Portal Current events 2022 July 16

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)
• 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)
• 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)

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)
• 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)
• 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)
• 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)