The Taliban captures the border town of Islam Qala, Herat, Afghanistan's biggest border crossing with Iran.
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July 9, 2021 (Friday)
5.2 minutes to read
Armed conflicts and attacks
A spokesperson for Kandahar Province Governor Rohullah Khanzada says that the Taliban has captured the city of Kandahar.
A spokesman for the Taliban says that they now control "85% of the territory" as the Afghan government vows to retake all seized districts.
French President Emmanuel Macron announces that he will reduce the presence of troops in the Sahel to between 2,500 and 3,000 over the long-term, and will also close bases in Timbuktu, Tessalit and Kidal in northern Mali, as part of a reorganization effort to focus on missions in the Malian, Nigerien, and Burkinese border regions.
More than 370 Palestinians are injured after Israeli security forces opened fire on demonstrators protesting the presence of an illegal outpost near Beita in the occupied West Bank. 31 of those injured were hit with live ammunition. Dozens more are injured in similar confrontations in Kafr Qaddum, Beit Dajan, and Hebron, with demonstrators in Hebron protesting the presence of settlements in the Masafer Yatta area.
Taliban insurgents capture the border town of Torghundi on the border with Turkmenistan as the Afghan National Security Forces collapse in Herat. The Interior Ministry says that troops had been "temporarily relocated" and that efforts are underway to recapture the border crossing.
Haiti's government requests security and investigative assistance from the United States.
The Government of Colombia reports that 13 of the 26 Colombian mercenaries who killed Haitian president Jovenel Moïse were retired members of the National Army of Colombia. Two were killed during the gunfight with the police while the eleven others were arrested.
Business and economy
Lebanon's electricity utility Électricité du Liban shuts down two of its biggest power stations due to lack of fuel, reducing total electrical output by 40% and leaving much of the country without power.
U.S. President Joe Biden signs a 72-point executive order placing tighter regulations and scrutiny on major corporations in a variety of sectors, including Big Tech companies. Policies outlined include banning non-compete clauses, curbing the ability of manufacturers to restrict the right to repair certain products, granting the Federal Trade Commission the ability to set guidelines on data collection, banning unfair competition practices in online marketplaces, and ordering the Food and Drug Administration to work with states and Native American tribal governments on procuring cheaper medicines from Canada.
Disasters and accidents
The death toll in the Champlain Towers South condominium building collapse in Surfside, Florida, increases to 78, with the overnight recovery of 14 more bodies.
Health and environment
Bangladesh reports a record 212 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 16,004. The country also surpasses one million cases of the virus.
The Indonesian government announces an extension of emergency community restrictions to 15 regencies and cities outside Java and Bali beginning on July 12 amid an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases outside Java and Bali.
Germany declares all of Spain as a COVID-19 risk area, which will require travellers to present a negative test result in order to avoid quarantine beginning on July 11, due to the spread of the more contagious Delta variant.
Malta announces that beginning on July 14, they will become the first country in Europe to close their borders to unvaccinated travellers, only allowing those with a Maltese, British or European vaccination certificate to enter following an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases.
California will require face masks in schools despite CDC guidelines saying that vaccinated students are not required to wear a mask.
Cuban health regulator CECMED approves the emergency use of the domestically-produced Abdala vaccine, becoming the fifth COVID-19 vaccine to be approved in the country. Manufacturers last month claimed that the vaccine, which requires three doses, has a 92% effectiveness rate against the virus. This makes Cuba the first Caribbean and Latin American country to successfully develop its own variation of the vaccine.
A study finds that the CoronaVac COVID-19 vaccine is less effective against the Lineage P.1 Gamma variant, which originated in Brazil.
Australian Environment Minister Sussan Ley announces that she will appeal a historic ruling from the Federal Court which found that she has a "duty to take reasonable care" that young people will not be harmed in the future by the effects of global warming.
The Israeli Health Ministry announces that all visitors who are traveling to Israel, including vaccinated individuals, will be required to quarantine for 24 hours or receive a negative COVID-19 test beginning on July 16.
Johannesburg mayor Geoff Makhubo dies from COVID-19-related complications, after being hospitalized for a week.
South Korea reports a record for the second consecutive day of 1,316 new cases of COVID-19, prompting the government to raise its restrictions to the highest "Level 4" in the Seoul Capital Area for two weeks beginning on July 12.
Indonesia reports a record 28,975 recoveries in the past 24 hours, thereby surpassing the nationwide total of recoveries to 2 million.
International relations
Lithuania begins construction on a $48M fence along its border with neighboring Belarus. A week prior, Lithuania had declared a state of emergency due to an increase in the number of undocumented migrants crossing into the country from Belarus, accusing Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of deliberately trying to destabilize the country by encouraging and allowing refugees, mostly Syrians, to illegally cross the border.
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry accuses Russia of hacking the website of the Ukrainian Navy to publish fake news and upload false documents regarding the navy drills between Ukraine, NATO, and most Black Sea nations currently ongoing.
Law and crime
Politics and elections
In Ireland, Labour candidate Ivana Bacik is declared the winner in a by-election for the Dublin Bay South constituency, wresting control from the ruling Fine Gael.
President Salva Kiir Mayardit promises peace on Independence Day and also offers peace to opponent Riek Machar. A civil war has been fought in South Sudan since 2013 when ethnic differences contributed to an armed conflict that has killed more than 400,000 people. This offer of peace comes after Pope Francis said that he would visit the Christian-majority country if some kind of peace is achieved.
Science and technology
The Chinese Ministry of Ecology and Environment's Department of Nature and Ecology Conservation announces that it no longer considers the giant panda to be endangered, but instead considers it to be vulnerable. This comes five years after the International Union for Conservation of Nature made a similar reclassification.
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