Portal:Current events/2021 May 25

Armed conflicts and attacks

• 2019–2021 Iraqi protests
  • One protester is killed and dozens are injured after police attack protesters gathered at Baghdad's Tahrir Square in the evening, where hundreds marched to demand the end of targeted killings of prominent journalists and activists. (Euronews)

Business and economy

• COVID-19 pandemic in India, Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in India
  • Tata Steel has said that it will support the families of its workers in India who have died of COVID-19. The firm said that it will pay deceased employees' salaries, housing and medical benefits until what would have been their retirement at the age of 60. The company has also pledged to cover the education costs of the children of deceased front line workers until they graduate. This is the third firm to make such an announcement, after hospitality group Oyo Rooms and glass manufacturer Borosil. (BBC News)
• Costa Rica becomes the 38th member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (Barron's)

Disasters and accidents

• The MV X-Press Pearl, a container ship sailing with a Singaporean flag and carrying cosmetics and chemicals, including 25 tonnes of nitric acid, catches fire off the coast of Sri Lanka after an explosion was detected onboard. Rescuers evacuated all crew from the ship and reported that two people were injured. (Reuters)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia
      • Malaysia reports a record 7,289 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 525,889. (The Straits Times)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines
      • The Philippines surpasses 20,000 deaths from COVID-19. (ABS-CBN)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam
      • Vietnam reports a record 447 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, prompting the government to expand the lockdown measures in Bac Ninh, such as imposing curfew and travel restrictions. (Reuters) (CNA)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
    • COVID-19 vaccination in the United States
      • The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announces that 50% of the American adult population has been fully vaccinated. (NBC News)
    • COVID-19 vaccine
      • Moderna says that their vaccine is 100% effective in teenagers between the ages of 12 and 17. They say that they will seek approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in early June. (CNBC)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
    • Restrictions are tightened in Melbourne, Victoria, after an increase in cases, potentially linked to a hotel quarantine breach in South Australia. The mask mandate is reintroduced, public gatherings are limited to 30 people and private gatherings are limited to 5 people. Residents will also be expected to adhere to these rules when leaving the city. (The Guardian)

International relations

• Palestine–United States relations; Israel-United States relations
  • U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announces the United States will reopen its consulate in Jerusalem at an unknown date. (Al Jazeera)

Law and crime

• 2020–2021 United States racial unrest
  • George Floyd protests
    • George Floyd protests in New York City
      • New York City Mayoral candidate Shaun Donovan is arrested during a protest near the Holland Tunnel. (New York Daily News)
    • Protests break out across the United States to mark the anniversary of the killing of George Floyd. Floyd’s family also met with U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House and called for U.S. Congress to pass police reform legislation. (CNN) (AP)
• Mass shootings in the United States
  • Four people are killed in a mass shooting at an apartment complex in West Jefferson, Ohio. The killings mark the village's first homicides in nine years. (The Columbus Dispatch)
• Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. says that he has convened a grand jury in his criminal investigation into former U.S. President Donald Trump over his real estate business, as well as the Trump Organization. (CNBC)
• Two women in Kyrgyzstan are arrested for calling for residents of Chaldybar to get rid of Tajikistan citizens. (Asia-Plus)

Politics and elections

• 2018–2021 Arab protests
  • On the third day of economic protests, Omani protestors conduct sit-ins at a bridge in Sohar, and similar protests occur in Rustaq, Nizwa, and Sur. (Al Jazeera)
• Islamophobia in the United Kingdom
  • An independent report commissioned by the ruling Conservative Party on discrimination within the party details that two-thirds of the 727 discrimination complaints filed against the party from 2015 to 2020 are classified as Islamophobic incidents. Incidents listed include comments made by Prime Minister Boris Johnson about the attire of Muslim women, and comments by London Mayoral candidate Zac Goldsmith about his opponent and current Mayor Sadiq Khan during the 2016 election. It also found "no evidence" that these complaints were treated significantly different from other complaints. (Al Jazeera)
• The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announces that it will begin making $4 billion of loan forgiveness payments for 13,000 loans that were made by the agency to Black, Hispanic and Indigenous farmers beginning in June. From there, the agency said that it will also distribute loan relief for another 3,000 loans which were made by banks and guaranteed by the USDA. The program has been delayed because of accusations of racism and is currently facing multiple lawsuits. (FOX Business)