Portal:Current events/2024 May 15

May 15, 2024 (Wednesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Southern Ukraine campaign, 2024 Kharkiv offensive
  - Russia says its forces have captured the village of Robotyne in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, and several more villages in Kharkiv Oblast. Ukraine confirms it has pulled back its troops from Vovchansk to "preserve the lives of our servicemen and avoid losses". (BBC News)
Israel–Hamas war
- Battle of Jabalia
  - Five Israeli soldiers are killed in a friendly fire incident in Jabalia after IDF tanks open fire on their position. (BBC News)
Syrian civil war, 2024 Iran–Israel conflict, Israel–Hezbollah conflict
- A Syrian and four injured in an Israel-targeted drone misfire by Lebanon-branch Hamas in Lebanon with Hezbollah drones launched at Lower Galilee, IDF outposts in Golani Junction in Tiberias and damaging Tal Shamayim base Sky Dew aerostat.(All Israel News)
- One Hezbollah member killed and two injured in an Israeli airstrike in Tyre, Lebanon.[(L'Orient le Jour)
- Three IDF soldiers injured in Hezbollah drone strike on Israeli positions in Metula.(L'Orient le Jour)
Attempted assassination of Robert Fico
- Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico is injured in a shooting in Handlová, Slovakia, which is being treated as an assassination attempt. The shooter has been apprehended and is identified as a 71-year-old writer from Levice, Slovakia. (BBC News) (The Wall Street Journal)
- The Slovak government describes Prime Minister Robert Fico's condition as life-threatening. Deputy prime minister Tomáš Taraba stated that Fico underwent surgery, was stabilized, and is expected to survive. (Reuters) (The Guardian)
2024 New Caledonia unrest
- France declares a state of emergency in New Caledonia as anti-French rioting continues, which has killed four people. Schools are closed and a curfew is announced in the capital Nouméa. (Reuters)
War in Sudan
- The United States issues sanctions on two commanders of the Rapid Support Forces, Ali Yagoub Gibril and Osman Mohamed Hamid, for their roles in the escalating violence in Darfur. (Al Jazeera)

Disasters and accidents

2024 Canada wildfires
- Authorities evacuate over 6,000 people as wildfires approach the city of Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada. (Reuters) (NPR)
2024 West Sumatra floods
- The death toll from the flash flood and lahar in West Sumatra, Indonesia, increases to 62, with 25 others still missing. (Reuters)

International relations

Nicaragua–United States relations
- The United States impose visa restrictions on more than 250 members of the Nicaraguan government and also sanction three Nicaraguan entities for "repressive action" and a failure to control migrant smuggling through Nicaragua. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Six people are injured during a mass stabbing at a railway station in Zofingen, Switzerland. The suspect, who has suffered self-inflicted wounds, is detained. His motives are unknown. (Al Arabiya)
Federal prosecutors in New York City charge two brothers, Anton and James Peraire-Bueno, with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering, after they were arrested for exploiting the Ethereum blockchain and stealing $25 million worth of cryptocurrency. (Reuters)
The United States Supreme Court lets Louisiana use a new congressional map with two majority-Black congressional districts in the 2024 United States House of Representatives elections. (CBS News)

Politics and elections

2024 United States presidential election
- 2024 United States presidential debates
  - U.S. President Joe Biden and presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump agree to hold a presidential debate on June 27, hosted by CNN, which will be the earliest general election debate in modern history in the United States. A second debate will be held in September. (The New York Times)
2023–2024 Dutch cabinet formation
- A new coalition government in the Netherlands is agreed by Geert Wilders, Dilan Yeşilgöz, Pieter Omtzigt, and Caroline van der Plas. (The Guardian)
Lawrence Wong is sworn in as the fourth Prime Minister of Singapore, succeeding Lee Hsien Loong. (BBC News) (CNA)

Science and technology

Discoveries of exoplanets
- Scientists announce the discovery of SPECULOOS-3 b, an Earth-size exoplanet that orbits a red dwarf star that has a similar size as Jupiter. (Space.com)