Sunday, July 23rd, 2023 

A nighttime Russian missile attack on Odesa kills at least one person, injures 22 others, and severely damages the Transfiguration Cathedral. (AP) 

At least four road police patrol officers are killed in an ambush in Zahedan, Sistan and Baluchestan province, Iran. (Reuters) 

A deal to sell a controlling interest in the Israeli financial firm Phoenix Group to a consortium led by an Abu Dhabi state holding company has fallen through. (Reuters) 

Flash floods in Afghanistan‘s Kabul, the Ghazni and Maidan Wardak provinces, have killed at least 31 people, injured 74 others, and left 41 missing in the past three days. Around 250 livestock are also killed. In neighboring Pakistan, thirteen people are also killed due to heavy rains and landslides. (AP) 

At least 33 people are killed and 21 others are injured when a building collapses in Douala, Cameroon. (BBC News) 

Eleven people are killed and three injured after a school’s roof collapses in Qiqihar, China. (Al Jazeera) 

One person is killed and 12 others are injured after a bridge collapses in Patras, Greece. (Greek City Times) 

Thousands of tourists flee their hotels in Rhodes, Greece, in what officials say is the largest evacuation in the country’s history. (CNN) 

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation suspends Sweden‘s special envoy in response to incidents of Quran desecration during public demonstrations permitted by the Swedish government in Stockholm. (AP) 

A soldier kills 13 people, including ten children, during a mass shooting at his son’s funeral in Nyamamba, Ituri Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. (Al Jazeera) 

Two people are killed and four more injured during a mass shooting in Manta, Ecuador. The city’s mayor is among the killed. (AP) 

A pregnant woman killed and four injured in a mass shooting in a city park of Houston, Texas. Two suspects are arrested. (People) 

Six killed, 20 injured in shootings across Chicago, Illinois (Yahoo) 

Spaniards head to the polls to elect the members of the Cortes Generales. (Reuters) 

Alberto Núñez Feijóo‘s People’s Party wins the election, but falls short of a clear majority, while Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez‘s Socialist Workers’ Party holds slightly more seats with its allies despite finishing second, thus resulting in a hung parliament. (AP) 

Cambodians head to the polls to elect the members of the parliament. (Reuters) 

The ruling Cambodian People’s Party, led by Prime Minister Hun Sen, claims a landslide victory in the election, winning 120 out of 125 seats according to unofficial results, despite criticism over alleged suppression of the opposition. (AP) 

American golfer Brian Harman wins his first Open Championship, his first career major championship, and his first PGA Tour win in six years, by six shots over Australia‘s Jason Day, South Korea‘s Tom Kim, Spain‘s Jon Rahm, and Austria‘s Sepp Straka. (AP) 

In sailing, Spain win their first SailGP championship in the Los Angeles Sail Grand Prix in California, United States. (AP) 

In the men’s 400 metre individual medley, French swimmer Léon Marchand breaks the longstanding world record previously set by American swimmer Michael Phelps, finishing in 4 minutes, 2.5 seconds. (AFP via Channels TV) 

Hosts Poland win their first VNL title after defeating the United States 3–1 in the final at the Ergo Arena in Gdańsk. (Volleyball World) 

Saturday, July 22nd, 2023 

Ukraine strikes an ammunition depot in occupied Crimea, leading to the evacuation of houses within a 5-kilometre (3.1 mi) radius. (AP) 

The Ministry of Communications and Digital cancels a music festival in Sepang, Selangor, after Matty Healy, the lead vocalist of English band the 1975, openly criticized the country‘s anti-LGBT laws and kissed his male bandmate on stage. (AFP via ABS-CBN News) 

Four people are killed and ten others are injured in a hot water pipe burst accident at a mall in Moscow, Russia. (Reuters) 

A thunderstorm in Serbia kills three people and causes widespread damage and power disruptions. (AP) 

A deck collapse at a country club in Billings, Montana, United States, injures more than 30 people. (AP) 

The National Observatory of Athens reports that Greece faces its longest-ever heat wave, with temperatures expected to exceed 40 °C (104 °F), marking a possible 16–17-day wave. The country remains on an alert state. (AFP via Herald Sun) 

NASA climatologist Gavin Schmidt states that July 2023 is anticipated to be the hottest month recorded “in hundreds, if not thousands, of years”, attributing the trend to continuous greenhouse gas emissions. (AFP via Le Monde) 

President Bongbong Marcos formally ends the declaration of COVID-19 as a public health emergency in the country. (Khaleej Times) 

About 2,000 Magellanic penguins are found dead along Uruguay‘s eastern coast, with their cause of death remaining undetermined, although the environment ministry has ruled out avian influenza. Advocates point to overfishing and a recent subtropical cyclone as potential factors, while additional marine wildlife deaths, including sea turtles and sea lions, are also reported in the region. (AFP via NDTV) 

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei states that people who desecrate the Quran should face the “most severe punishment”, and that Sweden has “gone into battle-array for war on the Muslim world“. (Reuters) 

Protests in Copenhagen, Denmark, involving Quran desecration, responding to similar protests in Sweden, trigger unrest in Iraq, leading to an attempted breach of Baghdad‘s Green Zone and armed attacks on Danish Refugee Council facilities in Basra. (AP via PBS) 

The Democratic Republic of the Congo announces plans to “monitor” aid agencies operating in the country due to reported security issues and concerns over potential subversive activities amid ongoing armed conflict. (AFP via The Manila Times) 

Eleven people are killed in an arson attack at a bar in San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora, Mexico. The perpetrator was thrown out by the bar shortly before the attack for being heavily drunk and harassing women. (Reuters) 

In chess, Ju Wenjun wins her fourth Women’s World Chess Championship title after a victory in the 12th game of the match against challenger Lei Tingjie. (FIDE) 

Friday,  July 21st, 2023 

Russian Armed Forces strike grain warehouses in Odesa with Kalibr missiles, destroying 120 tons of crops and injuring two civilians, according to Governor Oleh Kiper. (CNN) 

Russian Armed Forces strike a building in Mykolaiv, killing two civilians. (Yeni Şafak) 

Fifteen civilians and 19 army officers are killed in a drone attack in Khartoum, Sudan. (Globe Echo) 

At least 20 civilians are killed and more than 45 others are injured by rocket attacks on residential areas in Nyala, South Darfur, and shelling in proximity to hospitals in El-Obeid, North Kordofan, as per reports from medical professionals and lawyers. (AFP via Arab News) 

A World Food Programme employee is killed by unknown assailants in Taiz, Yemen, with security forces launching a pursuit of the individuals responsible. (AFP via Manila Bulletin) 

A wet market in Tomohon, North Sulawesi, Indonesia, becomes the country’s first market to cease cat and dog meat trade following prolonged campaigning by local activists and global figures, supported by the Humane Society International. (AP via Los Angeles Times) 

The Gambian government identifies imported Indian cough syrups as the cause of at least 70 child deaths to kidney failure, leading to regulatory changes and potential legal action against the manufacturer, Maiden Pharmaceuticals. The World Health Organization confirms lethal antifreeze substances in the syrups. (AFP via Al Arabiya) 

Nigeria‘s northwestern Kaduna State reports an outbreak of diphtheria, which has killed 10 children since early July. (Xinhua) 

Police detain former intelligence officer, separatist commander and Angry Patriots Club leader Igor Girkin for alleged extremism. (AFP via The Guardian) 

One person is killed and three others are injured in a mass stabbing near a subway station in Seoul, South Korea. The attacker is apprehended. (AFP via The Hindustan Times) 

One person is killed and three others are injured duriar a subway station eou

Police raid the headquarters of the opposition party Movimiento Semilla and presidential candidate Bernardo Arévalo in Guatemala City, Guatemala. (Reuters) 

The US military deploys Marines and other assets to the Persian Gulf in response to seizures and attempted seizures of shipping by naval forces of Iran. (Politico) 

In athletics, Faith Kipyegon of Kenya sets a new women’s mile record, finishing the Herculis at Stade Louis-II in Fontvieille, Monaco, in 4:07.64 and surpassing the previous 2019 record held by Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands. (CNN) 

Russian forces strike grain warehouses in Odesa with Kalibr missiles, destroying 120 tons of crops and injuring two civilians, according to Governor Oleh Kiper. (CNN) 

15 civilians and 19 army officers are killed in a drone attack in Khartoum. (Globe Echo) 

The End

Friday,  July 14th, 2023 

A suspect in the Long Island serial murders is arrested in Massapequa Park, New York. (The Independent) 

The United States imposes sanctions on Aleksandar Vulin, a top Serbian official considered “Moscow’s man”. (Yahoo! News) 

The International Olympic Committee says that athletes from Russia and Belarus will not receive invitations to the Summer Olympic Games in Paris, France, and will only be able to compete as neutral athletes. (The Hill) 

UNESCO accepts the US as a member after it withdrew from the organization five years ago. (Euronews) 

Four people are killed in Jubaland, Somalia, as al-Shabaab is confirmed to have captured a military base in the area which had been handed to Somalia by the Kenyan military on June 29. (Xinhua) 

The United Nations reports the discovery of a mass grave in the area of Geneina, West Darfur, Sudan, believed to contain at least 87 individuals, including women and children, reportedly killed by the Rapid Support Forces and an affiliated Arab militia. (AP) 

The members of SAG-AFTRA announce that they will join the writers on a strike following failed negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. (CNBC) 

After heavy rainfall in Delhi, India, the Yamuna reaches record-high water levels, resulting in flood warnings and evacuations. (Bloomberg via Al-Arabiya) (NDTV) 

The Food and Drug Administration approves the first over-the-counter contraceptive pill, the Perrigo-manufactured Opill, broadening access to birth control across the country. (AFP via France 24) 

The foreign ministry of the Marshall Islands calls for more United States compensation over nuclear weapons testing, including on Bikini Atoll, in an effort to improve bilateral relations. (Reuters) 

The International Court of Justice dismisses Nicaragua’s bid to extend its maritime territory beyond 200 nautical miles, upholding the allocation of seven Caribbean islands to Colombia in a 2012 ruling. (AFP via RFI) 

The Guatemalan Public Ministry seizes information related to the Movimiento Semilla party at the offices of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal in Guatemala City. The tribunal announces that it will legally appeal the resolution that ordered the suspension of the party’s registration, claiming that the resolution is unconstitutional. (Prensa Libre) (Prensa Libre 2) 

The Semilla party files an appeal before the Constitutional Court. The Court accepts the appeal, allowing the party to participate in the second round of the election on August 20. However, according to the criteria of jurists, the legal recourse granted is ambiguous. (Prensa Libre) 

The End

Some really good photos in this