Portal:Current events/2021 February 14

February 14, 2021 (Sunday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Kurdish–Turkish conflict
- Operation Claw-Eagle 2
  - According to Turkish authorities, a Turkish military operation against Kurdish PKK fighters in Duhok, Iraq, ends with the death of 48 PKK fighters, three Turkish soldiers, and 13 Turks who had been kidnapped by the PKK. (Reuters)
Kivu conflict
- Allied Democratic Forces insurgency
  - Militants of the Islamic State's Central Africa Province raid the town of Ndalya in the Ituri Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing 11 civilians and three members of the armed forces. (AFP via Manila Standard)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in India
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Maharashtra
      - The Indian state of Maharashtra records 4,097 fresh infections after 39 days of no infections (Hindustan Times)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Japan
    - Japan's Ministry of Health officially approves the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine, three days after a government panel recommends its approval. This is the first government-approved vaccine in the country. (CNBC)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Lebanon
    - Lebanon begins a vaccination campaign against COVID-19, a day after the first 28,500 doses of the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine arrived in the country. A doctor at Rafik Hariri University Hospital in Beirut is the first person to be vaccinated. (France 24)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan
    - The number of recovered COVID-19 patients in Pakistan surpasses 500,000. (Gulf News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia
    - Saudi Arabia extends precautionary measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19, which restricts social gatherings to 20 people and suspends all events and parties, for another 20 days. (Anadolu Agency)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand, 501.V2 variant
    - Thailand reports their first case of the 501.V2 variant in a person who travelled from Tanzania and undergoes mandatory quarantine. (Bangkok Post)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the Czech Republic, Lineage B.1.1.7
    - In defiance to the Chamber of Deputies, the Czech government re-declares a state of emergency for the next two weeks in order to reduce the spread of COVID-19, especially because of the emergence of the more contagious B.1.1.7 variant first detected in the United Kingdom. (AP)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in France
    - The French Direction générale de la Santé asks regional health agencies and hospitals to go into "crisis mode" beginning on February 18 in order to prepare for a possible increase in COVID-19 cases as a result of highly contagious variants of SARS-CoV-2. (The Independent)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Italy, Lineage B.1.1.7
    - Health Minister Roberto Speranza signs a provision that extends the ban on recreational skiing at resorts until March 5, effectively preventing ski resorts from opening tomorrow for the first time this season due to the spread of the UK variant and other variants of SARS-CoV-2. (AFP via RFI)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
    - Russia surpasses 80,000 deaths from COVID-19. (Arab News)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico
  - Mexico receives a shipment of 870,000 doses of the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine from India. (NDTV)
- COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand
  - New Zealand reports their first community cases of COVID-19 since January 24. The patients are a family from Auckland. (Sydney Morning Herald)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Rwanda
  - Rwanda begins a COVID-19 vaccination programme with limited supplies of WHO-approved vaccines acquired through unnamed international partners, making it the first country in East Africa to begin its campaign. Healthcare workers and other high-risk groups will be the first to receive a vaccine. (Reuters)
Guinea declares a new Ebola epidemic after three people died and four others became ill in the country’s southeast. (Al Jazeera)

International relations

Cyprus-Israel relations, COVID-19 pandemic in Cyprus, COVID-19 pandemic in Israel
- Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announce an agreement to allow vaccinated travelers to travel between the countries without the need to quarantine in order to restore their countries' tourism industries. (ABC News)

Law and crime

2021 Myanmar protests
- The leaders of the junta issue warnings to the public against harboring fugitives at the same time that arrest warrants are issued. Among the fugitives is democracy activist Min Ko Naing. (CNA)

Politics and elections

2021 Catalan regional election
- Catalans head to the polls to elect the new Parliament of Catalonia. (The Washington Post)
- Pro-independence parties gain a majority of the votes for the first time, though voter participation was the lowest in history. The anti-independence Socialists' Party of Catalonia, led by former national Health Minister Salvador Illa, wins the most seats for a single party. The far-right Vox places fourth and enters Parliament for the first time, winning 11 seats. Citizens, who placed first in the previous election, falls to seventh and loses 30 seats. (The Guardian)
COVID-19 pandemic in Peru, impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on politics
- Peru's Foreign Minister Elizabeth Astete resigns amid an uproar over secret vaccination before the country receives one million doses for health workers. (The Washington Post)
2021 Kosovan parliamentary election
- Kosovans head to the polls to elect the new Assembly of Kosovo. The Vetëvendosje party is expected to gain most seats as it shows on exit polling data. (Voanews) (DW)