Portal:Current events/2022 May 20

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Russo-Ukrainian War
  • 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
    • Siege of Mariupol
      • Ukraine's chief military command orders all remaining troops in the Azovstal steel plant to stop defending Mariupol. (AFP via Le Devoir) (Sky News)
      • Russia says that its forces have seized the Azovstal steel plant after the last remaining Ukrainian troops surrender. (BBC News)
    • Donbas offensive
      • Ukraine says that it has repelled a Russian advance on the cities of Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk in Luhansk Oblast. Authorities say that twelve people were killed in the offensive and that over 60 houses were destroyed. (AP)
• Arab–Israeli conflict, Syrian civil war
  • Israeli–Syrian ceasefire line incidents during the Syrian civil war
    • Syrian state media says that Israeli airstrikes have killed three soldiers close to Damascus. (Times of Israel)
• Tigray War
  • The Tigray People's Liberation Front announces it will release 4,028 Ethiopian prisoners of war as part of the Tigrayan peace process. (AP)

Arts and culture

• Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II
  • The Cabinet Office announces that eight British towns will become cities as part of Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee. The new cities are Milton Keynes, Colchester, and Doncaster in England, Dunfermline in Scotland, Wrexham in Wales, and Bangor in Northern Ireland, as well as Stanley, Falkland Islands, and Douglas, Isle of Man, which become the first towns in the British Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies, respectively, to receive city status. (BBC News)

Business and economy

• Transport for London announces their intention to consult on an expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone to cover almost all of Greater London beginning on 23 August 2023. (BBC News)

Disasters and accidents

• Tornadoes of 2022
  • A tornado passes through the city of Paderborn in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, leaving a man dead and 43 injured and several buildings severely damaged. (Deutsche Welle)
  • Two people are killed and 43 injured after a rare tornado hits the city of Gaylord, Michigan, United States. (USA Today)
• Ten people are killed after a tunnel collapses in Ramban district, Jammu and Kashmir, India. (AP)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland
      • Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tests positive for COVID-19. (BBC News)
• 2022 monkeypox outbreak
  • The World Health Organization holds an emergency meeting in response to the recent monkeypox outbreak. (The Washington Post) (The Globe and Mail)
  • Spain confirms 30 monkeypox cases, becoming the country with the most reported cases. (La Vanguardia)
  • Australia and Israel announce their first suspected cases of monkeypox, both in people who had recently travelled to Europe. (Reuters) (Times of Israel)
  • Germany, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands confirm their first cases of monkeypox. (Deutsche Welle) (Reuters)

International relations

• South China Sea dispute
  • The Philippines says that it has established coast guard outposts on three Filipino-controlled islands of the Spratlys in the South China Sea. (AP)
• 2022 Russia–European Union gas dispute, Finland–Russia relations
  • Russia announces that it will suspend its supply of natural gas to Finland beginning at 4:00 GMT tomorrow due to Finland's refusal to comply with Russia's demand that gas be paid for in rubles. (Reuters) (BBC News)

Law and crime

• Three people are wounded, one critically, in a stabbing attack in Uvdal and Nore, Norway. Police say that the attack was due to a domestic dispute between the perpetrator and his wife. (Reuters)
• An Argentinian court finds the Republic of Argentina guilty for the 1924 Napalpí massacre. (BBC News)
• One person is killed and eight others wounded after a mass shooting in San Bernardino, California, United States. (AP)

Science and technology

• An unusually strong and early heat wave increases temperatures above 40 °C (104 °F) in Spain. Seville records a temperature of 41.0 °C (105.8 °F), beating its all-time high for May, while the hottest settlement, Andújar, ties the record with 42.3 °C (108.1 °F). Several settlements in France, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and western Austria beat all-time high records for the month. (La Vanguardia) (El País) (AEMET) (The Guardian) (SRF) (RTS) (ORF)
• Morocco records its highest May temperature ever in Sidi Slimane, at 45.7 °C (114.3 °F). (The Washington Post)