Friday,  July 1st, 2022 

At the NATO summit, U.S. President Joe Biden announces that a new permanent U.S. military base will be established in Poland – the 5th Army’s Headquarters – which has had a forward command post in the city of Poznań since last year. Poland’s government has long requested such a base. (Notes from Poland) 

The trial against American basketball player Brittney Griner opens in Moscow, Russia, on drug charges after she was detained at a Moscow airport last February. Griner faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted. (Reuters) 

John Lee is sworn in as the 5th Chief Executive of Hong Kong. (RTHK) 

Russia announces that it has withdrawn from Snake Island, in the Black Sea, as a “gesture of goodwill”. Conversely, Ukraine says it drove out Russian forces from the island after a massive artillery assault. (Reuters) 

The separatist Donetsk People’s Republic say the death penalty will start being used from 2025. Two British and one Moroccan foreign fighters, who were arrested in the republic after joining the Ukrainian Army amid the ongoing Russian invasion, were sentenced to death by the court. (Reuters) 

At least 19 civilians are killed and 38 more injured after two Russian missiles strike a multi-story building and a recreation centre in Serhiivka, Odessa Oblast. (The Guardian) 

For the first time since Russia began occupying the Ukrainian city of Berdyansk, a cargo ship departs from the city’s port. (Reuters) 

The International Criminal Court asks for the arrest of three South Ossetian servicemen for alleged war crimes during the 2008 conflict. (Euronews) 

UNESCO inscribes Ukraine’s borscht culture into its list of endangered intangible cultural heritage. (Bangkok Post) 

Argentina issues a notice of polar wave temperatures. The meteorological authorities also report the country had one of the coldest autumns of the past 63 years. (Infobae) 

Puerto Rico, Saint Lucia, Turkey and the Bahamas report their first cases of monkeypox. (Reuters) 

Germany surpasses 1,000 cases of monkeypox. (RKI Deutsche) 

New York Governor Kathy Hochul announces that the state will distribute more than 8,000 doses of the smallpox vaccine to help combat the spread of monkeypox. (The New York Times) 

An Amur tiger at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium in Columbus, Ohio, U.S., dies from COVID-19, making it the first animal at the zoo to die from the disease. (CBS News) 

In a 6–3 decision, the Supreme Court rules that the Environmental Protection Agency has not received legislative authorization under the Clean Air Act to introduce regulations on carbon dioxide emissions from power plants by compelling them to change the resources from which they generate the power. This will likely reduce the United States’ ability to address its environmental goals. (Politico) 

Slovakia measures the highest ever temperature in June in Somotor near Košice, reaching 38.8 °C (101.8 °F). (Korzár Dolny Zemplín – SME) 

The Knesset votes to disband itself and sets November 1 as the date for new elections. Foreign Minister and Alternate Prime Minister Yair Lapid will succeed Naftali Bennett as Prime Minister until a new government is formed. (The Times of Israel) 

Thursday, June 30th, 2022 

The European Union strikes a free trade agreement with New Zealand. (Politico) 

The Supreme Administrative Court of Poland upholds lower court rulings that annulled anti-LGBT resolutions, known as “LGBT-free zones”, that had been adopted by local authorities. (Notes from Poland) 

New Zealand designates American far-right groups Proud Boys and The Base as terrorist organizations. (AP) 

Bongbong Marcos is sworn in as the 17th President of the Philippines. (The Washington Post) 

Three new provinces are created in West Papua in Indonesia. (Reuters) 

American singer R. Kelly is sentenced to 30 years in prison for racketeering and sex trafficking. (BBC News) 

A journalist for the Expreso newspaper is killed and his daughter is critically wounded by gunmen in Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas, Mexico. The victim is the 12th journalist murdered in Mexico this year. (Reuters) 

Twenty people are found dead in the Libyan Desert, after they went missing fourteen days ago. The group, mainly composed by migrants from Chad, died of thirst. (Al Jazeera) 

The Pino Hachado Pass between Argentina and Chile is closed as blizzards and heavy snowfall block the passage between the two countries. (LMN) 

South Korea approves the SKYCovione vaccine, their first domestically produced COVID-19 vaccine, for use in people over the age of 18 years. (ABC News) 

Officials from the United States and the Taliban are expected to meet in Doha, Qatar to discuss the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, worsened by the earthquake. (VOA) 

The End