Portal:Current events/2022 August 31

August 31, 2022 (Wednesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Tigray War
- The Government of Ethiopia says that the Tigray People's Liberation Front has begun an offensive into the Wag and Welkait regions and is also pushing forward towards the Sudanese border. Tigrayan authorities say that three airstrikes have hit the Tigrayan capital of Mekelle, nearly striking a hospital. (Reuters) (Voice of America)
Allied Democratic Forces insurgency
- Fourteen people are killed and several others are kidnapped as Allied Democratic Forces militants attack a village in Ituri Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Five attackers are also killed. (Reuters)

Business and economy

2022 Russia–European Union gas dispute
- Russia's Gazprom announces the complete shutdown of the Nord Stream 1 natural gas pipeline for three days for unscheduled maintenance. (BBC News)

Disasters and accidents

Ten people are killed and several others are injured after a semi truck crashes near a school in Bekasi, West Java, Indonesia. (Reuters)
One person is killed and 50 others are injured by a hailstorm in Catalonia, Spain. This is the first direct hail-related death in Europe since 1997. (BBC News)
The Suez Canal was temporarily blocked after a ship ran aground on Wednesday evening. Tug boats were used to unblock the canal. (Reuters)
One person is killed and six others are injured after a building collapse in Kano, Kano State, Nigeria. (AP)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
  - The National Cabinet agrees to lower the mandatory isolation period for people infected with COVID-19 to 5 days if an individual is asymptomatic at that time. However workers in high-risk settings are still required to isolate for 7 days. (ABC News)
Sweden reports its first case of H5N1 bird flu in a porpoise. (Phys)
Life expectancy in the United States decreases for the second consecutive year, falling by nearly a year from 2020 values. (AP)

International relations