Portal:Current events/2021 October 25

October 25, 2021 (Monday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Somali Civil War
- 2021 Galmudug clashes
  - The death toll from the clashes between the Somali National Army and Sufi paramilitary group Ahlu Sunna Waljama'a in Galmudug increases to 120. (Reuters)
October 2021 Sudanese coup d'état, Sudanese transition to democracy
- Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and other senior members of the civilian government are detained by the military in a coup d'état. The military also seizes state television and blocks internet access. Thousands of people gather in Khartoum to protest the coup. (The Guardian)
- Ten civilians are killed and 140 more are injured as mass protests occur following the coup. (BBC News)
- Chairman of the Sovereignty Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan announces a state of emergency and the dissolution of the Sovereignty Council and the government. (Saudi Gazette)
2021 Uganda bombings
- An explosion on a bus in Mpigi District kills one person and injures several others. (Al Jazeera)

Arts and culture

Expo 2020
- It is announced that around 1.5 million people have visited the Expo 2020 event in Dubai since its opening on October 1. (Al Arabiya)

Business and economy

Petrol prices in the United Kingdom reach their highest level since April 2012, at £1.4294 per litre. (BBC News)

Disasters and accidents

2021 Pacific hurricane season
- Hurricane Rick loses strength as it moves farther inland in Mexico. The states that are most affected are Michoacán and Guerrero, especially the seaside city of Acapulco in Guerrero. Other states such as Colima, Jalisco and Nayarit open shelters ahead of potential heavy rain. (Reuters)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in India
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Karnataka
      - Six districts in Karnataka, India have vaccinated 90% of their population with the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. (The Times of India)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Japan
    - In a near-return to normalcy, operating hours restrictions on bars and restaurants have been lifted in cities across the Greater Tokyo Area and Osaka for the first time in 11 months, also allowing these establishments to resume their alcohol sales at any time during their business hours as the number of COVID-19 cases decreases. (The Asahi Shimbun)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines, COVID-19 vaccination in the Philippines
    - The Philippines Health Technology Assessment Council approves the administration of a third COVID-19 vaccine as a booster dose to health workers in the fourth quarter of 2021, with other priority groups becoming eligible for a booster dose in 2022. (Rappler)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka, Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on education
    - Sri Lanka reopens its primary schools after a closure of nearly five months due to the third wave of the pandemic. (NewsFirst)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Romania
    - Romania imposes a nationwide curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. and makes face masks mandatory in all public venues in an attempt to reduce the number of COVID-19 cases. The country also begins to implement a mandatory green certificate for shopping malls, restaurants, public institutions and workplaces. (See News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
    - Russia reports a record 37,930 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 8.279 million. (Emirates News Agency)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Spain
    - Spain surpasses five million cases of COVID-19. (Reuters via National Post)
  - European Union response to the COVID-19 pandemic
    - The European Medicines Agency approves a booster dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine for all adults over the age of 18, which can be administered at least six months after the second dose. (AP)
- COVID-19 pandemic in North America
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico, COVID-19 vaccination in Mexico
    - Mexico begins vaccinations for at-risk children in Mexico City. (La Prisna Latina)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, Travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic
    - The Biden administration signs a presidential proclamation requiring international travelers to be fully vaccinated using any WHO-approved COVID-19 vaccine and also allows "mix-and-match" doses. The proclamation also requires unvaccinated Americans and immigrants to test negative for COVID-19 one day before their departure. These rules will take effect on November 8. (Financial Times)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Papua New Guinea
  - Prime Minister James Marape pleads for Papua New Guineans to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as the situation, fueled by the Delta variant, worsens, with hospitals in Port Moresby and other cities operating at maximum capacity. Marape states that the death toll currently exceeds 300, but the actual total may be much higher. (RNZ)

International relations

Foreign relations of Mali
- The Malian interim government gives the country's ECOWAS representative 72 hours to leave Mali over "actions incompatible with his status", though the government added that they still maintain a "willingness to work together with ECOWAS in the transition". (AFP via The Guardian Nigeria)
International response to the October 2021 Sudanese coup d'état, Sudan–United States relations
- Hours after the coup d'état in Sudan, the United States Department of State suspends $700 million worth of aid to the country until the restoration of the civilian government. (AFP via CNA)

Law and crime

A court in Munich, Germany, sentences an Islamic State-affiliated 30-year-old woman to 10 years in prison for allowing a 5-year-old Yazidi girl to die from thirst in Iraq. The woman was found guilty on multiple charges, including some related to terrorism. (CBS News)

Politics and elections

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi announces that the state of emergency, which was imposed in April 2017, will be lifted. (The New York Times)

Science and technology

COVID-19 misinformation
- Facebook and Alphabet Inc., which owns YouTube, announce that they have removed a video of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro claiming that COVID-19 vaccines cause AIDS after the video was found to have violated their respective company's policies about the vaccines. (AP) (Reuters)

Sports

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports
- 2021 NFL season
  - Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst announces that defensive coordinator Joe Barry and wide receiver Davante Adams have tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of the team's matchup against the undefeated Arizona Cardinals on Thursday Night Football. Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy also tests positive for COVID-19. (AP) (NFL.com)