October 18, 2021 (Monday)

ENDF airstrikes on the city of Mekelle in Ethiopia's Tigray Region kill at least three people.

Prime Minister Cleopas Dlamini orders the closure of schools across Eswatini in an attempt to stop pro-democracy protests that have occurred across the kingdom in the past few months. Protesters demand an end to the absolute monarchy of King Mswati III, the last of its kind in Africa, as ministers back the move, saying that there "is no room for such anarchy in our society".

German publishing house Axel Springer dismisses Julian Reichelt as the editor-in-chief of its tabloid newspaper Bild following sexual harassment complaints against Reichelt from his co-workers.

Former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell dies from COVID-19 at the age of 84 at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.

Russia surpasses eight million cases of COVID-19 after reporting a record for the fourth consecutive day of 34,325 new cases.

Burundi launches its COVID-19 vaccination rollout using part of a shipment of 500,000 doses of the Sinopharm BIBP COVID-19 vaccine donated by China in a shift to make the country more active in its approach to containing the pandemic.

Zimbabwe bans unvaccinated civil servants from working in an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

President of the Government of Aragon Javier Lambán tests positive for COVID-19 after attending the PSOE's three-day party congress in Valencia.

Restrictions are eased further in New South Wales as more than 80% of the adult population are now fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Limits on private gatherings and density caps at businesses are relaxed, and schools begin a phased reopening.

The lockdown is lifted across southern Tasmania, including the state capital Hobart. The lockdown was initiated because a person with COVID-19 entered the state, but was lifted when no community transmission was reported.

Phase three trial results suggest that the Valneva COVID vaccine is effective at priming the immune system to fight COVID-19.

Ukraine reports a record 538 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide death toll to 61,348.

The U.S. surpasses 45 million cases of COVID-19.

Russia announces that it will be suspending its mission to NATO in Brussels as early as November 1, in response to the expulsion of 8 diplomats accused of espionage from the mission earlier this month. The NATO information bureau and military liaison in Moscow will also be terminated.

Citing Roe v. Wade, the United States Department of Justice requests the Supreme Court to vacate the mandate of the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on allowing the Texas Heartbeat Act to remain in effect, thereby blocking the law.

State Administration Council chairman Min Aung Hlaing announces that his military junta will release a total of 5,636 jailed protesters to commemorate the Thadingyut Festival.

Iraq receives Ghazwan al-Zawbaee, the alleged mastermind of the ISIL suicide truck bombing that killed 340 people in Karrada, Baghdad, in 2016, which was the deadliest single-bomb attack in Iraq. Al-Zawbaee was arrested two days prior through a joint operation in a neighbouring country.

At least 300 suspected members of a Muslim mob are arrested for the killing of two Hindu men three days ago at a temple in Noakhali, Bangladesh. The violence occured after an alleged Quran desecration at a Hindu temple in Haziganj Upazila. Several Hindu temples were also damaged in the clashes. Four members of the mob were also killed when Bangladesh Police personnel opened fire in Chandpur.

Ecuadorian president Guillermo Lasso declares a nationwide state of emergency, citing an increase in drug-related crime.

Three people are killed and three more injured during a police raid at a compound of a religious group in Montego Bay, Jamaica, due to concerns that they were preparing ritual killings.

Egor Babaev and collaborators with the KTH Royal Institute of Technology publish an experiment showing evidence of a new state of matter called electron quadruplets.

The Olympic torch relay begins in Olympia, Greece, without public attendance.