2021

2021 (MMXXI) was .
Events
January
January 1
The African Continental Free Trade Area comes into effect.
Cuba formally unifies its dual currency system after 27 years, with Cuban convertible peso (CUC) leaving and making the Cuban peso (CUP) the only national currency.
Munster Technological University is opened in Cork, and Tralee, Ireland.
January 4
A British judge blocks the extradition of Julian Assange to the United States and Mexico offers him political asylum.
Central African Republic President Faustin-Archange Touadera is re-elected to a second term, winning 54% of the vote.
The border between Qatar and Saudi Arabia reopens.
January 6
Protesters supporting outgoing U.S. President Donald Trump storm inside the United States Capitol while congress was certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election. The Democratic Party officially gains control of the United States Senate, now controlling both chambers of the United States Congress.
2019-20 Hong Kong protests: Hong Kong police arrest over 50 democracy activists under the national security law.
January 7 - 2019-2021 Persian Gulf crisis: Iraq issues an arrest warrant for U.S. President Donald Trump over the drone strike killing of Qasem Soleimani.
January 9 - Sriwijaya Air Flight 182 is declared missing after the plane dropped 10,000 ft within a minute north of Jakarta, Indonesia. The plane crashed, carrying over 60 passengers. A search and rescue team were deployed.
January 10 - Kim Jong-un is elected as the General Secretary of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, taking the title from his late father Kim Jong-il, who died in 2011.
January 11 - COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 90 million worldwide.
January 13
In Lyon, France, the first transplant of both arms and shoulders is performed on an Icelandic patient at the Edouard Herriot Hospital.
U.S. President Donald Trump is impeached for a second time following the storming of the United States Capitol. He is the only president of the United States to be impeached twice.
Prime Minister of Estonia Juri Ratas resigns following a criminal investigation into the Estonian Centre Party.
January 14 - Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni is re-elected winning 58.64% of the vote, defeating Bobi Wine.
January 15
An earthquake occurs in Sulawesi, Indonesia, killing over 100 people.
COVID-19 pandemic: The global death toll from the virus passes two million.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and his government resign as a result of a child welfare scandal.
January 17 - LauncherOne becomes the first liquid-fueled aircraft launched rocket to reach orbit.
January 20 - Joe Biden is inaugurated as the 46th President of the United States with Kamala Harris as the 49th Vice President of the United States.
January 21 - Governor General of Canada Julie Payette announced her resignation following allegations of a "toxic workplace" environment.
January 23 - In Russia, police arrest more than 3,000 people who were protesting in support of opposition leader Alexei Navalny who was also arrested.
January 24 - President of Portugal Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa is re-elected in a landslide victory winning 60.7% of the vote.
January 25 - Prime Minister of Italy Giuseppe Conte resigned following a loss of confidence from the coalition government that originally backed him in 2018.
January 26
COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases pass 100 million worldwide.
Kaja Kallas becomes the 19th Prime Minister of Estonia following a coalition government, becoming Estonia's first female prime minister.
January 27
The Polish Constitutional Tribunal rules that abortion for fetal defects is unconstitutional and resulting in a near-total ban of the practice in Poland.
GameStop short squeeze: Investment funds report major losses after GME stock prices raised 900 times their record low.
January 28 - GameStop short squeeze: American financial services company Robinhood restricts the trade of stocks of several companies, including GameStop, causing outrage online.
January 31 - Nguyen Phu Trong is re-elected as General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam for a third five-year term of top leader in Vietnam.
February
February 1
A coup d'etat in Myanmar removes Aung San Suu Kyi from power and restores military rule with Min Aung Hlaing as state leader.
COVID-19 pandemic: Over 100 million vaccinations have been given to people worldwide.
February 2 - Jeff Bezos steps down as CEO of Amazon and names AWS CEO Andy Jassy as his replacement.
February 3 - Canada becomes the first country to name the Proud Boys as a terrorist organization.
February 4 - U.S. President Joe Biden announces that the United States will stop providing weapons to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for use in the Yemeni Civil War.
February 7
A glacial burst in Uttarakhand, India kills at least 36 people and over 200 people are missing.
In American football, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeat the Kansas City Chiefs with a 31 to 9 point margin at Super Bowl LV.
February 9
COVID-19 pandemic: A joint WHO-China investigation into the source of the outbreak is concluded with experts saying a Wuhan laboratory leak to be "extremely unlikely", with a "natural reservoir" in bats being a more likely origin.
The United Arab Emirates' Hope spacecraft becomes the first Arabian mission to successfully enter orbit around Mars.
February 10 - China's Tianwen-1 is launched to Mars to learn about the planet's environmental quality.
February 11 - In Fort Worth, Texas, United States, at least nine people were killed in an accident involving 133 vehicles on a highway; affected by the weather conditions left by a snowstorm system.
February 12 - Former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, who was picked in 2014 to be in charge of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, resigned from the Olympic committee after sexist comments he made.
February 13
A winter storm in North America begins which would cause 70 deaths and several million others without clean water or power.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is found not-guilty by the United States Senate for causing the storming of the United States Capitol during his second impeachment trial.
Mario Draghi is appointed as the Prime Minister of Italy, a month after the resignation of Giuseppe Conte due to a failed coalition government.
February 14 - Former President of Argentina Carlos Menem, who supported Peronist ideas, dies at aged 90.
February 15 - Nigerian-American economist Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is picked as the first woman and first African to be Director-General of the World Trade Organization.
February 17 - 27 students and staff members at a school in Nigeria's Niger State are kidnapped by armed gunmen, killing one student. After government negotiations, all 27 were released on February 27.
February 18 - NASA's Mars 2020 mission lands on Mars after seven months of travel.
February 19
Porfirije becomes the 46th Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church, replacing Irinej who died of COVID-19 in November 2020.
The United States officially rejoins the Paris Agreement, 107 days after leaving.
February 20
COVID-19 pandemic: The number of vaccinations given worldwide pass 200 million.
2020-21 H5N8 outbreak: 7 people test positive for H5N8 bird flu at a poultry farm in southern Russia, making them the first human cases.
February 21 - Naomi Osaka and Novak Djokovic win the Women's and Men's Singles respectively at the Australian Open.
February 22 - COVID-19 pandemic: The United States becomes the first country to pass half a million deaths from the virus.
February 24 - COVID-19 pandemic: Ghana becomes the first country to receive vaccines through the COVAX vaccine-sharing initiative.
February 25
COVID-19 pandemic: The global death toll from COVID-19 passes 2.5 million.
The Armenian military calls for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to resign and Pashinyan accuses the military of attempting a coup d'etat.
February 26 - More than 300 schoolgirls are kidnapped by unidentified gunmen from a school in Nigeria's Zamfara State.
March
March 1 - Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy is found guilty of corruption and sentenced to three years in prison.
March 2 - Microsoft acknowledges a series of data breaches and cyberattacks, affecting about 250,000 servers globally.
March 3 - The Russo-Ukrainian crisis begins as Russia supported rebel groups near Ukraine to "destruct" the country.
March 5 - Moldova becomes the first country in Europe to receive coronavirus vaccines through COVAX.
March 6 - Pope Francis meets with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in Najaf, Iraq making it the first meeting between a pope and a grand ayatollah.
March 7
A series of explosions in Bata, Equatorial Guinea kills over 100 people and injures more than 600.
In a referendum, Switzerland approved a nationwide ban on the burqa.
March 8
Prime Minister of Ivory Coast Hamed Bakayoko dies from cancer after being hospitalized with COVID-19, aged 56. Patrick Achi is nominated to replace him.
COVID-19 pandemic: The number of vaccinations passed 300 million worldwide.
In the United States, the murder trial of the four police officers involved in the killing of George Floyd begins in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
March 11 - 30 students and several staff members are kidnapped by unidentified gunmen from a school in Kaduna State, Nigeria.
March 13 - Former interim Bolivian President Jeanine Anez is arrested on charges of terrorism, sedition and conspiracy over her actions during the 2019 coup of then-President Evo Morales.
March 16 - A mass shooting kills eight people in Atlanta, Georgia, with most of the victims being Asian American women. The attack is being called a hate crime against Asian-Americans mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
March 17
Mathematicians Avi Wigderson of Hungary and Laszlo Lovasz of Israel both win the Abel Prize for their work in complexity theory and graph theory.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte's People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) wins the general elections, with liberal parties gaining seats.
President of Tanzania John Magufuli dies in office from heart failure, aged 61. Vice President Samia Suluhu replaces him the following day, becoming the country's first female president.
March 18
COVID-19 pandemic: The number of vaccinations given worldwide are 400 million.
In Australia, floods in New South Wales cause the evacuation of over 18,000 people and three killed.
March 20 - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced his country's withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention by a presidential decree, becoming the first country to withdraw from it.
March 22
A mass shooting kills ten people at a supermarket in Boulder, Colorado, United States. The suspect is shot and arrested by police.
A fire breaks out at a Rohingya refugee camp near Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh, killing 15 people and injuring over 500 people.
March 23
The Israeli general elections take place, the fourth Knesset election in two years, with Likud winning the most seats.
Ever Given, one of the largest container ships in the world, loses control and causes a major blockage in the Suez Canal causing a large disruption of global trade.
March 24 - Over twenty people are killed and 35,000 flee when Islamist rebels take the city of Palma in Cabo Delgado Province, Mozambique. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claimed responsibility for the attack.
March 25 - COVID-19 pandemic: The number of vaccinations administrated worldwide exceeds 500 million.
March 28 - Former President of Madagascar Didier Ratsiraka dies of problems caused by influenza in Antananarivo, aged 84.
March 30 - A series of riots break out in loyalist areas of Derry in Northern Ireland.
March 31 - Alfred Aho of Canada and Jeffrey Ullman of the United States win the Turing Award for their work in programming language compilers.
April
April 2
At least 51 people are killed in a train derailment in Taiwan after a truck fell onto the track.
Russia warns NATO against sending any troops to aid Ukraine, amid reports of a large Russian military build-up on its borders.
April 4
In Bulgaria, the conservative-populist GERB party led by Prime Minister Boyko Borisov wins the majority of seats in the parliamentary elections.
Vjosa Osmani is elected the fifth President of Kosovo by the Assembly of Kosovo, becoming the second woman to hold this position.
April 6 - Cyclone Seroja makes landfall in Indonesia and East Timor, killing at least 160 people.
April 9
Naomi Mata`afa is elected the 7th and first female Prime Minister of Samoa, after defeating the incumbent Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi.
La Soufriere, a Caribbean volcano in Saint Vincent, erupts which forced over 20,000 people to evacuate.
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, the royal consort of Queen Elizabeth II, dies at Windsor Castle at aged 99.
April 10 - Banker and former Governor of Guayas Guillermo Lasso is elected the 47th President of Ecuador, defeating socialist candidate Andres Arauz.
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, a nuclear power plant.
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.
April 15 - Scientists announce they successfully injected human stem cells into the embryos of monkeys, creating chimera-embryos.
April 17 - COVID-19 pandemic: The global death toll from COVID-19 passes 3 million.
April 18
Twelve football clubs, including the "big six" from the Premier League and leading clubs from the Serie A and La Liga, agree to join a new breakaway European Super League, despite condemnation from UEFA, FIFA and politicians including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Ulisses Correia e Silva is re-elected Prime Minister of Cape Verde.
April 19
NASA's Ingenuity helicopter, part of the Mars 2020 mission, performs the first powered flight on another planet in history.
Raul Castro resigns as First Secretary of the Cuban Communist Party, ending more than 62 years of rule by the Castro brothers in Cuba. President Miguel Diaz-Canel is picked as his replacement.
April 20
President Idriss Deby is killed during a rebel attack in North Chad, aged 68.
The Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment on the Perseverance rover creates oxygen from carbon dioxide in the Martian atmosphere.
April 21 - COVID-19 pandemic: With global case numbers approaching a second peak, India reports 315,000 infections within 24 hours, the highest one-day tally recorded anywhere in the world to date.
April 22 - World leaders mark Earth Day by hosting a virtual summit on climate change hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden, during which more targets for greenhouse gas emission reductions are proposed, including a 50% cut by 2030 for the United States.
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.
COVID-19 pandemic: The number of vaccinations administered worldwide passes 1 billion. Half of these doses have been administered in just three countries.
A hospital fire in Baghdad, where COVID-19 patients were being treated during the pandemic in Iraq, kills 82 people with 110 people injured.
April 25
Edi Rama is re-elected Prime Minister of Albania with his Socialist Party winning a narrow majority of 74 seats.
Nomadland wins the Academy Award for Best Picture with its director (Chloe Zhao) and leading actress (Frances McDormand) winning Best Director and Best Actress respectively. Youn Yuh-jung, Anthony Hopkins and Daniel Kaluuya also won the awards for Best Supporting Actress, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor, respectively.
April 28
The European Union approves of a major trade agreement with the United Kingdom following their exit from the European Union.
After members of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) issue a motion of no confidence, DUP Leader and First Minister of Northern Ireland Arlene Foster announced her resignation effective the following month.
American astronaut Michael Collins, the command module pilot for Apollo 11, dies at the age of 90.
Clashes on the Kyrgyzstan-Tajikistan border leave at least 46 people dead and 30,000 civilians displaced.
April 29 - China launches the Tianhe space station module, the first module in the upcoming Tiangong space station.
April 30 - In Israel, at least 45 people are crushed to death with over 150 injured at a religious festival on Mount Meron.
May
May 1
In horse racing, Medina Spirit wins the Kentucky Derby, the record seventh victory for trainer Bob Baffert.
A ceasefire is declared following a border conflict between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
May 2
The SpaceX Crew-1 mission ends, returning four crewmembers of Expedition 64 and 65 to Earth from the International Space Station aboard Crew Dragon Resilience.
Nationwide protests in Colombia against proposed tax increases to fund a basic income program result in at least six dead. President Ivan Duque announced his withdrawal of the tax increase.
May 3
An elevated section of the Mexico City Metro overpass collapses, killing 26 people and injuring 70.
Mark Selby wins the World Snooker Championship, defeating Shaun Murphy.
May 5 - SpaceX successfully flies, lands, and recovers a Starship prototype for the first time, after four unsuccessful previous attempts.
May 6
Former President of the Maldives Mohamed Nasheed is injured in a car bombing which has been described as an attempted assassination.
In Brazil, at least twenty-five people are killed in a police raid shootout in Rio de Janeiro.
In the United Kingdom, the Conservative Party win the majority of local elections, gaining some seats from the Labour Party.
May 8
Sadiq Khan of the Labour Party is re-elected Mayor of London winning 55% of the vote against Conservative Shaun Bailey.
In Afghanistan, a bombing near a school in Kabul kills at least 85 people and injures 147 more.
May 11
Israel hits the Gaza Strip with airstrikes as Hamas increases rocket fire.
Seven students and two adults are killed, and at least 21 more people are wounded, in a mass shooting at a school in Kazan, Tatarstan, Russia.
May 14
The China National Space Administration lands its Zhurong rover on Mars, making China the fourth country to land a spacecraft on the planet and only the second to land a rover.
In India, Cyclone Tauktae makes landfall, leaving 87 people dead and over 80 people are missing. On the same day, the country also reported that 4,329 deaths from COVID-19, the highest number of COVID-related deaths in a single-day.
May 15
Fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants continues to escalate, as the death toll exceeds 150. A high-rise office in Gaza occupied by Associated Press, Al Jazeera and other media outlets is destroyed by an Israeli airstrike.
Leicester City wins the FA Cup and Manchester City wins the Premier League.
May 17 - Darwin's Arch, a rock formation in the Galapagos Islands, collapses because of natural erosion.
May 18-22 - The Eurovision Song Contest 2021 is held in Rotterdam, Netherlands, after the cancellation of the 2020 contest due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2021 contest is won by Italian entrants Maneskin with the song "Zitti e buoni".
May 20 - After international pressure and nearly 250 deaths, Israel agrees a ceasefire deal to end the conflict with Gaza militants, effective the next day at 2:00 AM local time.
May 22 - In Samoa, Prime Minister Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi refuses to acknowledge his defeat and locks Naomi Mata`afa from the Legislative Assembly causing a constitutional crisis.
May 23
Phil Mickelson wins the PGA Championship, becoming the oldest major championship winner in golf history at aged 50.
In Peru, a militant communist group kills 18 people as protest against the presidential candidacy of conservative Keiko Fujimori just two weeks before the general election run-off.
14 people are killed in the cable car crash near Lake Maggiore in Italy.
In Belarus, journalist and opposition activist Roman Protasevich is arrested after his Ryanair Flight 4978 is forced to land at Minsk National Airport under the orders of President Alexander Lukashenko.
May 24 - Members of the Malian Armed Forces captured and arrest President Bah Ndaw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane in a coup d'etat. Military leader Assimi Goita becomes the interim president shortly afterwards.
May 26
Bashar al-Assad is re-elected President of Syria, winning 95% of the vote even though the votes cast for Assad was higher than the total population of Syria.
The second-shortest total lunar eclipse of the 21st century occurs, with totality lasting for 14 minutes. The eclipse was visible over the Pacific Ocean, Oceania, Antarctica and parts of Asia and the Americas.
Shell becomes the first company to be legally mandated to cut its carbon emissions and follow the Paris climate accord, following a landmark court ruling in the Netherlands.
May 27 - Poul Schluter, Denmark's Prime Minister for over a decade and introduced the krone to the European Union, dies at aged 92.
May 29
In Canada, a mass grave with the remains of 215 children are found on the grounds of a former Indian residential school in British Columbia.
Chelsea defeats Manchester City in the final of the UEFA Champions League.
May 30 - Brazilian driver Helio Castroneves wins the Indy 500 for the fourth time.
June
June 2
The Iranian oil fleet IRIS Kharg catches fire and sinks near the Gulf of Oman. No deaths were reported.
Former Opposition Leader Isaac Herzog is elected as the 11th President of Israel defeating educator Miriam Peretz.
The X-Press Pearl sinks near Colombo, Sri Lanka leaking many tons of nitric acid and oil into the Indian Ocean, causing the country's worst marine ecological disaster. The ship had been on fire for the past two weeks.
The first daughter of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex is born in the United States in Santa Barbara, California. Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor is eighth in the line of succession to the British throne.
French writer David Diop wins the 2021 International Booker Prize for his novel At Night All Blood Is Black.
June 3 - Sir Anerood Jugnauth, who was Mauritius's Prime Minister for a total of twenty-years and its President for a decade, dies at aged 91.
June 4
Twitter's operations in Nigeria would be "suspended" permanently, with Nigeria arguing that the company causes activities that "are capable of undermining Nigeria's corporate existence. This comes after the company deleted tweets by President Muhammadu Buhari who was sending messages threatening violence.
At least 152 people are killed in attacks on two villages in Burkina Faso. The attack lasted until the early hours of June 5.
June 5 - The G7 agrees on a global minimum corporate tax rate of 15% meant to stop world's richest people from not paying taxes.
June 6
In Canada, four Muslims are killed after being attacked by a truck in London, Ontario in what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described as a "terrorist attack" caused by Islamophobia.
The United States wins the first edition of the CONCACAF Nations League, defeating Mexico in the final by a scoreline of 3-2 after overtime.
June 7
Two trains crash in Ghotki District in Sindh, Pakistan, killing 65 people and injuring another 150.
The Juno spacecraft performed its only flyby of Jupiter's moon Ganymede. It was the first flyby of the moon by any spacecraft in over twenty years.
June 9
Former Prime Minister Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh is elected the 6th President of Mongolia, winning 72% of the vote.
El Salvador becomes the first country to make Bitcoin as legal tender.
June 10 - An annular solar eclipse is visible from parts of the Northeast United States, Canada, Greenland, the North Pole, and the Russian Far East.
June 11
Rural farmer and teacher Pedro Castillo is elected the 63rd President of Peru, defeating conservative candidate Keiko Fujimori.
The New York Times wins the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for Journalism for their coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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.
The UEFA Euro 2020 and the 2021 Copa America begins, after being delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
June 13 - Naftali Bennett becomes the 13th Prime Minister of Israel following a coalition agreement, ending Benjamin Netanyahu's twelve-year tenure as prime minister.
June 14
Enrique Bolanos, Nicaragua's president pushed for radical conservative policies, dies at aged 93.
COVID-19 pandemic: Novavax announces 90.4% overall efficacy in its Phase 3 United States and Mexico trial.
June 16 - COVID-19 pandemic: CureVac announces an overall efficacy of just 47% of their vaccine based on an analysis of Phase III clinical trial.
June 17
Kenneth Kaunda, Zambia's first president and nation's founding father, dies at aged 97.
China's Shenzhou 12 launches the first crew for the Tiangong space station.
June 19 - Chief Justice Ebrahim Raisi is elected the 8th President of Iran in a landslide victory.
June 20
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is re-elected after his party, Civil Contract, wins the majority of seats in the National Assembly.
Jon Rahm of Spain wins the 121st U.S. Open.
June 23
In cricket, New Zealand defeats India in the first ICC World Test Championship.
Hours after Spain approved of his extradition to the United States for tax crimes, computer programming entrepreneur John McAfee commits suicide in his prison cell.
June 24
Former President of the Philippines Benigno Aquino III, who improved the country's economy, dies at aged 61.
In the United States, a condominium in Miami, Florida collapses killing 97 people with 8 people reported missing.
Apple Daily, a pro-democracy newspaper, is forced to shutdown for violating a national security law in Hong Kong.
Former Prime Minister of South Vietnam General Tran Thien Khiem, who helped plan and execute coup that led to the assassination of Ngo Dinh Diem, dies at aged 95.
June 25
751 unmarked graves are found near the former site of an indigenous peoples residential school in Saskatchewan, Canada. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau calls on Pope Francis to apologize for the Catholic church run boarding schools.
Former police officer Derek Chauvin is sentenced to over 22 years for the murder of George Floyd, an unarmed African American man in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
June 28 - Tigray War: The Tigray Defense Force seizes the Tigrayan capital Mekele shortly after the Ethiopian government declares a ceasefire.
June 29
COVID-19 pandemic: The number of vaccinations given worldwide passes 3 billion.
Former President of South Africa Jacob Zuma is sentenced to 15 months in prison for contempt of court.
June 30 - An extreme heat wave kills 600 people in the Pacific Northwest of North America.
July
July 3
The United Nations announce that recent fighting in the Tigray region of Ethiopia has resulted in a famine that is now affecting more than 400,000 people.
Over 130 wildfires, caused by lightning strikes, burn through Western Canada following a record-breaking heatwave in North America.
July 4 - In the Philippines, a plane crashes in Sulu, killing at least 53 people.
July 5
More than 1,000 Afghan soldiers flee to neighboring Tajikistan after clashing with Taliban militants.
Gunmen kidnap 140 schoolchildren in Kaduna State, Nigeria.
July 6
Mary Simon is nominated to be the 30th Governor General of Canada.
In Russia, a plane crashes in Kamchatka Krai, killing 28 people.
July 7
President of Haiti Jovenel Moise is assassinated at aged 53. Interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph becomes acting president.
Tampa Bay Lightning defeat the Montreal Canadiens in the Stanley Cup Finals.
July 8 - COVID-19 pandemic: The global death toll from COVID-19 passes 4 million.
July 10
Argentina beats Brazil with 1-0 in the final of the 2021 Copa America.
The 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup is held in the United States.
July 11
Euro 2020: Italy defeats England to win the UEFA European Championship final at Wembley Stadium.
Nobel Peace Prize winner Abiy Ahmed is re-elected Prime Minister of Ethiopia in a landslide victory.
Virgin Galactic's Unity 22 mission launches with six people, including Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson.
Ashleigh Barty and Novak Djokovic win the respective women's and men's singles tournaments at Wimbledon.
In Cuba, a large anti-government protests break-out because of food and medicine shortages caused by the government's mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In Moldova, the Party of Action and Solidarity wins the majority of seats in the parliament.
In Bulgaria, the There Is Such a People party wins the majority of seats in the National Assembly.
July 12 - Severe floods across Western Europe leave at least 90 people dead and 1,300 others missing.
July 13
Sher Bahadur Deuba becomes the 43th Prime Minister of Nepal after court order found that KP Sharma Oli tenure as prime minister was against the law.
Over 70 people are killed during riots in South Africa following the arrest of former South African president Jacob Zuma in connection to a corrupt arms deal.
July 14 - Former President of Pakistan, Mamnoon Hussain, who led the country's polio eradication program dies at aged 80.
July 15 - Dutch journalist Peter R. de Vries dies after being shot multiple times in Amsterdam, aged 64.
July 17
Serial killer Michael Gargiulo, also known as the "Hollywood Ripper", is sentenced to death for two murders.
Floods and landslides caused 56 deaths in Henan, China and leaving over 2 million evacuated or homeless.
July 18 - A report found that human rights activists, journalists and lawyers around the world have been targeted with a phone malware sold to authoritarian governments by an Israeli surveillance firm.
July 19 - Blue Origin successfully conducts its first human test flight, with a reusable New Shepard rocket delivering four crew members into space - founder Jeff Bezos, his brother Mark, 18-year-old Oliver Daemen (the youngest person to ever go into space), and 82-year-old Wally Funk (the oldest person to go into space).
July 20
Ariel Henry becomes the 23rd Prime Minister of Haiti and soon after becomes acting president following the resignation of acting Prime Minister and President Claude Joseph and the assassination of Jovenel Moise.
The Milwaukee Bucks defeat the Phoenix Suns to win the 2021 NBA Finals, their first championship win in fifty years.
Women are permitted to attend without a male guardian (mehrem) provided they go in a trustworthy group during the Day of Haji.
July 21
Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City is removed from its UNESCO World Heritage Site status because of modern developments.
The International Olympic Committee awards Brisbane the right to host the 2032 Summer Olympics.
July 22 - A flood in Maharashtra, India kills over 250 people.
July 23 - The 2020 Summer Olympics began in Tokyo, Japan, a year after being postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
July 25 - Tunisian President Kais Saied fires Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi and freezes the Assembly of Representatives, causing a political crisis in Tunisia.
July 28
Wildfires in Turkey have killed at least six people and injured more than 400.
Philip Pierre is elected the 8th Prime Minister of Saint Lucia.
The first direct observation of light from behind a black hole is reported, confirming Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity.
July 29
The International Space Station temporarily spun out of control, moving the ISS 45 degrees out of altitude, following an engine malfunction.
Oil tanker Mercer Street is attacked off coast of Oman, killing two crew members.
August
August 1 - Myanmar coup leader Min Aung Hlaing forms a caretaker government, making himself the 13th Prime Minister of Myanmar, six months after the coup d'etat against Aung San Suu Kyi.
August 3
Wildfires in Greece begin, killing three people.
Lithuania sees an increase in illegal immigrants (mostly Iraqis) via Belarus as part of the 2021 Lithuanian migrant crisis.
Oil tanker Asphalt Princess is attacked off the coast of Oman.
August 4
Two trains crash into each other in the Czech Republic killing three people and injuring over 60 people.
Belarusian sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya travels to Poland to look for refuge after saying Belarus was forcing her to be part of the 2020 Summer Olympics.
COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases passes 200 million worldwide.
August 5 - Tigray War: The Tigray Defense Forces take control of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Lalibela.
August 6 - Natalia Gavrilita is elected the 15th Prime Minister of Moldova.
August 8
The 2020 Summer Olympics ended in Tokyo, Japan with the United States winning the most gold medals and medals in total overall.
Taliban members capture the Afghan city of Kunduz, Sar-e Pol and Taloqan as part of the 2021 Taliban offensive.
August 9 - The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change releases the first part of its report, which says that the effects of human-caused climate change are now "widespread, rapid, and intensifying".
August 10 - 2021 Taliban offensive as part of the War in Afghanistan: The Taliban seize the regional capitals Farah, Faizabad and Puli Khumri.
August 12
2021 Taliban offensive as part of the War in Afghanistan: The Taliban seize the regional capitals Ghazni, Herat, Qala e Naw and Kandahar.
Businessman Hakainde Hichilema is elected the 7th President of Zambia, beating incumbent President Edgar Lungu.
A man kills five people in a mass shooting in Plymouth, Devon, England. He then kills himself.
August 13 - 2021 Taliban offensive as part of the War in Afghanistan: The Taliban seize the regional capitals Chaghcharan and Lashkar Gah.
August 14 - A 7.2-magnitude earthquake hits Haiti, killing more than 300 people.
August 15 - 2021 Taliban offensive as part of the War in Afghanistan: The Taliban captures Kabul causing the Afghan government to collapse with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani going into exile and leaving the country.
August 16 - Prime Minister of Malaysia Muhyiddin Yassin resigns after losing support from coalition parties.
August 21
Former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia Ismail Sabri Yaakob becomes the 9th Prime Minister after a coalition government fails to support Muhyiddin Yassin.
In the United States, flash floods caused by heavy rain in Tennessee killed over 22 people with over 20 missing.
August 24
The 2020 Summer Paralympics are held in Tokyo, Japan after being postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Former President and Prime Minister of Chad Hissene Habre, who was convicted of war crimes in 2016, dies of COVID-19 at aged 79.
August 26
During evacuations, a suicide bombing occurs at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, killing over 180 people and injuring over 150. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claimed responsibility for the explosion.
The World Food Programme says that the food crisis in Madagascar is the first famine caused by climate change and not an armed conflict.
August 27 - The United States Air Force launches an airstrike, killing the Islamic State member who is believed to have planned the Kabul airport bombing.
August 29 - Hurricane Ida makes landfall in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana near the Gulf of Mexico as a 150 mph Category 4 hurricane, making it the 17th tropical cyclone of the decade to make landfall in the United States.
August 30
The United Nations announces that leaded petrol in road vehicles has been phased out globally, a hundred years after its introduction.
Evacuations in Afghanistan end amid the Taliban taking control of the country, ending the War in Afghanistan.
September
September 3 - Prime Minister of Japan Yoshihide Suga announces his resignation as Liberal Democratic Party leader.
September 5
Guinean President Alpha Conde is detained and removed from power by an elite military unit led by Mamady Doumbouya, who claimed to have taken power.
The 2020 Summer Paralympics ends in Tokyo with China winning the most gold medals and medals overall.
September 6 - Carlos Vila Nova is elected the 5th President of Sao Tome and Principe.
September 7
El Salvador becomes the first country in the world to accept Bitcoin as an official currency.
The Mexican Supreme Court rules to legalize abortion in Mexico.
September 8 - A prison fire in Tangerang, Indonesia kills 44 prisoners and injures 77 others.
September 10
Aziz Akhannouch is elected the Prime Minister of Morocco, beating incumbent Saadeddine Othmani.
A new government is formed in Lebanon with Najib Mikati chosen as the new Prime Minister, replacing Hassan Diab.
September 11 - Tennis players Emma Raducanu of the United Kingdom and Daniil Medvedev of Russia win the US Open.
September 13
In Norway, the Labour Party led by Opposition Leader Jonas Gahr Store wins the most seats in the Storting, beating the Conservative Party led by Prime Minister Erna Solberg.
Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob and Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim sign a confidence and supply agreement ending a 18-month political crisis that has caused the fall of two governments in Malaysia.
September 14
North Korea shoots two short-range ballistic missiles that land just outside Japan's territorial waters; and then only hours later South Korea fires its first submarine-launched ballistic missile.
The first season of the Europa Conference League begins.
September 15
A trilateral security pact between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States is formed, to fight against China, allowing Australia to build its first nuclear-powered submarine.
Several ministers of the Argentine President Alberto Fernandez's cabinet resigns after the government's defeat in the primary elections, causing a political crisis in the country.
September 16 - SpaceX launches Inspiration4, making it the first all-civilian orbital spaceflight.
September 17
Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who was the 8th President of Algeria for twenty years and resigned after mass protests against his presidency in 2019, dies at aged 84.
Philip "Brave" Davis is elected Prime Minister of the Bahamas after his party wins the most seats in the parliament, beating incumbent Hubert Minnis.
September 19 - The Cumbre Vieja located in the La Palma island of the Canary Islands erupts.
September 20
The Liberal Party of Canada won 155 seats in the federal election, re-electing Justin Trudeau as Prime Minister and allowing the party to form a minority government again.
In Rwanda, Paul Rusesabagina is convicted on terrorism charges for the actions of his political party PDR-Ihumure.
At least six people are killed when a gunman shot students at Perm State University in Russia.
September 21
The European Court of Human Rights rules that Russia was responsible for the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko in 2006.
Egyptian general Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, who led the country as Supreme Council of the Armed Forces after President Hosni Mubarak resigned, dies at aged 85.
September 23 - Scientists discover human footprints which are about 23,000 years old at White Sands National Park in the United States, making the idea that humans arrived in North America at least 10,000 years earlier than previously thought.
September 24 - Two Canadian citizens are released from detention in China after Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou is released from house arrest in Canada.
September 25 - The Independence Party of Iceland led by Bjarni Benediktsson win the most seats in the Althing; however Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir is expected to govern a coalition.
September 26 - The Social Democratic Party (SDP) led by Olaf Scholz win the most seats in the Bundestag.
September 29
Former Minister for Foreign Affairs Fumio Kishida is elected to replace Yoshihide Suga as the 100th Prime Minister of Japan.
Najla Bouden Romdhane is selected to become the Prime Minister of Tunisia by President Kais Saied; making her the first female prime minister in Tunisia and the Arab world.
116 inmates are killed during a prison riot in Guayaquil, Ecuador, the deadliest prison violence in the country's history.
October
October 1
Coup military leader Mamady Doumbouya is sworn-in as the interim President of Guinea after removing Alpha Conde from power last month.
The 2020 World Expo in Dubai begins, as it was originally scheduled for 20 October 2020 but was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
October 3 - The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and other media outlets 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.
October 4
Armenian-American molecular biologist Ardem Patapoutian and American physiologist David Julius are awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their work on human receptors and molecular mechanisms of pain sensation and heat.
Former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida is officially voted by the National Diet as the 100th Prime Minister of Japan, replacing Yoshihide Suga.
Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp have become inaccessible because of a major outage.
October 5
Roscosmos launches the Soyuz MS-19 mission, carrying two Channel One Russia crewmembers to the International Space Station to make a movie.
Japanese-American meteorologist Syukuro Manabe, German oceanographer Klaus Hasselmann and Italian physicist Giorgio Parisi are awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for their works on modeling climate change patterns and its effects.
October 6
German chemist Benjamin List and Scottish-born chemist David MacMillan win the 2021 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their work on the development of organocatalysis.
The 2021 UEFA Nations League Finals is held in Italy as they were originally scheduled for June 2021, but were moved following the rescheduling of UEFA Euro 2020 to June and July 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Children across most of Africa are to be vaccinated against malaria, the first vaccine approved by the World Health Organization.
October 7
A 5.9 magnitude earthquake kills 20 people and injures over 300 others in Balochistan, Pakistan.
Tanzanian-British novelist and refugee Abdulrazak Gurnah wins the 2021 Nobel Prize in Literature for his novels about colonialism and its impacts on refugees.
October 8
Filipino journalist Maria Ressa and Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov win the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize for their work on freedom of expression.
A suicide bombing carried out by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant at a Shia mosque in Kunduz, Afghanistan kills over 100 people while injuring over 140 others.
October 9
Abolhassan Banisadr, the first democratically elected President of Iran following the Islamic Revolution, dies in Paris, France at aged 88.
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis wins 72 seats against his main opponent Petr Fiala's 71 seats in the Chamber of Deputies.
Sebastian Kurz announces his resignation as Chancellor of Austria after a corruption investigation is opened against him. Alexander Schallenberg replaced Kurtz as chancellor on two days later.
October 11 - Canadian-American labour economist David Card, Israeli-American economist Joshua Angrist and Dutch-American economist Guido Imbens win the 2021 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.
October 13
Star Trek actor William Shatner becomes the oldest person to go into space, at age 90, on board a Blue Origin spacecraft.
Five people are killed and two others are injured inside a supermarket after being attacked by bow and arrows in Kongsberg, Norway.
October 14 - A building fire in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, kills at least 46 people and injures 41 others.
October 15
A suicide bombing by the Islamic State at a Shia mosque in Kandahar, Afghanistan kills 65 people and injures over 70 others.
British Member of Parliament Sir David Amess is stabbed to death in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, England, aged 69.
October 16 - The Lucy spacecraft is launched by NASA, the first mission to explore the Trojan asteroids.
October 17 - Former Prime Minister Jose Maria Neves is elected the 5th President of Cape Verde, beating former Prime Minister Carlos Veiga.
October 20 - Dame Sandra Mason is elected the 1st President of Barbados.
October 21 - Dame Cindy Kiro becomes the 22nd Governor-General of New Zealand, the first Maori woman to hold the position.
October 24 - Shavkat Mirziyoyev is re-elected President of Uzbekistan in a landslide victory, winning 80% of the vote.
October 25 - The Sudanese military launches a coup against the government with Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok placed under house arrest and President Abdel Fattah al-Burhan taking power as head of state, declaring a state of emergency and dissolution of the government.
October 26 - Roh Tae-woo, South Korea's 6th President, first to be democratically elected in a post-military rule and was found guilty for treason, mutiny and corruption for his role in two coups, dies at aged 88.
October 31
In Japan, the Liberal Democratic Party led by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida won the most seats in the House of Representatives.
The COP26 Summit is held in Glasgow, Scotland where world leaders attempt to limit global warming temperatures to 1.5 degC (2.7 degF).
November
November 1 - COVID-19 pandemic: The number of recorded deaths from COVID-19 passes 5 million.
November 2
Tennis player Peng Shuai accuses Senior Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China Zhang Gaoli of sexual harassment. She later is censored by the Chinese government and disappears.
The Atlanta Braves beat the Houston Astros to win the World Series.
November 3 - COVID-19 pandemic: The World Health Organization gives emergency use listing to the Covaxin COVID-19 vaccine, the third non-Western vaccine to be authorized.
November 4 - South African playwright and novelist Damon Galgut wins the 2021 Booker Prize.
November 5
At least 99 people are killed and over 100 others injured in a fuel tanker explosion in Freetown, Sierra Leone.
In the United States, nine people are crowd crushed to death with over 300 injured at a music festival in Houston, Texas.
November 7
Prime Minister of Iraq Mustafa Al-Kadhimi survives an assassination attempt in Baghdad when an explosive drone attacks his private home.
Daniel Ortega is re-elected to a fourth term as President of Nicaragua, winning almost 76% of the vote.
November 10 - Cristina Peri Rossi of Uruguay wins the 2021 Miguel de Cervantes Prize.
November 11
F. W. de Klerk, the last apartheid-era President of South Africa and Nobel Peace Prize winner, dies at the age of 85.
SpaceX launches a third mission, which carried four crewmembers to the International Space Station.
November 14
A car bombing using a taxi outside a women's hospital in Liverpool, England, kills the bomber and injures the driver.
Rumen Radev is re-elected President of Bulgaria after winning 49% of the vote.
November 16 - Russia is criticized after doing an anti-satellite weapon test that creates a cloud of space debris, threatening the International Space Station.
November 19 - The longest partial lunar eclipse in 580 years occurs, visible in northern and western Europe, parts of Asia and the westernmost parts of Africa.
November 21
Abdalla Hamdok becomes Prime Minister of Sudan again after an agreement is made following a coup d'etat that occurred the last month which removed Hamdok from office.
In the United States, during a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin an SUV broke through barricades and killed six people with over 40 others injured.
November 23
Chun Doo-hwan, South Korea's 5th President and military strongman for almost eight years, dies at aged 90.
45 North Macedonians are killed in a bus crash in Pernik Province, Bulgaria.
November 24
NASA successfully launches the Double Asteroid Redirection Test as a defense system against Near-Earth objects.
27 illegal immigrants are killed in the English Channel when an inflatable boat flips over.
November 25
Nicolae Ciuca is elected the 70th Prime Minister of Romania.
Over 50 people are killed in a mining accident in Kemerovo Oblast, Russia.
November 26 - The World Health Organization officially recognizes the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant.
November 28
Former First Lady Xiomara Castro is elected the 62nd President of Honduras, becoming the country's first female president.
Political scientist Petr Fiala becomes the 13th Prime Minister of the Czech Republic after defeating then-current Prime Minister Andrej Babis.
November 29
Magdalena Andersson is elected Sweden's first female Prime Minister by the Riksdag.
Barbados officially becomes a republic with Sandra Mason becoming the country's first president.
December
December 1 - The farm protests in India end when the country repeal a controversial agricultural act.
December 4
Mount Semeru erupts in East Java, Indonesia killing 46 people and injuring 104 others.
Adama Barrow is re-elected President of the Gambia winning 53% of the vote.
Fourteen civilians are killed by Indian Special Forces officials in a failed ambush in Nagaland, India.
December 6
The United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia announce a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing in response to China's human rights record.
COVID-19 pandemic: The United States becomes the first country to pass 50 million COVID-19 cases.
Former State Counsellor of Myanmar and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi is sentenced to prison on charges of causing dissent.
Karl Nehammer is sworn-in as the Chancellor of Austria after Alexander Schallenberg resigned from the position on 2 December.
December 7 - A prison fire kills at least 38 inmates and injures over 69 others in Burundi.
December 8
Olaf Scholz replaces Angela Merkel as the Chancellor of Germany.
Fourteen people are killed in a helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu, India, including General Bipin Rawat.
December 9 - At least 54 illegal immigrants are killed when the truck in which they are being smuggled crashes in Chiapas, Mexico.
December 10 - In the United States, a tornado outbreak in the country's Southern States and Ohio Valley regions kills at least 88 people.
December 12
COVID-19 pandemic: Russia becomes the fifth country to pass 10 million COVID-19 cases after the United States, India, Brazil and the United Kingdom.
New Caledonia rejects independence from France in a referendum vote by 96.5%.
December 13 - Kiril Petkov is elected the 56th Prime Minister of Bulgaria.
December 14
A fuel tanker explosion kills over 60 people and injured over 100 others in Cap-Haitien, Haiti.
Floods in Malaysia kills at least 37 people.
December 15 - Siaosi Sovaleni is elected the 18th Prime Minister of Tonga, replacing Pohiva Tu`i`onetoa.
December 17
A building fire caused by a suspected arsonist in Osaka, Japan kills 25 people and injures three others.
Typhoon Rai kills at least 200 people in the southern part of the Philippines and one person near Vietnam.
December 19 - Gabriel Boric is elected the 36th President of Chile, defeating Jose Antonio Kast in the run-off general election with a 55.87% to 44.13% margin.
December 20 - At least 64 people are killed and 24 others are missing in a shipwreck off the northeast coast of Madagascar.
December 24 - At least 39 people are killed and over 70 others injured in a ferry fire in Jhalokati, Bangladesh.
December 25 - The James Webb Space Telescope, a replacement for the Hubble Space Telescope is launched.
December 26 - Nobel Peace Prize-winning South African archbishop and anti-apartheid activist Desmond Tutu dies at aged 90.
December 28 - In cricket, Australia wins The Ashes after winning the first three Tests against England.
December 29
The Supreme Court of Russia orders the closure of Memorial, Russia's oldest human rights group, for violations of the country's foreign agent law.
Jeffrey Epstein's former associate, socialite Ghislaine Maxwell is found guilty of sex trafficking of a child and three counts of conspiracy for transporting minors for sexual activities.
Pro-democratic news website Stand News closes down after its staff are arrested by Hong Kong police officials for sedition.
December 31 - American actress and comedian Betty White dies at aged 99.