Three people are killed and 12 more are wounded during a shootout as civilians protest in Jalalabad against the Taliban banner replacing Afghanistan's national flag.
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August 18, 2021 (Wednesday)
3.4 minutes to read
Armed conflicts and attacks
Clashes between the armed forces of Burkina Faso and militants linked to al-Qaeda and ISIL kill dozens of people. In an attack in the northern town of Arbinda, militants killed 30 civilians, 14 soldiers and three pro-government militiamen.
The Kyrgyz Ministry of Foreign Affairs announces that 15 more citizens of Kyrgyzstan have evacuated out of Afghanistan.
The United Arab Emirates confirms through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs that former Afghan president Ashraf Ghani has been welcomed into the country along with his family on humanitarian grounds.
The Afghan embassy in Tajikistan issues a request to INTERPOL to arrest former president Ghani on the accusation that Ghani stole from the country's treasury when he left Afghanistan.
Former president Ghani says that he left the country to avoid being lynched. He also denies reports that he left the country with cash and says that he is in talks to return to Afghanistan.
During an interview with ABC News reporter George Stephanopoulos, U.S. president Joe Biden says that the U.S. is committed to getting every American out of Afghanistan, even if it means extending the mission past the August 31 withdrawal deadline.
Oregon governor Kate Brown announces in a statement that Oregon will accept Afghan refugees, becoming the latest U.S. state to do so.
U.S. defense secretary Lloyd Austin says that American troops will evacuate as many Americans and allied Afghan interpreters as they can, but also admits that the Pentagon lacks the capacity to do so. Austin also announces that around 5,000 people have already been evacuated.
Disasters and accidents
Two people are killed by wildfires that are affecting Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France, mostly near the city of Saint-Tropez.
Health and environment
New South Wales reports a record 633 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours.
Malaysia reports a record 22,242 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 1.46 million.
Vietnam surpasses 300,000 cases of COVID-19.
The Mexican Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risk issues an emergency use authorization for the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.
Mexico reports a record 28,953 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 3,152,205.
Israel begins to require people over the age of 3 to show their vaccination certificate, a negative test result, or proof that they have recovered from COVID-19 in order to enter indoor places other than malls and stores. Additionally, there will be crowd size restrictions at large events and malls and stores will be required to limit their capacity to no more than one person per 7 square metres (75 sq ft).
Japan reports a record 23,917 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, with new records also being reported in 27 prefectures.
Due to an increase in the number of COVID-19 infections, Sri Lanka closes all swimming pools, shopping malls, spas, arenas, gyms, and playgrounds, restricts travel to one person from each household for essential reasons only, and also bans carnivals, beach parties and musical events.
Thailand reports a record for the second consecutive day of 312 deaths from COVID-19, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 8,285.
New Zealand announces that the country's first community infection of COVID-19 in six months is also the country's first confirmed case of the Delta variant, and that the total number of cases associated with the current outbreak has increased to 10.
The Biden administration announces that, beginning on September 20, the U.S. will begin administering booster shoots of the Moderna and Pfizer–BioNTech vaccines for most people who received their second dose at least eight months ago.
Bulgaria reports an outbreak of African swine fever at an industrial farm with 13,000 pigs in the village of Apriltsi.
Tunisia eases its nightly curfew from midnight to 5:00 a.m. and allows restaurants to remain open until 10 p.m. as the number of COVID-19 cases decreases.
California announces that they will require people to show a proof of vaccination or negative COVID-19 test results in the previous 72 hours to attend any indoor “mega events” with more than 1,000 people beginning from September 20, becoming the first U.S. state to enact these rules.
New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern announces a snap lockdown, stating that the country's first community infection of COVID-19 in six months, reported yesterday, is suspected of being a Delta variant case. The lockdown will last for seven days in Auckland and the Coromandel Peninsula, and for three days in the rest of the country.
The U.S. surpasses 37 million cases of COVID-19.
Sports
Formula One announces that this year's Japanese Grand Prix scheduled for October 8–10 has been cancelled due to an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in Japan.
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