July 21, 2021 (Wednesday)

United States Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley says that half of all Afghan districts are under Taliban control as the complete withdrawal of foreign armed forces approaches.

The Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City site is stripped of its United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) World Heritage status. In a statement, UNESCO indicates that the "deletion" is "due to the irreversible loss of attributes conveying the outstanding universal value of the property" resulting from the ongoing Liverpool Waters development project.

Floods continue in Henan, China, triggering several landslides which result in the deaths of 13 more people, bringing the total death toll to 25.

The Bootleg Fire in Oregon, United States, grows to 400,000 acres.

Chile's Institute of Public Health issues an emergency use authorization for the Sputnik V vaccine.

Ireland reports 1,378 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, which is the highest single-day total of new cases since January 31.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announces that health care workers in the city will be required to get vaccinated or undergo COVID-19 testing amidst fears of the Lineage B.1.617 Delta variant.

Thailand will join the COVAX program to receive supplies of the COVID-19 vaccine.

France begins to require people who want to attend cinemas, museums, sporting events and other cultural venues or events with more than 50 people to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test result amid an increase in the number of cases caused by the Delta variant.

Indonesia reports a record 1,383 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide death toll to 77,583.

Malaysia reports a record 199 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide death toll to 7,440.

South Korea reports a record 1,784 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the national total of cases to 182,265.

Thailand reports a record 13,002 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the national total of cases to 439,477.

Governor Mike Parson announces that Missouri will launch a "Be a Mo VIP Winner" campaign to vaccinate individuals amidst a rise of cases in the state. In five rounds, over 180 people will be drawn with each receiving a US$10,000 prize. The announcement comes after 3,031 cases of COVID-19 was reported in the state, the highest since January.

It is announced that life expectancy in the United States has fallen by 1.5 years in 2020, the largest decrease since World War II. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics, COVID-19 was responsible for 74% of the decrease in life expectancy from 78.8 years in 2019 to 77.3 years in 2020.

Police in Hong Kong arrest Lam Man-chung, the former executive editor-in-chief of the now closed Apple Daily newspaper. It is the latest arrest surrounding the closure of the paper which has already seen its founder Jimmy Lai convicted and awaiting trial along with many other activists on subversion charges.

Police in Tanzania arrest opposition leader Freeman Mbowe and dozens of other people within his party amid accusations of authoritarianism by the government of Samia Suluhu Hassan. Mbowe's Chadema party condemns his arrest and labels the government as a "dictatorship".

Two prison riots in Ecuador leave at least 18 people dead and dozens more injured.

YouTube says that it has pulled videos from Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro for promoting misinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mongolian wrestler Terunofuji is officially promoted to yokozuna, the highest rank in sumo, and is the 73rd wrestler to have done so.

The International Olympic Committee awards the Australian city of Brisbane the right to host the 2032 Summer Olympics.

The 2021 NHL Expansion Draft takes place in Gas Works Park where the 32nd NHL team, the Seattle Kraken filled out its first ever roster of players.