Thursday, June 29th, 2023 

Russian police arrest army general and Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces Sergey Surovikin amid reports that Surovikin supported the Wagner Group’s mutiny last week. (The Moscow Times) 

Overnight smoke caused by the ongoing Canadian wildfires enter the U.S. states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, Georgia, Vermont, South Carolina and a small part of Alabama.  (ABC News) 

A heatwave in the United States causes the deaths of 14 people across Texas and Louisiana. (Daily Express) 

Dozens of people storm the compound of the Swedish embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, after an Iraqi living in Sweden set fire to a copy of the Quran. (BBC) 

France’s top administrative court upholds a ban on female footballers wearing Islamic hijab headscarves. (France 24) 

The Court of Appeal rejects the United Kingdom government’s plan to fly asylum seekers to Rwanda, deeming it to be unlawful. (New York Times) (Guardian) 

The Supreme Court of the United States rules that race can no longer be considered a factor in university admissions. (Cbs News) 

Wednesday, June 28th, 2023 

The Swedish Police Authority authorizes a protest involving the burning of a Quran outside the Stockholm Mosque on the first day of Eid al-Adha, aligning with a court of appeal ruling that deemed security concerns insufficient grounds for denying the request. (AFP via The Manila Times) 

Airstrikes are reported in the Sudanese capital Khartoum, while heavy fighting takes place in Omdurman despite a ceasefire declared by both sides for the Islamic holiday Eid al-Adha. (Al Jazeera) 

A man opens fire near the United States consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, killing a security guard, before being shot dead during a shootout. (Arab News) 

Debris from the submersible Titan has been returned to land after the submersible experienced a fatal implosion during its voyage to the wreck of the Titanic last week. (BBC News) 

Smoke from the wildfires in Canada reaches the U.S. states of West Virginia, Tennessee, Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, Iowa, Missouri, Minnesota, South Dakota, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, with the smoke also reaching the capital, Washington, D.C. (ABC News) 

Smoke from the wildfires in Canada reaches Portugal and Spain. (Hoy) 

Iran brings charges against Canada at the International Court of Justice for allegedly violating Iran’s state immunity by designating it a sponsor of terrorism. (AFP via France 24) 

Chile assumes a temporary presidency of the Pacific Alliance from Mexico amid a diplomatic conflict which saw Mexico refusing to hand over the presidency to Peru due to the removal of president Pedro Castillo in December 2022. (Reuters) 

Nael M. riots 

The Criminal Court of Thailand acquits a student activist and four others of obstructing Queen Suthida‘s motorcade during the 2020 pro-democracy protests in Bangkok. The group faced a potential sentence of up to 16 years in prison or execution under Thailand’s lèse-majesté laws. (AFP via The Manila Times) 

The End Thursday 

Below posted 

Wednesday, June 28th, 2023 

Austrian painter Gustav Klimt‘s last completed oil painting, Lady with a Fan, sets a new European art auction record when an unnamed art dealer buys it for £85.3 million (US$108.4 million) including buyer’s premium at Sotheby’s in London, UK. (AFP via The Straits Times) 

Riots break out in several French towns following the shooting of a teenager by a police officer in Nanterre, Hauts-de-Seine, Île-de-France. At least 31 people are arrested, 25 police officers are injured and 40 vehicles are destroyed in arson attacks. (Al Jazeera) 

A 17-year-old boy is shot dead by a police officer after an attempted traffic stop in Nanterre, Hauts-de-Seine, Île-de-France. (France 24) 

Four Armenian soldiers are killed by Azerbaijani forces in the separatist region of Artsakh. (AFP via France 24) 

Tuesday,  June 27th, 2023 

Russian media, including the state-owned TASS, report that the Federal Security Service‘s investigation into Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin for mutiny and treason is continuing. (Reuters) 

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko confirms that the head of the Wagner Group Yevgeny Prigozhin is in Belarus after Saturday’s rebellion against the Russian government. (Reuters) 

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announces that Germany will permanently station 4,000 troops in Lithuania in order to help secure NATO’s eastern flank. (DW) 

Ukrainian forces recapture the village of Rivnopil in Donetsk Oblast, according to Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar, the ninth in the past month. (Reuters) 

A Russian missile strike on Kramatorsk, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, kills 10 civilians and injures 56 others. (The Guardian) 

Smoke from the wildfires continues to blanket southern Ontario and the eastern and mid-western United States, including New York, Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. (Yahoo! News) 

Chicago has the worst air quality in the world, while Detroit has the second worst. (Detroit Free Press) (WFLD-TV) 

The Chicago area, Michigan and Wisconsin are under purple levels and air quality alerts. (WDIV-TV) (Racine County Eye) (WBBM-TV) 

Jesse Watters is named the new host of Fox News’s 8 p.m. hour, replacing former anchor Tucker Carlson. (BBC News) 

Fourteen police officers are kidnapped by armed men in Chiapas, Mexico, while travelling on the 190 motorway between Ocozocoautla and Tuxtla Gutiérrez. (AFP via Jamaica Observer) 

Julius Maada Bio is sworn in as president of Sierra Leone for a second consecutive term. His opponent, former Foreign Minister Samura Kamara, rejects the results and claims the election was rigged. (CNN) 

The National Assembly of Republika Srpska votes to suspend all decisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina‘s Constitutional Court, a move described as ‘legal secession’ and a violation of the 1995 Dayton Agreement. The region’s president, Milorad Dodik, had criticised the court for having foreign judges and an anti-Serb bias. (Reuters) 

Former New Democratic Party Member of Parliament Olivia Chow is elected Mayor of Toronto, defeating former city councillor Ana Bailão, becoming the city’s first non-White mayor. She replaces John Tory, who resigned in February after revealing he had an extra-marital affair with a staffer. (BBC News) 

Moore v. Harper In a 6-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that the Elections Clause does not give state legislatures sole power over elections, rejecting the independent state legislature theory. (AP) 

Suspected jihadists kill several Burkinabe soldiers and members of the Volunteers for the Defence of the Homeland in a series of attacks on troops in the village of Noaka, Pissila department, Sanmatenga Province, and in the Sahel Region. (AFP via VOA) 

Monday,  June 26th, 2023 

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announces a AU$110 million military aid package to Ukraine. (The Guardian) 

The Rapid Support Forces take control of the main police base in Khartoum, seizing a large amount of military equipment and ammunition, including 160 pickup trucks, 75 armoured personnel carriers, and 27 tanks. (The Guardian) 

The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement–North attacks the town of Kurmuk in Blue Nile, Sudan, prompting hundreds of civilians to flee across the border to Ethiopia. (Reuters) 

The Turkish lira falls to a record low against the United States dollar, while the central bank stops using its reserves to support the lira. (Reuters) 

Twenty-one people are injured in a stampede during the disbursement of funds for the Benazir Income Support Programme in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. (Pakistan Today) 

Seven people die from drinking bootleg alcohol in Tehran, Iran. (Iranwire) 

One person is killed, six others are injured, and an unknown number of people are trapped when a 13-story apartment building collapses in Alexandria, Egypt. (Ahram Online) 

The Sri Lankan Department of Wildlife Conservation cancels plans to export about 100,000 endangered toque macaque Old World monkeys to China after several environmentalists initiated legal action in the Court of Appeal against the export. (AFP via ABS-CBN News) 

The End

Monday,  June 19th, 2023 – Juneteenth

Twenty people are shot, one of them fatally, at a Juneteenth celebration in Willowbrook, Illinois, United States. (ABC News) 

Kuwaiti Prime Minister Ahmad Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah forms a new cabinet following his reappointment, appointing Ahmed Al-Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah as the defense minister and Saad Al Barrak as the oil minister. (The Straits Times) 

Five Palestinians are killed and 95 others are wounded during an IDF raid in the Jenin refugee camp. (Al Jazeera) 

A submersible carrying tourists to the shipwreck of Titanic has gone missing, with coastguards trying to locate the missing submersible. (CBS) 

The Constitutional Court of Moldova outlaws the Șor Party. (Reuters) 

Sunday, June 18th, 2023 – Father’s Day

Two people are killed and three others are injured after a mass shooting in George, Washington, United States. (AP) 

One person is killed and nine others are injured after a mass shooting in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. (AP) 

Fourteen people die from drinking bootleg alcohol in Alborz province, Iran. (RFE/RL) 

A study published in Science Advances reveals that scientists from the Chilean Antarctic Institute have discovered the fossils of an unprecedented herbivorous hadrosaur  called Gonkoken nanoi, which inhabited Patagonia approximately 72 million years ago. Scientists have digitally reconstructed its skeleton, which will be 3D printed for public exhibition. (CNA) 

Researchers from the Natural History Museum in London, United Kingdom, discover the fossils of a herbivorous dinosaur species named Vectipelta barretti on the Isle of Wight. The ankylosaur, with “blade-like spiked armor”, is the first of its kind found on the island in 142 years and will be added to the collection at Dinosaur Isle for public display during the summer. (CBS News) 

Malians head to the polls to vote on a referendum that, among other things, would enhance the powers of the President. (Al Jazeera) 

A Yemenia flight with 277 passengers departs from Sanaa International Airport for Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport, the first commercial flight from Yemen’s primary international airport to Saudi Arabia after a seven-year blockade. Additional flights have been scheduled to accommodate thousands of Hajj pilgrims. (AFP via France 24) 

Ukrainian forces capture the front line village of Piatykhatky in Zaporizhzhia Oblast as heavy fighting continues. (Reuters) 

In association football, Spain defeat Croatia 5–4 on penalties, after a 0–0 draw, in the final held at the De Kuip in Rotterdam, Netherlands, to win their first UEFA Nations League championship. (BBC) 

In association football, the United States defeat Canada 2–0 in the final held at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada, United States, to defend their second CONCACAF Nations League championship. Christian Pulisic is the tournament’s “best player”. (AP via The Indian Express) 

Saturday, June 17th, 2023 

Seven people are injured after a hot air balloon catches fire in Zug, Switzerland. (AP) 

At least 34 people die during a heat wave, which started two days ago, in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. (Al Jazeera) 

At least eight people are killed and 19 others are missing after a winter storm in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. (AP) 

At least ten people are killed during an offensive by the military of Cameroon against separatists in the English-speaking Northwest Region. (Xinhua) 

The Sudanese Air Force launches airstrikes in Khartoum, killing at least 17 people and destroying dozens of homes. The armed forces and the Rapid Support Forces agree to a 72-hour ceasefire. (BBC News) 

The End