Friday,  July 29th, 2022 

Russia and the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) say that 53 people were killed and 75 others were injured after shelling hit a prison holding Ukrainian prisoners of war in the DPR-controlled city of Olenivka, Donetsk Oblast. Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of carrying out the strike. (AP) 

A video emerges on social media of a Russian soldier castrating a Ukrainian prisoner of war in the town of Sievierodonetsk, Donetsk Oblast. The Ukrainian government voices outrage over the incident and vows to “hunt down” the perpetrators. (BBC News) (The Telegraph) (Sky News) 

A Russian strike kills five civilians and injures seven others at a bus stop in Mykolaiv, according to regional governor Vitaliy Kim. (AFP News via Barron’s) 

A 16-year-old Palestinian is shot dead by the Israeli Army in Al-Mughayyir, near Ramallah. According to the IDF, soldiers and border police officers were responding to a violent protest in the area. (Al Bawaba) (Times of Israel) 

The death toll from the ongoing flash floods in Kentucky, United States, increases to 25. (CNN) 

The UAE records its heaviest rainfall in 27 years, with seven people killed by flooding in the Emirates of Sharjah and Fujairah. (Khaleej Times) 

The death toll from recent floods in Iran increases to 24. (AFP via MSN) (NDTV) 

It is reported that the first United States case of polio since 2013, which was reported last week in Rockland County, New York, was connected to traces of vaccine-derived viruses found in the United Kingdom and Israel. (ProPublica) (Stat News) 

A court in Kyiv reduces the sentence of Vadim Shishimarin, the first Russian soldier tried for war crimes from life in prison to 15 years in prison. Shishimarin’s defense attorney says that it is “highly likely” that he will be returned to Russia in a prisoner exchange. (ABC News) 

The transformation of the Kumtor Gold Mine to Kyrgyzstan‘s ownership is complete. The announcement took place at the Embassy of Kyrgyzstan in London, UK. As a result, Centerra Gold would terminate a previous agreement made regarding the mine. (Interfax) (24.kg) 

Thursday, July 28th, 2022 

Ukrainian presidential advisor Oleksiy Arestovych says that an operation to recapture the Kherson Oblast has started. (The Guardian) 

Russian forces shell Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast with the BM-27 Uragan MLRS, killing three civilians and injuring three others. Six apartment blocks and six detached houses are also destroyed or damaged. (Ukrinform) 

Russian forces in Belarus launch 25 ballistic missiles into northern Ukraine. (The Guardian) 

Russia launches cruise missile strikes from the Black Sea on the Kyiv Oblast for the first time in weeks, with missiles striking Bucha, Lyutizh, and Vyshhorod. At least fifteen people, including five civilians, are injured, according to Kyiv governor Oleksiy Kuleba. (AP) (Axios) 

Russian missiles strike Kropyvnytskyi, damaging facilities owned by Kropyvnytskyi Flight Academy and Air Urga. Five people are killed and 25 others are injured. (Yahoo! News) 

At least 17 people are killed and 40 others are injured in skirmishes between groups of pro-Assad and anti-government residents in As Suwayda, Syria. (Al Jazeera) 

Authorities in Hanover, Germany, turn off heating and switch to cold showers in all public buildings, and also shut off public water fountains amid an energy crisis after Gazprom reduced gas supplies to Germany through its Nord Stream pipeline. (BBC News) 

Authorities in Berlin turn off lights at historic monuments and municipal buildings in the city in order to save electricity. (The Guardian) 

The United States enters a technical recession after its economy shrank for the 2nd consecutive quarter. (The Guardian) (The Times) 

The United States Congress passes the Chips and Science Act of 2022 in order to boost semiconductor production in the United States and also boost competition with China. The bill will head to President Joe Biden for his signature. (CNBC) 

Hamas authorities raise taxes on imported clothes and other goods as prices increase due to the war in Ukraine and an ongoing blockade of the Gaza Strip. (AP) 

Governor of Kentucky Andy Beshear declares a state of emergency for several counties in southeastern Kentucky due to historic floods, which have killed eight people. (WLEX-TV) 

Flash flooding occurs on the Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Las Vegas Review-Journal) 

U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer says that New York has received 110,000 doses of the monkeypox vaccine. (New York Post) 

Ahmed Ogwell, head of the Africa CDC, reports that there are currently no monkeypox or smallpox vaccines available in Africa to combat the ongoing monkeypox outbreak. (Time) 

Iranian police arrest the alleged leader and four other members of a spy network suspected to be affiliated with Mossad. (Al Jazeera) 

Russia hands over a protest note to the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs as Šiaulių bankas, the only bank authorised to process payments for Kaliningrad rail transit, announced that it would phase out all payments in Russian rubles in mid-August and ban all payments from Russia and Belarus, unless for humanitarian purposes or in order to fulfil international obligations, on 1 September. (LRT) 

Cameras are allowed to film a criminal court case in England and Wales for the first time in history as a man, Ben Oliver, is sentenced to prison at London‘s Old Bailey for manslaughter on live television. (Reuters) 

2022 Wednesday, July 27th, 2022 

Russian energy company Gazprom reduces the amount of natural gas flowing through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline from Russia to Europe to 20% of the pipeline’s capacity. (AP) 

The European General Court upholds a broadcast ban imposed on Russian television network RT in the European Union over accusations of spreading misinformation, rejecting an appeal against the ban. (Al Jazeera) (Reuters) 

The suspect in the mass shooting at an Independence Day parade in Highland Park, Illinois, U.S., is formally indicted on 21 counts of first-degree murder, 48 counts of attempted murder, and 48 counts of aggravated battery. There are three counts per slain victim and two counts per injured victim. (NBC News) 

Prime Minister of South Korea Han Duck-soo says that he will ask president Yoon Suk-yeol to pardon former Samsung executive Lee Jae-yong, who is currently on parole for bribery and embezzlement. (Reuters) (Yonhap) 

undreds of protestors storm the parliament building in the Green Zone in Baghdad to oppose the nomination of Mohammed Shia’ Al Sudani for prime minister by pro-Iranian parties. (Al Jazeera) 

The End