Portal:Current events/2021 November 17

November 17, 2021 (Wednesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Aftermath of the October 2021 Sudanese coup d'état
- Soldiers open fire on civilians in Khartoum, Sudan, protesting against last month's coup d'état, killing 14 people and injuring dozens more. This brings the total death toll of civilians killed during the protests to 38. (Al Jazeera)
Insurgency in the Maghreb
- The death toll from the attack at a military post in Inata, Soum Province, Burkina Faso, three days ago, increases to 53, including 49 gendarmes and four civilians. (Al Jazeera)
2021 Belarus–European Union border crisis; Estonia–Russia barrier
- Estonia summons 1,700 reservists for a snap drill, which will include installing a 40-kilometer-long razor wire barrier along the border with Russia as the migrant crisis with Belarus intensifies. (Reuters)
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
- Seven people are killed and 10 others are injured after clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia. (AP)

Disasters and accidents

November 2021 Pacific Northwest floods
- The Canadian government sends the Air Force to the Pacific coast to assist with supplies after torrential rains affected regions of British Columbia near Vancouver, causing damage to highways. Minister of Emergency Preparedness Bill Blair says that landslides and floods have blocked the town of Agassiz and residents are now being assisted by the military. (Al Jazeera)
A Royal Air Force F-35 Lightning II jet crashes into the Mediterranean Sea during a routine operation. The pilot successfully ejects from the aircraft and has been rescued. (The Guardian)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Northern Ireland
      - The Northern Ireland Executive votes to introduce a COVID-19 vaccine passport beginning next month, which will contain a person's vaccination status or negative COVID-19 test result, and will be used to enter bars, restaurants and pubs. (BBC News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Austria
    - Austria reports a record 14,416 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 996,320. (ORF)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Germany
    - Germany reports a record 52,826 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours. (ABC News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
    - Russia reports a record 1,247 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 259,084. (Anadolu Agency)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Spain, COVID-19 vaccination in Spain
    - Spain’s panel of vaccine experts approves the extension of the COVID-19 vaccine booster dose to people between the ages of 60 and 69 and healthcare workers. (The Washington Post)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Argentina
  - COVID-19 vaccination in Argentina
    - Argentina receives a shipment of 800,000 doses of the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine. (Ámbito)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines
  - The Food and Drug Administration of the Philippines authorises emergency use of the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine, which will be included in the national vaccination program. (Philippine Daily Inquirer)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
  - COVID-19 vaccination in the United States
    - White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Jeff Zients announces that 80% of people aged 12 and older have received their first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. (USA Today) (WNCN-TV)

Law and crime

American rapper Young Dolph is shot and killed at a bakery in Memphis, Tennessee, by an unidentified gunman. (The Guardian)

Politics and elections

Former President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili, who has been on a hunger strike for 48 days, is in critical condition. Yesterday, Justice Minister Rati Bregadze denied Saakashvili transfer to a civilian clinic, from a prison hospital where he is being treated. (France 24)