Portal:Current events/2021 October 26

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Allied Democratic Forces insurgency
  • 2021 Uganda bombings
    • It is revealed that yesterday's explosion on a bus in Mpigi District was carried out by an ADF suicide bomber. The attacker was killed, and three other people were injured. (France 24) (Daily Monitor)
• Islamic State insurgency in Iraq
  • Islamic State militants attack a village in Diyala Governorate, Iraq, killing 11 people and injuring several others. (Al Jazeera)
• Aftermath of the 2016 Berlin truck attack
  • A man who was critically injured in the truck attack in Berlin, Germany, in 2016, dies from complications related to his injuries this month, becoming the thirteenth fatality of the attack. (BBC News)
• Aftermath of the October 2021 Sudanese coup d'état
  • Military leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan says that he and his forces seized power in an attempt to avoid a civil war in Sudan, saying that "the dangers we witnessed last week could have led the country into civil war". Meanwhile, anti-coup protests occur across the country. (Reuters)
  • Deposed prime minister Abdalla Hamdok and his wife are released by the military. However, several government officials continue to be detained and face trial. (AFP via Gulf News)
• War in Donbas
  • Ukraine confirms it has carried out its first drone strikes using the Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2, destroying a pro-Russian separatist D-30 howitzer. A Ukrainian soldier is killed and another wounded by rebel artillery near Hranitne in Donetsk Oblast. (The Moscow Times)

Arts and culture

• Imperial House of Japan
  • Princess Mako of Akishino marries commoner Kei Komuro, thereby nullifying her imperial title under Japanese law and becoming Mako Komuro. (AFP via France 24)

Business and economy

• A cyberattack affects gas stations across Iran, rendering government-issued electronic cards used to buy subsidized fuel unuseable and leaving motorists stranded in long queues. No group immediately claims responsibility for the attack. Iran blames an "unidentified foreign power" as being behind the attack. (ABC News)

Disasters and accidents

• Two people are killed and another is missing as floods triggered by a powerful storm is affecting Catania, Sicily, Italy. Roads have been completely submerged in parts of the region. (BBC News)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium
      • Belgium reintroduces the usage of face masks at public places and will expanding the usage of COVID Safe Ticket to bars, restaurants, and fitness club beginning next week amid a rise of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. (AP)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Bulgaria
      • Bulgaria reports a record 5,863 new cases and 243 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 575,306 and the nationwide death toll to 23,316. (Bulgarian News Agency)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
      • Russia reports a record 1,106 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide death toll to 232,775. (The Moscow Times)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland, COVID-19 vaccination in Switzerland
      • Switzerland recommends that people aged above 65 years old receive the booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and should be done at least six months after they received their second dose. The booster dose for that age group will begin in mid-November. (Reuters)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine
      • Ukraine reports a record 734 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide death toll to 64,936. (RFE/RL)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Bahrain
      • Bahrain approves the usage of the Sinopharm BIBP COVID-19 vaccine for children between the ages of 3 and 11 years old. (Khaleej Times)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China
      • The city of Lanzhou is placed under lockdown due to a cluster of COVID-19 cases. The city, which has a population of over four million, accounts for roughly a fifth of new cases reported in China since October 17. (NDTV)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, COVID-19 vaccination in Canada
    • COVID-19 pandemic in British Columbia
      • British Columbia announces that beginning from January 2022, the province will offering a booster dose of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine to people aged above 12 years old who have already received their second dose, becoming the first jurisdiction in North America to do so. (Vancouver Sun)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Africa
    • The African Union will purchase 110 million doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine in a deal brokered by the United States, which will defer delivery of some doses intended for the U.S. in order to facilitate the deal. (Al Jazeera)

International relations

• 2021 Belarus–European Union border crisis, Belarus–Poland relations
  • Poland increases the number of soldiers deployed on its border with Belarus from 6,000 to "about 10,000" in order to prevent the flow of further illegal crossings by Middle Eastern migrants being flown in by the Belarusian government. The troop surge comes after two border guards were hospitalized over the weekend after a group of 70 migrants stormed a section of the border. (EUObserver)
• 2021 Myanmar protests
  • The ASEAN Summit takes place virtually without the participation of Myanmar, following the bloc's decision to disinvite the country's military junta chief Min Aung Hlaing for refusing to cooperate on a peace process. (AFP via France 24)

Law and crime

• Presidency of Jair Bolsonaro, 2021 Brazilian protests, COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil
  • A Senate committee approves a resolution to gain access to Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's internet activity. The Senate also votes today on whether to indict Bolsonaro with multiple charges, including charges accusing him of mismanagement of the pandemic, charlatanism and crimes against humanity. (AP) (Reuters)
• At least 150 people are arrested by European and U.S. authorities during a joint crackdown on traders of drugs, weapons and other illicit goods on darknet e-commerce sites. The majority of those arrested are from Germany, the U.S. and the United Kingdom. (AP)