2021 CE

Like the year 2020, 2021 saw the year by the COVID-19 pandemic ongoing, due to the emergence of multiple COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued in 2021. Most major events scheduled for 2020 that were postponed due to the pandemic were hosted in 2021, including the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (held in Glasgow, Scotland), Expo 2020 (held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates), and sporting events such as UEFA Euro 2020 (held across 11 European countries), the 2020 Summer Olympics and Paralympics (both held in Tokyo, Japan), as well as the 2021 Copa América (held in Brazil).

In the 2020s, the 21st century.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

January 15 – The Lao People's Revolutionary Party elects Thongloun Sisoulith as its new General Secretary, replacing retiring chief Bounnhang Vorachith. Sisoulith is elected for a five-year term as top leader in Laos.source
January 2021 Tobago House of Assembly electionTrinidad and Tobago source
February 1 – Kosovo officially establishes diplomatic ties with Israel and announces plans to open an embassy in Jerusalem.source
5 February – Twenty people, including incumbent President Patrice Talon, enroll as candidates in the 2021 Beninese presidential election. Talon's running mate, Mariam Chabi Talata, would be Benin′s first female vice president if elected.Benin source
26 February – An NGO vice-president met with 70 members of the Twa and Bantu in Nyunzu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, to ensure lasting peace in the Nyunzu Territory.Republic of the Congo source
February 28 – 2021 Salvadoran legislative election: The Nuevas Ideas party wins 56 out of 84 seats in the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador.source
April 11 – Peru holds a general election, with Pedro Castillo and the left-wing Free Peru party winning.source
April 28 – The European Union approves the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, governing the relationship between the EU and UK after Brexit.source
May 19 – The European Parliament unanimously adopted a resolution calling for the formal suspension of accession negotiations between the European Union and Turkey.source
June 2 – The 2021 Israeli presidential election is held, and won by Isaac Herzog. In order to remove Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from power, Naftali Bennett agrees to form a coalition with the Israeli opposition as a rotation government that will come to take effect after eleven days.source
June 9 – The Legislative Assembly of El Salvador passes legislation to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender in the country, becoming the first country to adopt the cryptocurrency alongside the U.S. dollar.source
June 13 – Benjamin Netanyahu, the longest-serving prime minister of Israel, is voted out of office; Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid are sworn in as Prime Minister of Israel and as Alternate Prime Minister of Israel, respectively.source
June 20 – 2021 Armenian parliamentary election: Acting PM Nikol Pashinyan wins the country's snap election, with his Civil Contract party gaining 54% of the vote.source
June 29 – Prime Minister Bob Loughman wins a confidence vote by the parliament after a no-confidence motion had been introduced to remove his government by opposition leader Ralph Regenvanu. However, Loughman's hold on power remains tenuous as the Supreme Court ruled earlier this month that the seats of 19 government MPs were to be declared vacant. Loughman's government has already appealed the ruling.Vanuatu source
July 13 – After the Supreme Court declares his incumbency unconstitutional, KP Oli is succeeded by Sher Bahadur Deuba as 43rd Prime Minister of Nepal.source
July 19 – Leftist schoolteacher Pedro Castillo is confirmed as President of Peru over a month after the 2021 Peruvian general election.source
July 25 – Tunisian president Kais Saied formally takes power in the country, suspending the parliament and sacking the prime minister.source
27 July – Prime Minister Mia Mottley announced on the Day of National Significance in Barbados that her cabinet had decided that Barbados would become a parliamentary republic by 30 November, and accepted the recommendations of the Forde CommissionBarbados source
24 August - Hakainde Hichilema is sworn in as the 7th Republican President of ZambiaZambia source
September 13 – Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob and Anwar Ibrahim, the leader of the main Malaysian opposition coalition Pakatan Harapan, sign a confidence and supply agreement ending the 18-month political crisis that has led to the fall of two successive governments in Malaysia.source
September 15 – AUKUS: A trilateral security pact between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States is formed, to counter the influence of China. This includes enabling Australia to build its first nuclear-powered submarine fleet.source
September 19 – The 2021 Russian legislative election is held, with the United Russia party winning nearly 50% of the vote.source
September 20 – The 2021 Canadian federal election is held, with Justin Trudeau and the Liberal Party retaining a minority government.source
September 26 – The 2021 German federal election is held, with Olaf Scholz and the Social Democratic Party beating out Armin Laschet's CDU/CSU coalition and Annalena Baerbock's Green Party.source
October 4 – Fumio Kishida becomes the 100th Prime Minister of Japan, succeeding Yoshihide Suga.source
October 8–October 9 – The 2021 Czech legislative election is held, with the main opposition coalition alliance of SPOLU and Pirates and Mayors gaining a legislative majority.source
October 9 – Sebastian Kurz announces his resignation as Chancellor of Austria as a result of a corruption probe launched against him.source
October 31 – The 2021 Japanese general election is held, with Fumio Kishida and the Liberal Democratic Party along with its coalition partner Komeito retaining a majority government.source
November 24 – Magdalena Andersson resigns as Prime Minister-elect of Sweden hours after the Riksdag voted her in as Sweden's first female prime minister. She was due to take office on 26 November. Instead, she takes office on 30 November.source
4 December – 2021 Gambian presidential election.Gambia source
12 December - An election held to elect new prime ministerNorth Macedonia source
December 19 – The second round of the 2021 Chilean presidential election is held; leftist candidate Gabriel Boric is elected President.source

Conflict & Security

January 6 – Supporters of US President Donald Trump attack the US Capitol, disrupting certification of the 2020 presidential election, and forcing both houses of Congress to evacuate. Five people die during the ensuing riot. The event is classified as a domestic terrorist attack, and draws international condemnation.source
January 19 – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement deports between four and six asylum seekers to Mauritania on the last day of President Donald Trump′s administration.Mauritania source
27 January: Over 67,600 internally displaced persons (IDPs) across 196 sites in Idlib and Aleppo have again been displaced due to heavy rains, which destroyed tents, food and belongings.Syria source
February 1 – A coup d'état in Myanmar removes Aung San Suu Kyi from power and restores military rule leading to widespread demonstrations across the country.source
February 4 – US President Joe Biden announces that the United States will cease providing weapons to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for use in the Yemeni Civil War.source
14 February – Militants of the Islamic State's Central Africa Province raid the town of Ndalya in the Ituri Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing 11 civilians and three members of the armed forces.Republic of the Congo source
February 25 – The Armenian military calls for prime minister Nikol Pashinyan to resign. Pashinyan accuses the military of attempting a coup d'état.source
March 21 – Clashes in Apure between Colombian FARC dissidents and the Venezuelan Armed Forces cause at least six casualties, as well as displacing 4,000 Venezuelans.source
April 2 – Russia warns NATO against sending any troops to aid Ukraine, amid reports of a large Russian military build-up on its borders.source
April 11 – Iran accuses Israel of "nuclear terrorism" and vows revenge after a large explosion destroys the internal power system of the Natanz uranium enrichment plant.source
April 17 – The Czech government concludes that the Russian GRU was responsible for the blast of two ammo warehouses in Vrbětice in 2014. 18 Russian diplomats and alleged spies are subsequently expelled.source
April 24 – U.S. president Joe Biden becomes the first U.S. president to formally recognize the Ottoman killings of Armenians during World War I as genocide.source
May 11 – 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis: Israel hits the Gaza Strip with airstrikes as Hamas increases rocket fire. This follows tensions over the possible eviction of several Palestinians due to a long-standing property dispute in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of East Jerusalem.source
May 15 – Fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants continues to escalate, as the death toll exceeds 150. An Israeli airstrike destroys a high-rise office building in Gaza occupied by Associated Press, Al Jazeera, and other media outlets.source
May 24 – A coup d'état in Mali removes interim president Bah Ndaw and the acting prime minister, Moctar Ouane, from power and restores military rule leading to the country being suspended from the Economic Community of West African States and the African Union, as well as France suspending its military operations in the country.source
May 29 – 2021 UEFA Champions League Final; Chelsea become champions, defeating fellow English club Manchester City 1–0 to win the UEFA Champions League for the second time.source
June 28 – Tigray War: The Tigray Defense Force seizes the Tigrayan capital Mekelle shortly after the Ethiopian government declares a ceasefire.source
July 5 – More than 1,000 Afghan soldiers flee to neighbouring Tajikistan after clashing with Taliban militants.source
July 7 – Assassination of Jovenel Moïse: Haitian President Jovenel Moïse is shot to death by unidentified gunmen at 1:00 am local time in his home. First Lady Martine Moïse is injured and hospitalized.source
August 5 – Tigray War: The Tigray Defense Forces seize the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Lalibela.source
12 August - Russia will provide $1.1 million to build a new military outpost near Tajik-Afghan border following deteriorating security condition in Afghanistan.Tajikistan source
August 12 – Vanuatu stops the sale of its citizenship and revokes the citizenship it gave last April to a Syrian national for US$130,000.Vanuatu source
12 August - Zambian President Edgar Lungu deploys army members throughout the country as Zambia holds election.Zambia source
August 15 – 2021 Taliban offensive: The Taliban capture Kabul; the Afghan government surrenders to the Taliban.source
August 27 – The United States launches an airstrike that it claims killed the Islamic State member who was believed to have planned the Kabul airport bombings. However, the U.S. Defense Department later acknowledged that the strike instead killed ten civilians, including seven children, and that no terrorists were killed.source
August 30 – The United States withdraws its last remaining troops from Hamid Karzai International Airport, Kabul, ending 20 years of operations in Afghanistan.source
September 5 – 2021 Guinean coup d'état: Guinea's President Alpha Condé is detained by an elite military unit led by a former French legionnaire, Lt. Col. Mamady Doumbouya, claiming to have seized power.source
17 September - Suspected criminals, known locally as Dahalo, attacked the villages of Ambohitsohy and Vohitsimbe in Marovitsika Commune, Befotaka Atsi Region. The incidents involved up to 120 assailants. At least 46 people were killed in the clashes, including 42 suspected Dahalo and four villagers. The motive for the incident is not clear; however, attacks have been linked to cultural practices involving cattle rustling.Madagascar source
13 October – Pro-democracy protests intensify in Eswatini, as police use tear gas and water cannons to disperse crowds during this week's protests. Government spokespeople have denied to comment as King Mswati III denies accusations of autocratic rule in the last absolutist monarchy in Africa.Eswatini source
October 25 – The Sudanese military launches a coup against the government. Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok is placed under house arrest. President Abdel Fattah al-Burhan declares a state of emergency and announces the dissolution of the government.source
November 5 – Tigray War: The Tigray People's Liberation Front forms a coalition with eight other rebel groups with the aim of defeating the Ethiopian government "by force or by negotiations."source
December 11 – New York City FC defeat the Portland Timbers at Providence Park in Portland, Oregon 5–3 on penalties after a 1–1 draw, and win MLS Cup title for the first time in their history.source

Exploration & Expansion

January 1 – The African Continental Free Trade Area comes into effect.source
January 4 – The border between Qatar and Saudi Arabia reopens.source
9 January – David Schenker, assistant secretary of state for near eastern affairs, and the highest-ranking U.S. diplomat for North Africa and the Middle East, visits Western Sahara.Morocco source
12 January – Egypt reopens its airspace to Qatari aircraft, and will allow the resumption of direct flights between the countries, which have been suspended since 2017.Qatar source
January 29 – Panama reopens its land borders for the first time since March 2020, setting off a new wave of migration.Panama source
January – Botswana joins the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative during a visit from Foreign Minister Wang Yi.Botswana source
February 3 – Taiwan establishes a trade office in Guyana, much to the chagrin of China.Guyana source
February 27 – The government says it will fence the border between the DR and Haiti in order to curb migration and other illegal activities.Dominican Republic source
2 March – A boat with partially decomposed bodies of six migrants, one with a passport from Guinea, is found Cayo Las Palomas.Nicaragua source
April 9 – Roscosmos launches the Soyuz MS-18 mission, carrying three Expedition 65 crewmembers to the International Space Station.source
April 9 - Tajik President Emomali Rahmon visited the Vorukh exclave, assuring residents that there would not be a land exchange with Kyrgyzstan for the territory.Tajikistan source
April 17 – The Soyuz MS-17 mission concludes, returning three crewmembers of Expedition 64 to Earth from the International Space Station.source
April 23 – SpaceX launches the Crew-2 mission, carrying four crew members of Expedition 65 and 66 to the International Space Station aboard Crew Dragon Endeavour.source
May 2 – The SpaceX Crew-1 mission ends, returning four crew members of Expedition 64 and 65 to Earth from the International Space Station aboard Crew Dragon Resilience.source
September 26 – Lewis Hamilton wins his 100th Grand Prix in Formula 1, becoming the first to reach the milestone, at an eventful Russian Grand Prix.source
October 5 – Roscosmos launches the Soyuz MS-19 mission, which carries an Expedition 66 crewmember and two Channel One Russia personnel to the International Space Station. The two Channel One crew will perform principal photography on the film Vyzov aboard the station.source
November 11 – SpaceX launches the Crew-3 mission, carrying four Expedition 66 crew members to the International Space Station.source

Religion & Belief

16 January – The French Embassy announces it is working with the Association of the Tanzanian Diaspora Living in France to promote the Kiswahili language.Tanzania source
5 February – Evangelical minister Miguel Ángel Casco went viral on social media when he praised the ″multiplication of penises″ under President Daniel Ortega. Speaking on live television he said, ″Yo creo firmemente que Nicaragua va a experimentar... los milagros de multiplicar los penes”. (English: ″I firmly believe that Nicaragua is going to experiment... the miracle of multiplication of penises.″) He may have confused the Spanish words panes and penes, which are translated as ″bread″ and ″penises″, respectively.Nicaragua source
11 February – Roman Catholic priest Pedro Opeka is nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for his work with the poor in Antananarivo.Madagascar source
February 18 – Porfirije Peric is elected as the 46th Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church.source
February 20 – Pope Francis accepts the resignation of conservative Cardinal Robert Sarah, 75, from the Vatican′s Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. As Metropolitan Archbishop of Conakry he was a critic of Islam and of President Ahmed Sékou Touré.Guinea source
March 6 – Pope Francis meets with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in Najaf, Iraq. It is the first-ever meeting between a pope and a grand ayatollah.source
March 12 – San Juan′s San José Church prepares for reopening after being closed in 1996 for restoration and repairs. The second-oldest church on the island, which was built in 1532 near the ocean on top of a Taíno settlement at the highest point of Old San Juan, was originally a Dominican convent where Bartolomé de las Casas lived.Puerto Rico source
5 April – Goabaone Taylor is appointed as the CEO of the Botswana Football Association.Botswana source
April 18 – Twelve football clubs, including three from La Liga and leading clubs from the Premier League and Serie A, agree to join a new breakaway European Super League, prompting international condemnation. Two days later, following major protests from supporters, other clubs and politicians, Manchester City withdraw from the league; this prompts all the remaining Premier League clubs and three others to do the same.source
May 28 – The New York Times breaks the story on a Canadian Indian Residential School Cemeteries announcement, incorrectly reporting a discovery of "mass graves" of Indigenous children at a former school site. The reporting would help "spawn a new holiday, Truth and Reconciliation Day, prompt an official visit by Pope Francis, and result in Canadian flags being kept at half-mast for a record-breaking five consecutive months."source
5 September - Clashes in the city of Cetinje following inauguration of Serb Orthodox Church leader Joanikije II.Montenegro source
18 October – Mawlid (Birthday of Muhammad)Fiji source

Economy & Finance

January 1 – The United States adds Banco Financiero International SA (BFI) to the Cuba Restricted List. The Trump administration is considering adding Cuba to its list of state-sponsored terrorism.Cuba source
January 25 – BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse, and ING Group end financing for oil trading in the Amazon region of Ecuador.Ecuador source
January 27 – The GameStop short squeeze reaches its peak of $483 per share, as the result of influence from the online community, r/wallstreetbets, drawing international attention.source
4 February – Burundi Airlines is established.Burundi source
4 February – Pal Ahluwalia, Vice-Chancellor of the University of the South Pacific and his wife are deported to Australia.Fiji source
February 23 – Governor Pedro Pierluisi rejects a proposed debt settlement because of concerns about the effect on the territory′s pension system.Puerto Rico source
25 February – Morocco is one of four countries added to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) list of places that are only partially in compliance with international efforts against financing terrorism and money laundering.Morocco source
19 April – Access Bank Group agrees to purchase a majority stake in African Banking Corporation of Botswana.Botswana source
May 17 – Discovery, Inc. agrees to buy media conglomerate WarnerMedia and all of its subsidiaries from AT&T for US$43 billion. The merger is set to be complete the following year.source
June 5 – The G7 agrees on a global minimum corporate tax rate of 15% intended to prevent tax avoidance by some of the world's biggest multinational companies.source
September 7 – El Salvador becomes the first country in the world to accept Bitcoin as an official currency.source
October 31–November 13 – The 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference is held in Glasgow, after being postponed in 2020 due to COVID-19. A deal is agreed by world leaders, which includes a "phasedown" of unabated coal power, a 30% cut in methane emissions by 2030, plans for a halt to deforestation by 2030, and increased financial support for developing countries.source
17 November – Police fired tear gas to quell an anti-government protest against deteriorating economic conditions and rising cost of living in Malawi. Hundreds of people poured onto the streets of the southern commercial hub of Blantyre, calling on President Lazarus Chakwera’s administration to take immediate steps to rein in soaring prices and unemployment. The protesters set tires on fire and blocked roads to bring traffic to a halt in parts of the city, and also torched a police post in Blantyre’s central business district. “They have failed to fulfill their promises of easing the suffering of Malawians. The cost of living is too high as prices of essentials, including food and fuel, are soaring.”Malawi source

Technology & Infrastructure

January 2 – A Honduran national identified as Leidy Hernández, 24, gives birth while crossing the bridge between Matamoros, Tamaulipas and Brownsville, Texas. The baby will be entitled to Mexican citizenship.Honduras source
January 5 – President Donald Trump announces $3.7 billion to rebuild water infrastructure. The grant covers 90% of the estimated costs of the water and wastewater improvement projects.Puerto Rico source
11 February – Latvian authorities ban retransmission of Russian Rossija RTR TV channel for a year for incitement of hatred, violence, and provocation of military conflict.Latvia source
March 23 – Ever Given, one of the largest container ships in the world, runs aground and obstructs the Suez Canal, disrupting global trade. The ship is freed on March 29.source
March 27 – A British expatriate is reported killed in an attack by jihadists on Palma, according to The Daily Telegraph. Dozens of expatriates are reported killed, and there are reports of beheadings of children as young as eleven years old.Mozambique source
13 April – A telehealth program is announced in Botswana through the United States University Partnerships Initiative.Botswana source
June 16 – new passenger terminal opens at the Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport.Slovenia source
October 5 – Microsoft releases the desktop operating system Windows 11.source
October 9 – The country's two largest power stations shut down due to a fuel shortage resulting in a nationwide power cut.Lebanon source
November – The Bajgora Wind Farm began operating.Kosovo source

Science & Discovery

February 8 – The government conservation department and conservation groups announce the successful reintroduction into the wild of two male and two female spotted hyenas in Zinave National Park for the first time in forty years.Mozambique source
February 9 – The UAE's uncrewed Hope spacecraft becomes the first Arabian mission successfully to enter orbit around Mars.source
February 18 – NASA's Mars 2020 mission (containing the Perseverance rover and Ingenuity helicopter drone) lands on Mars at Jezero Crater, after seven months of travel.source
18 February – The government creates the National Ministry for Extraterrestrial Space Affairs, The Moon and Other Celestial Bodies. It will be under the control of the Nicaraguan army.Nicaragua source
March 1 – The French/Guatemalan movie La Lollorona is nominated for a Golden Globe Award.Guatemala source
April 15 – Scientists announce they successfully injected human stem cells into the embryos of monkeys, creating chimera-embryos.source
17 April – Three crewmen from the International Space Station griping their spacejet of Soyuz MS-17 land on Kazakh Soil.Kazakhstan source
April 19 – NASA's Ingenuity helicopter, part of the Mars 2020 mission, performs the first powered flight on another planet in history.source
April 22 – World leaders mark Earth Day by hosting a virtual summit on climate change, during which more ambitious targets for greenhouse gas emission reductions are proposed, including a 40% cut by 2030 for the United States.source
April 29 – The China National Space Administration launches the first module of its Tiangong space station, named Tianhe, beginning a two-year effort to build the station in orbit.source
May 13 – Three rockets launched from the Qlaileh region towards Israel, landing in the Mediterranean Sea. This comes amidst the 2021 Israel-Palestine crisis.Lebanon source
May 14 – The China National Space Administration lands its Zhurong rover at Utopia Planitia on Mars, making China the fourth country to land a spacecraft on the planet and only the second to land a rover.source
May 26 – Shell becomes the first company to be legally mandated to align its carbon emissions with the Paris climate accord, following a landmark court ruling in the Netherlands.source
June 7 – The Juno spacecraft performs its only flyby of Jupiter's moon Ganymede, the first flyby of the moon by any spacecraft in over 20 years.source
June 10 – An annular solar eclipse is visible from Canada, Greenland, the North Pole, and the Russian Far East.source
June 17 – The China National Space Administration sends its first three astronauts to occupy the Tiangong Space Station, the country's first space station.source
June – The Central Tuli Game Reserve becomes the first nature reserve in Botswana to use Smart Parks sensor systems to track wildlife.Botswana source
July 19 – Blue Origin successfully conducts its first human test flight, with a reusable New Shepard rocket delivering four crew members into space including its founder Jeff Bezos.source
July 28 – The first direct observation of light from behind a black hole is reported, confirming Einstein's theory of general relativity.source
July 29 – Roscosmos' Nauka laboratory docks with the International Space Station following a protracted seventeen-year development and launch on 21 July. Hours after docking, a malfunction of its thrusters causes a temporary loss of control of the station, spinning it up to 45 degrees from its normal orbital attitude.source
August 11 - new road traffic rules come in effect, among those right turn on red in intersections with special road signs.Slovenia source
August 30 – The UN Environment Programme announces that leaded petrol in road vehicles has been phased out globally, a hundred years after its introduction.source
September 16 – Inspiration4, launched by SpaceX, becomes the first all-civilian private spaceflight, carrying a four-person crew on a three-day orbit of the Earth. Sian Proctor becomes first female commercial astronaut spaceship pilot and Hayley Arceneaux becomes first astronaut with a prosthesis.source
19 September – Kabul Airlift: A Qatar Airways charter flight carrying 200 passengers, including Afghans and Americans, departs from Kabul International Airport to Qatar.Qatar source
October 16 – The Lucy spacecraft is launched by NASA, the first mission to explore the Trojan asteroids.source
November 16 – Russia draws international condemnation following an anti-satellite weapon test that creates a cloud of space debris, threatening the International Space Station.source
November 24 – NASA launches the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), the first attempt to deflect an asteroid for the purpose of learning how to protect Earth.source
December 25 – NASA, ESA, the Canadian Space Agency and the Space Telescope Science Institute launch the James Webb Space Telescope, the successor of the Hubble Space Telescope.source

Health & Medicine

January 13 – In Lyon, France, the first transplant of both arms and shoulders is performed on an Icelandic patient at the Édouard Herriot Hospital.source
January 15 – COVID-19 pandemic: The global death toll from COVID-19 passes 2 million.source
18 January – COVID-19 pandemic: The country goes under lockdown for the first time since the pandemic began. Malawi has recorded 12,470 coronavirus cases and 314 deaths, but there has been a 40% increase in infections in January.Malawi source
20 January - India begins exporting the Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to Bhutan.Bhutan source
January 27 – A near-total ban on abortion comes into effect in Poland.source
January 29 – COVID-19 pandemic: The European Union invokes Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol following a row over COVID-19 vaccine supplies before reversing the decision.source
February 1 – COVID-19 pandemic: The number of vaccinations administered worldwide exceeds 100 million.source
February 9 – COVID-19 pandemic: A joint WHO–China investigation into the source of the outbreak concludes. Investigators deem a Wuhan laboratory leak to be "extremely unlikely", with a "natural reservoir" in bats being a more likely origin.source
February 24 – COVID-19 pandemic: the COVAX vaccine-sharing initiative delivers its first vaccines, delivering 600,000 doses for healthcare workers in Ghana.source
10 March – Authorities worry about an increase in migrants from Haiti and Cuba. The skipper of a raft from Cuba is arrested for human trafficking after his raft explodes, leaving one dead and five missing (including a 28-year-old woman and her two children, 4 and 6). Twenty others were rescued; three of the rescuers had to be treated in a Bahamian hospital for sunburn.Bahamas source
11 March – Eswatini receives a shipment of 20,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine through the COVAX vaccine-sharing initiative.Eswatini source
March 25 – COVID-19 pandemic: The number of vaccinations administered worldwide exceeds 500 million.source
30 March – Papua New Guinea begins a vaccination campaign against COVID-19 using the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine supplied from Australia. Prime Minister James Marape is the first person to receive a dose of the vaccine.Papua New Guinea source
22 April: 256,800 AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines arrived in Syria, under the UN backed COVAX initiative to vaccinate frontline health workers. Provided by the Serum Institute of India, the majority of the doses arrived in Damascus, while 53,000 doses were delivered to the northwest.Syria source
April 23 – UEFA announces that due to a lack of guarantees regarding spectators caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland would be removed as a tournament host for the UEFA Euro 2020.source
April 24 – COVID-19 pandemic: The number of vaccinations administered worldwide exceeds 1 billion. Half of these doses have been administered in just three countries (the United States, China and India).source
May 12 – COVID-19 pandemic in India: The country's death toll exceeds 250,000. Delhi cremation grounds were running out of places while hundreds of bodies were reported washed up on the banks of the Ganges.source
May 18–May 22 – The Eurovision Song Contest 2021 is held in Rotterdam, Netherlands, after the cancellation of the 2020 contest due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The contest is won by Italian entrants Måneskin with the song "Zitti e buoni".source
June 11–June 13 – World leaders meet at the 47th G7 summit, hosted by the United Kingdom, with topics of discussion including the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and the corporate taxation of multinationals.source
June 29 – COVID-19 pandemic: The number of vaccinations administered worldwide exceeds 3 billion.source
July 8 – COVID-19 pandemic: The number of deaths from COVID-19 surpasses 4 million.source
July 11 – Thousands of Cubans, most of them young, attend a rare anti-government protest in San Antonio de los Baños to protest the increased food and medicine shortages brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.source
July 23–August 8 – The 2020 Summer Olympics were held in Tokyo, Japan. They were originally scheduled for 24 July–9 August 2020, but were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.source
August 9 – The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change releases the first part of its Sixth Assessment Report, which concludes that the effects of human-caused climate change are now "widespread, rapid, and intensifying".source
August 24–September 5 – The 2020 Summer Paralympics were held in Tokyo, Japan. They were originally scheduled for 25 August–6 September 2020, but were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.source
October 1 – The 2020 World Expo in Dubai begins. Its opening was originally scheduled for 20 October 2020 but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.source
October 6–October 10 – The 2021 UEFA Nations League Finals is held in Italy, and is won by France. They were originally scheduled for 2–6 June 2021, but were moved following the rescheduling of UEFA Euro 2020 to June and July 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.source
October 6 – The World Health Organization endorses the first malaria vaccine.source
November 8 – Vanuatuan prime minister Bob Loughman confirms that two Vanuatuan citizens who were repatriated from New Caledonia have the Delta variant and urges residents to get vaccinated.Vanuatu source
November 26 – COVID-19 pandemic: The World Health Organization convenes an emergency meeting in Geneva amid concerns over Omicron, a highly mutated variant of COVID-19 first identified in South Africa that appears more infectious than Delta.source
December 19 – The 2021 Hong Kong legislative election, originally scheduled for 6 September 2020 but postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is held.source
Ongoing – COVID-19 pandemic in BarbadosBarbados source

Crime & Justice

4 January – Musu Bakoto Sawo, 30, ("Think Young Women") is chosen as 2020 Daily Trust "African of the Year". She lectures at the Faculty of Law, University of the Gambia.Gambia source
January 12 – Israeli businessman Beny Steinmetz denies corruption or forgery linked to mining rights for Beny Steinmetz Group Resources (BSGR). Swiss prosecutors allege Steinmetz won the mining rights by bribing the wife of former president Lansana Conté (2006–2010).Guinea source
January 16 – The Bazaruto Archipelago National Park (PNAB) reports a 47.5% decrease in illegal fishing from 2019 to 2020.Mozambique source
January 29 – A Vanuatu patrol boat detains two Chinese fishing vessels near the Torres Islands in the Coral Sea for suspected illegal fishing.Vanuatu source
26 February – Six gunmen open fire on a World Food Programme convoy in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing Italian ambassador Luca Attanasio, a carabiniere and their driver.Republic of the Congo source
June 11–July 11 – The delayed UEFA Euro 2020, hosted by 11 different countries, is held, and is won by Italy after beating England on penalties in the final.source
June 25 – Derek Chauvin is convicted and sentenced to 22 years and 6 months in prison, for the murder of George Floyd. Despite this, the civil unrest still goes on.source
July 18 – An international investigation reveals that spyware sold by Israel's NSO Group to different governments is being used to target heads of state, along with thousands of activists, journalists and dissidents around the world.source
August 3 – The oil tanker Asphalt Princess is hijacked off the coast of the United Arab Emirates.source
September 25 – Mali recruits Russia's PMC Wagner Group to fight Islamic terrorism in the country, according to a news outlet citing Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov.Mali source
October 3 – The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and assorted media partners publish a set of 11.9 million documents leaked from 14 financial services companies known as the Pandora Papers, revealing offshore financial activities that involve multiple current and former world leaders.source
October 23 – Colombia's most wanted drug lord, Dario Antonio Úsuga, whose Gulf Clan controls many smuggling routes into the US and other countries, is captured by Colombia's armed forces.source
26 November – A gunman opened fire in central Kosovo on a bus carrying students, killing two of them, a boy and a girl, and the driver. In addition, a 14-year-old was injured but his condition is stable. According to local media, the gunman wore a mask and was armed with an AK–47 submachine gun. Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani condemned the attack and asked the police to find the culprits as soon as possible and bring them to justice. "Hitting a bus with students is a blow to security and order," she wrote on Facebook.Kosovo source
December 6 - Three of 17 missionaries who were kidnapped by a street gang in October are released.Haiti source

Disasters & Accidents

January 9 – Sriwijaya Air Flight 182 crashes north of Jakarta, Indonesia, killing all 62 people on board.source
12 January – A barge travelling from Kisangani to the town of Basoko in Tshopo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, sinks in the Congo River. Local authorities report that at least six people were killed and 19 others are missing.Republic of the Congo source
4 March – Twenty migrants drown after 80 people are thrown overboard on a boat en route from Djibouti to Yemen.Djibouti source
April 2 – 2021 Hualien train derailment: In Taiwan, a Taroko Express train collided with a truck that rolled down a slope and derailed, resulting in 49 deaths and 202 injuries.source
April 24 – Following an international search and rescue effort, the Indonesian navy reports the sinking of KRI Nanggala with 53 crew members, the largest loss of life aboard a submarine since 2003.source
May 23 – Ryanair Flight 4978 is forced to land by Belarusian authorities to detain dissident journalist Roman Protasevich.source
June 7 – 2021 Ghotki rail crash: In Pakistan, 2 trains collided in Daharki, in the Ghotki District of Sindh. Killing 65 people and injuring 150 people.source
June 24 – Surfside condominium collapse: A portion of the Champlain South Towers condominium building collapses in Surfside, Florida, United States, leaving 98 people dead. One survivor was pulled from the wreckage while 35 others were evacuated from the uncollapsed section of the building.source
30 July - A Liberian-flagged tanker ship was struck by a drone attack off the coast of Oman, killing two crew members.Oman source
25 September – Internal ministry buildings were attacked and set on fire in Northern Kosovo.Kosovo source
October 29 – Two employees of the Canadian mining company Iamgold are reported missing following an attack on their convoy in Burkina Faso while travelling to Essakane.Mali source
November 7 – Niger gold mine collapseNiger source
December 9 – A truck crash in Chiapas, Mexico, kills 55 migrants who were being smuggled in it from Guatemala through Mexico to its border with the United States.source
20 December - 2021 Madagascar shipwreckMadagascar source
Freetown fuel tanker explosionSierra Leone source

Climate & Environment

January 7 – Diary Sow, 20, a student at Paris's Lycée Louis-le-Grand and known as "Senegal's best pupil," is reported missing. She apologized for her disappearance on January 22.Senegal source
January 15 – A magnitude 5.9 earthquake with an epicenter located 3 mi south-southwest of Champerico at a depth of 6 mi shakes buildings in Guatemala City, but no damage or injuries are reported.Guatemala source
25 January – Two in Eswatini die and thousands are homeless throughout Southern Africa as Cyclone Eloise causes extensive flooding.Eswatini source
5 February – Drought, increases in local demand, and a drop in the number of farmers all contribute to a marijuana shortage. The COVID-19 pandemic and related curfew means that farmers have a difficult time in irrigating their fields.Jamaica source
February 13–February 17 – A major winter storm kills at least 136 people and causes over 9.9 million power outages in the U.S.source
April 13 – Japan's government approves the dumping of radioactive water of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the Pacific Ocean over the course of 30 years, with full support of the International Atomic Energy Agency. The decision is opposed by China, South Korea, and Taiwan.source
April – Cyclone Seroja makes landfall in Indonesia and Timor-Leste. As of 5 April 2021, it was estimated that at least 27 people in Timor-Leste had died in landslides and flash floods as a result of the storm, most of them in Dili.East Timor source
24 June – A rare tornado sweeps through several villages, killing six people and leaving more than 150 others injured.Czech Republic source
July 3 – Over 130 wildfires, fuelled by lightning strikes, burn through Western Canada following a record-breaking heatwave in North America that results in over 600 deaths.source
July 12 – 2021 European floods: Heavy rain causes flooding in the border region of Germany and Belgium, resulting in 229 deaths, including 184 in Germany, 42 in Belgium with 1 person still missing there, and 2 in Romania. The event is attributed to a slowed jetstream caused by climate change.source
August 3 – Wildfires in Greece begin.source
August 14 – A 7.2-magnitude earthquake strikes Haiti, killing more than 2,500 people.source
August 14 - 2021 Haiti earthquake kills 2,248 people.Haiti source
August 29 – Hurricane Ida strikes New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, after having caused devastation in Venezuela.source
September 14 – North Korea demonstrates two short-range ballistic missiles that land just outside Japan's territorial waters; and then only hours later South Korea demonstrates its first submarine-launched ballistic missile.source
September 15 – Several ministers of the Argentine president Alberto Fernández's cabinet resign after the government's defeat in the primary elections, triggering a political crisis in the country.source
September 25 – Vanuatu launches a global campaign to seek an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Vanuatu bases its decision on being incapable with its own decisions to address rising sea levels and other challenges linked to climate change and wants the ICJ to establish responsibilities for climate change under international law.Vanuatu source
December 10–December 11 – A late season tornado outbreak occurs in the Southern and Midwestern United States, causing major damage and killing at least 94 people. One of the longest-tracked tornadoes in history occurred, which impacted western Kentucky, particularly Mayfield.source
December 16 – Typhoon Rai, also known as Typhoon Odette, hits the Philippines and caused destruction to agriculture, establishments, and houses, and caused many injured and deaths.source

Culture & Society

16 January – It was announced that Madagascar will organize the 2023 Indian Ocean Islands Games since the Seychelles has withdrawn.Madagascar source
2 February – Riga is confirmed as the sole host of the 2021 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship after Minsk withdraws from the running.Latvia source
14 March – 2021 Montenegrin municipal elections.Montenegro source
March 23 – The Israeli general elections take place, the fourth Knesset election in two years.source
9 April – The 2021 Samoan general election was held.Samoa source
April 11 – Hideki Matsuyama wins the 2021 Masters Tournament, becoming the first man from Japan to win a major golf championship.source
May 14 – Eid Al Fitr holiday, Muslim ″Breaking of the Fast″.Mauritania source
May 26 – The 2021 Syrian presidential election is held.source
June 9 – The 2021 Mongolian presidential election is held.source
June 13–July 10 – The 2021 Copa América, hosted behind closed doors by Brazil, is held, and is won by Argentina.source
June 23 – 2021 ICC World Test Championship Final: New Zealand wins the 2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship.source
July 10–August 1 – The 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup is held in, and is won by, the United States.source
July 19 – Day of Hajj: For the first time, women are permitted to attend without a male guardian (mehrem) provided they go in a trustworthy group.source
August 4 – 2020 Summer Olympics: Belarusian sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya is given political asylum in Poland through a humanitarian visa after attempts by the Belarus Olympic Committee to repatriate her against her will.source
September 14 – The inaugural season of the UEFA Europa Conference League, the third tier of European club football, kicks off with Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv winning 4–1 against Armenian club FC Alashkert.source
October 17–November 14 – The 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup is held in the United Arab Emirates and Oman, and is won by Australia.source
October 24 – The 2021 Uzbek presidential election is held.source
November 5 – A crowd crush at the Astroworld Festival hosted by Travis Scott in Houston, Texas, kills 10 people and causes 300+ injuries.source
November 14 – The 2021 Bulgarian general election is held.source
November 21 – The 2021 Chilean general election is held.source
November 24–December 12 – Magnus Carlsen beats Ian Nepomniachtchi in the 2021 World Chess Championship. Magnus has been World Chess Champion since 2013.source
30 November – 2021 Tongan general electionTonga source
December 6 – The United States announces a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing in response to China's human rights record. Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia join shortly after.source
December 12 – Max Verstappen won his first Formula One World Championship and the first for a Dutch driver, driving for Red Bull Racing at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.source
17 and 31 October - Local electionsNorth Macedonia source
Vanuatu at the 2020 Summer OlympicsVanuatu source

Births

6 January – Nieves ("Snow"), a white Bengal tiger, born at the zoo near Managua.Nicaragua source
9 February – August Brooksbank, son of Princess Eugenie and Jack BrooksbankEngland source
February 12 – Virunga National Park announces the birth of the first mountain gorilla, a male, of 2021.Democratic Republic of the Congo source
18 September – Willydoit, Thoroughbred racehorseNew Zealand source

Deaths

January 10 – Kim Jong Un is elected as the General Secretary of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, inheriting the title from his father Kim Jong Il, who died in 2011.source
11 January – Mario Masuku, politician (born 1951).Eswatini source
20 January – Justin Lekhanya, politician, former Chairman of the Military Council (born 1938); diabetes.Lesotho source
February 17 – Rush Limbaugh, 70, American Hall of Fame radio host (The Rush Limbaugh Show), author, and political commentator, complications from lung cancer.source
February 22 – Luca Attanasio, the Italian Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is murdered near Goma.source
February 28 – Milan Bandić, 65, Croatian politician, mayor of Zagreb (2000–2002, since 2005), heart attack.source
17 March – Ed Armbrister, 72, baseball player (Cincinnati Reds); complications from diabetes.Bahamas source
21 March – Shahied Wagid Hosain, singer (born c.1961).Suriname source
April 4 – More than 270 people are killed in Indonesia and East Timor after Cyclone Seroja strikes East Nusa Tenggara and the island of Timor.source
April 28 – At least 55 people are killed and nearly 50,000 more are displaced in one of the most serious clashes in Central Asia following border disputes between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.source
May 3 – Mexico City Metro overpass collapse: 26 people were killed and 98 people were injured when a Mexico City Metro train bridge collapsed when a train passed it.source
June 26 – Mike Gravel, 91, American politician, senator (1969–1981), member (1963–1967) and speaker (1965–1967) of the Alaska House of Representatives, myeloma.source
June 29 – Donald Rumsfeld, 88, American politician, secretary of defense (1975–1977, 2001–2006) and member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1963–1969), multiple myeloma.source
August 26 – 2021 Kabul airport attack: At least 182 people are killed, including 13 U.S. service members, in a suicide bomb attack at Kabul airport.source
October 18 – Colin Powell, 84, American general and politician, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1989–1993) and secretary of state (2001–2005), complications from COVID-19.source
November 11 – F. W. de Klerk, 85, South African politician, state president (1989–1994) and deputy president (1994–1996), Nobel Peace Prize laureate (1993), mesothelioma.source
November 26 – Stephen Sondheim, 91, American composer and lyricist (West Side Story, Company, Sweeney Todd), nine-time Tony winner, cardiovascular disease.source
December 26 – Desmond Tutu, 90, South African Anglican prelate and civil rights activist, bishop of Johannesburg (1985–1986) and archbishop of Cape Town (1986–1996), Nobel Prize laureate (1984).source