Portal:Current events/2021 March 2

March 2, 2021 (Tuesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan
- 2021 Afghanistan attacks
  - Three female media workers are shot dead in Jalalabad, Nangarhar, while a fourth woman is wounded. The Islamic State claims responsibility for the attack. (Reuters)
Zamfara kidnapping
- All 279 schoolgirls abducted from a boarding school in Zamfara State, Nigeria, are released by their armed kidnappers. (Reuters)
Somali Civil War
- Islamic terrorist group al-Shabaab publicly executes five people by firing squad for allegedly spying for the American and Somali intelligence agencies in Jilib, Middle Juba. Hundreds of people reportedly gathered to watch the execution. (Anadolu Agency)
2020–2021 Sudanese–Ethiopian clashes
- Fighting between Sudan and Ethiopian-backed forces continues in the last Ethiopian stronghold of Bereket in the disputed border region of Al-Fashaga. Sudan claims Eritrean forces are helping the Ethiopians. (Anadolu Agency)

Business and economy

Anti-Irish sentiment
- The Equality and Human Rights Commission says that it has investigated Britannia Hotels-owned holiday park operator Pontins after a whistleblower revealed Pontins had a blacklist of common Irish surnames to prevent Roma and Irish travelers from booking at its parks. Prime Minister Boris Johnson says the discrimination is "completely unacceptable". (BBC News)

Disasters and accidents

Imperial County car crash
- Thirteen people are killed and eleven others are wounded in a traffic accident in Imperial County, California, US. A semi-truck and an SUV collide; 25 people were in the SUV at the time of the crash. (The Los Angeles Times)
Mount Sinabung in Sumatra, Indonesia erupts, spewing 16,000 feet of ash into the air. (CBS News)
Seven students are killed in a railing collapse, sending people plummeting from a fourth-floor balcony on to an atrium floor during a student assembly at the Universidad Pública de El Alto, Bolivia. Three people are arrested. (Europa Press)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in North America
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Mississippi
      - Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves signs an executive order that lifts the statewide mask requirement except for K-12 schools and indoor arenas. Indoor arenas are required to limit their capacity to 50% and club areas and suits to 75%. Indoor and outdoor arenas are required to limit capacity to 25% and 50% respectively for K-12 extracurricular activities. (Sun Herald)
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Oregon, Lineage P.1
      - Oregon reports its first cases of the Lineage P.1 variant in two people from Douglas County who previously travelled to Brazil. (OregonLive)
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Texas
      - Texas Governor Greg Abbott lifts the statewide mask requirement and allows businesses to open at 100% capacity beginning March 10. (The Hill)
    - U.S. President Joe Biden announces that Merck & Co. will produce single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine to help his administration goal for vaccinating every adult by the end of May. (The Washington Post)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Canada
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Manitoba, 501.V2 variant
      - Manitoba reports its first two cases of the 501.V2 variant first detected in South Africa in Winnipeg. (CBC)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia, Lineage B.1.1.7
    - Indonesia reports its first two cases of the Lineage B.1.1.7 variant first detected in the United Kingdom. (Liputan6.com)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Iraq
    - Iraq receives 50,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccines donated by China as the country officially begins its vaccination campaign. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Mongolia
    - Mongolia surpasses 3,000 cases of COVID-19. (Montsame)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia
    - Malaysia grants conditional approval for the use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca and Sinovac CoronaVac vaccines. (CNA)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines, 501.V2 variant
    - The Philippines reports its first six cases of the 501.V2 variant first detected in South Africa. (GMA News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia, impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Hajj
    - Saudi Minister of Health Tawfig Al-Rabiah announces that all pilgrims must be vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to do the Hajj to Mecca. (Arab News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in United Arab Emirates
    - Spanish media reports that emeritus King of Spain Juan Carlos I was vaccinated in Abu Dhabi, where he is in self-exile. Two of his daughters Infanta Elena and Infanta Cristina also received vaccines when they took advantage of a visit to their father on February 6 and 7. (El Confidencial)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Greece
    - Greece reports 2,353 new cases in the past 24 hours, which is the highest single-day total this year, bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 194,582. (Greek City Times)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Italy, Lineage B.1.1.7
    - Prime Minister Mario Draghi signs a decree that orders the closure of all schools in the worst-hit regions due to the spread of the Lineage B.1.1.7 variant. The decree will be in effective from March 6 until April 6. (Eurozone)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Moldova, COVID-19 vaccine
    - Moldova begins their vaccination campaign, with first-line medical staff being administered first. (Xinhua News Agency)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Serbia, COVID-19 pandemic in Bosnia and Herzegovina
    - President Aleksandar Vučić delivers 10,000 doses of the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine to the Bosniak and Croat-dominated federation entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina. (Balkan Insight)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine
    - President Volodymyr Zelenskyi receives his first dose of Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine. (ABC News)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Africa
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Angola
    - Angola receives 624,000 doses of the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine through the COVAX vaccine-sharing Initiative. (VOA Portuguese)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Kenya
    - Kenya receives 1.02 million doses of the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine through the COVAX vaccine-sharing Initiative. (UNICEF)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria
    - Nigeria receives 3.94 million doses of the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine manufactured by the Serum Institute of India through the COVAX Initiative, which is the largest delivery so far by the initiative. (ABC News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Tunisia, Lineage B.1.1.7
    - Tunisia reports its first case of the Lineage B.1.1.7 variant first detected in the United Kingdom. (Reuters)
- COVID-19 pandemic in South America
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil
    - Brazil reports a record 1,641 new deaths in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 257,361. (DW in Brazilian Portuguese)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Venezuela
    - Venezuela receives 500,000 doses of the Sinopharm BBIBP-CorV vaccine donated by China. (EFE)

Law and crime

2020–2021 Belarusian protests
- Tut.By journalist Katsiaryna Barysevich is sentenced to a half-year in prison for reporting personal data on the death of Raman Bandarenka during protests against Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. (AP)