A bombing in Chaman, Balochistan, Pakistan, near the border with Afghanistan, kills three people and injures 13 others. The Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan has claimed responsibility for the attack.
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March 23, 2021 (Tuesday)
2.9 minutes to read
Armed conflicts and attacks
At least five security personnel and a driver are killed when Naxalites attack their bus with an IED as it crossed a bridge over a culvert in Chhattisgarh, India. This is the biggest Naxalite attack of the year so far in the region.
Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani rejects the United States peace plans, but says that he is open to holding a new presidential election in six months.
Afghan Foreign Minister Mohammad Hanif Atmar says that China is working closely with the country to restore peace there. He also urges India to play a role in restoring peace in the country.
United Nations special envoy on Afghanistan Deborah Lyons says that efforts by the United States and Russia should be "focused and coherent" and complement peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban. She also urges an end to the violence in the country.
Disasters and accidents
Investigations into the 2020 fire that destroyed 56,338 acres in northern California conclude that the fire began when a grey pine tree fell on power lines belonging to the Pacific Gas and Electric Company.
The Suez Canal is blocked in both directions after the Panamanian-flagged container ship Ever Given runs aground north of Egypt's Suez Port.
Health and environment
Pfizer says that they plan to develop new vaccines for other viruses following the success of their COVID-19 vaccine candidate.
President Moon Jae-in receives a dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine in preparation for a visit to the United Kingdom to attend the G7 summit in June.
Tajikistan begins their vaccination campaign against COVID-19 on the orders of President Emomali Rahmon.
President Vladimir Putin receives a dose of a domestically-produced COVID-19 vaccine; it is unknown which of Russia's current three vaccine candidates was administered. Earlier in the day, the government had announced this ambiguity was deliberate, before noting that "all three Russian-made vaccines are absolutely reliable and effective."
Ukraine reports a record 333 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 30,431.
Georgia reports its first case of the Lineage P.1 variant, which was originally detected in Brazil. It was found in a resident in Newton County.
Italy reports 551 new deaths in the past 24 hours, which is the highest single-day figure since January, thus bringing the nationwide death toll to 105,879.
Chancellor Angela Merkel announces that the country imposes an "emergency brake" and extends their nationwide lockdown until April 18, which including the closure of shops from April 1 to April 5, amidst a spike of the COVID-19 cases.
Law and crime
The suspect in yesterday's mass shooting at a King Soopers supermarket in Boulder, Colorado, which resulted in the deaths of ten people, is charged with ten counts of murder.
The Senate of Colombia unanimously votes to approve a bill that prohibits corporal punishment, and any form of violence, as a form of correctional punishment for the upbringing of children and adolescents.
Politics and elections
Agnès Callamard, Special Rapporteur appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council, reveals that a senior Saudi Arabian official twice threatened to have her "taken care of" if the UN did not obstruct her investigation of the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi. Khashoggi, who had been critical of the al-Saud dynasty, was murdered and dismembered by Saudi agents in the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul in 2018 under what is believed to be the direct orders of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
During a news conference in Naypyidaw, the Tatmadaw defended the reimposition of the junta and claimed that ousted national leader Aung San Suu Kyi was corrupt, tantamount to graft. No supporting evidence for these allegations was offered outside of the taped testimony of a former colleague of Aung San Suu Kyi, Phyo Min Thein, who has been detained by the military since the coup began.
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