Portal:Current events/2023 July 19

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Russian invasion of Ukraine
  • Bombing of Odesa
    • At least 12 people are injured in a night-time Russian missile attack on Odesa, Ukraine. (AP via ABC News)
  • Crimea attacks
    • A fire occurs at the military training grounds in Crimea, forcing the evacuation of more than 2,000 people and the closure of a nearby highway. (Reuters)
  • List of military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War
    • The United States announces a $1.3 billion military aid package to Ukraine. The package includes four NASAMS air defense systems, anti-tank missiles, Phoenix Ghost and Switchblade attack drones, and landmine clearing equipment, among others. (The New York Times)
• Kivu conflict
  • Nine people are killed and 16 others are injured during the explosion of a bomb in a field in Rutshuru Territory, North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo. (Al Jazeera)
• Terrorism in India
  • Police in Bangalore, India, arrest five men suspected of planning a terrorist attack in the city. (The Times of India)

Business and economy

• A Powerball lottery player from California, United States, becomes the third to win a billion-dollar prize, with a ticket purchased in Los Angeles earning the $1 billion jackpot. (AFP via The Daily Star)

Disasters and accidents

• At least 34 people are killed and 12 others are injured when a bus collides with a car in Tamanrasset Province, Algeria. (Reuters via Al Arabiya)
• Sixteen people are killed and eleven others are injured when an electricity transformer explodes on the banks of the Alaknanda River in Chamoli district, Uttarakhand, India. (Hindustan Times)
• One person is killed and 48 others are injured during an underground gas explosion in Johannesburg, South Africa. (AP)
• Five people are killed and several others are injured across Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, after a storm passes through the countries. (Reuters) (AP via The San Diego Union-Tribune)

International relations

• 15th BRICS summit
  • South Africa confirms that Russian president Vladimir Putin, who faces an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court, will participate remotely in the upcoming BRICS summit in Johannesburg rather than attend in person. (AFP via The Manila Times)
• The United States sanctions multiple Central American officials accused of corruption, including former Presidents of El Salvador Mauricio Funes and Salvador Sánchez Cerén. (AP via ABC News)

Law and crime

• A court in Iran sentences actress Afsaneh Bayegan to a suspended two years in prison for failing to comply with the hijab law. (AFP via The Times of Israel)
• Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi pardons Coptic researcher Patrick Zaki and the lawyer of political activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah. Both men had been convicted of allegedly disseminating fake news. (AFP via France 24)
• At least two protesters are shot by police, 14 more are hospitalized, and at least 300 are arrested during protests in Kenya. (The Guardian)

Politics and elections

• Aftermath of the 2023 Thai general election
  • A Thai court suspends Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat's status as a lawmaker after accusing him of violating election laws for allegedly holding shares in a media company. (CNN)
• In Singapore, Workers' Party member of parliament Leon Perera and member Nicole Seah resign following the social media dissemination of a video revealing their extramarital affair, which party secretary-general Pritam Singh confirmed. (AFP via NDTV)