Portal:Current events/2024 July 31

July 31, 2024 (Wednesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Israel–Hamas war
- Assassination of Ismail Haniyeh
  - Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh is assassinated in Tehran, Iran, after attending the inauguration ceremony of Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian. Hamas and Iran blame Israel for the assassination; however, the Israeli government officially declines to comment. (Al Jazeera) (AP)
  - Qatar and Egypt warn that peace negotiations are in jeopardy as a result of the assassination. (Reuters)
- Killing of journalists in the Israel–Hamas war
  - Al Jazeera Arabic journalist Ismail al-Ghoul and his cameraman are killed in an Israeli airstrike while conducting a news broadcast near Ismail Haniyeh's home in the Gaza Strip. (Al Jazeera)
- 2024 Iran–Israel conflict, Israel–Hezbollah conflict
- 2024 Haret Hreik airstrike
  - A source close to Hezbollah tells AFP that the body of top commander Fuad Shukr has been recovered, nearly 24 hours after he was killed in an Israeli airstrike on southern Beirut, Lebanon. (Al Arabiya) (Reuters)
  - One Israeli civilian killed in a Hezbollah rocket strike in northern Israel and Israeli airforce planes are fired at in Lebanese airspace.(The Jerusalem Post)
Mali War
- Battle of Tinzaouaten
  - Mali announces that it carried out joint airstrikes with Burkina Faso on insurgents in and around Tinzaouaten. The CSP-PSD says that a Burkinabé drone strike killed dozens of civilians. (Reuters)
Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Siege of Mariupol, Prisoners of war in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
  - Ukraine demands that Russia explain the death of Ukrainian POW Oleksandr Ishchenko in Russian captivity, who was being tried with 21 other captured Ukrainian troops for being part of the Azov Brigade that Russian prosecutors allege is far-right affiliated. (Reuters)
Boko Haram insurgency
- At least 19 people are killed during a suicide bombing by Boko Haram at a market in Konduga, Borno State, Nigeria. (Punch)

Disasters and accidents

2024 Manila Bay oil spill
- The Cavite provincial government in the Philippines declares a "state of calamity" after an oil spill from the sunk MT Terra Nova ship reaches the shores of eight municipalities, requiring implementation of a no-catch zone and relief aid to be given to around 25,000 fishermen. (GMA Network)
- The Mirola 1 oil tanker is discovered to have ran aground near the coast of Bataan, becoming the third vessel to cause an oil spill in Manila Bay in the past week. (GMA Network)
Strong thunderstorms and winds in eastern Nebraska cause significant destruction, causing widespread power outages in Lincoln and Omaha, the two largest cities in the state. (The New York Times)
One person is killed and at least 40 others are injured when a tent collapses in a windstorm at a Buddhist retreat in Busby, Alberta, Canada. (CBC News)

International relations

Lukoil oil transit dispute
- Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico threatens to suspend Slovakia's diesel exports to Ukraine if the Ukrainian government continues to suspend pipeline oil transport from Russian oil company Lukoil, which Slovakia claims is causing a national energy crisis. (The Kyiv Independent)
United States–Georgia relations
- The United States pauses US$95 million in assistance to the country of Georgia due to its government passing a law on "foreign agents", which US officials referred to as "anti-democratic" and a "draconian measure to stifle dissent". (Reuters)

Law and crime

Human trafficking in the United States
- Human trafficking in California
  - Fourteen people are arrested in a sting operation by a joint task force at the San Diego Comic-Con in San Diego, California, United States, for participating in a sex trafficking network. Ten victims were recovered, including one teenager. (The Hollywood Reporter)
Human trafficking in Spain
- Twenty-six people are arrested by Spanish police in Madrid, Málaga, and Toledo for operating a sex trafficking ring that abused over 600 women. 32 women were freed during the operation. (AP)
2024 United Kingdom riots
- Rioting occurs in Hartlepool, United Kingdom, reportedly in response to the Southport stabbing attack. At least eight people are arrested and a number of Cleveland Police officers are injured in the unrest. (BBC News)

Sports

2024 Summer Olympics
- Diving at the Summer Olympics
  - China surpasses the United States for the record of most gold medals in Olympic diving. (NBC News)
- Guatemala at the 2024 Summer Olympics
  - Adriana Ruano wins the gold medal in women's trap shooting to set a new Olympic record and win the first gold medal for Guatemala in Olympic history. (The New York Times)
- North Korea at the 2024 Summer Olympics
  - Kim Mi-rae and Jo Jin-mi win the silver medal in Women's synchronized diving, North Korea's first medal in the sport. (Yonhap News Agency)
- Tennis at the 2024 Summer Olympics
  - Novak Djokovic defeats Dominik Koepfer to advance to the quarterfinals of the Men's singles tournament, becoming the only player to reach the quarterfinals four times, and the oldest quarterfinalist in Olympic tennis history at the age of 37. (The Tennis Gazette) (India Today)