Portal:Current events/2021 March 1

March 1, 2021 (Monday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

2021 Armenian coup d'état attempt, 2020−2021 Armenian protests
- Protesters storm a government building in Yerevan, Armenia, to demand Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's resignation. (Al Jazeera)
War in Donbass
- Ukraine reports multiple ceasefire violations, with one casualty. (UNIAN)
Tigray War
- BBC reporter Girmay Gebru is detained by Ethiopian soldiers along with four other people in Mekelle, Tigray, and they are sent to a military camp for unknown reasons. (BBC News)
Operation Madago Raya
- A gunfight erupts between Indonesian Army and East Indonesia Mujahideen in the Andole Mountain area, Poso Regency, Central Sulawesi, resulting in the death of a soldier and two militants. (Kaili Post)
War in Afghanistan
- The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction releases a report accusing the United States of wasting billions of dollars in Afghanistan on buildings and vehicles that were either abandoned or destroyed. The agency says only $343.2 million worth of vehicles and buildings were in good condition. (VOA)

Disasters and accidents

Three members of the Panamanian diplomatic corps in Colombia are killed after the overflow of the Río Frío drags the vehicle they were traveling in. (Infobae)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in India
    - COVID-19 vaccination in India
      - Prime Minister Narendra Modi receives his first dose of the Bharat Biotech Covaxin vaccine. (Hindustan Times)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines
    - COVID-19 vaccination in the Philippines, COVID-19 vaccination in the Philippines
      - The Philippines begins its vaccination campaign against COVID-19 using the Sinovac CoronaVac vaccine donated by China, with the first doses administered to healthcare workers in Metro Manila. (Bloomberg)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Jordan
    - Jordan approves the emergency use of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. (Roya News English)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Syria
    - Syria begins a vaccination campaign against COVID-19. Medical health workers are the first to receive the vaccine. (Reuters)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the Czech Republic
    - The Czech Republic begins a stricter nationwide lockdown announced by Prime Minister Andrej Babiš last week with more police officers and soldiers deployed to enforce the restrictions. (U.S. News and World Report)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in France
    - France raises age limit for those who receive Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to those aged below 75. (France 24)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Finland
    - Finland declares a state of emergency amidst an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases. Prime Minister Sanna Marin says that the emergency controls will allow the government to close schools and restaurants and limit movement between regions. (Euro Weekly News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Slovakia
    - Slovakia receives the first shipment consisting 200,000 doses of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine as it signed an agreement to secure two million doses. (Euronews)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Africa
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana
    - President Nana Akufo-Addo, Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, and their spouses receive their first doses of the vaccine from the COVAX initiative as Ghana begins a vaccination campaign against COVID-19. (BBC Pidgin)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Ivory Coast
    - Ivory Coast begins its mass vaccination campaign against COVID-19 using the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine delivered by the COVAX initiative. Health workers, teachers, and members of the armed forces are the first to receive the vaccine. (AP)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Zimbabwe
    - President Emmerson Mnangagwa announces a slight easing of the lockdown in Zimbabwe amidst a decline in the number of COVID-19 cases. Intercity travel is resumed, and small and large businesses have been allowed to reopen. (EWN)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
  - COVID-19 vaccination in the United States
    - It is reported that former U.S. President Donald Trump and his wife Melania Trump have received a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at the White House prior to their departure on January 20. (The Washington Post)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Florida, 501.V2 variant
    - Florida reports its first case of the 501.V2 variant first detected in South Africa. (Clickorlando.com)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Venezuela
  - Venezuela approves the emergency use of Sinopharm BBIBP-CorV vaccine. (El Comercio)

Law and crime

Aftermath of the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, 2021 Myanmar protests
- Ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi appears in court to hear two more charges against her. The charges are a colonial-era penal code prohibiting publication of information that may "cause fear or alarm", and a telecommunications law stipulating licenses for equipment. Meanwhile, police disperse protesters with tear gas and stun grenades. (Reuters)
2021 Onești stabbing
- Two workers are stabbed to death during a hostage-taking incident in an apartment building in Onești, Romania. The attacker, a man in his 60s, had a 12-year dispute with the company that was running the building, of which he was the former owner. (Digi 24)
Nicolas Sarkozy corruption trial
- Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy is sentenced to three years in jail for corruption, after being found guilty of trying to offer a job to a magistrate in return for information about a criminal inquiry into his political party. (BBC News)
Barçagate
- Former president of FC Barcelona Josep Maria Bartomeu is arrested while Mossos d'Esquadra search the FC Barcelona offices. Three other senior staff members are also arrested. (The Guardian)
2021 Texas power crisis, February 13–17, 2021 North American winter storm
- Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton files a lawsuit against Griddy, accusing them of charging Texans "outrageous amounts" after the winter storm that resulted in power outages for millions in the state. (Newsweek)