Portal:Current events/2022 March 4

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Russo-Ukrainian War
  • 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
    • Kherson offensive
      • Battle of Mykolaiv
        • Ukrainian forces say that they have recaptured the Mykolaiv Airport. (Ukrinform)
        • Russia renews its assault on Mykolaiv with naval gunfire support. (The Guardian)
        • The Ukrainian Navy scuttles its flagship frigate Hetman Sahaidachny at the port of Mykolaiv to prevent its capture by Russian forces. (The Independent)
    • Siege of Enerhodar
      • The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Enerhodar catches fire following shelling by Russian troops. The fire is later extinguished. (Reuters) (NDTV)
      • Ukrainian officials confirm that the power plant has been captured by Russian forces. (BBC News)
    • Eastern Ukraine offensive
      • Ukrainian air defences shoot down a Russian Sukhoi Su-25 jet over the city of Volnovakha in Donetsk Oblast. (Forbes)
    • Kyiv offensive
      • Sky News chief correspondent Stuart Ramsay is shot and wounded by Russian troops near Kyiv. (Wales Online)
    • Ukrainian refugee crisis
      • The Czech Republic introduces a state of emergency for 30 days as thousands of Ukrainian refugees arrive in the country. (Novinky)
  • Reactions to the 2021–2022 Russo-Ukrainian crisis
    • Ukraine–NATO relations
      • NATO announces that they will not declare a no-fly zone over Ukrainian airspace, as such a declaration could create an avenue for further escalation by enabling NATO nations to potentially fire upon Russian aircraft in the area. (FOX News)
      • President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemns NATO for rejecting his appeal for a no-fly zone over his country, saying "All the people who die starting today will also die because of you. Because of your weakness, because of your disconnection". (DW)
    • Head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov calls on President Vladimir Putin to let his forces seize Ukraine's major cities, saying that it is the "only way to save the Russian people and our state". (WeForNews)
  • By a unanimous vote, Ukraine becomes a contributor to NATO's Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence. (Kyiv Independent)
• Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Terrorism in Pakistan
  • 2022 Peshawar mosque attack
    • Islamic State gunmen and a suicide bomber kill at least 61 people and injure 196 others during Friday prayers at a Shia mosque in Peshawar, Pakistan. (CNN)

Business and economy

• Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
  • Economy of Brazil
    • The government announces that Brazil's economy has grown by 4.6%, the largest increase since 2011, after suffering a slump in 2020 due to the COVID-19 recession. (The Rio Times)
• 2022 Russian financial crisis
  • The Moscow Stock Exchange will extend its closure until at least March 8. (Bloomberg)
  • JPMorgan Chase warns that the current financial crisis in Russia might be similar or even greater in consequences than the 1998 crisis, when Russia defaulted on its obligations. (Bloomberg)
  • Yandex, the Russian equivalent of Google, announces that it might be heading for default. (CNN)
• 2022 boycott of Russia and Belarus
  • Alphabet Inc., the parent company of Google, stops all sales of advertisements in Russia, following similar actions by Twitter and Snap Inc., as Russian regulators demand that the company stop showing "false political information" about Ukraine that they claim is misinforming the Russian public. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

• Wildfires in 2022
  • A wildfire occurs near the Hanul Nuclear Power Plant in Uljin County, South Korea, prompting authorities to issue a national emergency alert and evacuate residents from the area. (Korea Herald) (Yonhap)
  • South Korean President Moon Jae-in orders an effort to protect the power plant amid wildfire concerns. (Reuters)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Japan
      • COVID-19 vaccination in Japan
        • Japan reaches 1 million booster doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. (Kyodo News)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea
      • South Korea reports a record 266,853 cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours. (Reuters)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Ireland
    • President Michael D. Higgins and his wife Sabina test positive for COVID-19. (The Irish Post)
• 2020–2022 H5N8 outbreak
  • A red-breasted goose in the Jersey Zoo, Channel Islands, tests positive for H5N8 avian influenza. (BBC News)

International relations

• Reactions to the 2021–2022 Russo-Ukrainian crisis, International reactions to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
  • Russia–Ukraine relations
    • Russian President Vladimir Putin says that Russia is open to peace talks with Ukraine. However, he also urged Ukraine to meet Russian demands. (Cotswold Journal) (Guernsey Press)

Law and crime

• Reactions to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
  • Media freedom in Russia
    • President Vladimir Putin signs amendments to the Criminal Code of Russia criminalising the spreading of falsehoods about Russian soldiers and the Russian Armed Forces, as well as calling for anti-Russian sanctions. According to the changes to the Criminal Code, spreading falsehoods about the Russian army will be punishable by 10–15 years of imprisonment, with the possibility of an additional fine of 700,000 to 1.5 million rubles (US$6,400–13,700) and up to three years of forced labour. The other two activities will carry a lesser punishment but all include possible imprisonment. The bill was previously accepted unanimously by the State Duma. (Interfax Russia) (TASS)
  • Protests against the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
    • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addresses anti-war protesters in cities across Europe. (Guernsey Press) (Warrington Guardian)
  • International sanctions during the Russo-Ukrainian War
    • Italian police seize the yacht of Russian oligarch Alexei Mordashov at the port of Imperia. Another yacht owned by Putin associate Gennady Timchenko is blocked at the port and is expected to be seized shortly. Both men have been sanctioned by the European Union. (The Guardian)
• Assassination of Hrant Dink
  • A Turkish citizen wanted for the assassination of journalist Hrant Dink is detained in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. (AKIpress)

Politics and elections

• 2021 Australian Parliament House sexual misconduct allegations
  • Minister for Education and Youth Alan Tudge, who temporarily stood down from his position last year after domestic abuse allegations were leveled against him by his former staffer and mistress, announces that he will be permanently resigning from the frontbench as a result of these allegations. (MSN News)

Science and technology

• Reactions to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
  • Arianespace and OneWeb suspend all future rocket launches from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, and the use of Russian Soyuz rockets for their spacecraft. (Spaceflight Insider) (Reuters)
  • Russian space agency Roscosmos ceases all joint scientific experiments on the International Space Station. (WION)
• Internet censorship in Russia
  • Russia blocks access to the websites of foreign government-sponsored corporations BBC News, Voice of America, Deutsche Welle and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty for spreading so-called "false information" about the "special military operation" in Ukraine. Russia also blocks access to Facebook and Twitter for the same reason. (Reuters) (Politico) (Meduza)

Sports

• 2022 Winter Paralympics
  • The opening ceremony of the Winter Paralympics is held in Beijing. (NPR)