Taliban spokesperson Suhail Shaheen warns that all foreign troops must leave Afghanistan before a NATO deadline on September 11 amid reports that the U.S. military plans to keep 1,000 troops in Kabul in order to protect both its embassy and the Hamid Karzai International Airport.
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July 4, 2021 (Sunday)
3 minutes to read
Armed conflicts and attacks
Four Malian soldiers are killed in an ambush on their patrol. No group claims responsibility for the attack, which comes as France resumes joint military exercises with members of the Malian Armed Forces, which had been suspended following the coup d'état this year led by Colonel Assimi Goïta.
The Taliban takes control of several further districts overnight as Afghan troops abandon their posts and flee into neighboring Tajikistan via Badakhshan Province. The State Committee for National Security of Tajikistan reports that more than 300 Afghan troops crossed the Tajik border as Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid confirms that most of the territory was gained without a fight.
Disasters and accidents
Tropical Storm Elsa passes through the Caribbean, downing trees and blowing off roofs, killing two people in the Dominican Republic and one in Saint Lucia.
A huge wildfire spreads through Limassol, Cyprus, killing four people and forcing the evacuation of several villages. It is described as the worst wildfire in the country's history.
A mud volcano eruption in the Caspian Sea, near an oil platform off the coast of Azerbaijan, causes a massive explosion and fireball, which is seen across the region. There are no reports of injuries or damage to any oil platforms.
Fifty people are killed and 49 others are wounded when a C-130 transport plane of the Philippine Air Force carrying 92 passengers and attempting to land at an airport in Jolo, Sulu, crashes in the nearby town of Patikul. Among the dead there are three civilians on the ground; four more are among the injured.
The remainder of the Surfside condominium is demolished.
Health and environment
Bangladesh reports a record 153 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the national death toll to 15,065.
Indonesia reports a record 555 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, 137 of them from Central Java, thereby bringing the national death toll to 60,582.
Prime Minister Xavier Bettel is admitted to a hospital as a precautionary measure, one week after he tested positive for COVID-19.
Bennett also announces that he has spoken with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla about swapping doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to other countries.
Iran orders the closure of non-essential businesses such as public parks, restaurants, dessert shops, beauty salons, malls and bookstores in 275 "red" and "orange" zone cities, including the capital Tehran, due to the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant.
Fiji reports a record 522 cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the national total to 6,161 cases. Fiji has seen a substantial increase in the number of cases since an outbreak occurred in April. The Ministry of Health and Medical Services also reports three deaths in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 30.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett says that around 100,000 teenagers have received a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Police arrested 14 people for administering fake vaccine shots of salt water instead of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine at nearly a dozen private vaccination sites in Mumbai. The organizers, including medical professionals, charged between $10 and $17 per dose. More than 2,600 people paid to receive the vaccine.
Politics and elections
The Social Democratic Party's founder Gilberto Kassab says that there is proof "each day to impeach President Jair Bolsonaro" after massive protests and Bolsonaro also announcing his candidacy for next year's presidential election.
The Chilean Constitutional Convention is inaugurated in Santiago with Mapuche representative Elisa Loncón elected as President of the Convention.
The National Rally party re-elects Marine Le Pen without opposition in a bid to strengthen her candidacy for the 2022 French presidential election after the party performed poorly in regional elections. The party also hosts a rally in Paris.
Hundreds of people gather in Ramallah to demonstrate against Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, as part of a protest movement sparked by the death of political activist Nizar Banat.
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