Friday,  August 19th, 2022 

Temperatures in Chongqing and Sichuan, China reach 45°C (113°F) during a historic drought. It is the highest temperature ever recorded in China outside of the Xinjiang desert. (AP News) 

Explosions are reported at military facilities in Crimea and Belgorod Oblast, Russia, and are believed to have been launched by Ukraine. An explosion and large fire occur at an arms depot near Timonovo. Explosions are also reported at Stary Oskol Airport and in Russian-occupied Nova Kakhovka, Kherson Oblast. (Forbes) 

Overnight, explosions are reported in Crimea and Belgorod Oblast, Russia, with two villages evacuated. (Reuters) 

Explosions are reported at Sevastopol International Airport. The Governor of Sevastopol Mikhail Razvozhayev says that Russian air defences have shot down a Ukrainian Air Force drone near the airport. (Reuters) 

Residents of Kerch and nearby villages in eastern Crimea report multiple explosions. Crimean officials say that air defences were activated near the city but that “there is no danger to the town or the Crimean Bridge“. (Yahoo! News) 

Russia appoints former Krasnodar mayor Andrei Alekseyenko as the head of its Kharkiv military–civilian administration. (Reuters) 

Islamic State and “Beatles” cell member El Shafee Elsheikh is sentenced to eight life sentences by a United States district court for his role in the kidnapping and deaths of hostages James Foley, Steven Sotloff, Peter Kassig, and Kayla Mueller. (AP) 

Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau nominates judge Michelle O’Bonsawin to the Supreme Court of Canada. An Abenaki member, O’Bonsawin would be the first Indigenous Canadian to sit on the country’s highest court. (Deutsche Welle) 

The government of Prime Minister of Montenegro Dritan Abazović collapses after the Parliament passes a vote of no-confidence following dispute within the coalition over an agreement the government signed with the Serbian Orthodox Church. (Reuters) 

Police in Nicaragua confirm that they have arrested an anti-Ortega Roman Catholic bishop in Managua and warned against further “provocative and destabilizing” activities amongst the clergy. (Infobae) 

Nine people are killed and 28 others are injured by a rocket attack on a market in Al-Bab, Aleppo Governorate, Syria. (Reuters) 

Thursday, August 18th, 2022 

Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Sarah Bianchi and Taiwanese minister John Deng announce that Taiwan and the United States will seek formal trade relations with each other, including cooperation on agricultural and digital trade, harmonizing anti-corruption standards, and addressing “significant distortions” caused by state-owned enterprises. (BBC News) 

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin says that China will oppose any trade deals with the Taiwanese government and also told the U.S. government to “stop making misjudgements”. Commerce Ministry spokesperson Shu Jueting also says that China will take steps to safeguard its interests.  (Reuters) 

As the trial against 47 pro-democracy activists begins in Hong Kong, it is announced that 29 activists, including Joshua Wong and Benny Tai, will plead guilty and 18 activists, including Leung Kwok-hung, will plead not guilty. (Time) 

Mali accuses its former ally France of arming jihadist terrorist groups in order to destabilize the country. Malian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop tells the United Nations that French aircraft are violating the country’s airspace and dropping “arms and ammunition” to terrorist groups on the ground. France denies the accusations. (DW) 

Timane Erdimi, leader of the Chadian rebel group Rally of Forces for Change and nephew of slain Chadian president Idriss Déby, returns to the country from his 17-year exile in Qatar to participate in a peace process between the government and numerous rebel groups. (Reuters) 

The European Union statistics office reports that inflation in the Eurozone increased to a record 8.9% in July. (Reuters) 

The death toll from wildfires in Algeria increases to 38 with 200 others suffering from burns and respiratory problems. Firefighters are still trying to contain 39 forest fires in the north of the country, according to officials. (BBC News) 

Sixteen people are killed and 36 others are reported missing after heavy rain causes flooding in Datong Hui and Tu Autonomous County, Qinghai, China. (Reuters) 

A political organization in Guinea accuses military president Mamady Doumbouya of being behind the killings of two youths during anti-government protests yesterday. (Guinee28) 

President of Vanuatu Nikenike Vurobaravu dissolves the Parliament to prevent a no-confidence motion being debated against Prime Minister Bob Loughman. A snap election is expected to be called. (The Guardian) 

The End

Wednesday, August 17th, 2022 

A Russian missile hits a dormitory in Kharkiv, killing seven civilians and injuring 16 others, according to the city’s mayor and top military administrator.  (The Guardian) 

Twenty-one people are killed and 33 others are injured by a mosque bombing in Kabul. (BBC News) 

Inflation in the United Kingdom increases to 10.1%, the highest level since February 1982, due to increasing fuel and food prices. (The Guardian) 

The death toll from the August 6 fire at a supertanker port in Matanzas, Cuba, rises to 16. All the deceased were firefighters who were battling the blaze. (BBC News) 

Twenty-three people are killed when a bus overturns on a highway in Khouribga, Morocco. (Arab News) 

1 dead, 9 injured after test car veers into traffic

Archaeologists uncovered one of the largest megalithic sites in Europe on a farm in southern Spain. It dates back 7,000 years and contains more than 500 standing stones. (The Times) 

Russia launches missile strikes on Odesa and Mykolaiv in Southern Ukraine in response to explosions at military facilities in Crimea that Russian authorities blame on “sabotage”. (MSN) 

Four Russian Wagner Group paramilitaries are killed during an ambush by Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin militants in Bandiagara. (Africa News) 

France formally ends its military intervention in Mali after withdrawing its last remaining troops from a military base in Gao. The base was handed over to Malian Armed Forces before the French forces crossed into neighbouring Niger. (Ecofinagency) 

The United Kingdom registers inflation at 10.1%, the highest level since February 1982, due to increasing fuel and food prices. (The Guardian) 

Many people are killed in a bombing attack at a mosque in Kabul. (BBC News) 

Israel and Turkey restore full diplomatic relations for the first time since 2018. (Axios) 

Police in Tokyo, Japan, arrest a former member of the 2020 Summer Olympics organising committee, after prosecutors accused him of graft and bribery. (Business Times) 

The High Court of Australia rules that Google is not liable for defamatory material within hyperlinks that it serves as part of its search results. (Axios) 

Tuesday,  August 16th, 2022 

U.S. First Lady Jill Biden tests positive for COVID-19. (NPR) 

An explosion occurs at an ammunition depot in northern Crimea, forcing the evacuation of civilians. Observers suggest that the depot may have been hit by Ukrainian forces. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) 

Turkish airstrikes on a military base in Aleppo Governorate kill between 16 to 22 Syrian soldiers. (Step News) (NPA) 

A ranger is killed while seven policemen and two civilians are injured as two bombs explode at a rubber plantation in Narathiwat, Thailand. (Kosmo) 

Two policemen are killed when gunmen open fire on them as they are escorting polio workers in Gomal, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. (AP) 

The prime minister of Vanuatu Bob Loughman asks for the dissolution of parliament as he faces a vote of no-confidence. (RNZ) 

Twenty people are killed and six others injured when a passenger bus collides with a tanker truck in Jalalpur Pirwala, Punjab, Pakistan. (Xinhua) 

Six people are killed and several others are injured after a bus fell into a gorge in Jammu and Kashmir, India. (Reuters) 

FIFA suspends the All India Football Federation for violating its statutes on third-party interference. India is stripped off its hosting rights for international football tournaments, including the 2022 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup scheduled for October 2022. (Deutsche Welle) 

Monday,  August 15th, 2022 

The Taliban marks a Victory Day parade on the one year anniversary of the capture of Kabul, Afghanistan. (CBS News) 

A lawsuit is filed against the Central Intelligence Agency and former CIA Director Mike Pompeo, accusing the agency of spying on lawyers who met with Julian Assange. (Axios) 

The United Kingdom approves a Moderna COVID-19 vaccine aimed at targeting the Omicron variant and other variants of SARS-CoV-2, becoming the first country to do so. (EuroWeekly News)

Prime minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern announces the deployment of 120 New Zealand troops to train Ukrainian forces. (Reuters) 

The military junta court sentences former state counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi to six years in prison for corruption. (France 24) 

Israel launches a series of airstrikes in Damascus and Tartus, Syria, killing three soldiers and wounding three others. (Al Jazeera) 

The United States imposes sanctions on three senior members of the cabinet of Liberian president George Weah, accusing them of corruption. (AP) 

The IEBC declares William Ruto as the winner of the election. (AP News) 

The End

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