Portal:Current events
Topics in the news
- Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (pictured) inherits the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and becomes President of the United Arab Emirates after the death of Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
- Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way galaxy, is imaged by the Event Horizon Telescope.
- The 2021 Southeast Asian Games open in Hanoi, Vietnam.
- Bongbong Marcos is elected as President of the Philippines alongside his vice-presidential running mate, Sara Duterte.
Armed conflicts and attacks
- 2022 Buffalo shooting
- Ten people are killed and three others injured after a gunman opens fire in a Tops Friendly Markets supermarket in Buffalo, New York, United States. The shooter, a white supremacist, is taken into custody. (AP) (BNO News)
Arts and culture
- Eurovision Song Contest 2022
- Kalush Orchestra, representing Ukraine, wins the Grand Final with the song "Stefania". (Yahoo! News)
Business and economy
- Economy of Venezuela
- Venezuela announces that it will sell 5–10% shares in state-owned companies to private investors in order to help fund state enterprises. (AP)
- 2022 heat wave in India and Pakistan
- India bans wheat exports with immediate effect after the heat wave causing yields to be lower than estimated. Exception will be made if wheat is requested by governments and for food security needs. (Bloomberg)
International relations
- Georgia–Russia relations, Russia–South Ossetia relations
- Proposed Russian annexation of South Ossetia
- Outgoing South Ossetian President Anatoly Bibilov announces that a referendum on joining Russia will be held on July 17. (Reuters)
- Proposed Russian annexation of South Ossetia
Politics and elections
- The Federal Supreme Council of the United Arab Emirates appoints Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan as the country's new president, who also inherits the Emirate of Abu Dhabi after the death of his half-brother Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. (AP)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Syrian civil war
- Israeli involvement in the Syrian Civil War
- Syrian state media says that a missile attack from Israel hit Masyaf, Hama Governorate, killing five people and injuring seven others. (Reuters)
- Ten Syrian Army soldiers are killed and nine others are injured by a rocket attack that hit a bus in Aleppo, Syria. (Reuters)
- Israeli involvement in the Syrian Civil War
- Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- Israeli police commando Noam Raz is killed in a shootout with Palestinian Islamic Jihad gunmen in Jenin, West Bank. (Times of Israel)
- Israeli riot police beat pallbearers and mourners at the funeral of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, which was attended by thousands of Palestinians in East Jerusalem. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki and the deputy speaker for UN Secretary-General António Guterres called the images of the attacks "deeply disturbing". (AP)
- Six people are injured in a mass stabbing on a train near Aachen, NRW, Germany. Police arrested an Iraqi man and are investigating whether it was a terrorist attack. (Deutsche Welle)
Business and economy
- Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk
- Enlargement of the eurozone
- The Croatian Parliament votes 117–13 to officially replace the kuna with the euro on 1 January. (RTÉ)
- The Sky Bridge 721 opens in Dolni Morava, Czech Republic. Spanning 721 metres (2,365 ft), it is longest simple suspension bridge in the world. (Reuters)
Disasters and accidents
Health and environment
- COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in North Korea
- North Korea says that six people have died and 187,800 others have been quarantined due to the latest COVID-19 outbreak. (The New York Times)
- COVID-19 pandemic in North Korea
- The total number of people who have received a dose of the Malaria vaccine surpasses 1 million. (NPR)
International relations
- Enlargement of NATO
- Finland–Russia relations
- RAO Nordic, a subsidiary of Russian energy company Inter RAO, announces it will suspend deliveries of electricity to Finland, saying it has not been paid for prior deliveries. The suspension comes as Russia threatens retaliation if Finland joins NATO. (BBC News)
- Finland–Turkey relations, Sweden–Turkey relations
- Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan says that Turkey will oppose Sweden and Finland's applications to join NATO, asserting that the countries are "guesthouses for terrorist organisations". (Reuters)
- Finland–Russia relations
- Government and intergovernmental reactions to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Russia–United States relations
- U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin holds talks with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in the first meeting between the two since the start of the invasion. (Reuters)
- Russia–United States relations
Law and crime
- War crimes during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Ukraine holds its first trial for war crimes committed during the Russian invasion, against a Russian soldier accused of shooting an unarmed civilian in March. (AP)
- Anti-government demonstrations occur in multiple cities in Iran that are experiencing Internet shutdowns. (Fox News)
Politics and elections
- President of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Abu Dhabi Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan dies at the age of 73. (Gulf News)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Russo-Ukrainian War
- 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Eastern Ukraine offensive
- Ukrainian forces repel an attempted Russian military crossing of the Donets river, west of Sievierodonetsk, in Luhansk Oblast. At least one Russian battalion tactical group is reportedly destroyed, as well as the pontoon bridge deployed in the crossing. (Reuters)
- The Russian Air Force launches around a dozen missiles at the city of Kremenchuk, including four at the Kremenchuk Oil Refinery, in Poltava Oblast. (Ukrinform)
- Eastern Ukraine offensive
- 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Kurdish–Turkish conflict
- Turkey says that five people were injured by Kurdish nationalists launching a missile attack into the country from Syria. (Reuters)
- One person is killed and thirteen others injured by a roadside bombing targeting a van in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. (AP)
Business and economy
- The cryptocurrency market loses US$200 billion following stablecoin TerraUSD's collapse in value. Bitcoin and Ether fall to their lowest value in 16 and 11 months, respectively. (CNBC)
Disasters and accidents
- Tibet Airlines Flight 9833
- An A319-100 aircraft operated by Tibet Airlines veers off the runway and catches fire at Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport in Yubei District, Chongqing, China, injuring forty people, with some being hospitalized. (Bangkok Post) (The Hindu)
- Five people are feared dead and twenty others are injured in a chemical plant explosion and fire in Kočevje, Slovenia. (AP)
- Eleven people die and thirty-one others are rescued after a boat capsizes off the coast of Puerto Rico near Desecheo Island. (AP)
Health and environment
- COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in North Korea
- North Korea announces its first COVID-19 outbreak. (AP)
- Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un orders a national lockdown. (Financial Times)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Romania
- Romania announces that beginning on 16 May, people over the age of 18 years can receive a fourth dose of the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at vaccination centers and family medicine offices. (Stiri din Romania)
- COVID-19 pandemic in North Korea
International relations
- Enlargement of NATO
- Finland–NATO relations
- Finland's leaders declare that the country should apply for membership of NATO "without delay," with the Parliament set to vote next week on whether to apply. (CNBC) (President of the Republic of Finland)
- Finland–Russia relations
- The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs threatens to take retaliatory steps against Finland, including of a "military-technical" nature, if the country joins NATO. (BBC News)
- Finland–NATO relations
- France–Iran relations
- France summons the Iranian ambassador in response to the detainment of two French nationals. (Times of Israel)
Science and technology
- A team of scientists at the Event Horizon Telescope release the first ever image of Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy. (BBC News)
- Researchers from the University of Florida announce that plants have been grown on lunar soil, collected by Apollo missions, for the first time ever. (AP)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- 2022 bombing of Odessa
- Russian forces continue to fire missiles at the Ukrainian port city of Odessa in an apparent attempt to cut supplies to the city. (AP)
- Battle of Kharkiv
- Ukrainian military forces recapture several settlements north of Kharkiv, driving Russian troops to less than a dozen miles from the Russian border. (MSN)
- 2022 bombing of Odessa
- Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh is killed while covering a raid in Jenin. Palestinian sources say that Abu Akleh was shot by Israeli soldiers, while Israeli sources say that she was likely killed by indiscriminate fire by Palestinian militants. Another journalist and two other Palestinians are injured in the shooting. (NPR)
- A Palestinian is shot dead after charging at police officers in Jerusalem. (Times of Israel)
- Insurgency in the Maghreb
- Eight soldiers are killed and 13 others are injured during an ambush by Al-Qaeda-linked militants in Kpendjal Prefecture, Togo. The attack is believed to be connected to the current insurgency in Burkina Faso, making it the first Islamic extremist attack in Togo. (Reuters)
- Somali Civil War
- Four people are killed by a suicide bomber at a checkpoint in Mogadishu, Somalia. Al-Shabaab claims responsibility for the attack. (AP)
- Boko Haram insurgency
- Seven soldiers are killed and two others are missing after gunmen ambush them in Taraba State, Nigeria. (Reuters)
- Sinai insurgency
- Five soldiers are killed and four others are injured during a shooting at a security post in North Sinai, Egypt. (Reuters)
Disasters and accidents
- A small plane crashes in Cameroon with eleven people on board. It is unknown if any casualties occurred. (AP)
Health and environment
- COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand
- Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announces that New Zealand will fully reopen its borders on July 31, two months before the government lifts all remaining pandemic restrictions. (Al Jazeera)
- European Union response to the COVID-19 pandemic
- The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) announce in a joint statement that, starting next week, masks are no longer required for flights or in airports. However, the EASA asks passengers to "behave responsibly and respect the choices of others around them," while the ECDC recommends that passengers continue to practice social distancing if it can be done in a non-disruptive manner. (Euronews)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
- COVID-19 passes a threshold of 1 million confirmed deaths in the United States, according to a Reuters tally. Some news outlets declared that the 1 million mark was reached a week earlier. (Reuters) (NBC)
- COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand
International relations
- Finland–United Kingdom relations, Sweden–United Kingdom relations
- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson signs security agreements with Finland and Sweden, pledging British military assistance to both Scandinavian countries should they come under attack. (Reuters)
Law and crime
- American Indian boarding schools
- A report by the US Department of the Interior identifies 53 burial sites of Native American children near boarding schools, where children were forcibly sent to according to the 19th and 20th century federal government's policy of assimilation. Preliminary results suggest that more than 500 children were found to have died while in school custody. (Reuters)
- Surfside condominium collapse
- A tentative settlement of $997 million is reached with the families of victims and survivors of the condo collapse in Surfside, Florida, United States. However, the settlement is still subject to final approval. (AP)
- LGBT rights in Greece
- Greece bans the practice of conversion therapy for minors as well as all advertisements promoting it. (Reuters)
- Hong Kong's national security police arrest four people, including Cardinal Joseph Zen, Cantopop singer Denise Ho, and former legislative councilwoman Margaret Ng, in connection with a fund that provided aid to protesters. (The Guardian)
- The Iranian Ministry of Intelligence says that it has arrested two European nationals for allegedly attempting to destabilize the nation in connection with foreign intelligence services. (Al Arabiya)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Ituri conflict, 2021–2022 Democratic Republic of the Congo attacks
- Fourteen people are killed during an attack by suspected CODECO militants at a refugee camp in Fataki, Ituri Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. (Reuters)
- 2022 Sri Lankan protests
- The Sri Lankan Defense Ministry authorizes the Army and police force to shoot looters and assailants and to arrest protesters without warrants in response to yesterday's violence. (Al Jazeera)
Business and economy
- Apple announces it will discontinue sales of the iPod Touch, officially ending the iPod line of portable media players after more than 20 years. (The Verge)
- The operator of Ukraine's natural gas system GTSOU announces that it will stop shipments of Russian gas through the Sokhranivka route on Wednesday. (Reuters)
International relations
- Lithuania–Russia relations, Government and intergovernmental reactions to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- In a rare public rebuke, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus criticizes China's "Zero-COVID" policy as "unsustainable", advising the Chinese government to change its strategy. (Al Jazeera)
Politics and elections
- 2022 Philippine presidential election
- Former Senator of the Philippines Bongbong Marcos, son of dictator Ferdinand Marcos, is expected to become the next President of the Philippines, based on partial and unofficial counts. Marcos has more than twice as many votes as the next closest candidate Leni Robredo, the current Vice President of the Philippines. The victory will be officially ratified by the Congress of the Philippines in late May. (BBC News)
- Crown Prince of Kuwait Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah accepts the resignation of the Government of Kuwait, after the request had been submitted more than a month ago. No timeline is given for when the next election will occur. (Reuters)
- Yoon Suk-yeol is sworn in as the 13th President of South Korea. (CNN)
- Katalin Novák takes office as the first female President of Hungary. (Al Jazeera)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- 2022 Sri Lankan protests
- Prime Minister of Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapaksa resigns amid mass protests over the government's handling of the economic crisis. (BBC News)
- Pro-government supporters storm a major protest site in Colombo, clashing with police and protesters. A total of 78 people are injured. (Al Jazeera)
- Two people are killed and eight more are injured as police open fire against a group of protestors who were trying to set fire to the Pradeshiya Sabha chairman’s residence in Weeraketiya. (Ada Derana)
- MP Amarakeerthi Athukorala opens fire against protestors who were blocking his vehicle in Nittambuwa, killing one man and injuring another. Athukorala then escaped into a nearby building, before being found dead alongside his security officer. (Al Jazeera)
- Gunmen open fire at two polling stations in Buluan and Lanao del Sur, Philippines, killing three guards and a voter and injuring another guard and two voters, amid the presidential elections. (Al Jazeera)
Arts and culture
- 2022 Pulitzer Prizes
- The Washington Post wins the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for its coverage of the 2021 United States Capitol attack. The New York Times wins the Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting on the war on terror's failed bombing campaigns and the most awards overall. (The New York Times) (NPR)
Business and economy
- Nigeria's airlines say that they have cancelled a plan to suspend domestic flights, a decision they had previously made due to an increase in the cost of aviation fuel. (BBC News)
- The Royal Thai Army announces it will ban all army personnel from using the Singaporean e-commerce site Lazada for allegedly insulting the royal family in a Facebook video ad. Digital Economy Minister Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn in a separate statement said the government is considering legal action against both Lazada and the advertising agency responsible for the ad. (Reuters)
Disasters and accidents
- One person dies and eleven others are missing after a fishing boat sinks off the coast of Ghana. (BBC News)
- Four people are killed and fifty others are injured after a tear gas grenade is set off causing a human stampede at a public university in Potosí, Bolivia. (AP)
International relations
- Enlargement of NATO
- The Swedish Social Democratic Party announces that it will decide on May 15 whether to pursue a course of action to join NATO. Finnish President Sauli Niinistö is expected to also announce Finland's intention to join NATO on May 12. (Al Jazeera)
- Foreign relations of Iran, Foreign relations of Transnistria
- Iranians in Moldova are urged to leave the country due to rising tensions in pro-Russian Transnistria and spillover effects from the war in Ukraine. (Tasnim)
Law and crime
- 2022 Ecuador prison riots
- A prison riot in Santo Domingo, Ecuador, kills 44 inmates. (ABC News)
Politics and elections
- 2022 Philippine general election
- Filipinos head to the polls to elect officials in the Presidential, Senate, House of Representatives, Gubernatorial, and other local elections. (The Guardian)
- Bongbong Marcos, the son of late Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos, is leading in the preliminary and unofficial results to become the next President. (CNN)