Portal:Current events
Topics in the news
- The Chinese paddlefish, one of the world's largest freshwater fish species, is officially declared extinct by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
- Amid protests over the economic crisis, Ranil Wickremesinghe (pictured) is elected President of Sri Lanka by the parliament.
- Heat waves across Europe leave more than 4,200 people dead.
- NASA releases the first operational image taken by the James Webb Space Telescope.
- Angola's former president José Eduardo dos Santos dies at the age of 79.
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Iran–Israel conflict during the Syrian civil war
- July 2022 Israeli airstrikes near Damascus
- An Israeli airstrike kills three Syrian soldiers, injures seven and destroys an Iranian weapons depot near Damascus. (AFP via France 24)
- July 2022 Israeli airstrikes near Damascus
Disasters and accidents
- The main border crossing between Argentina and Chile reopens after heavy snowfall. Paso Internacional Los Libertadores had been closed all last week. (Yahoo! News)
Health and environment
- The Nuclear Regulation Authority of Japan formally approves the release of million of tons of treated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the Pacific Ocean. The plan had already been endorsed by the Japanese government and other agencies. (Radio France International)
International relations
- United Kingdom–European Union relations
- Brexit
- The European Commission launches four new legal procedures against the United Kingdom for alleged infringements of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement relating to the passage of the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill. (Al Jazeera)
- Brexit
- Russia–Ukraine relations
- 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Russia and Ukraine sign a UN-backed agreement to allow the export of millions of tonnes of grain from blockaded Black Sea ports. (The Guardian)
- 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- North Korea–South Korea relations
- South Korea announces that it will lift a decades-long ban on public access to North Korean television, newspapers and other media. (AP)
- Russia–Transnistria relations
- Transnistrian Foreign Minister Vitaly Ignatyev reaffirms that Transnistria is committed to becoming an independent state and possible unification with Russia. (AP)
- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken accuses former Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes of "significant corruption". (Yahoo! News)
Law and crime
- 2022 Sri Lankan protests
- The military and police raid an anti-government protest camp in Colombo, causing injuries and arresting nine people. (The Sydney Morning Herald)
Business and economy
- 2021–2022 inflation surge
- The central bank of Japan raises its inflation forecast and reduces fiscal year expectations while maintaining ultra-low interest rates, saying that the economy was primarily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan. (CNBC)
- The European Central Bank raises interest rates by 0.5 percentage points for the first time since 2011 in order to combat inflation in the EU which increased to 8.6% last month. (The Guardian)
Disasters and accidents
- 2022 Pakistan floods
- At least 282 people are killed after five weeks of monsoon rains and flash floods in Pakistan. (AP)
- Taiwan reports a record temperature of 40.7 °C (105.3 °F) in Yuli. However, this measurement is not officially recognized by Taiwanese authorities because it was reported by an automated station. (Taiwan News) (CNA Taiwan)
Health and environment
- COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
- President Joe Biden tests positive for COVID-19. (NBC News)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Japan
- Tokyo reports a record 31,878 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours. (Nikkei Asia)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
- Holocene extinction
- Conservation-reliant species
- An An, the world’s longest-living male giant panda under human care, dies at Ocean Park Hong Kong aged 35. An An was a key part of the conservation activities for giant pandas. (RTHK)
- The monarch butterfly is added by the International Union for Conservation of Nature to its endangered species list because of rapidly decreasing population numbers. (AP)
- Conservation-reliant species
- The United States reports its first case of polio since 2013 in an unvaccinated person from Rockland County, New York. (NBC News)
Law and crime
- 2022 New York gubernatorial election
- A man attempts to stab Lee Zeldin, a U.S. Representative and the Republican Party nominee in the upcoming New York gubernatorial election, during a campaign event in Perinton, New York, United States. Zeldin is not hurt during the incident, and the man is taken into custody. (WIVB-TV)
- A police officer, a civilian, and 16 suspected gang members are killed during an operation against organized crime in a favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Infobae)
- The Ministry of Justice of Russia opens a court case to close the Jewish Agency for Israel, the main agency allowing the aliyah of Jews to Israel. Israel condemns the court case, claiming it is a response to Israel's stance on the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. (BBC News)
Politics and elections
- 2022 Italian government crisis
- Mario Draghi resigns as Prime Minister of Italy. President Sergio Mattarella accepts Draghi's resignation. (BBC News)
- Mattarella dissolves the Parliament of Italy, calling for a snap parliamentary election. (la Stampa)
- 2022 Sri Lankan presidential election
- Ranil Wickremesinghe is sworn in as president of Sri Lanka. (AP)
- 2022 Indian presidential election
- Droupadi Murmu is elected as the new president of India, making her the first female from a scheduled tribe to be elected to the post. (NDTV)
- 2022 Brazilian general election
- Former President Lula da Silva is nominated by the Workers' Party to run in the upcoming presidential election. (Al Jazeera)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Kurdish–Turkish conflict
- Operation Claw-Lock
- Zakho resort attack
- Turkish Armed Forces fire four missiles at a resort in the Zakho District of Kurdistan Region in Iraq, killing eight Iraqi tourists and injuring 23 others. (AP)
- Zakho resort attack
- Operation Claw-Lock
- Russo-Ukrainian War
- 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says that his country's military goals are no longer limited to the Donbas region and have expanded to also include "the Kherson region, the Zaporizhzhia region and a number of other territories". (Al Jazeera)
- 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Somali Civil War
- Al-Shabaab raids Yeed and Aato in Bakool, Somalia, near the Ethiopian border. Fourteen Ethiopian police officers and three civilians are killed. (Reuters) (VOA)
Business and economy
- 2021–2022 inflation surge
- Inflation in the United Kingdom increased to 9.4% last month, breaking a 40-year record, as food and fuel prices continue to increase. (The Guardian)
- Russia in the European energy sector
- The European Commission tells EU member states to reduce gas usage by 15% until March 2023 as part of an emergency plan after President Vladimir Putin warns that Russian supplies of natural gas could be reduced further. (Reuters)
- International sanctions during the Russo-Ukrainian War
- The European Union bans imports of gold from Russia and freezes Sberbank's assets. (Euronews)
- Economy of Ukraine
- Ukraine's government, facing an estimated 35% to 45% decrease in GDP, asks its international creditors to freeze its debt payments for two years, including a $1.2 billion debt payment due at the beginning of September. The proposal is backed by major Western governments and other major lenders. (Reuters)
Disasters and accidents
- 2022 European heat wave
- Six federal states of Germany (Baden-Württemberg, Hamburg, Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Saxony-Anhalt and Schleswig-Holstein) see their all-time high records beaten, with the highest temperature, 40.3 °C (104.5 °F), set at Bad Mergentheim. (Tagesschau)
- Abed, a hamlet on the Danish island of Lolland, sets the highest July temperature recorded in the country, reaching 35.9 °C (96.6 °F). (Danish Broadcasting Corporation)
- A United States Army soldier is killed and nine others are injured after a lightning strike at a training area at Fort Gordon in Georgia. (USA Today)
- One person is killed and 23 others are injured after a tornado hits Jiangsu, China. (AP)
International relations
- Foreign relations of Syria, Foreign relations of Ukraine
- The Foreign Ministry of Syria announces that the country is formally suspending diplomatic relations with Ukraine. (AP)
Politics and elections
- 2022 Sri Lankan presidential election
- Acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe is declared the winner of the election, defeating his closest rival, Dullas Alahapperuma, by 134 votes to 82. (BBC News)
- 2022 United Kingdom government crisis
- 2022 Conservative Party leadership election
- Penny Mordaunt is eliminated from the leadership election in the fifth round of voting. (The Guardian)
- 2022 Conservative Party leadership election
Business and economy
- Gazprom signs a memorandum of understanding for the development of Iranian oil and gas fields and related infrastructure worth $40 billion. (Reuters)
- The European Commission proposes a new, joint defense procurement system for EU member states. It would be operational by the end of this year, with initial funding of €500 million. (AP)
Disasters and accidents
- 2022 European heat waves
- 2022 United Kingdom heat wave
- A record high temperature of 40.3 °C (104.5 °F) is reported at Coningsby, Lincolnshire, and a record overnight minimum temperature of 25.9 °C (78.6 °F) is reported at Emley Moor transmitting station in West Yorkshire. (BBC News) (BBC News 2)
- Scotland reports a record temperature of 35.1 °C (95.2 °F) at Floors Castle. Initially, the highest temperature was thought to have been set at RAF Charterhall, reaching 34.8 °C (94.6 °F). (BBC News) (BBC News 2)
- A major incident is declared in London following a "huge surge" in fires, according to the London Fire Brigade. Several homes are destroyed in Wennington on the outskirts of East London. No casualties have been reported. Hertfordshire and Leicestershire fire services also declare major incidents due to the high volume of emergency calls. (Sky News)
- 2022 European and Mediterranean wildfires
- The death toll from the wildfires and heat wave in Spain and Portugal increases to more than 1,700 people, with more than 1,063 deaths in Portugal. (ABC News) (Axios)
- 2022 United Kingdom heat wave
- At least 23 people are killed and 30 others are injured in a truck and bus crash in Minya, Egypt. (ABC News)
- Flooding has killed eight people and affected more than 8,500 others in Maradi and Zinder, Niger, since June, according to Civil Protection. (FloodList)
- Four people are killed and 13 are injured after a gas explosion in Tianjin, China. (AP)
Health and environment
- COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Oceania
- COVID-19 pandemic in Kiribati
- The United States donates nearly 20,000 doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to Kiribati through the COVAX initiative. (US embassy Fiji)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the Pitcairn Islands
- The Pitcairn Islands reports the territory's first case of COVID-19 in a Pitcairn Islander who returned from medical treatment abroad. (RNZ)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Kiribati
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
- COVID-19 vaccination in the United States
- The U.S. CDC votes unanimously to recommend the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine for people over the age of 18 years. (CNBC)
- COVID-19 vaccination in the United States
- COVID-19 pandemic in Oceania
- The Nigerian government announces that Nigeria will develop a vaccine for lassa fever, a viral hemorrhagic fever caused by the lassa virus. (Premium Times)
International relations
- Enlargement of the European Union
- Accession of Albania to the European Union, Accession of North Macedonia to the European Union
- Negotiations on the accession of North Macedonia and Albania to the European Union begin in Brussels. (Euronews)
- Accession of Albania to the European Union, Accession of North Macedonia to the European Union
- Iran–Russia relations
- Russian president Vladimir Putin makes a state visit to Iran for talks with his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi and Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Putin will also meet with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. (BBC News)
Politics and elections
- 2022 United Kingdom government crisis
- 2022 Conservative Party leadership election
- Kemi Badenoch is eliminated from the leadership race in the fourth round of voting. (The Guardian)
- 2022 Conservative Party leadership election
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Russo-Ukrainian War
- 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Battle of Donbas
- Russian shelling kills six civilians in Toretsk, Donetsk Oblast, as Ukraine says that Russia appears to be preparing for a new ground offensive near Sloviansk. (BBC News)
- Battle of Donbas
- 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
Business and economy
- Russia in the European energy sector
- Russia's Gazprom says that it "cannot guarantee" gas supplies to Europe due to "extraordinary circumstances" as it declares force majeure on gas supplies dating from June 14. (Reuters)
Disasters and accidents
- 2022 European heat waves
- 2022 United Kingdom heat wave
- The United Kingdom issues a "red extreme heat warning" as temperatures are predicted to reach a record 41 °C (106 °F) in parts of England. Wales reports a record temperature of 37.1 °C (98.8 °F) near the town of Hawarden, Flintshire, and the island of Jersey reports a record temperature of 37.9 °C (100.2 °F). (BBC News) (BBC News 2) (ITV Channel Islands)
- The Royal Air Force suspends all flights to and from RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire after the runway suffers damage due to the extreme heat. (The Independent)
- Dublin, Ireland, reports a record temperature of 33.1 °C (91.6 °F). Parts of France also report record temperatures. (Met Éireann) (Le Progrès)
- 2022 United Kingdom heat wave
- Sadiqabad boat sinking
- Twenty people are killed and 30 others are missing after a boat capsizes in Sadiqabad, Punjab, Pakistan. (Al Jazeera)
- Thirty-one people are injured and several homes are destroyed after a magnitude 5.1 earthquake hits Paktika Province, Afghanistan. It is an aftershock of the June 22 quake. (AP)
Health and environment
- COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China
- COVID-19 pandemic in Shanghai
- Residents in nine of Shanghai's districts will be required to undergo COVID-19 testing until July 21 as part of an effort to reduce the community spread of COVID-19. (CNA)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Shanghai
- COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China
- 2022 monkeypox outbreak
- 2022 monkeypox outbreak in the United States
- The Rhode Island Department of Health announces that the state has administered monkeypox vaccines to people who have had close contact with monkeypox patients. (WLNE-TV)
- 2022 monkeypox outbreak in the United States
- Wild European bison are reintroduced to the United Kingdom for the first time in over a thousand years after three are released into a pine forest in Kent, England. (The Guardian)
Law and crime
- 2022 Ecuador prison riots
- Thirteen inmates are killed and two more injured during a prison riot in Santo Domingo, Ecuador. (AP)
- Four people are injured during a mass shooting at a nightclub in Marbella, Andalusia, Spain. The perpetrator is stabbed and hospitalized. (AP)
Politics and elections
- Russo-Ukrainian War
- 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismisses Ukraine's prosecutor general Iryna Venediktova and the top security official of the Security Service of Ukraine, Ivan Bakanov. More than 60 officials from the agencies are alleged to be working with Russia. Additionally, 651 cases of alleged treason and collaboration are initiated against prosecutorial and law enforcement officials. (The Guardian)
- 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- 2022 United Kingdom government crisis
- 2022 Conservative Party leadership election
- Tom Tugendhat is eliminated from the leadership race in the third round of voting. (The Guardian)
- 2022 vote of confidence in the Johnson ministry
- A motion of confidence in the Johnson government is passed by 347 votes to 238. (The Guardian)
- 2022 Conservative Party leadership election
- 2022 Indian presidential election
- The Indian parliament votes to elect the new President of India. (Al Jazeera)
Disasters and accidents
- Seven people are killed by flooding in Darfur, Sudan. (AP)
- Flooding in China's Sichuan and Gansu provinces kills 12 people and leaves thousands homeless. (AP)
- Four people are killed when a Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office helicopter crashes near Las Vegas, New Mexico, United States. (U.S. News & World Report)
Health and environment
- COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
- COVID-19 pandemic in India
- Health officials in India report that the country surpassed the two billion mark in cumulative administered doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. (WION)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Israel
- The Israeli Health Ministry confirms three cases of the Omicron BA.2.75 variant in travelers abroad. (Times of Israel)
- COVID-19 pandemic in India
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
- 2022 monkeypox outbreak
- 2022 monkeypox outbreak in the United States
- Three more monkeypox vaccination sites open in New York City in an effort to combat the spread of monkeypox. (Patch.com)
- 2022 monkeypox outbreak in the United States
International relations
- Croatia–Serbia relations
- Croatia refuses to allow a private visit from the President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić to the site of the Jasenovac concentration camp due to the Government of Croatia not being formally notified of the visit. (The Washington Post)
- Nuclear program of Iran
- Former Minister of Foreign Affairs and senior adviser to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Kamal Kharazi, confirms that Iran now has the capabilities to develop and build a nuclear weapon but says that "there has been no decision by Iran to build one". Kharazi also warns that Iran will "directly respond" to Israel if it is attacked. (Straits Times) (The Jerusalem Post)
Law and crime
- Greenwood Park Mall shooting
- Three people and the gunman are killed and two others injured in a mass shooting at the food court of Greenwood Park Mall in Greenwood, Indiana, United States. (The Indianapolis Star)
Politics and elections
- 2022 Nigerian elections
- 2022 Nigerian gubernatorial elections
- 2022 Osun State gubernatorial election
- Former senator Ademola Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party defeats incumbent Governor Gboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress. The election has been labeled as a potential bellwether as it is the final major election before the national presidential election in early 2023. (Premium Times)
- 2022 Osun State gubernatorial election
- 2022 Nigerian gubernatorial elections
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Russo-Ukrainian War
- 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Russian missiles strike the city of Chuhuiv in Kharkiv Oblast, killing three civilians and injuring three others, while more than 50 Grad rockets hit the city of Nikopol in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, killing two people. The missile strikes come after Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu ordered the military to expand operations in Ukraine in order to "protect the Donbas". (Reuters)
- The president of Energoatom, the Ukrainian nuclear energy authority, accuses Russian forces of using the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant to store weapons and shell the surrounding area. (The Journal.ie)
- 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- Gaza–Israel conflict
- Israel launches more than a dozen missiles against two Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip, following a number of rockets fired overnight from Gaza into Israel, causing severe damage. No casualties were reported and no civilian structures were targeted or hit. (Voice of America) (Al Jazeera)
- Gaza–Israel conflict
- Papua conflict
- Nogolait shooting
- Ten people are killed and two others are injured when gunmen attack civilians in Nduga Regency, Highland Papua, Indonesia. The separatist West Papua National Liberation Army is blamed for the attack. (AP)
- Nogolait shooting
Disasters and accidents
- July 2022 European heat wave
- 2022 European and MENA wildfires
- Wildfires break out in southwestern France and Spain amidst a heat wave in Europe. (Reuters)
- In Portugal, a waterbombing plane crashes in Vila Nova de Foz Côa while fighting wildfires in the region, killing the pilot, and in Spain, around 2,300 people are evacuated from the Costa del Sol due to wildfires in the Mijas hills. (BBC News)
- A report shows that at least 360 people have died in a week during the heat wave in Spain. (El País)
- 2022 European and MENA wildfires
- Meridian Flight 3032
- An Antonov An-12 cargo plane, operated by a Ukrainian airline, crashes near the city of Kavala, Greece, killing all eight people on board. The aircraft was carrying weapons from Serbia to Bangladesh, and crashed before a planned stop in Jordan. (BBC News)
International relations
- Accession of North Macedonia to the European Union
- Bulgaria–North Macedonia relations
- The Assembly of North Macedonia passes a motion to amend North Macedonia’s Constitution to recognise its Bulgarian minority, while pledging to discuss remaining issues with the Bulgarian government. In exchange, Bulgaria will allow membership talks with the European Union to begin. (Al Jazeera)
- Bulgaria–North Macedonia relations
- Iran–United States relations
- Economic sanctions against the United States
- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran imposes sanctions on 61 Americans for their association with exiled Iranian dissident group People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran. (Reuters)
- Economic sanctions against the United States
- G20 finance leaders end a meeting in Bali without a joint communique, as consensus could not be reached on multiple issues due to tensions caused by ongoing conflicts between the countries. (CNBC)
Law and crime
- Four people are killed and two injured in a mass shooting in the Gauteng province of South Africa. (Reuters)
- Protests continue in Panama with road and railways blockades, after protesters rejected president Laurentino Cortizo's concessions. (La Prensa)
- Crime in Haiti
- The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights documents 934 killings, 684 injuries and 680 kidnappings in Port-au-Prince since the start of 2022, in a sharp increase of violence in the city. (Al Jazeera)
- The UN Security Council passes a resolution extending the mandate of the UN Integrated Office in Haiti for a further year. (UN News)