Sunday, August 14th, 2022 

A mass die-off of fish occurs in the Oder river in Poland. Polish officials call it an “ecological catastrophe” with Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki vowing to “punish” those responsible. The public has been warned not to enter the water amid fears of possible contamination. (Sky News) 

The German environment ministry says that an unknown, highly toxic substance is responsible for the mass die-off of wildlife in the Oder river. High levels of mercury have also been found in the river. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki says that the river will take years to “return to normal”. (CNN) 

Estonia and Latvia formally withdraw from the Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries group amid tensions with China over its human rights record and its support of Russia’s war on Ukraine. (Reuters) 

The Russian occupation of Zaporizhzhia Oblast begins preparations for a referendum on the region’s accession to Russia, which will be held on September 11. (RBK) 

Five people are killed and 26 others are injured by an explosion in Guayaquil, Ecuador. The government blames organized crime groups. (BBC News) 

Six people are killed, 60 others injured and 18 more are missing in an explosion at a fireworks storage area of a mall in Yerevan, Armenia. The city’s mayor stated that there were people trapped under rubble. (Al Jazeera) 

A Palestinian gunman opens fire inside a bus in Jerusalem’s Old City, wounding eight people, two of them critically. Israeli police later raid the suspect’s neighborhood of Silwan and arrest him. (Al Jazeera) (AP) 

At least 41 people are killed and 45 others injured by a fire at the Coptic Orthodox Church Saint Mercurius Church in Giza, Egypt. (BBC News) 

In Zaragoza, Spain, more than 1,500 people are evacuated due to an intensifying wildfire. (EMEATribune) 

Seven people are killed by heavy rain causing flooding in Pengzhou, China. (AP) 

Saturday, August 13th, 2022 

Russia says that it has captured the village of Pisky, in Donetsk Oblast, while Ukrainian forces say that they have destroyed a bridge in Russian-occupied Kherson Oblast. (AP) 

Flooding in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States kills two people and also damages The Linq hotel. (CBS News) 

At least a dozen vehicles are burned and several streets are blocked in the state of Baja California, mainly in the cities of Tijuana, Mexicali and Ensenada. This is the fourth major incident in the last week where arson and blocked streets have been reported. (Infobae) (Proceso) 

The Taliban violently disperse a demonstration by women’s rights activists who were marching to the education ministry in Kabul to demand broader rights, by chasing and beating women and firing gunshots into the air. (Al Jazeera) 

One person is killed and 40 others are injured when a stage at a music festival in Cullera, Province of Valencia, Spain, collapses due to high winds caused by a nearby heat burst. (Reuters) (RTVE) 

One person is killed and 17 others are injured after a driver plows his car into a fundraiser for victims of a house fire that killed ten people earlier in Nescopeck, Pennsylvania, United States. The perpetrator then kills a woman in a nearby town before being arrested. (The New York Times) 

Tropical Storm Meari makes landfall in central Japan, causing heavy rain and high winds. 72,000 people are evacuated from the city of Shizuoka. (Bloomberg) 

Incumbent Vice President Yosiwo George dies from COVID-19 at the age of 81. (Pacific Daily News) 

Romanian swimmer David Popovici breaks the 13-year old world record for the 100m freestyle with a time of 46.86. (SwimSwam) 

The End