Portal:Current events/2015 July 31
July 31, 2015 (Friday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
- Jalaluddin Haqqani, the founder of the Haqqani Network, is reported as having died in 2014. (BBC)
- Turkey–PKK conflict
- Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
- Houthi shelling kills four Saudi Arabian soldiers and wounds eight others in the Saudi town of Aseer near the volatile Yemeni border. Jazeera)
Business and economy
- Swiss National Bank reports a first half loss of 50 billion CHF as a result of the franc to euro peg removal earlier this year. (BBC)
- Russian financial crisis (2014–present)
- The Central Bank lowers interest rate to 11%, while the ruble falls 1.5% on the day to close at 60.60 against the dollar. (Reuters UK)
Disasters and accidents
- Four people including members of the Bin Laden family are killed in a business jet crash close to Blackbushe Airport in the United Kingdom. (BBC), (BBC)
- More than 21 people are killed in flooding in Myanmar and up to 150,000 people are displaced.
Law and crime
- 2015 West Bank Arson attack
- Suspected Jewish settlers set fire to a West Bank home and burned a sleeping Palestinian toddler to death in an attack that drew Palestinian rage and widespread Israeli condemnation. (KLTV)(NY Times)
International relations
- India and Bangladesh have swapped control of some 160 small pockets of land on each other's territory. Residents were asked to choose where they wanted to live and which nationality they would prefer. Most of them decided to change nationality and stay where they live. (BBC)
- France agrees to pay Russia €1.16bn in refund and compensation after the cancellation of the sale of two warships following the military intervention in Ukraine. (BBC)
Politics and elections
- Philippine presidential election, 2016:
- President Benigno Aquino III endorses the presidential candidacy of Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas in 2016. (Rappler), (AP via Yahoo! News)
- Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas announces his presidential candidacy in 2016. (Rappler)
Sports
- The International Olympic Committee selects Beijing as the host city for the 2022 Winter Olympics. Lausanne in Switzerland is chosen as the host city for the 2020 Youth Olympic Winter Games. (The Guardian). (USA Today)