69 and healthcare workers. (The Washington Post)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
- COVID-19 pandemic in Argentina
- COVID-19 vaccination in Argentina
- Argentina receives a shipment of 800,000 doses of the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine. (Ámbito)
- COVID-19 vaccination in Argentina
- COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines
- The Food and Drug Administration of the Philippines authorises emergency use of the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine, which will be included in the national vaccination program. (Philippine Daily Inquirer)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
- COVID-19 vaccination in the United States
- White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Jeff Zients announces that 80% of people aged 12 and older have received their first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. (USA Today) (WNCN)
- COVID-19 vaccination in the United States
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
Politics and elections
- Former President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili, who has been on a hunger strike for 48 days, is in critical condition. Yesterday, Justice Minister Rati Bregadze denied Saakashvili transfer to a civilian clinic, from a prison hospital where he is being treated. (France 24)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Insurgency in the Maghreb
- 2021 Uganda bombings
- Three suicide bombers blow themselves up near a police station and the entrance of the Parliament in Kampala, killing three people and injuring 33 others. The Islamic State claims responsibility for the attacks. (Reuters)
- 2021 Armenia–Azerbaijan border crisis
- Fifteen Armenian soldiers are killed and twelve more are captured by the Azerbaijani Armed Forces during border clashes, amid mutual recriminations before a Russian-brokered ceasefire is agreed at 19:00 local time. (JAMnews)
Business and economy
- Gas prices for the United Kingdom and the European Union increase by 17% after the German energy regulator suspends the approval of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline from Russia to Germany. The regulator says that the pipeline needs to comply with German law before they can certify the €10 billion project. (BBC News)
Health and environment
- COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
- COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines
- President Rodrigo Duterte orders the lifting of the mandate to use face shields in areas under Alert 3 and lower levels, which includes the National Capital Region. However, face shields will continue to be used in areas under Alert level 5 and areas under granular lockdown. (Philippine Daily Inquirer)
- COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea
- South Korea reports a new single-day record of 495 critical cases of COVID-19. (Yonhap News Agency)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
- COVID-19 pandemic in Russia, COVID-19 drug development
- Russia authorizes Pfizer to conduct clinical trials for its experimental COVID-19 drug named Paxlovid, which will continue until March 2023. (The Hill)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine
- Ukraine reports a record 838 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 77,895. (Anadolu Agency)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Russia, COVID-19 drug development
- COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand
- New Zealand reports a record 222 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours. (New Zealand Herald)
- Deployment of COVID-19 vaccines
- The number of Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine doses supplied worldwide surpasses two billion. (Medical Xpress)
- COVID-19 drug development
- Pfizer and the Medicines Patent Pool sign a global licensing agreement that will allow Pfizer's experimental COVID-19 oral drug Paxlovid to be manufactured under a royalty-free license in 95 low and middle-income countries. (The Wall Street Journal)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
- 2020–21 H5N8 outbreak
- A peer-reviewed study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine announces that an Argentinian woman has allegedly been "functionally cured" of HIV by her own immune system. If confirmed, the woman would be only the second individual in history whose own immune system successfully destroyed the disease without any form of stem-cell transplantation. (USA Today)
International relations
- 2021 Belarus–European Union border crisis
- Migrants at a temporarily closed checkpoint in Kuźnica, Poland, throw stones at Polish border guards, while attempting to destroy the border fence in order to break through the Belarus–Poland border. The guards respond with water cannons and tear gas in an attempt to disperse the mob. The Polish ministry accuses the Belarusian military of aiding the attacks along Poland's borders. (BBC)
- Russo-Ukrainian War
- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson states that the west will have to choose between reliance on Russian gas and supporting Ukraine amid reported buildups of the Russian military near the border with Ukraine. (The Guardian)
- Belarus–European Union relations
- Researchers at the American cybersecurity firm Mandiant report that the Belarusian government has ties to the hacker group Ghostwriter, which was accused of targeting various German politicians and ministries in September and has since been accused of launching misinformation campaigns against Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Ukraine. (RFE/RL)
Law and crime
- The Mexican Secretariat of National Defense announces that Rosalinda González Valencia, the wife of Jalisco New Generation Cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera "El Mencho" Cervantes, is re-arrested. González was previously detained in 2018 for allegedly running the finances of the cartel, but was released on bail. (BBC News)
Politics and elections
- Politics of Monaco
- Princess Charlene of Monaco cancels all upcoming activities, including those of Monaco's national celebrations, due to ill health, according to a statement from the royal palace. The Princess is said to be suffering from "deep fatigue". (Reuters)
- Pandora Papers
- The impeachment against Chilean President Sebastián Piñera is defeated in the Senate, after the motion fails to meet the minimum two-thirds threshold in a vote. (Bloomberg)
Science and technology
- Moons of Saturn
- A new moon of Saturn, S/2019 S 1, is announced, bringing the total number of known moons to 83. (Minor Planet Center)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Insurgency in the Maghreb
- The death toll from yesterday's mass shooting at a military post near a gold mine in Inata, Soum Province, Burkina Faso, increases to 32, including 28 gendarmes and four civilians, making the attack the deadliest against security forces in the country. (Reuters)
- Liverpool Women's Hospital bombing
- Yesterday's taxi explosion in Liverpool, England, that killed the bomber and injured the driver outside the Liverpool Women's Hospital, is declared a terrorist incident by police. Mayor Joanne Anderson says that the driver locked the bomber inside the vehicle after noticing that the bomber was wearing an explosive device. (BBC News) (WalesOnline)
- Three al-Shabaab members escape from a maximum security prison in Kenya, including one of the perpetrators of the 2015 Garissa attack, in which 148 people were killed. (Reuters)
Business and economy
- Infrastructure policy of the Joe Biden administration
- U.S. President Joe Biden signs the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act into law. (The Washington Post)
Disasters and accidents
- November 2021 Pacific Northwest floods
- Merritt, British Columbia, Canada is evacuated after severe flooding inundated the city of about 7,000. Several highways throughout southern British Columbia were also washed out by heavy rain, leaving at least 10 people stranded. (CBC)
Health and environment
- COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
- COVID-19 pandemic in Cambodia, Travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic
- Cambodia begins to allow fully vaccinated foreign travellers to visit the country without a quarantine if they show a negative test result from the previous 72 hours and test negative again upon arrival, as the country currently has the one of world's highest COVID-19 vaccination rates. (AFP via Barron's)
- COVID-19 pandemic in India, Travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic
- India reopens its border to fully vaccinated foreign travellers on regular commercial flights after being closed for 18 months since March 2020 due to a decrease in the number of new COVID-19 cases. All travellers must follow COVID-19 protocols and show a negative test result from the previous 72 hours, except those from countries with mutual vaccine recognition. (AP)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka, COVID-19 drug development
- Sri Lanka approves the use of the COVID-19 oral drug molnupiravir in the country. (Adaderana)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Cambodia, Travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
- COVID-19 pandemic in Germany
- Berlin begins to implement "2G" rule that limiting access to restaurants, cinemas, bars, and cultural and entertainment venues to those who are vaccinated or have recovered from COVID-19 amid a rising number of COVID-19 cases across Germany. (VOA)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Latvia
- Latvia ends its 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew and allows companies to fire employees who are unvaccinated against COVID-19. Unvaccinated people are also banned from taking their duties for parliament and entering shopping malls with a size greater than 1,500 square metres (16,000 sq ft). (Medical Xpress)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, COVID-19 vaccination in the United Kingdom
- The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation approves the extension of age eligibility of COVID-19 vaccine booster doses in the United Kingdom to people between 40 and 49 years old and the second dose for teenagers between the ages of 16 and 17 years. (The Guardian)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Germany
- COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
- COVID-19 pandemic in Queensland
- Queensland reopens its state border to fully vaccinated Australians travelling by plane, as 70% of the state's adult population are now fully vaccinated. (ABC News Australia)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Queensland
- COVID-19 pandemic in Egypt
- Egypt begins to ban unvaccinated public sector employees and university students from entering workplaces and universities unless they show a negative PCR test from the previous 72 hours. (Arab News)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
International relations
- China–United States relations
- US President Joe Biden holds a virtual bilateral meeting with China's leader Xi Jinping. (AP News)
- Foreign relations of Kiribati
- The government of New Zealand vows to help islanders in Banaba, Kiribati, to access fresh water, as the island suffers from frequent droughts and is dependent on rainfall. (RNZ)
- 2021 Belarus–European Union border crisis
- The European Union says it will impose new sanctions on Belarus in response to the migrant crisis on the Belarus–Poland border. (CNN)
Politics and elections
- 2021 Argentine legislative election
- With nearly all votes counted, the ruling Peronist government loses control of both the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. This is the first time since the return to democracy in 1983 that Peronists do not have a majority in either house. (El Mostrador Chile)
Science and technology
- Russia carries out a direct-ascent anti-satellite weapon test on the defunct Soviet spacecraft Kosmos 1408, creating a cloud of debris that threatens the International Space Station. (SpaceNews)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Insurgency in the Maghreb
- Gunmen open fire at a military post near a gold mine in Inata, Soum Province, Burkina Faso, killing 19 gendarmes and a civilian. (Al Jazeera)
- Liverpool Women's Hospital bombing
- A passenger is killed and his driver injured when a taxi explodes in front of the Liverpool Women's Hospital in Liverpool, England. Three men are subsequently arrested under the Terrorism Act. (BBC News)
- Syrian civil war
- A bomb explodes near a vehicle carrying troops in Deir ez-Zor, Syria, killing four soldiers and a general. (The New Arab)
- Somali Civil War; Capital punishment in Somalia
- Two Ugandan soldiers are sentenced to death and three more receive 39-year prison sentences in Somalia for killing seven civilians during a gun battle in Golweyn, Lower Shabelle, three months ago. (BBC News)
Disasters and accidents
- Astroworld Festival crowd crush
- A 9-year-old boy, injured during a crowd crush at the Astroworld Music Festival, who had been in a medically-induced coma, dies, bringing the death toll to 10. (CNN)
- European migrant crisis
- Eight sub-Saharan African migrants are found dead on a boat adrift off the southern coast of the Canary Islands, with 54 other men being rescued from the boat. (El País)
- A fire at a COVID-19 ward in Sliven, Bulgaria, kills three patients. (ABC News)
- A magnitude 6.5 earthquake strikes Hormozgan Province, Iran, at a depth of 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) and is felt in many southern Iranian cities. A man killed by a falling pole is the sole death reported. (Reuters)
Health and environment
- COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Austria
- Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg announces a nationwide lockdown for those over the age of 12 years who are unvaccinated against COVID-19, which prohibits them from leaving their homes except for essential reasons beginning at midnight, amid a record increase in new COVID-19 cases. (AP)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Egypt, COVID-19 vaccination in Egypt
- The Egyptian government announces the start of clinical trials for COVI-VAX, which is the country’s first domestically-made COVID-19 vaccine. (Ahram Online)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Israel, COVID-19 vaccination in Israel
- The Israeli Health ministry approves the usage of the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5 to 11, two weeks after the U.S. FDA grants its own approval, with vaccination expected to begin next week. (Haaretz)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Peru
- Peru announces that people over the age of 18 years who want to enter indoor spaces must show a proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 beginning in December, either physical or virtual vaccination cards. (AFP via Barron's)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Austria
Politics and elections
- 2021 Bulgarian general election
- Bulgarians go to the polls to elect the President and the National Assembly. (MSN)
- 2021 Argentine legislative election
- Argentines go to the polls to elect members of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. (24/7 News Agency)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Afghanistan conflict
- Syrian civil war
- Islamic State gunmen ambush a group of soldiers in Masrib, Deir ez-Zor, Syria, killing 13 of them and wounding others. (The New Arab)
- Tigray War
- The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission publishes a report accusing the Tigray People's Liberation Front of killing more than 150 civilians in the Amhara Region between July and August. The report states that they were killed for either supporting the federal government or sheltering soldiers. (Al Jazeera)
- Gunmen ambush a convoy of paramilitary soldiers in Churachandpur, Manipur, India, killing five soldiers and two civilians. (Al Jazeera)
Health and environment
- COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
- COVID-19 pandemic in Austria
- COVID-19 pandemic in Germany
- Germany reintroduces free COVID-19 testing for all adults amid a record number of new cases. (The New York Times)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Greece
- Greece tightens its guidelines by requiring that no more than one person per nine square meters of floor space be allowed to enter into supermarkets. This new policy was implemented after a proposed policy that would require unvaccinated people to provide a mandatory rapid COVID-19 test in order to enter supermarkets was deemed too difficult to implement. (Ekathimerini)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
- Russia reports a record 1,241 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide death toll to 254,167. The country also surpasses nine million cases of COVID-19. (Azeri Press Agency)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Papua New Guinea
- New Zealand sends doctors to Papua New Guinea, after Papua New Guinea formally requested international help to combat the worsening COVID-19 situation in the country. (RNZ)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
- The U.S. surpasses 47 million cases of COVID-19. (WFTV)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
- 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference
- At COP26, diplomats from countries around the world reach a major agreement aimed at intensifying global efforts to fight climate change by calling on governments to return next year with stronger plans to curb planet-warming emissions and urging wealthy nations to "at least double" their funding in order to protect poorer nations from the hazards of a warming planet. Some activists are critical of the agreement, as it leaves unresolved the question of how much and how quickly each nation should cut its carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions over the next decade, and it still leaves many developing countries short of the funds that they would need in order to cope with increasing weather disasters. However, the agreement makes reference to fossil fuels and their role in the climate crisis for the first time in the conference's history. (CNN) (The New York Times)
International relations
- 2021 Belarus–European Union border crisis
- Russian President Vladimir Putin says that the threat made by Belarus to cut their gas supply to Europe would be a breach of the contract with Russia and that such a threat may have been made in a fit of temper by Belarus's president Alexander Lukashenko. (BBC News)
Law and crime
- November 2021 Guayaquil prison riot
- Sixty-eight inmates are killed and 25 others injured in a prison riot in Guayaquil, Ecuador. (BBC News)
Politics and elections
- Protests over responses to the COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 protests in Australia
- Thousands of protesters associated with the right-wing United Australia Party march in Melbourne in opposition to vaccine mandates and newly introduced laws in the Victoria State Government which would transfer many pandemic-specific powers from the Chief Health Officer to the Premier and Health Minister. (The Guardian)
- COVID-19 protests in Australia