Portal:Current events/2021 June 10

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Israeli–Palestinian conflict
  • Israeli soldiers raid a home in the West Bank, due to an arrest warrant for two Palestinians accused of being the perpetrators of a recent shooting attack. One of the suspects is shot dead. Palestinian intelligence officers arrive at the scene after hearing gunfire and reportedly open fire on the Israeli soldiers, but are shot by the soldiers. Two of the Palestinian officers are killed and a third is wounded. (BBC News)

Business and economy

• Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
  • A report by the International Labour Organization and UNICEF states that approximately 160 million children, over half of them aged between five and 11, are involved in child labour, the highest figures in 20 years. The report blames the COVID-19 pandemic for increasing both the rates of child labour and the hours worked. It also cautions that the amount of children entering the workforce could rise between nine and 46 million by the end of next year if the pandemic is not put under control and if they continue to lack access to important social services. (NPR)

Disasters and accidents

• A Burmese military plane crashes near Mandalay, Myanmar, killing twelve people. (Al Jazeera English)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Cyprus
      • Cyprus lifts their curfew and reopens nightclubs after 15 months. In addition, 50% capacity restrictions for private and public service workers are no longer required. (TheMayor)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Germany, COVID-19 vaccination in Germany
      • The German Standing Committee on Vaccination recommends that only children and teenagers with pre-existing illness conditions be given a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine due to lack of data on the vaccine's long-term effects. (Euronews)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Italy
      • An 18-year-old woman dies in Genova, Italy, after being vaccinated with the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Five Italian regions already decided days prior to block AstraZeneca to people under the age of 60, a decision that may be imposed in the entire country in the next days amid a medical review. (Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata) (The Local Italy) (The New York Times)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
      • Russia reports 11,699 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, which is the highest daily total of cases since February, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 5,167,949. (Reuters)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in India, COVID-19 pandemic in Bihar
      • India reports a world record of 6,148 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours due to the state of Bihar adding 3,951 backlogged deaths to their previous total of 5,478. This thereby brings Bihar's death toll to 9,429 and the nationwide death toll to 359,676. (Hindustan Times)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Iran
      • Iran surpasses three million cases of COVID-19. (France 24)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Japan
      • The Japanese government announces that it will lift the state of emergency in Gunma, Ishikawa, and Kumamoto prefectures on June 14 due to a decrease in the number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. (Kyodo News)
  • Researchers from the University of Strathclyde and the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay announce that they have developed a low-cost, portable sensor that can detect fragments of the virus responsible for COVID-19 within wastewater in concentrations as low as 10 picograms per microlitre using the Polymerase Chain Reaction test. (The New Indian Express)
  • U.S. President Joe Biden announces his administration will donate 500 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine to poor countries suffering from supply problems "with no strings attached". (NBC News)
• 2020–22 North American drought
  • Lake Mead, the reservoir created by the Hoover Dam, drops to its lowest water level ever recorded. (MSN)

International relations

• China–Japan relations, Japan–Taiwan relations, Political status of Taiwan
  • Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin condemns Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga for referring to Taiwan as a country yesterday during a parliamentary debate, saying it violates the One-China policy. China also condemned Japan's decision to donate COVID-19 vaccines to Taiwan as "political performance". (Kyodo News)
• United Kingdom–United States relations
  • U.S. President Joe Biden and U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson meet a day ahead of the 47th G7 summit to sign the New Atlantic Charter, an updated version of the original 1941 Atlantic Charter signed during World War II. (NPR)

Law and crime

• Authorities in Myanmar charge deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi with corruption, a charge that carries a maximum sentence of 15 years' imprisonment. Her trial is expected to begin Monday as her lawyers say that all the charges against her are to "keep her out of the public eye". (Deutsche Welle)
• State-run China Central Television reports that the National People's Congress passed a law aiming to counteract foreign sanctions against China's enterprises and individuals. The law's content has yet to be revealed. (Al Jazeera English)
• The Frankfurt division of the German Special Task Force is ordered dissolved by Hesse Interior Minister Peter Beuth after 20 active and former members were suspected to be actively participating in far-right chatrooms. (Deutsche Welle)

Politics and elections

• COVID-19 anti-lockdown protests in the United States, COVID-19 pandemic in Oregon
  • Lawmakers in the Oregon Legislative Assembly votes 59-1 to expel Republican State Rep. Mike Nearman for allowing far-right protesters to breach the Oregon State Capitol on December 21, 2020, making it the first time a House member has been expelled in its 160-year history. (NBC News)
• Pope Francis rejects the offer of resignation by Archbishop of Munich Reinhard Marx over what Marx described as mishandling of the "catastrophe" of sexual abuse in the Church. Francis addresses a letter to Marx where he agrees that it is a worldwide "catastrophe" but that Marx should stay on as Archbishop. Francis further stated that they cannot remain "indifferent in the face of the crime". Marx is seen as a progressive ally of Francis within the Church. (Reuters)
• King Abdullah II of Jordan issues a royal decree assigning former Prime Minister Samir Rifai to assemble a 92-member committee dedicated to reforming Jordan's current political system. The committee's first areas of focus are on a new electoral law, and a law specifically governing political parties. (Roya News English)
• The entire cabinet of Central African Republic Prime Minister Firmin Ngrébada, including Ngrébada himself, resigns following the withdrawal of 160 French soldiers from the country earlier this week. The spokesman for President Faustin-Archange Touadéra states that Ngrébada nonetheless could be tapped to head the new administration. (Al Jazeera English)

Science and technology

• Solar eclipse of June 10, 2021
  • An annular solar eclipse lasting up to 3 minutes and 51 seconds is visible from central and eastern Canada, parts of the Arctic, and the Russian Far East. Observers in northeastern North America, as well as parts of Europe and Africa, also see a partial eclipse. (Space)