Portal:Current events/2021 May 5

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Syrian civil war
  • Israel's role in the Syrian civil war
    • Israel launches missiles at Masyaf, Syria, killing one person and injuring six others. Several more missiles are intercepted, including one which reached the port city of Latakia. (Al Jazeera) (AP)
• 2021 Kyrgyzstan–Tajikistan conflict
  • The death toll at the Kyrgyzstan–Tajikistan border rises to 55 people. (Anadolu Agency)
• Insurgency in Balochistan
  • Four Pakistani soldiers are killed and six others wounded when ambushed by militants near the border with Afghanistan. (DTNext)

Disasters and accidents

• A plane crashes into a house in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, United States, killing four people. (Fox News)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines
      • COVID-19 vaccination in the Philippines
        • The Philippines' Food and Drug Administration issues an emergency use authorization for the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. (Rappler)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in India
      • India reports a record 3,780 deaths from COVID-19 during the past 24 hours and 382,315 new cases. The World Health Organization says that nearly half of the worldwide cases reported last week were from India. (CNA)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia
      • Malaysian Defence Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob announces that Kuala Lumpur will be placed under the movement control order from May 7 until May 20 due to the emergence of seventeen COVID-19 clusters over the past week. (Malay Mail)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand, variants of SARS-CoV-2
      • Thailand reports its first case of a SARS-CoV-2 variant that originated from Brazil in an overseas traveler who is currently in quarantine. (Yahoo! News)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Africa
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Egypt
      • Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announces that the Eid Al-Fitr holiday will begin from May 12 until May 16, which means that all gardens, parks, public buses, and public beaches will be closed or will not operate during this period. In addition, all shops, shopping malls, restaurants, cafés, and cinemas will close at 9:00 p.m., and all gatherings at those venues will be banned for two weeks beginning tomorrow as part of measures meant to reduce the spread of COVID-19. (Arab News)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Kenya, Lineage B.1.617
      • Kenya reports its first five cases of the Lineage B.1.617 variant in five Indians who are working at a fertiliser plant in Kisumu. (The Star Kenya)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Canada
    • COVID-19 vaccination in Canada
      • Health Canada approves the use of the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine for children ages 12 to 15, becoming the first country to approve the vaccine for use in younger age groups. (CTV News)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Argentina
    • Argentina reports a record of 663 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the national death toll to 65,865. (China Daily)
  • COVID-19 vaccine
    • The Biden administration announces that it will support waiving patent protections on existing COVID-19 vaccines so that other countries can produce generic variants, following weeks of pressure from the international community. (CNBC)

Law and crime

• Rwandan genocide
  • At a court in Rwanda, Beatrice Munyenyezi denies the charges against her stemming from the 1994 genocide. Munyenyezi alleges that she was a pregnant teenager at the time and that she could not have been involved in the crimes. She had been previously deported from the United States for lying on her naturalization process. Her husband and mother-in-law Pauline Nyiramasuhuko are already convicted for the genocide. (Reuters)
• 2021 Colombian protests
  • Watchdog organization NetBlocks reports Internet connection disruptions in Cali, Colombia, amidst the ongoing anti-government protests. (Newsweek)
• A police officer is shot dead during a narcotics raid in Avignon, France. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

• 2019–2021 Israeli political crisis
  • Israeli President Reuven Rivlin taps Yair Lapid, leader of the oppositional centrist party Yesh Atid, to form a new government after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to form one yesterday. (Al Jazeera)
• Kyrgyzstan President Sadyr Japarov signs a decree approving the new constitution, which was approved following a referendum on April 11. (TASS)

Science and technology

• Aftermath of the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol, Social media use by Donald Trump
  • The Facebook Oversight Board upholds the social media giant's ban on former president Donald Trump. However, it calls for a review of the indefinite ban within six months. (The New York Times)
• Starship development history
  • SpaceX Starship SN15 makes its first successful vertical landing after launching from Boca Chica, Texas and climbing to an altitude of 10km during a test flight. (CNN)
• Video-sharing platform LiveLeak shuts down after 15 years. The website has been controversial over the years, hosting videos such as the killing of captives by ISIL, the execution of Saddam Hussein and anti-Islamic film Fitna, which have resulted in the website's subsequent censorship in multiple countries. (Mashable)