Portal:Current events

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Persian Gulf crisis
  • August 2021 Gulf of Oman incident
    • Oman says that the hijacking of the Asphalt Princess, a Panama-flagged ship, is over. The United Kingdom also confirms this report. The vessel was hijacked yesterday in the Arabian Sea in as yet unknown circumstances amid rising tensions between some nations and Iran. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

• Milavče train crash
  • Two passenger trains collide head-on near Milavče, Plzeň Region, Czech Republic, killing three people and injuring 58 others. (Reuters)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Japan
      • Japan reports a record 14,207 new cases in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 971,904. (NHK)
      • Tokyo reports a record 4,166 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours. (The Hill)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China, Travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic
      • The Chinese immigration authority suspends the issuing of ordinary passports and other documents needed for exiting the country for "non-essential and non-emergency" reasons as the country restricts overseas travel in order to prevent the spread of the Delta variant. (Radio France Internationale)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia
      • Indonesia surpasses 100,000 deaths from COVID-19. (Associated Press)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Iran
      • Iran surpasses 4 million cases from COVID-19 after a record 39,957 new cases were reported for the third consecutive day. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Macau
      • Macau launches compulsory COVID-19 testing for all 680,000 people at 41 testing centres and will close all cinemas, gyms, bars, and other entertainment venues beginning at midnight after the first local cases were reported in the city in more than 16 months, where four member of a family were infected with the Delta variant. (Bloomberg News) (France 24)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia
      • Malaysia reports a record 19,819 new cases and 257 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 1,183,110 and the nationwide death toll to 9,855. (CNA)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand
      • Thailand reports a record 20,200 new cases and 188 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 672,385 and the nationwide death toll to 5,503. (Bangkok Post)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
      • COVID-19 pandemic in England, Travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic
        • The British government announces that France will be removed from England's "amber plus" category, meaning that fully vaccinated travellers will no longer need to quarantine. Additionally, seven other countries will be added to the "green list" category. These changes will be in effect beginning August 8 at 4:00 a.m. (ITV News)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine
      • Ukraine receives 509,400 doses of the Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine donated by Denmark. (Ukrinform)
    • European Union response to the COVID-19 pandemic, COVID-19 vaccine
      • The European Commission signs an agreement with Novavax to purchase 200 million doses of its protein-based COVID-19 vaccines, including an option to purchase another 100 million doses through 2023. (Politico.eu)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in North America
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
      • COVID-19 pandemic in Illinois
        • Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker issues a vaccine mandate for healthcare workers as well as a mask mandate for schools and indoor sporting events. (Patch.com)
      • COVID-19 pandemic in Louisiana
        • Louisiana reports 2,247 hospitalizations in the past 24 hours, a new single-day record. (NOLA.com)
      • COVID-19 pandemic in Oregon
        • Oregon Governor Kate Brown announces that healthcare workers will be required to receive the COVID-19 vaccine or undergo testing. (Portland Tribune)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Canada
      • COVID-19 pandemic in British Columbia
        • British Columbia reports 342 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, which is the highest daily total since May 27. (CBC)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Guadeloupe
      • The French overseas territory of Guadeloupe enters a three-week partial lockdown that closes all bars, gyms, stadiums, and swimming pools, and restricts restaurants to only offer lunchtime service. A curfew from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. is also enforced while the travel of individuals is restricted to a radius of 10 km (6.2 mi) from their residence except for urgent reasons. The new partial lockdown comes amid a "catastrophic" increase in the number of COVID-19 cases. (Euronews)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand
    • COVID-19 vaccination in New Zealand
      • New Zealand surpasses two million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine administered, with almost 770,000 people having been fully vaccinated. (The New Zealand Herald)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil
    • Brazil surpasses 20 million cases from COVID-19. (Al-Arabiya English)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Ivory Coast
    • Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara self-isolates after coming in contact with someone who had tested positive for COVID-19. (Reuters)
  • The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide surpasses 200 million. (The New York Times)

International relations

• The Sudanese government unanimously approves a draft bill to join the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. (Al Jazeera English)

Law and crime

• Aftermath of the 2020 Belarusian protests
  • The trial of Maria Kalesnikava, one of the main organizers of the anti-Lukashenko protests, opens in Minsk. Kalesnikava faces up to 12 years' imprisonment if she is found guilty on charges of extremism. (BBC News)
• COVID-19 pandemic in Argentina
  • A court in Córdoba Province, Argentina indicts a 62-year-old Peruvian man for entering the country unvaccinated, breaching isolation and spreading the Delta variant to 13 other people. The man, who is currently hospitalized in serious condition, could face up to 15 years imprisonment if he recovers. (Página Siete)
• Police in Kyiv arrest a man with a grenade who entered the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers building, threating to detonate it. (Reuters)

Sports

• 2020 Summer Olympics, Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports
  • The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games confirms the first COVID-19 cluster infection since the Games began after four athletes and one team official from the Greek artistic swimming group tested positive. The five individuals, in addition to the seven other members of the team who tested negative, were moved away from the Olympic village and isolated. (United Press International)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• War in Afghanistan
  • Taliban insurgency
    • 2021 Taliban offensive
      • August 2021 Kabul attack
        • Taliban gunmen and a suicide car bomber attack Kabul. Thirteen people, including five attackers, are killed. (The Independent)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China
      • COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei
        • Chinese authorities announce city-wide COVID-19 testing for 11 million people in Wuhan after the first locally transmitted cases since May 2020 were reported in the city, where three cases that had been found were of the highly-transmissible Lineage B.1.617 Delta variant. (The Daily Telegraph)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Iran
      • Iran reports a record for the second consecutive day of 39,019 new cases of COVID-19, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 3.979 million. (The Times of Israel)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan
      • COVID-19 vaccination in Pakistan
        • Pakistan surpasses one million daily COVID-19 vaccination doses for the first time after the government warned that it may ban unvaccinated people from entering some public places and using some forms of transportation. (The Straits Times)
        • Islamabad becomes the first city in Pakistan with a population of more than one million people to have 50% of its eligible population vaccinated with at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. (Dawn)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea
      • South Korea reports its first two cases of the Delta Plus variant in a man who had not travelled internationally and a person who had travelled from the United States. (Yonhap News Agency)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Louisiana
      • Louisiana reports a record 2,112 hospitalizations from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours. (U.S. News & World Report)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in New York (state)
      • COVID-19 pandemic in New York City
        • New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announces that the city will issue a vaccine mandate for indoor dining, gyms, and public performances, making New York City the first U.S. city to do so. The program will begin on August 16 and will be enforceable beginning on September 13. (The New York Times)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Utah
      • Utah Governor Spencer Cox announces that Utah will offer K95 and KN95 masks to students during the fall semester. (KTVX)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Greece
      • Greece surpasses 500,000 cases of COVID-19. (Greek City Times)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
      • COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland
        • Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announces that the legal requirement for social distancing in Scotland will be removed on August 9 and the blanket 10-day self-isolation for school pupils will also be ended in order to prevent educational disruption, as long as all pupils test negative. However, face coverings will be mandatory for secondary school students and staff for the first six weeks of the new term. (The Guardian)
      • The United Kingdom reports 138 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, which is the highest single-day death toll since March 17. (ITV News)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Morocco
    • Morocco extends its nightly curfew nationwide to from 9:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. and restricts the operation of all businesses and tourist hubs in Casablanca, Agadir and Marrakesh to essential travel and those who have been vaccinated in order to reduce the spread of COVID-19. (Reuters)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in the Solomon Islands
    • The Solomon Islands indefinitely closes its borders in an attempt to prevent the Delta variant from entering the country. (RNZ International)

International relations

• Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict
  • Saudi foreign minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud says that he "sees an emboldened Iran acting in a negative manner around the Middle East, endangering shipping, arming the Houthis and contributing to a political deadlock in Lebanon". Al Saud further stated that Saudi Arabia supports any talks with Iran "as long as it ensures that Iran will not now nor ever get nuclear weapons". (Reuters)

Law and crime

• Belarus at the 2020 Summer Olympics
  • Sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya loses a bid to continue competing in the games as she was granted an humanitarian visa by Poland while the International Olympic Committee begins an investigation. Tsimanouskaya, who refused to fly back to Belarus, entered the Polish embassy in Tokyo on Sunday and requested temporary asylum in Japan. Japanese foreign minister Toshimitsu Motegi assured Tsimanouskaya that Japan had taken measures to protect her. (Deutsche Welle)
• Andrew Cuomo sexual harassment allegations
  • A report released by New York Attorney General Letitia James says that Governor Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed 11 women. (NBC News)
• 2021 Pentagon attack
  • A Pentagon police officer is fatally stabbed in an apparently random attack outside the Pentagon building. The attacker then fatally shoots himself with the officer's weapon, while a civilian bystander is wounded. (CBS News)
• A court in Russia sentences Lyubov Sobol, an ally of Alexei Navalny, to eighteen months of parole-like restrictions after finding her guilty of violations of COVID-19 restrictions. She rejects the convictions, calling them politically motivated and nonsense. (Reuters)

Sports

• 2020 Summer Olympics
  • Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports, Greece at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Artistic swimming at the 2020 Summer Olympics
    • The Hellenic Olympic Committee withdraws its entire synchronized swimming team from the duo and group artistic swimming competitions after four of the team's athletes tested positive for COVID-19. (NPR)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• War in Afghanistan
  • Taliban insurgency
    • 2021 Taliban offensive
      • President Ashraf Ghani blames the worsening security situation in Afghanistan on the sudden withdrawal of U.S. troops amid a rapid advance of the Taliban across the country. Ghani warns that the Islamist group has not severed ties with other terrorist groups. The Taliban rejects Ghani's statement. (Reuters)
• Tigray War
  • According to Ethiopian refugees and Sudanese witnesses, at least 30 bodies have washed up on the Sudanese banks of the Tekeze River. Most of them had been shot and tied up. According to Dr. Tewodros Tefera, a surgeon who escaped from the Ethiopian border town of Humera, three of the bodies belonged to Tigrayans from Humera. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

• 2021 Henan floods
  • The death toll from the severe floods that are affecting Henan, China, increases to 302 people. (BBC News)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Cyprus
      • Cyprus begins a vaccination programme for children between the ages of 12 and 15 years old who are eligible for the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna mRNA vaccines after 20% of new COVID-19 cases occurred in that age group. (Asian News International)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Germany, COVID-19 vaccination in Germany
      • German health minister Jens Spahn and leaders of 16 states agree to offer booster shots of the COVID-19 vaccine for elderly and at-risk groups beginning in September and make vaccinations widely available for children between the ages of 12 and 17 years old amid concerns about "reduced immune response" due to the spread of the Delta variant. (Al Jazeera English)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, Travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic
      • The United Kingdom eases its quarantine requirements for fully vaccinated travellers from the United States and European Union countries other than France where most of them are in the "amber list" category in order to reunite family and friends whose loved ones live abroad. Travellers will still need to take either a lateral flow or PCR test before their departure, and a PCR test on the second day after their arrival. (BBC News)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong
      • Chief Executive Carrie Lam announces mandatory COVID-19 vaccination for civil servants, healthcare workers, care home employees and school teachers. Otherwise, these people would have to pay for regular testing. Currently, only 36% of people in Hong Kong are fully vaccinated whereas 46% of people have received at least one dose. (France 24)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Iran
      • Iran reports a record 37,189 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 3.94 million. (Barron's)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Japan
      • Chiba, Kanagawa, Osaka, and Saitama prefectures enter a state of emergency due to an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases during the 2020 Summer Olympics. A quasi-state of emergency is also being imposed in Hokkaido, Ishikawa, Kyoto, Hyogo and Fukuoka prefectures with both measures being in effect until August 31. (Kyodo News)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia
      • Malaysia reports a record 219 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide death toll to 9,403. (Reuters)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the United Arab Emirates
      • The Ministry of Health approves the emergency use of the Sinopharm BBIBP-CorV vaccine for children between the ages of 3 and 17 years old in the UAE. (Gulf News)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
    • COVID-19 vaccination in the United States
      • COVID-19 pandemic in Colorado
        • Denver Mayor Michael Hancock announces a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for school employees, contractors and volunteers. (Patch)
      • COVID-19 pandemic in New Jersey
        • New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy issues a vaccine mandate for healthcare workers. A deadline has been issued by September 7. (CNBC)
      • The U.S. CDC announces that over 70% of adults in the United States have received a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, nearly a month after the July 4th target originally set by President Joe Biden. (CBS News)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in California
      • COVID-19 pandemic in the San Francisco Bay Area
        • Health officials in San Francisco and other Bay Area counties reimpose a mask mandate in the area as part of an effort to reduce the spread of the Lineage B.1.617 Delta variant. (SFGate)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Louisiana
      • Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards announces that the state will reissue their mask mandate in schools, churches, businesses and other indoor public spaces amid a fourth wave of COVID-19. (The Advocate)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Washington, D.C.
      • U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) announces that he has tested positive for COVID-19, despite having received a COVID-19 vaccine. (NBC News)

Law and crime

• Belarus at the 2020 Summer Olympics
  • Belarusian sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya enters the Polish embassy in Tokyo after refusing to board a flight to Belarus at Haneda Airport and asking for Japanese police protection. Her husband has left Belarus and entered Ukraine. The Japanese government says that it will take measures to protect Tsimanouskaya's stay as multiple European countries offer her asylum. (Sky News)
• 2022 Brazilian general election
  • Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court announces an investigation into President Jair Bolsonaro over claims of voter fraud into next year’s election. (Reuters)
• Police in Hong Kong arrest singer Anthony Wong Yiu-ming for violating campaign laws in 2018. (The New York Times)

Politics and elections

• 2020–21 Malaysian political crisis, Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on politics in Malaysia
  • The Dewan Rakyat suspends their special parliamentary meeting for two weeks after COVID-19 cases were detected in the parliament. Malaysian opposition MPs, including Anwar Ibrahim and Mahathir Mohamad, gathered in Merdeka Square after being blocked by police from entering the parliament to protest the suspension. The MPs demanded for Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yasin to resign. (CNA)

Sports

• 2020 Summer Olympics
  • Indonesia at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Badminton at the 2020 Summer Olympics
    • Indonesian Badminton players Greysia Polii and Apriyani Rahayu win the country's first gold medal for the Women's Doubles category of badminton. This makes Indonesia the second country, after China, to have won a gold medal in all five categories of Badminton. (South China Morning Post)
  • New Zealand at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Weightlifting at the 2020 Summer Olympics, LGBT athletes in the Olympic and Paralympic Games
    • New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard becomes the first transgender woman to compete in the Olympics. (Associated Press)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• 2019–2021 Persian Gulf crisis
  • July 2021 Gulf of Oman incident
    • The United Kingdom and the United States join Israel in blaming Iran for the strike. British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab says that the UK and its allies are planning a coordinated response. However, an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson says that the allegation is "baseless." (Associated Press) (The Hill)
• Insurgency in the Maghreb
  • 2021 Niger attacks
    • Fifteen troops are killed and six others are missing as Islamists ambush them in Torodi, Tillabéri Region, Niger. A bomb also exploded as the soldiers tried to evacuate their wounded. (France 24)
• Central African Republic Civil War
  • Militants belonging to the 3R group attack a military position in the village of Mann, Central African Republic, killing six civilians and wounding several more. (Al Jazeera English)
• Five people, including three Hezbollah members, are killed and several more are wounded as gunmen open fire at the funeral of Ali Shibli, a Hezbollah member who was assassinated yesterday in Khalde, Lebanon. Both the attacks are described as motivated by anti-shi'ism and as a revenge for the killing of a Sunni Arab teenager and a Syrian last year in the same town. (France 24)

Arts and culture

• YouTube bans News Corp's Sky News Australia channel from uploading new content for seven days after commentator Alan Jones spread COVID-19 misinformation. This comes shortly after The Daily Telegraph fired Jones and ended his regular column over similar concerns. (The Guardian)
• Canada observes "Emancipation Day" nationwide for the first time. The holiday, commemorating the day in 1834 when the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 came into force and outlawed slavery in Canada and most of the British Empire, was unanimously declared by Parliament in March. (Al Jazeera English)
• New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern formally apologizes to the Pacific Islander community for the Dawn Raids, a series of police raids in the 1970s that targeted and deported Pacific Islanders accused of overstaying their work visas, and says that the government will create new education and training scholarships for the community, and an official account of the raids in order to compensate for them. The apology was supposed to happen in June, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Al Jazeera English)

Disasters and accidents

• 2021 Afghanistan flood
  • Flash flooding continues for the fourth day in Kamdesh District, Nuristan Province, killing several more people and bringing the death toll to 113. (Al Jazeera English)
• 2021 Turkish wildfires
  • The death toll from wildfires in southern Turkey rises to eight. Thousands of tourists are evacuated from Bodrum by the Coast Guard Command as the fires close in on the port city. (Reuters)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Cambodia
      • Cambodia begins a COVID-19 vaccination rollout for teenagers between the ages of 12 and 17 years old using the Sinovac CoronaVac vaccine. Prime Minister Hun Sen's grandchildren are among the first to receive the vaccine. (France 24)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia, Travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic
      • Saudi Arabia lifts its travel restrictions for the first time since March 2020 for tourists who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 using government-approved vaccines. Vaccinated travellers must register themselves on the data registration portal introduced by the Ministry of Tourism which also requires a negative PCR test from the previous 72 hours. (Hindustan Times)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand
      • Thailand extends its semi-lockdown measures in 13 provinces including the Bangkok Metropolitan Region until August 31 and also extends the restrictions into 16 additional provinces beginning on August 3 due to an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in the country. (Bloomberg News)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Africa
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria, COVID-19 vaccination in Nigeria
      • Nigeria receives four million doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine from U.S. government. (Africanews)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Tunisia, COVID-19 vaccination in Tunisia
      • Tunisia receives 1.5 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine from Italy. (Al Arabiya English)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Florida
      • The number of patients hospitalized due to COVID-19 in Florida reaches a record 10,207, surpassing the previous record of 10,170 people recorded on July 23, 2020. (Associated Press)
    • The U.S. surpasses 35 million cases of COVID-19. (NBC News)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Germany, Travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic
    • Germany begins to require any travellers over the age of 12 who have been not fully vaccinated or recovered from COVID-19 regardless of transportation mode to present a negative COVID-19 test result taken within the previous 48 hours for rapid antigen test and 72 hours for PCR test amid concerns about the spread of the Delta variant. (Deutsche Welle)

International relations

• North Korea–South Korea relations
  • Kim Jong-un's sister Kim Yo-jong warns South Korea against conducting military drills with the United States, saying that such a move could damage the talks to resolve the Korean conflict. The two Koreas have been improving relations lately, with North Korea restoring the border hotlines, which Kim Yo-jong called a "physical" measure in case the drills take place. (Reuters)

Law and crime

• Five high-ranking army officers and several police officers are arrested in Madagascar in connection with a failed attempt to assassinate the country's president, bringing the number of people arrested in connection to the plot to 21. (BBC News)

Politics and elections

• 2021 Myanmar coup d'état
  • On the six-month anniversary of the coup, military junta leader Min Aung Hlaing names himself Prime Minister "in order to perform the country’s duties fast, easily and effectively", according to the ruling State Administration Council. (Reuters)

Sports

• 2021 Formula One World Championship
  • 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix
    • French racing driver Esteban Ocon of Alpine wins his first Formula One race in his career. (CNN International)
• 2020 Summer Olympics
  • United States at the 2020 Summer Olympics
    • U.S. track and field competitor Raven Saunders raises her arms and crosses them in the shape of an X while participating in a medal ceremony. Podium demonstrations are banned by the International Olympic Committee. The committee says it is investigating the matter. (Fiji Village) (CNN)
  • Belarus at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Athletics at the 2020 Summer Olympics
    • Belarusian sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya is forcibly removed from the Games by the Belarus Olympic Committee after criticizing officials for entering her in the 4 by 400 meter relay race without her consent. Tsimanouskaya has appealed to the IOC for support, and asked Japanese police for protection at Haneda Airport after she refused to board a flight to Belarus. (Deutsche Welle)
  • Italy at the 2020 Summer Olympics
    • Marcell Jacobs wins the men's 100-metres final in an Olympics upset and becomes the 10th-fastest man of all time. (Time) (Reuters)
• 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup
  • In association football, the United States defeat Mexico 1–0 after extra time in the final to win their seventh Gold Cup title. (The Straits Times)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• War in Afghanistan
  • Taliban insurgency
    • 2021 Taliban offensive
      • Government forces and the Taliban clash in Herat, the provincial capital of Herat Province, where the Islamist group has seized many districts. The Taliban also captures adjoining border crossings with Iran and Turkmenistan as the United Nations accuses them of killing a United Nations serviceman yesterday during an attack on a UN compound. (France 24)
      • The Taliban enters Kandahar as intense fighting is reported in three major cities. Kandahar MP spokesman Gul Ahmad Kamin says that the fighting there is the worst that has been seen in 20 years, with the Taliban seeking to establish their temporary capital there. Kamin also says that the situation is worsening "hour by hour" as he warns that if Kandahar falls, five or six other provinces in the region would also be captured by the Taliban. It is also reported that the Taliban made rapid major gains in rural areas. (BBC)
• Sinai insurgency
  • Eight soldiers are killed by ISIL during anti-terrorism operations in northern Sinai, Egypt. Eighty-nine ISIL militants are also killed. Arms and ammunitions are confiscated, while hundreds of explosive devices, some explosive belts, thirteen tunnel entrances and 200 arms-loaded vehicles are destroyed.(Al Jazeera)
• Yemeni Civil War
  • The deputy governor of Al Bayda Governorate says that Houthi insurgents have taken control of Naman and Nateh districts, displacing many civilians. (The Defense Post)

Disasters and accidents

• Thirty-three people are dead during a collision between a fuel truck and a crowded bus in Kibuba, Democratic Republic of the Congo. (Al Jazeera)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Japan
      • Tokyo reports a record 4,058 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, while the number of new cases across Japan reaches a record 12,341. (CBC)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Laos
      • Laos reports a record 380 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 6,299. (The Laotian Times)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia
      • Malaysia reports a record 17,786 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 1,113,272. (The Star)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan
      • Pakistan reports its first five cases of the SARS-CoV-2 Epsilon variant in Lahore, which was originally detected in California. (DAWN)
      • Sindh province imposes a partial lockdown in Pakistan's largest city of Karachi in order to reduce the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant. The lockdown is in effect until August 8. (Hindustan Times)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand
      • Thailand reports a record 18,912 new cases and 178 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 597,287 and the nationwide death toll to 4,857. (The Straits Times)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in North America
    • COVID-19 pandemic in El Salvador
      • El Salvador reports its first case of the Lineage B.1.617 Delta variant, which was originally detected in India. (Reuters)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
      • COVID-19 pandemic in Florida
        • Florida reports a record 21,683 cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, surpassing the previous record of 19,334 cases reported on January 7. (Tampa Bay Times)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Argentina, COVID-19 vaccination in Argentina
    • Health minister Carla Vizzotti reports that Argentina has applied nearly 32 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. Argentina has so far reported 4.9 million cases and over 105,000 deaths from COVID-19. (CNDigital)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
    • Brisbane and surrounding towns enter a lockdown after an increase in the number of new COVID-19 cases linked to the ongoing cluster in New South Wales. (The Guardian)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Réunion
    • Amid an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases, the French overseas territory of Réunion enters a two-week partial lockdown which restricts the movement of people to 10 km (6.2 mi) during the day and 5 km (3.1 mi) on Sunday as well as closing all cafés, restaurants and gyms. A curfew is also being imposed between 6 p.m. and 5 a.m. when movement is not allowed except for essential reasons. (France 24)

Politics and elections

• 2021 Myanmar protests
  • As the six-month anniversary of the military coup against civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi approaches, protests occur in Mandalay with university students waving flags and saying that there is "no possibility of dialogue" with the junta. The junta says that former civilian leaders are spreading "biased information". (Reuters)
• Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina calls on the military to take "responsibility for threats to national sovereignty and threats to national security" after a plot to assassinate him was foiled last week. Rajoelina called on the new military graduates to uphold democracy. (Madagascar Tribune)

Sports

• 2020 Summer Olympics
  • Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports, Georgia at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Judo at the 2020 Summer Olympics
    • The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games revokes accreditation for two Georgian judokas for violating COVID-19 protocols by leaving the athletes village for a sightseeing trip to meet "one of their good acquaintances" who lives in Japan. (BBC)
  • Qatar at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Weightlifting at the 2020 Summer Olympics
    • Qatari weightlifter Fares El-Bakh wins the men's 96 kg event, receiving Qatar's first-ever Olympic gold medal. (The Peninsula)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• War in Afghanistan
  • Taliban insurgency
    • 2021 Taliban offensive
      • The Taliban enters Lashkargah, the provincial capital of Helmand Province, capturing large areas of the city, according to a provincial government spokesman, who reported heavy fighting between government forces and the Islamist group as civilians flee the city. (Reuters)
• 2019–2021 Persian Gulf crisis
  • 2021 Gulf of Oman incident
    • A Romanian captain and a British bodyguard are killed in a suicide drone attack on a Liberian-flagged Japanese-owned oil tanker, belonging to an Israeli company, near the coast of Oman. (Al Jazeera)
• Two supporters of the Zambian political-leading party Patriotic Front are stabbed to death by supporters of the opposition party National Development in the capital Lusaka, amid an increasing tension over the imminent elections. Four people are arrested. (Al Jazeera)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Cambodia
      • Cambodia imposes a two-week lockdown in eight provinces bordering Thailand as well as a nationwide night curfew in an effort to reduce the resurgence of COVID-19 cases caused by the Delta variant. (Anadolu Agency)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Israel, COVID-19 vaccination in Israel
      • Israel begins the world's first third-dose vaccination campaign for people over 60 years old, with president Isaac Herzog and his wife Michal receiving a third dose of the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. (Haaretz)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Japan
      • Japanese health minister Norihisa Tamura says that the country has entered an "extremely frightening" stage of the pandemic as the number of cases increases in Tokyo. The government also extends the state of emergency in the capital and expands it to three surrounding prefectures and the city of Osaka from August 2 to August 31. (BBC)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines, COVID-19 community quarantines in the Philippines
      • The National Capital Region will be placed under the strictest Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) in an effort to reduce the resurgence of COVID-19 cases caused by the Delta variant. The ECQ will be in effect from August 6 to August 20. (ABS-CBN News)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam
      • Vietnam reports a record 8,649 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 137,062. (Vietnam Plus)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Germany, Travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic
      • Angela Merkel's cabinet approves a plan to require travellers over the age of 12 who have not been vaccinated or recovered from COVID-19 to show a negative COVID-19 test result regardless of whether they are travelling by airplane, car or train. People travelling to Germany from "virus variant areas" will also require a negative test result, even if they have been vaccinated or have recovered from COVID-19. These rules will be in effect beginning on August 1. (DW)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
      • Moscow abolishes a widely-flouted requirement for people to wear gloves on public transport and in shops and other public places as the number of COVID-19 cases declines. (Reuters)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Africa
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Kenya
      • Kenya bans all public gatherings and in-person meetings, as well as extends the nationwide curfew to from 10:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m., in an attempt to reduce the spread of COVID-19. (Al Jazeera)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Uganda
      • Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni eases its second nationwide lockdown that allow some business hubs, private and public transport to reopen and operated with restricted capacity limits due to drop of positivity rate of COVID-19 in the country. (Bloomberg)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in North America
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
      • The United States surpasses 100,000 daily reported cases for the first time since February 11. (The New York Times)

International relations

• 2021 Cuban protests
  • The United States places sanctions on the Cuban police force and two of its police leaders. (CNBC)
• Philippines–United States relations
  • Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte suspends the termination process of the Visiting Forces Agreement, a military pact between the Philippines and the United States. (Reuters)

Law and crime

• Hong Kong national security law
  • Twenty-four-year-old Tong Ying-kit is sentenced to nine years in prison after being convicted last week for driving his motorcycle into three riot police last year. (Reuters)
  • Police arrest a 40-year-old man at a mall for booing the Chinese national anthem during the ceremony for Hong Kong's first gold medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics. Police added that the man also carried a Hong Kong colonial flag and that he was arrested on grounds of the man's aim to "incite hatred and politicize sports". (Reuters)
• Immigration detention in Australia
  • An Iranian Kurdish asylum seeker living among the community in Australia sues the Commonwealth government in the Federal Court for detaining him in two hotel rooms for over a year. This is the latest in a growing movement of refugees suing Australia for alleged human rights abuses. (The Guardian)
• 2017–18 Spanish constitutional crisis
  • The European Court of Justice confirms the lifting of parliamentary immunity of MEPs and Catalan independence leaders Carles Puigdemont, Toni Comín and Clara Ponsatí, thereby allowing Spanish courts to prosecute and extradite them to Spain. (Euronews)
• Western Togoland
  • Charles Komi Kudzordzi, leader of the Home Study Group Foundation, is arrested by Ghanaian national security officials for declaring parts of the Volta Region independent in 2019. (GhanaWeb)