Portal:Current events/2021 October 2

Arts and culture

• Sister Pietra Luana (Etra) Modica, a Scalabrinian Catholic nun, is the new Secretary General of the Pontifical Urbaniana University. The appointment was signed by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and university Grand Chancellor. It is the first time since its founding in 1627 that this position has been assigned to a woman. (Fides)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Afghanistan conflict
  • Journalist Sayed Maroof Sadat, two Taliban soldiers and a civilian are killed by suspected ISIS-K gunmen in Jalalabad after opening fire against a vehicle. (La Repubblica)
  • Five Pakistani soldiers are killed by gunmen at the border with Afghanistan. (Ani News)
• Insurgency in Cabo Delgado
  • Rajab Awadhi Ndanjili, one of the leaders of the ISIL-linked groups, has been killed by Mozambique security forces in Cabo Delgado during an operation a week ago. Seventeen other terrorists were also killed. (All Africa)
• Yemeni Civil War
  • Clashes between government forces and the separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC) in Aden kill at least four people. The government has been battling the separatists of the STC and the Houthis. (Reuters)
• Mali War
  • A United Nations peacekeeper is killed and three others are seriously injured when an IED detonates near where they were patrolling in the volatile north of the country, near the border with Algeria. (Dhaka Tribune)

Disasters and accidents

• Four people are dead and two others are injured in Cosenza, Calabria, Italy, after accidentally falling into a vat of grape must. (Gazzetta del Sud)
• A fire breaks out on Rome's Ponte dell'Industria, or Industry Bridge, due to an electrical fire near gas pipelines and causes portions of the structure of the bridge to collapse. (UPI)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore
      • Singapore surpasses 100,000 cases of COVID-19. (CNA)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam
      • Vietnam surpasses 800,000 cases of COVID-19. (The Star)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Victoria
      • Victoria reports a record 1,488 new cases and two deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours. The Victoria lockdown is also extended to Greater Shepparton after an increase in new COVID-19 cases in the regional community. (ABC News Australia)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Argentina
    • Argentina receives a shipment of 1,673,000 doses of the Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine and has now received more than 70 million vaccine doses since the start of the vaccination campaign. Health minister Carla Vizzotti also announces that the country will receive a shipment of 7.2 million doses of the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to be used for teenagers. (DBSAS)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Nicaragua, COVID-19 vaccination in Nicaragua
    • Nicaragua authorizes the Cuban Abdala and Soberana COVID-19 vaccines for emergency use. (Reuters)

International relations

• 2021 North Kosovo protests
  • Protests in North Kosovo end with the protesters removing barricades and vehicles used to block the border crossings, according to an agreement reached in Brussels two days ago, which will end the ban on Serbian license plates on October 4. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

• 2021 Georgian local elections
  • Georgians head to the polls to elect the bodies of local government in the country. The election is being closely watched in the aftermath of yesterday's arrest of Mikheil Saakashvili, who returned from exile in order to support his party. The pro-Western former leader had a ruling in his favor when Interpol turned down a request for his arrest. (Al Jazeera)
• 2021 Qatari general election
  • Qataris head to the polls to elect 30 members of the Consultative Assembly in the country's first legislative elections. (Reuters)
• 2021 Madagascar food crisis
  • President of Madagascar Andry Rajoelina visits the famine-hit southern region of the country and promises the prompt inauguration of a water pipeline from the Efaho River to the Ambovombe districts after the allocation of 322 million euros of a loan requested from the International Monetary Fund. Rajoelina also promises more food aid to those affected by the disaster. (Madagascar Tribune)