News and Events You Cannot Miss in August 2021

News bundle for the month of August 2021 comprising Kerala, India, World, Afghanistan, USA, and sports

Here is a list of news events which you cannot miss. Stay connected for monthly news bundles.

Disclaimer- This article is not a listicle, rather a compilation of top newsworthy events. I wrote about my home state of Kerala and my country India before coming to the International news.

Read the July news bundle

Significant Events and News in July 2021

News capsule for the month of July 2021

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Kerala

Kerala Govt decided to relax the lockdown restrictions ahead of the Onam festival and in the wake of protests from all corners.
Govt. plans to take stringent action against those trying to misuse Online Education platforms and targeting teachers and students.
Govt. withdrew flood cess from August 1.
Mathrubhumi newspaper shares Friendship Day Wishes to rival newspaper Malayala Manorama.
Manasa murder case dominated the headlines in the crime section for the past week. Two native Biharis are arrested and brought to Kerala in the same. The primary accused Rakhil Raghuthaman had shot the victim using a gun that was brought from Bihar and sold to him by these two natives. He later killed himself.
Infighting inside the Congress’ closest ally in the state Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) grows after the Chandrika newspaper fund issue.
Air India offers compensation to survivors for last year’s (2020) Kozhikode airport plane accident which happened due to a slippery highway caused by heavy rain in Karipur.
The Education Minister declared that schools will open in the state in a phased manner.
Major tourism centres open in the state following all COVID-19 SOP for the first time after the second wave.
E Bull Jet vlogger brothers caught violating MVD rules by modifying caravan. They were also arrested for violating COVID-19 SOP in the police station and also for inciting a mob against the law enforcement agencies. They were later granted bail on the same. The police confirmed that they will take action against people trying to incite hate and violence on Social Media related to the issue.
Kerala High Court allowed Kerala Technological University (KTU) to decide on Exam Conduct.
Loknath Behra IPS were instated as the MD of Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL). He is a retired IPS officer who has been the DGP of Kerala Police.
CBI files FIR against former CM Oommen Chandy and five others in the Solar Scam Sex Scandal case.
The state of Kerala is in the Onam mood once again amidst the pandemic with rising cases and TPR.
The Centre promises more vaccines and asks the state to mandate caution during Onam. Union Minister for Health completed his visit to the state to meet all people in charge.
Kerala breaks the record by vaccinating 5.35 Lakh people per day.
BJP President K Surendran drew flak for hoisting the national flag upside down on Independence day.
Kerala conducted a Mass vaccination drive from 14th to the 16th of August.
CPIM for the first time celebrates Independence day at its party HQ in Trivandrum.
Rahul Gandhi inaugurated Mahatma Gandhi Statue during his visit to Wayanad.
Wayanad becomes one of the first places in India to achieve 100% vaccination.
New lockdown policy adopted in the state. Regions more than 8% WIPR will be under lockdown. The government decides to impose a Night curfew from 10 PM to 6 AM to curb the rising COVID-19 cases.
Indian Hockey Player-Goal Keeper and the Olympics Bronze Medalist P R Sreejesh is awarded Rs 2 Cr from the State Govt for his exemplary performance and victory in the Bronze Medal match.
Congress party sees worst revolt after the list of DCC presidents were announced by the State leadership with the strong backing of the High Command.
Leaders Oommen Chandy and Ramesh Chennithala showed extreme dissatisfaction with the list and told that group should be a matter that should be concerned. A senior leader from Palakkad A V Gopinath leaves the party citing the same.
Onam festival takes a toll on Kerala’s COVID tally forcing TPR to reach 20% and reports 75% of Indian’s cases.
Health Ministry keeps September 30 as the deadline to vaccinate everyone above the age of 18.
Onam based Kit distribution is to go on till September 3rd.

India

Class 10 CBSE results declared. Pass percentage crosses record 99 %.
JEE Mains results announced.
The Editor’s Guild of India approaches SC in the Pesagus case demanding an SIT probe.
GOI decides to extend the OBC quota into Medical Education.
BCCI protests Pak Cricket Board’s decision to conduct Kashmiri Premier League.
India’s COVID-19 R-value crosses 1.
Various states namely Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and UT Jammu and Kashmir saw Cloudburst.
Rajya Sabha approves Bill that will end retrospective taxation. The opposition walked out of that session.
Indian Defence Ministry denies having any contracts with NSO with respect to the Pegasus issue.
The presence of the Eta variant of COVID was confirmed in Karnataka.
The Johnson and Johnson vaccine receives emergency approval in the country.
ICMR report claims mixing of both COVISHIELD and COVAXIN vaccines will give better protection than two doses of vaccines individually.
SC CJ says that Police stations are becoming the hub of human rights violations.
Assam and Mizoram decide to solve the border dispute with each other.
India’s Tokyo Athletes was invited for a Special Ceremony during Independence Day at the Red Fort.
India celebrated its 75th Independence Day Anniversary in 2021. PM Modi hoisted the National Flag at the Red Fort and gave a speech.
Shashi Tharoor is cleared of all charges in Sunanda Pushkar’s murder case, which is his wife’s murder case.
Senior Congress leader from the North East, Sushmita Dev leaves the party and join TMC.
India Today Mood of the Nation Survey shows Modi’s popularity declining post Second Wave.
Supreme Court allows women to apply for the NDA exam which is a revolutionary decision.
Ex-militant was killed in a police shooting in Meghalaya. Massive violence was reported in the state post-incident. Meghalaya Home Minister Rymbu resigns.
Supreme Court questioned the Central Govt on Tribunals act.
Calcutta HC orders CBI and SIT probe into post-poll violence in West Bengal.
Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation election campaign begins.
A BJP and Apni party workers were shot dead in Kulgam.
Rahul Gandhi’s Twitter was suspended briefly for his post on meeting parents of Delhi Rape victims.
India records 20.1% growth in Quarter 1 of FY 2021.
Modi govt announced asset monetisation worth Rs 6 lakh Crore.
India’s R-value rises above 1 with rising infections across several states like Maharastra and Kerala.
Schools across several states reopen since the Janata curfew of march 2020.
Congress party ends its alliance with AIUDF in the state of Assam.
Congress party in West Bengal sees massive defections to Trinamool Congress. This comes after its massive wipeout in the Assembly Elections.
India-Saudi Flights to resume soon amidst India cancels all International flights till September 30th.

Afghanistan

Taliban took over the capital city of Kabul on 15th August thus gaining control over the entire country even without having to fire a bullet. This happened after the US promised to complete its troop withdrawal.
The US vacated its Embassy in Kabul post-Taliban takeover.
US troops sent for standby operations take control of Kabul airport and begin evacuations of citizens of the US, UK, Germany and other western nations. India also evacuated its citizens and embassy workers.
The democratically elected President Ashraf Ghani flees to UAE.
Mulla Baradar takes charge as the President of Afghanistan in Taliban Regime
Streets of Kabul and main cities stand deserted, gunshots heard of, violence takes centre stage and women stay at home. Posters and hoardings of women across the country are blackened.
Taliban blows up the statue of stained Hazara leader Abdul Ali Mazari.
Pakistan closes its border with Afghanistan after the regime change.
Taliban holds a press conference with international media regarding the new govt. formation.
UNSC calls for the protection of Afghanis’ Human Rights and peaceful rule under the Taliban.
China and Russia have shown interest in recognising the Taliban as the new govt of Afghanistan.
Iran said that US withdrawal from Afghanistan will promote peace and stability in the region.
India decides to grant e-visa for those who are fleeing Afghanistan and seeking refuge
US govt. SIGAR report finds the US mission to Afghanistan a failure.
A relative of DW news journalist was executed in Afghanistan as the Taliban starts manhunting.
The US completes its troop withdrawal from Afghanistan by 30th August. Over 124,000 were evacuated in record time.
13 Americans among 250 people target and killed at Kabul Airport in a suicide bombing by IS-K.
The US takes revenge by killing the executor of the Airport suicide attack and many others who are potential suicide bombers in and around Kabul city. Large civilian casualties were reported in the same.
US military is alleged to have used Drones operated from Pakistani soil to target IS-K.
US Senate passes a bill to provide assistance to people evacuated from Afghanistan and arriving in the country.
President stands by his decision to withdraw calls, it best, wise and right decision. He stressed that the US will help those who couldn’t come to the US by the last flight.
Taliban and its supporters are seen celebrating the US exit and call it a lesson for all invaders
Indian envoy meets Taliban officials to discuss the safety of Indians and to protect Hindus and Sikhs leaving Afghanistan.
Czech Republic puts US and Israel on Dark Red list due to COVID-19 to put travel restrictions.
Serbia to close Europe’s largest landfill in the country, named Vinca situated on the periphery of the capital Belgrade.

World

Cloudburst creates unusual flooring in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad.
Reports by New York Attorney General finds New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo guilty of Sexual Harassment of multiple women.
Thailand extends lockdown in the Capital city of Bangkok and 16 other provinces in the country due to delta variant spurting up cases.
China locks Wuhan city as a cluster of cases due to the Delta variant was detected. Following that Millions in the state were tested for COVID. Over 15 other cities besides Capital Beijing were also put on alert.
Republican Party takes over the Election Board of Georgia’s Fulton County. It is the largest and most populous county and also houses the city of Atlanta.
US, UK and Israel jointly allege the responsibility of Israeli ship attack on Iran which it strongly denies.
Ebrahim Raisi assumed charge as the President of Iran.
Tunisian President denied the allegations levelled by Opposition in the case of Coup.
European economy bounces back at a rate of 13%.
US economy shows signs of recovery with close to 1 million jobs become created till July.
US CDC says it’s ready to approve booster shots for those who are vulnerable.
At the UNSC meeting, PM Modi became the first Indian PM to be the President of the same and talked about breaking down maritime trade barriers. Russian President Vladimir Putin also attended the same meeting.
Joe Biden’s $1.2 Trillion Bill passes in Senate.
The latest IPCC report this week warns of severe climate change and sea-level rise warning 12 Indian cities on the Coastline.
Anti-mask Governor of the US state of Texas Greg Abbot tests positive for COVID-19. He is said to be asymptomatic.
Australia locks its city of Melbourne after three people test positive for COVID-19.
New Zealand heads for a lockdown after one person tests positive for COVID-19
Israel reinstates indoor mask mandates and prepares for booster shots for those who are vulnerable.
The US States of Alabama and Florida report record number of cases and hospitalisations as third-wave sets in.
Massive 6.8 Magnitude earthquake rocks Haiti. Several hundred are found to be dead.
Ismail Sabri took charge as the new Malaysian PM as per the pick by the King.
Xi Jinping to roll out policy for wealth redistribution reversing its pro-rich policy it followed till now.
Strong hurricane Ida which is a category 4 hurricane lashes the coast of the US at New Orleans, Louisiana state. The city was out of power due to the landfall. The hurricane has now entered the state of Mississippi.
White House was quick to provide federal assistance and aid through FEMA. Hurricane Ida leaves more than one million without power.
Chinese Social Media is divided over China’s growing relations with the Taliban in Kabul. More anger is growing within the state against the government’s approach.
India led UNSC adopts 3 unanimous resolutions, namely on Syria, Myanmar and Afghanistan.
Russia rejects VISA to a long time BBC journalist reporting on Russia.
US VP Kamala Harris is on a tour of Asia.
CBS News announced its Morning News to be shifted to New studio in Times Square and will be led by a new team.

Technology

Google unveils a new desktop app for Google Meet.
The month of July sees a record number of UPI based bank transactions in India.
Indian PM Narendra Modi announces the new digital payment platform E-RUPI.
Tata enters into semiconductor manufacturing after it carried out the sale of 5G equipment.
Amazon wins the Future Deal case in Supreme Court against Reliance.
Whatsapp introduces once view photos and videos feature.
Car trade introduces its IPO on 9th August and it hits record subscription.
Tik Tok overtakes Facebook as the most downloaded social media app in the world.
Spotify unveils new premium plans for its users.
Vodafone loses 2700 Cr INR as Kumar Mangalam Birla’s letter to Cabinet Secretary demanding writing of AGR dues to VI goes public.
VI files review petition in Supreme Court in the case of AGR dues.
Xiaomi leads in Android phones shipments across the globe.
Battlegrounds Mobile India has crossed 50 million downloads on the play store
Apple promises to donate aid to Haiti after a devastating Earthquake.
The Facebook Messenger announces fully end to end encrypted voice and video calls.
Twitter withdraws its fleet service to all users.
Facebook launches programme for small business in India.
Zoom to include focus mode for school students to stay engaged during online classes.
Facebook denies platform access to the Taliban post its takeover of Afghanistan. Facebook to form Election Commission to look into Global Poll issues.
Twitter will allow access to the Taliban as long as it will follow all the terms and rules.
Mastercard to stop cards with magnetic stripes by 2024.
PM Modi unveiled National Hydrogen Mission.
Ola unveiled Smart electric scooters
Zynga which had a partnership with Facebook on games has now made a big comeback
The world is now facing a shortage of semiconductors that will affect a lot of industries across the world.
Google Meet will allow twenty-five cohosts at a time for a session.
T-Mobile, a US-based telecommunications company says that over 40 Million customer records were affected in a data breach.
Telegram app secures 1 Billion downloads. India has the highest number of users.
Airtel is seeking to raise its tariffs as per the statement of founder and CEO Sunil Mittal.
Yahoo News closes down its operations in India due to FDI regulations.
Linktree to partner up with Paypal to enable direct payments.
Google Meet will be able to warn you during an echo.
Whatsapp banned over 3 Million accounts in the month of September due to new regulations.
Acer to launch Smart TVs in India.
Netflix launches UPI based recurring payments in India.
China to prevent U-18s from playing games on weekdays. Maximum only 3 hours per week is allotted. China to crack down on Internet celebrity fan culture.
Various payment wallets like WeChat pay, Google Pay, Ali pay to face new regulations in Australia.
Google pay to offer Fixed Deposits in India.
Tech firms in the US pledge more money for cybersecurity after their meet with US President Biden.
Indian govt. to launch QSIM for Quantum Computing Research
UP govt looks to start Delhi to Varanasi Bullet train connecting various cities in the state ahead of state assembly elections.
Tiktok to partner up with Shopify for shopping deals.
Substack to accept payments in cryptocurrency.
Huawei gets approval for chips aimed at auto-business.
Xiaomi launches Mi TV 5X series.

Sports

Football star Lionel Messi FC Barcelona and later joins Paris Saint Germain in a new contract.
Christiano Ronaldo makes a landmark deal with the Manchester United Club of the UK, where he had been before he joined Real Madrid FC. He left Juventus FC for Manchester United this week.

Olympics

General Highlights

Fastest Man in the world- Lamont Marcell Jacobs of Italy, breaking the record of Jamaica in track events.
The US comes top in the Medal tally surpassing China in the number of gold medals (39). It also bagged the most number of medals on the table.
Google doodle had also kept a special interactive game in connection with the Tokyo Olympics.

India at Olympics-

Indian Hockey team crosses into semis for the first time in 49 years. It ended up winning the bronze medal, which is the first medal in hockey for 42 years. The last medal won was gold in 1980 during Moscow Olympics.
Niraj Chopra wins India’s first Gold medal for athletics and the only Gold medal for the 2020 Olympics.
Ravi Kumar Dahiya won the Silver medal
Mirabai Chanu won the silver medal in the Women’s 49 kg Weightlifting to become the first Olympic medallist in the Tokyo Olympics 2020.
PV Sindhu wins the bronze medal in Badminton Women’s Singles.
Bajarang Punia wins the bronze medal in Men’s 65 kg wrestling category.
Lovlina Borghian wins the bronze medal in the Women’s Welterweight boxing category.
Rajya Sabha praises Indian Olympians and Medal winners on the 9th.
India finishes with its best-ever tally at the 48th position with seven medals.

Tokyo Olympics got over on 8th August Sunday with a grand victory cum closing ceremony. IOC president Thomas Bach declared Tokyo 2020 Games closed. Paralympics was held between 24th August and 5th September 2021. Beijing Winter Olympics 2022 is less than six months away.

All eyes are now on the next Olympics in Paris 2024. Paris will be the only city to have hosted the games three times. The last time being 1924 and now the games will return exactly after a century.

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