Portal:Current events/2022 March 7

March 7, 2022 (Monday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Russo-Ukrainian War
- 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
  - Battle of Kharkiv
    - The International Atomic Energy Agency confirms that the Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology in Kharkiv, which holds a neutron generator, has been destroyed by Russian shelling. The IAEA says that no radiation release has been detected from the facility, which housed a "small inventory of radioactive material". (Bloomberg)
    - Ukraine says that it has killed 41st Combined Arms Army general Vitaly Gerasimov, who allegedly took part in the annexation of Crimea, Russia's intervention in Syria, and the Second Chechen War, in the Kharkiv Oblast. He is the second general to be killed by Ukrainian forces after Andrey Sukhovetsky. (Ukrinform) (The Independent)
  - Kherson offensive
    - Ukrainian Navy forces strike Russian Navy patrol boat Vasily Bykov with missiles in the Black Sea. (The Telegraph) (Mirror)
  - Russia–Ukraine relations
    - Russia and Ukraine set up another ceasefire in order to allow humanitarian evacuations in some cities. (ABC News)
    - Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov says that Russia will end its military campaign if Ukraine ends its fighting campaign, does not join NATO, recognizes Crimea as Russian territory, and recognizes Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states. (Newsweek)
Insurgency in the Maghreb
- Mali War
  - Two United Nations peacekeepers are killed in a bomb attack north of Mopti. Shortly before that, militants kill two Malian soldiers in Gao Region. (National Post)
  - French forces confirm reports that they killed Algerian-born senior al-Qaeda official Yahia Djouadi in a drone strike in February. (The National News)
2019–2022 Sudanese protests
- Khartoum massacre investigation
  - In cooperation with military officials, the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces raid an office investigating a commission that was set up to investigate the Khartoum massacre. (Al Jazeera)

Business and economy

2021–2022 global energy crisis
- The price of Brent crude oil increases to $139.13 per barrel, the highest value since July 2008, amid supply disruptions and the threat of a Russian oil ban. (Reuters)
Metal markets register new highs. Aluminium and nickel register a record price on the London stock exchange, at about $4,000 and $55,000 per tonne, respectively; nickel prices rose 90% on intraday trading. Copper also recorded new highs, at $10,845 per tonne, while palladium reached $3,440 per ounce. Russia is a substantial producer of all of these metals, and the market expects shortages of these commodities as the country is hit by further sanctions. (Reuters) (Reuters 2) (Barron's)

Disasters and accidents

One person dies and seven crew members are rescued after a fishing trawler capsizes in the North Sea while travelling to Norway, according to the Norwegian Coast Guard. (BBC News)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
  - COVID-19 vaccination in the United States
    - COVID-19 pandemic in New York (state)
      - COVID-19 pandemic in New York City
        New York City formally ends its mask mandate for its school district as well as its indoor vaccine mandate for restaurants, bars and theaters. (The New York Times) (WNYW-TV)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Connecticut
    - Connecticut reports 145 hospitalizations from COVID-19, its lowest since July 30 of last year. (WTIC-TV)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium
  - Belgium removes most of its COVID-19-related restrictions, including lifting most of mask mandate and no longer requiring COVID Safe Tickets to enter most public places, after the country lowered its COVID-19 barometer from code orange to yellow. (Anadolu Agency)
- COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China
  - China reports 526 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, which is the highest daily total in the country in two years. (Bloomberg)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Kenya
  - It is announced that Moderna will build a vaccine manufacturing facility in Kenya to produce mRNA vaccines, including its COVID-19 vaccine. (Reuters)
- The number of deaths due to COVID-19 worldwide surpasses six million. (The New York Times)

International relations

Reactions to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Russia–Ukraine relations
  - The Russian and Ukrainian delegations hold a third round of talks at the Belarus–Poland border. During the talks, both countries say that they made limited progress on humanitarian corridors. However, no ceasefire was agreed to. A fourth round of talks will be held in the future. (ANI) (Times of Israel) (Daily Sabah) (Deccan Herald)
  - It is announced that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba will hold a tripartite meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu in Ankara on Thursday. This will be the first Cabinet-level meeting between Russia and Ukraine since the invasion began. (Politico.eu)
- Russia–NATO relations
  - Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán signs a decree allowing the deployment of NATO troops in western Hungary, and the transfer of lethal weapons across its territory to other NATO member states. However, the decree does not allow weapons shipments across its territory to Ukraine. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Lynching in the United States
- The United States Senate votes unanimously to pass the Emmett Till Antilynching Act, a bill that would make lynching a federal crime in the United States. The bill will head to President Joe Biden for his signature. (NPR)

Politics and elections

President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte approves a bill raising the age of consent in the Philippines from 12 to 16. (Reuters)

Science and technology

Belarus launched a widespread phishing attack against Polish and Ukrainian government and military officials. The attack has since been contained. (The Washington Post)