Portal:Current events/2014 July 29

July 29, 2014 (Tuesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine:
- The Ukrainian Azov Battalion say that they and the 39th battalion of the Dnipropetrovsk territorial defense have recaptured control of Novy Svit in Donetsk Oblast from pro-Russian insurgents. (Kyiv Post)
- In a poll, 64 percent of Russians think that the Ukraine crisis was caused by Western "interference" and 55 percent believe that Russia should continue supporting pro-Moscow separatists even if it could lead to a full-fledged civil war or even World War III, a poll shows. (Moscow Times)
- Ukrainian forces recapture control of Stepanivka (Perevalsk Raion) in Luhansk oblast from pro-Russian insurgents. (Kyiv Post)
- The Australian Federal Police and Dutch police abandon efforts to reach the crash site of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 due to escalating tensions. (Sky News Australia)
- The EU approves tougher sanctions on Russia. (The New York Times)
2014 Israel–Gaza conflict:
- Eighteen people die in airstrikes on Gaza City as the fighting intensifies. IDF reported performing over 200 airstrikes today. (CNN). According to media, up to 128 Palestinians are dead in different military attacks today, marking the bloodiest day of Gaza war to the moment. (Star Tribune) (The Times of Israel)
- The Palestinian Authority announces it has convinced Hamas and Islamic Jihad to accept a humanitarian ceasefire, but Hamas denies the claim. (Ynet)
Iraqi insurgency (2011–present):
- An Iraqi Army raid on jihadist targets in a town southwest of Baghdad kills at least 17 people. (Sky News)
Dozens of people are dead after a mob armed with knives rampages through township of Elixku in China's restive Xinjiang region and is met with gunfire. (AP)
Taliban insurgency
- A suicide bomber kills Hashmat Karzai, the cousin of the President of Afghanistan and a regional powerbroker, in the city of Kandahar. (The Telegraph)

Arts and culture

The Ukrainian Culture Ministry decides not to issue distribution licenses for two Russian films: The White Guard, and a film about Ukrainan-born Soviet wrestler Ivan Poddubny, as they "show contempt for the Ukrainian language, people and the state," and "some facts are distorted to benefit Russia." (Moscow Times)

Disasters and accidents

A heatwave in Japan has caused at least 15 deaths with more than 8000 hospitalised in the past week. (AFP via Yahoo! News)
A stampede at a concert in Conakry, the capital of Guinea, to mark the end of Ramadan results in at least 24 deaths with dozens more injured. (BBC News)

Health

2014 West Africa Ebola outbreak
- ASKY Airlines suspends flights to Liberia and Sierra Leone as the death toll from the Ebola outbreak reaches 672. (BBC News)
- Sheik Umar Khan, the doctor who was leading the fight against the disease in Sierra Leone, dies of the Ebola virus. (Reuters via ABC Australia)

International relations

Moscow describes Tokyo's decision to impose further sanctions on Russia in the wake of the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 as an "unfriendly step" that may harm "the entire system of relations" between Russia and Japan. (Reuters)
The European Union and United States impose tougher sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine crisis. (New York Times)

Politics and elections

Chinese state media report that former Politburo Standing Committee member and security chief Zhou Yongkang is undergoing investigation for "disciplinary violations." (New York Times)

Sports

2014 Commonwealth Games
- In weightlifting, Nigerian gold medallist Chika Amalaha fails a drug test. (Reuters)