Portal:Current events/2021 November 3

November 3, 2021 (Wednesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Afghanistan conflict
- War in Afghanistan
  - List of drone strikes in Afghanistan
    - The U.S. military says that a drone strike conducted on August 29 that killed 10 Afghan civilians was not a result of criminal negligence, nor did it violate the law of war. (Business Insider India)
Mapuche conflict
- Two indigenous Mapuche people are killed and three more are injured in clashes with Chilean soldiers in Arauco Province. (Al Jazeera)
2021 Algeria–Morocco crisis
- Algeria accuses Moroccan Armed Forces of being behind a truck bombing at the border area between Mauritania and the disputed territory of Western Sahara two days ago, killing three Algerian citizens. (Al Jazeera)
War crimes in the Tigray War
- A United Nations report accuses all sides in the Tigray War of committing war crimes on civilians, including torture, extrajudicial killings, gang rapes and arrests based on ethnicity. The head of the Human Rights office, Michelle Bachelet, especially accused the forces of Ethiopia and Eritrea for most of the human rights violations. (The Guardian)
Iranian state media reports that the United States Navy attempted to capture an Iranian oil tanker. The oil tanker was boarded, commandeered and then returned by Iranian NEDSA marines in a helicopter operation. U.S. officials refute the report, saying that the Iranians had captured a Vietnamese flagged tanker and that U.S. forces were monitoring the situation. (Reuters)
2021 Democratic Republic of the Congo attacks
- Around 40 fighters storm the city of Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, singing songs calling for the liberation of the country and opening fire against security forces, killing two soldiers and a police officer. Six attackers are killed and 36 others are arrested. (Thomson Reuters Foundation)

Business and economy

2021 global energy crisis
- 2021 United Kingdom natural gas supplier crisis
  - Six more private energy providers collapse in the United Kingdom amid rising natural gas prices, including CNG Energy, affecting around 41,000 customers. There are now fears that Bulb Energy, which supplies around 1.7 million people, could be at risk of imminent collapse. (Metro)
The U.S. Commerce Department adds Israeli spyware firms Candiru and NSO Group to its trade blacklist for selling their services and tools to foreign governments to spy on government officials and journalists, and for trafficking tools used to hack computer networks respectively. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

2021 Lagos high-rise collapse
- The death toll from the collapse of a high-rise building under construction in Ikoyi, Lagos, Nigeria, increases to 22, as the search-and-rescue operations enter their third day. (Al Jazeera)
A passenger bus plunges down a ravine in Azad Kashmir, Pakistan, killing at least 22 people. (Dawn)
A Belarusian-owned Antonov An-12 cargo plane crash-lands in Siberia, killing all nine people on board. (Reuters via The Straits Times)
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake strikes Mendoza Province, Argentina, near the border with Chile at 00:17 ART. No casualties are reported but minimal damage to buildings is reported. (VolcanoDiscovery)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Metro Manila
      - The Metro Manila Council approves the lifting of the unified curfew over the National Capital Region, which was instituted in March 2020, beginning tomorrow. (Rappler)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia, COVID-19 vaccination in Saudi Arabia
    - The Saudi Food and Drug Authority approves the usage of the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children between the ages of 5 and 11 years old. (Arab News)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Italy, COVID-19 vaccination in Italy
    - The Italian Medicines Agency recommends that anyone that received the Janssen COVID-19 vaccine should receive a booster dose of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines six months after they received their first dose due to a slow decline of efficacy against mild and moderate forms of the disease. (Yahoo! News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
    - Russia reports a record for the second consecutive day of 1,189 deaths from COVID-19, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 242,060. (Asian News International)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Slovenia
    - Slovenia reports a record 3,456 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours. (Famagusta Gazette)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, COVID-19 vaccination in the United States
  - COVID-19 pandemic in California
    - Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego administers the first vaccines to children between the ages of 5 and 11 years old after Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine was approved for use in children by the U.S. CDC. (KFMB-TV)
  - The United States begins administering the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to children between ages of 5 and 11 years old nationwide. (The Washington Post)
- COVID-19 vaccine
  - The World Health Organization approves an emergency use listing for the Covaxin COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by the Indian biotech firm Bharat Biotech. (NDTV)
2020–2021 H5N8 outbreak
- The World Organization for Animal Health reports an outbreak of the highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu at a turkey farm in Slagelse, Denmark. (Reuters)
The United Kingdom declares nationwide Avian Influenza Prevention Zone and orders bird-keepers to follow strict biosecurity measures after a number of cases of the disease were detected in wild birds. (The Independent)

International relations

Belarus–Poland relations
- Censorship in Belarus
  - Belarus declares the Polish free-to-air television channel Belsat TV an "extremist organisation", which could result in its employees and viewers facing up to seven years in prison. The network is banned in Belarus, though its viewers have continued to access it via the internet and VPNs. (Reuters)
- Poland summons the Belarusian chargé d'affaires after Belarusian troops crossed into Polish territory overnight. A Polish government spokesman says that the Belarusian personnel advanced 300 metres (980 ft) into Poland and only returned across the border when they were confronted by a Polish patrol. (Deutsche Welle)
Foreign relations of Antigua and Barbuda, Foreign relations of Tuvalu
- A lawyer representing the governments of Antigua and Barbuda and Tuvalu says that a new commission is being formed to sue big polluters and claim damage reparations for climate change effects on those nations before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. (CBS News)
Nuclear program of Iran
- Deputy Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri announces that negotiations to revive the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action will begin on November 29 in Vienna, Austria. (Al Jazeera)

Politics and elections

2021 United States elections
- 2021 United States gubernatorial elections
  - 2021 New Jersey gubernatorial election
    - Incumbent New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy defeats Republican former state legislator Jack Ciattarelli, making him the first Democrat to be re-elected since Brendan Byrne in 1977. (NJ) (Associated Press)
Corruption in the United Kingdom
- The House of Commons votes to approve a government-sanctioned amendment to replace the Commons Select Committee on Standards. The vote means that Tory MP Owen Paterson will avoid a 30-day suspension from parliament over an "egregious breach" of lobbying rules. The vote was widely condemned by opposition parties. (Sky News)

Sports

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports
- 2021 NFL season
  - Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers tests positive for COVID-19 and will miss the team's matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. (CBS News)
- 2021–22 NHL season
  - Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby and defenseman Brian Dumoulin both test positive for COVID-19. (Associated Press)