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May 20, 2021 (Thursday)
4.6 minutes to read
Armed conflicts and attacks
Nigerian intelligence officials say that Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau has either been killed or critically injured after detonating explosives in his house to avoid capture from the rival IS–West African Province faction. Several other Boko Haram members are also killed in the attack. However, no secondary sources have confirmed Shekau's death.
Business and economy
ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming, whose company owns TikTok, announces that he will step down as CEO and that human resources chief Rubo Liang will succeed him.
Following recommendations from the Council on Ethics, the Government Pension Fund of Norway drops two firms from its portfolio for doing business with illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. The Norges Bank Investment Management also blacklists a company for owning factories in Myanmar.
Argentine cattle farmers commence a nine-day protest against the government's implementation of a month-long restriction on meat exports to deter inflation. Farmers have agreed to suspend their sales of cattles to slaughterhouses during the protest.
Disasters and accidents
Health and environment
Panama closes its border with Colombia due to COVID-19 concerns. The Colombian government had recently reopened the border, which had been closed since March 2020. Panama has so far recorded more than 370,000 COVID-19 cases and 6,300 deaths.
The FDA announces its approval for measures allowing the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to be stored at regular refrigerator temperatures for up to 30 days before administration. Previously, the agency had only allowed such storage for five days.
President Alberto Fernández announces a nine-day nationwide lockdown to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signs a law prohibiting schools and businesses from imposing mask mandates. She also signs a law that limits vaccine passports in the state.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford unveils three-step reopening plan as the number of COVID-19 cases declined. Golf, tennis, basketball and other outdoor sports will be allowed to reopen on May 22, but the stay-at-home order will remain in place until June 2.
Brazil reports its first cases of the Lineage B.1.617 variant, which was first discovered in India. The variant had been detected among a group of six crew members of a ship travelling from South Africa to deliver iron ore in SĂŁo LuĂs, MaranhĂŁo.
Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, receives his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The European Commission signs a third contract with Pfizer and BioNTech to secure 1.8 billion doses of its vaccine.
International relations
The International Institute for Strategic Studies cancels the Shangri-La Dialogue intergovernmental forum which would have been held in Singapore on June 4–5 due to the worsening of the COVID-19 pandemic situation in the country.
Three-fifths of the Lithuanian Parliament vote to pass a nonbinding resolution condemning the forced internment of Muslim Uyghurs as genocide, demanding the repeal of the Hong Kong national security law, and calling for international observers to be allowed to enter Tibet and for the Chinese government to begin negotiations with the current Dalai Lama.
Ethiopia announces that it will proceed with plans to start generating power from the controversial Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in the coming rainy season between June and August. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also says that it will not tolerate "any move that’s aimed at disrupting the water filling process, its operation and water releasing scheme".
Law and crime
In the aftermath of the attack, it is revealed at a Senate Armed Services cyber subcommittee hearing that the Department of Homeland Security was not alerted to the ransomware attack and that the Justice Department was not alerted to the ransom type or amount, prompting discussion about the numerous information silos in the government and difficulties of sharing between them.
In Midtown Manhattan, pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel protesters clash at Times Square despite a ceasefire being announced between Israel and Hamas militants. One protester suffers a minor burn after fireworks were thrown from a car.
The French Constitutional Council strikes down Article 24 of the so-called global security law, which criminalized the sharing of images that could reveal the identity of police officers.
U.S. President Joe Biden signs the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, a bill that would expedite anti-Asian hate crime reviews to the U.S. Justice Department.
Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic publishes a bitcoin wallet report showing that $90 million in bitcoin ransom payments were made to DarkSide or DarkSide affiliates over the last year, originating from 47 distinct wallets. According to a DarkTracer release of 2,226 victim organizations since May 2019, 99 organizations have been infected with the DarkSide malware – suggesting that approximately 47% of victims paid a ransom, and that the average payment was $1.9 million. The DarkSide developer has received bitcoins worth $15.5 million (17%), with the remaining $74.7 million (83%) going to the various affiliates.
A fight between rival gangs erupts in a jail in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, resulting in the deaths of seven people.
Politics and elections
After delaying it twice, the National Election Board of Ethiopia schedules elections for June 21.
U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont introduces a resolution that would block an arms sale of $735 million in weapons to Israel in response to the conflict between Israel and Gaza.
The Central Electoral Commission of Kyrgyzstan announces that it has invalidated the results of the Bishkek City Council elections. During a meeting, Chairwoman Nurzhan Shaildabekova called for free elections.
Science and technology
Microsoft announces that it will discontinue support for Internet Explorer on June 15, 2022.
Sports
The CONMEBOL, South America's football governing body, announces that Colombia will no longer co-host the 2021 Copa América with Argentina as the country is currently experiencing social unrest.
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