Portal:Current events/2026 July 15

July 15, 2026 (Wednesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Middle Eastern crisis
- 2026 Iran war
  - 2026 Strait of Hormuz crisis
    - 2026 Strait of Hormuz campaign
      - 2026 United States naval blockade of Iran
        The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) says that American forces have redirected two commercial vessels since the blockade resumed. (AA)
        
        CENTCOM says that American forces disabled the Curaçao-flagged oil tanker M/T Belma as it was heading towards an Iranian port in the Persian Gulf amidst the blockade. An 18 second video confirms that a U.S. aircraft disabled the vessel. (AA) (Stars and Stripes)
    - India in the 2026 Iran war
      - Operation Urja Suraksha
        India's Directorate General of Shipping warns companies not to deploy Indian sailors onto vessels transiting through the Strait of Hormuz after two Indian seafarers were killed in separate ship attacks in the waterway. (The Indian Express) (Reuters)
    - Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed "until the United States ends its acts of aggression". (Euractiv)
  - 2025–2026 Iran–United States negotiations
    - 2026 Iran war ceasefire
      - Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf says that ceasefire negotiations aimed at ending the war have not closed despite renewed fighting between Iran and the U.S. (The New York Times)
  - 2026 Iranian strikes on the Kurdistan Region
    - The Directorate General of Counter Terrorism of the Kurdistan Region Security Council reports that international coalition forces have intercepted seven drones in Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq. (Kurdistan24)
    - Three drones are reportedly shot down near the U.S. consulate in Erbil. (Shafaq)
  - CENTCOM announces the U.S. has launched new strikes against Iran for a fifth consecutive day aimed at coastal defense systems, cruise missile storage, and launch sites in the Greater Tunb Island. (AFP via NDTV) (Politico)
- Gaza war
  - Gaza peace plan
    - Morocco signs an agreement with the Board of Peace to join the International Stabilization Force for Gaza. (Reuters)
  - Nirim attack, Gaza war hostage crisis
    - Israel's military claims to have killed a militant from the Hamas branch Al-Qassam Brigades that participated in the abduction of soldiers Col. Asaf Hamami, St.-Sgt. Tomer Yaakov Ahimas, and Sgt. Kiril Brodski during the October 7 attacks on the Nirim kibbutz. (The Jerusalem Post) (Haaretz)
- Yemeni civil war
  - Saudi Arabia–United States relations
    - The U.S. State Department approves a potential US$1.96 billion deal in arms sales to Saudi Arabia amidst the current Iran war and potential re-escalation with the Houthis. (Al Jazeera)
Sudanese civil war
- Darfur campaign
  - The Sudanese Armed Forces-allied Joint Forces announce that they have recaptured the Orshi Reservoir area in North Darfur, a month after the Rapid Support Forces seized the area. (AA)
- A drone strike by the Rapid Support Forces hits a power station in the town of Al Dabbah in Sudan's Northern State. (Sudan Tribune)

Disasters and accidents

Seven people are killed and one person is missing after a rubber dinghy explodes near Liaoning Province, China. (Xinhua)
One person is killed and 24 others are missing after a passenger boat sank off the coast of Sulawesi, Indonesia. (Xinhua)

Health and environment

2026 Canadian wildfires
- IQAir ranks Toronto, Ontario, Canada, as having the worst air quality among major cities worldwide as smoke from wildfires in northwestern Ontario reaches the city, prompting the Canadian environment ministry to advise residents to remain indoors. (AFP via ABS-CBN News)
2026 Ebola epidemic
- The total amount of cases of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo exceed 2,000. (Medical Xpress)
Sudanese cholera epidemic
- Sudan's health ministry reports that the total amount of cholera cases in north and west Kordofan has increased to 1,547. (Sudan Tribune)

International relations

United Kingdom–European Union relations
- Effect of Brexit on Gibraltar
  - The United Kingdom and the European Union remove the land-border fence between Gibraltar and Spain under a post-Brexit treaty, allowing free movement while introducing joint British-Spanish checks at Gibraltar's airport and port. (AP)
Afghanistan and the United Nations
- United Nations secretary-general António Guterres appoints Bangladeshi diplomat Rabab Fatima as the next head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan. (AFP via Arab News)
Papua New Guinea–Taiwan relations
- Papuan foreign minister Justin Tkatchenko announces the immediate closure of Taiwan's representative office in Port Moresby, citing Papua New Guinea's adherence to the One China policy, while saying the decision does not affect contracts between Taiwan's CPC Corporation and natural gas in Papua New Guinea. (AFP via The Straits Times)

Law and crime

Bhutanese refugees scam
- A district court in Kathmandu, Nepal, sentences former deputy prime minister Top Bahadur Rayamajhi to four years in prison and former home minister Bal Krishna Khand to two years for roles in forging documents for a fraudulent Bhutanese refugee resettlement scheme. (Reuters)
Cannabis in Kenya
- Kenya's High Court rejects a Rastafarian petition seeking a religious exemption from cannabis laws, ruling that the group does not show the laws violate religious freedom. (AFP via NDTV)
Democratic Republic of the Congo–Rwanda conflict
- The Democratic Republic of the Congo establishes a council composed of mostly international war crimes lawyers to advise state institutions seeking accountability and reparations for victims of violence in the country's east. (Reuters)
Detention of Craig and Lindsay Foreman
- The family of British national Craig Foreman says an Iranian court has added two years to his 10-year espionage prison sentence for speaking to the media, as he and his wife Lindsay continue a hunger strike. (CBS News)
Moroccan prosecutors release journalist Ali Lmrabet after questioning him over online posts allegedly defaming unnamed individuals and institutions, while the criminal investigation continues. (Reuters)
U.S. president Donald Trump announces that American citizen Dena Karari has been released from Iran after being detained on espionage charges since 2024. Her lawyer, Jared Genser, also confirmed her release. (The Guardian) (NBC News)

Politics and elections

France's National Assembly gives final approval to a bill allowing eligible adults with incurable, life-threatening illnesses to obtain lethal medication under strict conditions. The measure awaits Constitutional Council review before taking effect. (AP)

Science and technology

Discoveries of exoplanets
- Astronomers directly image the exoplanet Beta Pictoris d next to its star, located 63 light-years away, using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope and European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope. It is also reported to be fainter than its sibling Beta Pictoris b. The discovery is published in the The Astrophysical Journal. (ABC News) (Space.com)
Internet in South Africa
- American technology company Amazon partners with South African internet provider Herotel to launch Amazon Leo satellite internet service in 2027, marking its first such African agreement. (AFP via The Manila Times)

Sports

2026 ESPY Awards
- The ESPY Awards is held at the David H. Koch Theater in New York City, U.S., with the 2025–26 New York Knicks winning five awards, including the Best Team award after winning their first NBA championship since 1973, while point guard Jalen Brunson wins the Best Male Athlete and Best Championship Performance awards. (NBC News) (Reuters)