Portal:Current events/2019 July 4

July 4, 2019 (Thursday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Sanctions against Iran
- Royal Marines seize control of an oil tanker off the coast of Gibraltar that was en route to Baniyas in Syria, suspected of breaching EU sanctions against Syria, carrying Iranian crude oil. The United Kingdom's Ambassador to Iran, Robert Macaire, is summoned in Tehran over the incident, which Iran describes as an "illegal seizure". (BBC)

Art and culture

Business and Economics

Lightsource BP, a solar energy developer headquartered in London, has announced that it will acquire utility-scale solar projects in Brazil, 1.9 gigawatts of projects, for an undisclosed sum. This is a major expansion for Lightsource, which is 43% owned by the energy giant BP. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

2019 Ridgecrest earthquakes
- An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.4 with scores of foreshocks and aftershocks hits Southern California, 150 miles (240 km) north of Los Angeles near the city of Ridgecrest. No injuries are reported. The earthquake is the largest in Southern California since October 1999. (CNN) (USGS) (USGS)
European migrant crisis
- More than 80 people are missing after a migrant boat capsizes off the coast of Tunisia, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). (The Guardian)

International relations

Australia–North Korea relations
- An Australian student who had been detained in North Korea on June 25 is freed thanks to diplomatic talks between Australia and North Korea via Swedish officials. (Reuters)
Kosovo–Serbia relations
- Amid a deterioration in relations, Kosovo bans all Serbian officials from entering the country, in response to "constant propaganda and false news about the country and our citizens" from Belgrade. (RFERL)

Law and crime

Crime in Virginia
- A 20-year-old man is charged with stabbing three in a machete attack in a plasma center in Petersburg, Virginia. (Yahoo News)