Portal:Current events/2023 July 22

Armed conflicts and attacks

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

Arts and culture

• LGBT rights in Malaysia
  • 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)

Disasters and accidents

• 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)

Health and environment

• 2023 heat waves
  • 2023 European heat waves
    • 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)
• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines
    • 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)

International relations

• 2023 Quran desecration in Sweden
  • Iran–Sweden relations
    • 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)
  • Denmark–Iraq relations
    • 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)

Law and crime

• 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)

Sports

• Women's World Chess Championship 2023
  • 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)