Portal:Current events

Topics in the news

Earthquake damage in East Manggarai, Indonesia

• A magnitude-7.7 earthquake (damage pictured) strikes off the coast of Flores, Indonesia, causing at least 83 deaths.
• Former premier of China Zhu Rongji dies at the age of 97.
• A solar eclipse causes totality from Siberia to Iberia.
• A ferry capsizes on Lake Kariba, Zimbabwe, leaving at least 97 people dead.
• A magnitude-7.4 earthquake strikes Chocó Department, Colombia, leaving at least 319 people dead.

Ongoing:

• Iran war (Lebanon war)
• Russo-Ukrainian war
  • timeline

Recent deaths:

• Harry van der Kamp
• Anatoly Mikhaylov
• Dave Marsh
• Wolfgang Haber
• Peggy Webber
• O. J. Brigance

August 22, 2026 (2026-08-22) (Saturday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Middle Eastern crisis
  • Aftermath of the Syrian civil war
    • Israeli invasion of Syria
      • The Israeli Army Radio reports that the IDF has launched a drone strike against a fighter in southern Syria who they accuse of prepping a improvised explosive device (IED) attack against Israeli troops currently occupying southern Syria. (The Jerusalem Post)
  • Gaza war
    • Tunnel warfare in the Gaza Strip
      • The Israel Defense Forces claims that Sharif al-Hasanat, an alleged Hamas company commander affiliated with the Deir al-Balah Battalion of the Al-Qassam Brigades, was killed in an airstrike in Gaza, violating the ongoing ceasefire. (The Times of Israel) (JFeed)

Disasters and accidents

• Five people are killed in a head-on road collision along the Lagos–Badagry Expressway near Lagos, Nigeria. (The Daily Post Nigeria)
• Seven people are killed and others are injured in a three-vehicle collision on the A66 road in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. (BBC News)

Law and crime

• The Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency reports that authorities in Kiribati, Palau, and Papua New Guinea have detained four Chinese and Indonesian fishing vessels for alleged illegal fishing or licence violations during a regional enforcement operation across the Pacific Ocean. (AFP via Daily Tribune)

August 21, 2026 (2026-08-21) (Friday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Russo-Ukrainian war
  • Russian attacks on civilians in the Russo-Ukrainian war
    • Kryvyi Rih strikes
      • Russian drone strikes on a shopping center in Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Ukraine, kill at least 16 people and injure more than 130 others, including 22 children. (Reuters)
    • Mykolaiv strikes
      • A Russian strike on a neighborhood in Mykolaiv Oblast, Ukraine, kills four people, including three children, according to Ukrainian interior minister Ivan Vyhivskyi. (Ukrinform)
• Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
  • Pakistani forces raid multiple hideouts and kill 49 militants allegedly belonging to the Pakistani Taliban and the Balochistan Liberation Army in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. (AP)
• Myanmar civil war
  • Resistance fighters and a local activist say Myanmar's military deployed hundreds of troops around the proposed Dawei Special Economic Zone in the Tanintharyi Region, burning villages and pushing resistance groups back as the government seeks to revive the project. (Reuters)
  • At least 12 people are claimed to have been killed and 20 others injured after the Tatmadaw bombarded a Buddhist monastery compound in Myaung Township during a religious gathering. (Burma News International)

Arts and culture

• Ethiopian civil conflict
  • The annual Ashenda festival in Mekelle, Tigray Region, Ethiopia, is cancelled over drone strike fears. (BBC News) (Binance)
• American fantasy film The Odyssey reaches US$1.35 billion at the worldwide box office to become the highest-grossing R-rated film, surpassing Deadpool & Wolverine. (The Guardian)

Business and economy

• The Panama Canal announces it will limit the number of ships allowed to cross the passage over the next month due to El Niño causing droughts in the region. (DW)

Disasters and accidents

• Three people are killed and six more wounded in an explosion at a house in the Ain al-Qasab village of Idlib, Syria. (AA) (Middle East Eye)

Health and environment

• Project Elephant
  • India's Supreme Court orders states to protect elephant corridors, identify and remove obstructions, and prohibit groups from using fire to drive wild elephants away amid increasing habitat loss and human-elephant conflict. (AFP via France 24)

Law and crime

• 2026 Fagersta school stabbing
  • A person is killed and three other people are injured in a mass stabbing, carried out with a sword, at a high school in Fagersta, Sweden. The perpetrator is arrested at the scene. (Reuters)
• Capital punishment in Japan
  • Japan executes a 58-year-old man for a 2009 arson attack that killed five people at a pachinko parlor in Osaka. It is the first execution under Sanae Takaichi's premiership. (AFP via The Star) (The Japan Times)
• Lawsuits involving TikTok
  • TikTok agrees to pay $400 million to settle a U.S. Justice Department lawsuit alleging violations of federal children's privacy law through the collection of personal data from users under 13 without parental consent. (AFP via France 24)
• War crimes in the Gaza war, Humanitarian aid during the Gaza war, Gaza genocide
  • Turkish justice minister Akın Gürlek announces that Turkey has issued an Interpol arrest warrant for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his role in attacks on activists seeking to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza. (France 24) (Reuters)
• The Hong Kong Court of First Instance convicts Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung of incitement to subversion over their leadership of a group that organized annual Tiananmen crackdown vigils. They face up to 10 years in prison. (AFP via RFI)
• The Russian justice ministry designates independent news outlet Mediazona a "foreign agent" for a second time, accusing it of publishing false information about law enforcement. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

• In Mexico, Sinaloan governor Rubén Rocha Moya resumes office after a four-month suspension while contesting U.S. drug-trafficking charges and an extradition request. Mexican prosecutors say they find insufficient evidence linking him to criminal conduct. (AFP via France 24)

Sports

• 2026–27 Malaysia Super League
  • In association football, Johor Darul Ta'zim claims a world record for the longest unbeaten run in top-flight league play, reaching 109 matches after defeating Kuching City 3–0 in Malaysia's Super League. (AFP via RFI)

August 20, 2026 (2026-08-20) (Thursday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Middle Eastern crisis
  • 2026 Iran war
    • 2026 United States military buildup in the Middle East
      • The USS George Washington arrives in the Middle East to relieve the USS Abraham Lincoln amidst a nine-month deployment and reports of mental health challenges among the crew and supply shortages on the aircraft carrier during the Iran war. (AP) (The Guardian)
    • 2026 Strait of Hormuz crisis
      • Data from Kpler shows that seven ships have passed through the Strait of Hormuz, with four entering and three exiting the waterway. (Reuters)
  • Gaza war, Palestinian war crimes
    • The Israel Defense Forces accuses Hamas of using the Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis to carry out interrogations and torture Palestinians. (The Jerusalem Post)
• Mali War
  • 2026 Mali offensives
    • Human Rights Watch reports that Africa Corps forces summarily killed nine civilians, including four children, in Mali last month. (Al Jazeera) (HRW)
• Sudanese civil war
  • Kordofan campaign
    • The Sudan People's Liberation Movement–North led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu regains control of Kauda, South Kordofan, following two days of clashes with Otoro fighters. (Sudan Tribune)
• Myanmar civil war
  • Unexploded ordnance from past fighting is detonated after being tampered with in Maungdaw Township, Rakhine State, Myanmar, injuring ten children. (Burma News International)

Business and economy

• LSEG data shows that a vessel in France is loading wheat destined for Sudan, marking the first export of wheat from France to Sudan since August 2008. (Baird Maritime)

Disasters and accidents

• Security Aviation Flight 45
  • Eight people are killed when a Cessna 441 Conquest II aircraft crashes at the Cape Newenham Long Range Radar Site in Western Alaska, United States. (AA) (AP) (KTUU-TV)
• A M_w 6.7 earthquake strikes the Parinacochas province in Peru. (AP)
• Four railway workers on the Tōbu Nikkō Line are killed after being struck by a Limited express train in Kanuma, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. (BBC News) (The Japan Times)
• Mauritania's coast guard rescues more than 300 migrants, including 40 children, from an overcrowded boat off the country's coast after finding them in distress. (AFP via L'Orient–Le Jour)
• At least 13 Tunisians are missing and two are rescued after their boat capsized off Tunisia while sailing toward Italy, according to the Tunisian Observatory for Human Rights. One survivor is in critical condition. (Reuters)
• Five people are reported missing and eight others are injured after a fire at a restaurant with apartments in Thusis, Grisons, Switzerland. (AFP via Kuwait Times) (BBC News)

Health and environment

• 2026 Ebola epidemic
  • The World Health Organization says that the Democratic Republic of the Congo will receive 70,000 doses of the Ebola vaccine candidate developed by Merck to combat the Ebola outbreak in the country. (CNBC) (Africanews)

International relations

• Ecuador–United States relations, Mexico–United States relations
  • The U.S. Treasury Department issues sanctions on 15 people allegedly involved in a drug trafficking network shipping thousands of kilograms of cocaine from Ecuador through Mexico to the United States. (AP)

Law and crime

• 2025 Mexican fuel smuggling scandal, Argentina–Mexico relations
  • Argentina deports a Mexican Rear Admiral accused of leading a fuel-smuggling network inside the Mexican Navy to Mexico after the Mexican government withdraws its extradition request. He is taken to the Altiplano maximum-security prison, where his brother and alleged co-leader, Vice Admiral Manuel Roberto Farías Laguna, is also imprisoned. (Infobae in Spanish)
• Corruption in China, Chinese real estate crisis
  • A Chinese court sentences Evergrande founder Hui Ka Yan to life imprisonment for financial fraud, bribery, and embezzlement, and fines Evergrande and its real estate arm a combined ¥15.8 billion (US$2.35 billion). (AFP via CNA)
• Two ANC members including a former Knysna councillor are shot dead, one day after a sitting Knysna councillor is shot dead in a suspected internal ANC faction fight in Knysna, Western Cape, South Africa. (Knysna-Plett Herald)

Politics and elections

• 2026 Bangladeshi presidential election
  • The Jatiya Sangsad elects Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir as the President of Bangladesh in the first contested presidential election in 35 years. Alamgir will take office tomorrow. (Al Jazeera) (AP) (Dhaka Tribune)
• Cameroon President Paul Biya returns to the country following a two-and-a-half-month absence. (Africanews)
• Syrian Kurdish leader Mazloum Abdi says the integration of Kurdish military, security, and administrative institutions into the Syrian state is complete following an agreement reached with president Ahmed al-Sharaa in January. (AFP via France 24)

Sports

• In American football, the National Football League fines the Dallas Cowboys and the New Orleans Saints $500,000 each after they started a brawl after a joint practice session at the Cowboys' facility in Oxnard, California, United States. (AP)

August 19, 2026 (2026-08-19) (Wednesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Middle Eastern crisis
  • 2026 Iran war
    • 2026 Strait of Hormuz crisis
      • 2026 Strait of Hormuz campaign
        • Axios reports that the U.S. military has created a new shipping lane in the Strait of Hormuz to help ships transit through the waterway, including the facilitating of 10 million barrels of oil per day. (The Jerusalem Post) (Axios)
  • Gaza war
    • Gaza peace plan, Qatar as a mediator in conflict
      • Qatari prime minister and foreign minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani meets with Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya and other senior leaders in Doha, Qatar, to discuss the situation in the Gaza Strip and other occupied Palestinian territories. (Doha News)
    • War crimes in the Gaza war, Gaza genocide
      • The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launches an investigation into troop conduct for their roles in the 2024 killing of five-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab, her family, and 15 paramedics. (AP)
    • Around ten people are reported killed in an Israeli airstrike on a police station in Gaza City. (Middle East Eye)
    • The IDF says that the Air Force have targeted two Hamas commanders, including one who participated in the October 7 attacks, along with Hamas tunnels in the Gaza Strip. (The Jerusalem Post)
    • The IDF also confirms that they have killed four Nukhba force commanders from the Al-Qassam Brigades wing of Hamas in an airstrike on a cafe yesterday in Gaza City. (The Jerusalem Post) (The Times of Israel)
• Russo-Ukrainian war
  • Kyiv strikes
    • Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that a Russian missile and drone attack on Kyiv killed at least 15 people and injured 40 others, damaging residential buildings, a children's hospital, and a school. (ABC News) (BBC News)
• Mexican drug war
  • Nine CJNG members, including four ringleaders, are arrested during a military operation in Tinaja de Vargas y Colesio, municipality of Tanhuato and Ecuandureo. Among the detained is Heraclio Guerrero aka "Tio Lako", leader identified as behind the operation of cartel training camps and the offensive during the 2026 Jalisco operation. (CNN en Español in Spanish) (Democrata)
• The United Nations reports that 36 humanitarian workers and contractors in South Sudan have been killed since the start of the year, surpassing the 31 killed last year. (AP)

Business and economy

• Economic impact of the 2026 Iran war
  • Iranian economic crisis
    • U.S. president Donald Trump announces an economic war against Iran, along with new sanctions for countries trading with Iran. (The Hill)
  • The Office for National Statistics reports that inflation in the United Kingdom rose to 2.9% last month amidst the Iran war. (The Guardian)
• Economy of the United States
  • The United States Department of the Treasury reports that the national debt surpassed $40 trillion for the first time the previous day, and is currently at $40.047 trillion. (Reuters) (CNBC) (AP)

Disasters and accidents

• 2026 Mount Ololokwe helicopter crash
  • Six passengers, including Ecuadorian intelligence head Michele Sensi-Contugi and his wife, and the pilot are killed in a helicopter crash on Mount Ololokwe in Samburu County, Kenya. (NBC News)
• At least 52 people are killed when a boat carrying farm workers capsizes in Goronyo, Sokoto State, Nigeria. (Lagos Television)
• Twenty-three people are killed and five others are injured in a head-on collision between a bus and a truck on the BR-373 near Ipiranga, Paraná, Brazil. (Reuters) (UOL)
• Nine people, including eight Bangladeshi nationals, are killed and six others are injured in a hotel fire in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. (AP) (The Independent)

Health and environment

• 2026 Bangladesh measles outbreak
  • Amidst the ongoing measles outbreak in Bangladesh, health minister M. A. Muhit says that the outbreak will need 2-3 months for it to be under control. (Jagonews24)
  • In a study from the Bangladesh Shishu Hospital & Institute, around 82% of children who died from measles during the outbreak in Bangladesh did not receive adequate or exclusive breastfeeding during their first 6 months of their life. (Dhaka Tribune) (The Business Standard)
  • Four more children are reported to have died from measles in 24 hours, bringing the death toll in the country from the outbreak past 922. (The Business Standard)
• Merck and Moderna report that their cancer vaccine candidate showed positive results in their late-stage trial in preventing a recurrence of melanoma, including in high-risk patients. (AFP via France 24) (CNBC)

Law and crime

• Former Liberian vice president Jewel Taylor is charged for drug trafficking, money laundering ‌and other offenses as part of an investigation of a transnational narcotics network. (Reuters)

Science and technology

• A U.S.-led research team grows human brain organoids for seven years, the longest reported period, and finds that their cells continue maturing in patterns similar to normal brain development. (AFP via France 24)

Sports

• 2026 Sydney Swans player investigation
  • In Australian football, the Sydney Swans suspend five of their players for the remainder of the season who are under police investigation over allegations of sexual assault against multiple women. (ABC News Australia)

August 18, 2026 (2026-08-18) (Tuesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• 2026 Iran war
  • 2026 Strait of Hormuz crisis
    • The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations reports that a cargo vessel has come under attack off the Omani coast in the Strait of Hormuz, leaving one dead. (Al Jazeera)
  • United Arab Emirates in the 2026 Iran war
    • The United Arab Emirates's defence ministry detects two missiles fired from Iran towards the country, including one that fell outside territorial waters and another that fell within it. (Gulf News) (Khaleej Times) (Emirates 24/7)
• Russo-Ukrainian war
  • Attacks in Russia during the Russo-Ukrainian war, Russia–United Kingdom relations
    • British prime minister Andy Burnham confirms that the United Kingdom will continue to militarily support Ukraine after Russia warned the UK will face "consequences" for allowing Ukraine to use British-made drones to strike targets deep inside Russian territory. (BBC News)
  • Russian attacks on civilians in the Russo-Ukrainian war
    • A Russian ballistic missile strike kills ten civilians and injures eight others in Pechenihy, Kharkiv Oblast. Several homes are completely destroyed. (AP)
  • Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant crisis
    • A drone strike hits a bus stop near the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Enerhodar, killing one plant worker and injuring several others. (Reuters)
• Sudanese civil war
  • Blue Nile campaign
    • The Sudan Doctors Network reports that recent attacks in Geissan of Sudan's Blue Nile region has displaced over 5,000 people to Damazin. (Sudan Horizon)
  • Darfur campaign
    • The Rapid Support Forces launches a major crackdown in Nyala, South Darfur, its largest security and military mobilization since seizing the city in 2023. (Sudan Tribune)
• Nigerian bandit conflict
  • At least 24 bandits are killed by a force of Nigerian Army, State Security Service, and vigilante groups during a foiled kidnapping attempt in Bakori, Katsina State, Nigeria. (Daily Post)
  • Fourteen kidnapping victims are rescued by the Nigerian Army in Sabuwa, Katsina State. (The Punch)
• Mexican drug war
  • Five gunmen are killed by members of the Mexican Army after an encounter in Los Palillos locality, Los Reyes, Michoacán. (Latinus in Spanish)

Business and economy

• Economic impact of the 2026 Iran war
  • Iran–United Arab Emirates relations
    • The United Arab Emirates suspends commercial exchanges, and financial transactions with Iran after Iran launched two ballistic missiles at the country. (Time)

Disasters and accidents

• At least 100 people are killed when a gold mine collapses in Baboua, Central African Republic, at the border with Cameroon. (RTÉ)
• At least eight people are killed and more than 20 others are injured after a vehicle rams into a truck in Madhya Pradesh, India. (Xinhua)
• Three people are killed after an explosion at a thermal power plant in Baniyas, Syria. (Xinhua)
• A second M_w 4.7 earthquake strikes the province of Granada, in Spain. Damage and injures are reported in Granada and the surrounding area, while the Alhambra is evacuated. (BBC News)
• Four people are killed and sixteen others are injured when a passenger bus crashes due to a brake failure in Kirehe District, Eastern Province, Rwanda. (IGIHE)

Health and environment

• The UK Health Security Agency confirms that an outbreak of salmonella in the UK has left one person dead and hundreds more ill. The outbreak is believed to be linked to imported eggs. (BBC News)

International relations

• United States and the International Criminal Court
  • The United States imposes sanctions on International Criminal Court (ICC) president Tomoko Akane and senior trial lawyer Abdoulaye Seye over their alleged involvement in proceedings against officials from countries that do not recognize ICC jurisdiction. (AFP via France 24)

Law and crime

• 2026 Zamboanga City school shooting
  • A student is killed while nine other people are injured in a mass shooting at a junior secondary school building of the Ateneo de Zamboanga University in Zamboanga City, Philippines. The perpetrator, also a student, later kills himself. (Reuters) (The Philippine Star)
• Imprisonment of Imran Khan
  • Pakistan's Supreme Court orders imprisoned former prime minister Imran Khan transferred from the central jail in Rawalpindi, Punjab, to Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad for medical examinations following a petition by his lawyers concerning his health. (AFP via RFI)
• Singapore begins requiring major Internet messaging platforms to restrict unsolicited contacts and social media services to verify advertisers and block suspected scam advertisements under new anti-scam rules, with penalties of up to S$1 million (US$780,000) for non-compliance. (AFP via The Manila Times)

Politics and elections

• 2026 Zambian general election
  • Zambian president Hakainde Hichilema is declared the winner by the electoral commission, re-electing him to a second term. (AP)

August 17, 2026 (2026-08-17) (Monday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• 2026 Iran war
  • 2026 Iranian strikes on the Kurdistan Region
    • Kurdistan Region prime minister Masrour Barzani reports that Iran has launched a drone attack on the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) prime minister’s office. No casualties are reported. (Al Jazeera)
• Russo-Ukrainian war
  • Violations of non-combatant airspace during the Russo-Ukrainian war
    • A Russian Banderol cruise missile explodes in Ștefan Vodă District, Moldova, after entering from Ukrainian airspace, triggering a wildfire in a corn field. Moldovan authorities condemn the strike as "a serious violation of Moldova’s sovereignty". (The New Voice of Ukraine)
• Sudanese civil war
  • Kordofan campaign
    • The Sudanese Armed Forces says that it has shot down a long-range drone used by the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan's North Kordofan state, the second drone shot down this month in the region. (Sudan Tribune)
  • South Sudanese president Salva Kiir meets with Darfur governor Minni Minnawi in Juba, South Sudan, to discuss efforts to end the conflict in Sudan. (Eye Radio)
• Somali Civil War
  • Constitutional crisis in Somalia, Controversies of Hassan Sheikh Mohamud
    • Several fighters from both sides are killed after Somali federal forces and opposition groups clash in the South West State. Two civilians are also killed. Militias loyal to former state president Abdiaziz Laftagareen enter the regional capital Baidoa, challenging two battalions of the Somali National Army loyal to Somali president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. (Reuters) (Garowe Online) (i24 news)
• Nigerian bandit conflict
  • At least 22 people are killed in a mass shooting in Kebbe, Sokoto State, Nigeria. (Tribune)
• Terrorism in Afghanistan
  • A explosion is reported at a school in the Dashte Barchi neighborhood of Kabul, Afghanistan, injuring several people. The perpetrator is unknown. (Al Jazeera)

Disasters and accidents

• 2026 Pacific hurricane season
  • A 90-year-old woman is confirmed dead in Nāʻālehu, Hawaii, United States, and over 100,000 people remain without power after Hurricane Lala struck the state. (AP) (The Guardian)
• 2026 Pacific typhoon season
  • Floods and landslides caused by the southwest monsoon and Tropical Storm Kujira kill at least 23 people and displace thousands across the Philippines. (AA)
• A crowd crush at the Ashokdham Temple in Bihar, India, kills at least seven people and injures 19 others. (AFP via ABS-CBN News)
• Seven people are killed and several others are injured after a fire breaks out in a hotel in Birbhum District, West Bengal, India. (Xinhua)
• Humanitarian NGO Emergency rescues 50 migrants from a wooden boat in international waters off Libya and recovers seven bodies. Two survivors require urgent medical evacuation, and 29 of those rescued are unaccompanied minors. (Reuters)
• Three people are killed when a private helicopter crashes on Sifnos, South Aegean, Greece. (AP)
• Torrential rainfall causes widespread flooding in Geoje-si, South Gyeongsang, South Korea, killing at least one. (BBC News) (The Guardian)

Health and environment

• 2026 Ebola epidemic
  • The United Nations reports that at least 2,325 people have died from the current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, making it the deadliest in the country's history. (DW)
• Seventh cholera pandemic
  • A city official reports that at least 500 people have been hospitalized for severe diarrhea, with nearly 150 testing positive for cholera, in Yangon, Myanmar. (AFP via CNA)
• California's energy commission approves the United States's first energy-efficiency standards for replacement tires, aiming to reduce rolling resistance and lower driver fuel costs by 2029. However, manufacturers warn the strict limits could eliminate up to 70% of current replacement tire options by 2033. (The New York Times) (Fox Businesss)

International relations

• France–Iran relations
  • Iran says it barred two French embassy employees from returning for allegedly violating the Vienna Convention through activities supporting Iranian civil society. France says their work involved programs for civil society, students, and artists. (Reuters)
• South Korea–United States relations
  • United States president Donald Trump orders the Department of Defense to substantially reduce the Ulchi-Freedom Guardian military exercises with South Korea, citing their cost and his relationship with North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong Un. The drills begin as scheduled. (AFP via The Straits Times)

Law and crime

• War on drugs
  • Mexican drug war
    • Members of the Mexican Navy seize 3.2 million doses of cocaine floating off the coasts of the state of Michoacán. This action represents a financial blow of Mex$340.2 million (US$20.11 million) to organized crime. (López Doriga in Spanish)
  • Indonesia's National Narcotics Board, police, and customs arrest 10 Myanmar nationals after seizing 2.6 metric tons of liquid methamphetamine from a Tanzanian-flagged vessel in waters off the Riau Islands. (Reuters)
• Opposition to Vladimir Putin in Russia, Protests against the Russo-Ukrainian war
  • A Russian court sentences Yabloko deputy chairperson Lev Shlosberg to 11 years and one month in prison for discrediting the armed forces and spreading disinformation after he publicly condemned the Russo-Ukrainian war. (Reuters)
• Discord suspends live streaming, screen sharing, and video calls in Brazil to comply with an order from the national data protection authority following the death of a 13-year-old girl allegedly encouraged to kill herself during an online broadcast. (AFP via RFI)
• The trial of Duane "Keffe D" Davis for his alleged role in the murder of rapper Tupac Shakur begins in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. (BBC News) (CNN)

Politics and elections

• Immigration policy of the second Trump administration
  • United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) commissioner Rodney S. Scott pauses construction of a $1.7 billion border-security project in Big Bend National Park, Texas, while the CBP reviews the plan amid bipartisan local opposition and environmental concerns. (AFP via RFI)
• Former South Korean prime minister Kim Min-seok is elected as the new leader of the Democratic Party with 54.08% of the vote against its former leader Jung Chung-rae. (The Diplomat) (The Korea Herald)

August 16, 2026 (2026-08-16) (Sunday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Russo-Ukrainian war
  • Violations of non-combatant airspace during the Russo-Ukrainian war, Russia–NATO relations
    • 2026 drone incidents in Romania
      • A Spanish F/A-18 Hornet jet shoots down a Russian drone in Romanian airspace. The drone was downed near Galați after entering from Moldova. (Politico)
  • Attacks in Russia during the Russo-Ukrainian war
    • Ukrainian forces launch 822 drones at Russia, including over 600 towards Moscow, killing at least seven people and injuring 39 others. A Wildberries warehouse is also destroyed. Russian officials say it is the largest Ukrainian drone attack launched this year. (BBC News)
• Insurgency in Balochistan
  • Seven suspected members of the Pakistani Taliban are killed in a intelligence-based joint operation in Kharan District, Balochistan, Pakistan. (The Express Tribune)
• Mali War
  • 2026 Mali offensives
    • Tuareg separatist Azawad Liberation Front releases six wounded Malian troops. (AFP via Arab News)
• Myanmar civil war
  • Rakhine offensive
    • Two civilians are killed and several homes are damaged by a government airstrike in Thandwe, Rakhine State, Myanmar. (Narinjara News)
• Sudanese civil war
  • The African Union (AU) holds a meeting with Sudanese officials in an effort to end the war, marking the first talks by the AU in the country since the military led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan seized power in the October 2021 coup. (Sudan Tribune)

Business and economy

• The Federal Government of Somalia announces that Somali Airlines will resume flights beginning next month, ending a 35-year pause after the country entered a civil war in 1991. (Bloomberg) (Dawan Africa) (Airline Geeks)

Disasters and accidents

• The death toll of the Lake Kariba vessel capsizing in Zimbabwe from last week rises to 72 after twelve more bodies are recovered. (AP)
• A passenger bus carrying tourists from Poland crashes in to a ditch in Mezőkeresztes, Hungary, killing 12 people and injuring ten more. (AP)
• Ten people are killed after a tourist bus overturns near Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Xinhua) (O Globo in Portuguese)
• Five teenagers are killed and four others, including a child, are injured in a head-on collision caused by a wrong-way driving vehicle on the M9 motorway in County Kildare, Ireland. (BBC News)
• St. Nicolas' Church is completely destroyed by a fire at the Museum of Folk Architecture in Sanok, Podkarpackie Voivodeship, Poland. (TVP World)

Law and crime

• Three people, including a teenager, are killed and two others are injured in a shooting in Isla Cristina, Andalusia, Spain. Police investigate the attack as a possible dispute between rival drug-trafficking groups and search for the gunman. (Reuters)

Sports

• 2026 IFAF Women's Flag Football World Championship, Canada at the 2028 Summer Olympics
  • In flag football, Canada's women's team defeats the defending champion United States to win its third IFAF Flag Football World Championship title. Additionally, the men's football team qualifies for the upcoming Summer Olympics. (Global News)

Time: 19:35 UTC|Day: 22 August

August 2026

S	M	T	W	T	F	S
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2	3	4	5	6	7	8
9	10	11	12	13	14	15
16	17	18	19	20	21	22
23	24	25	26	27	28	29
30	31

Ongoing events

Disasters and humanitarian

• African Ebola epidemic
• Cuban crisis and blackouts
• Gaza genocide

Economics

• Global memory supply shortage
• Strait of Hormuz crisis

• Iran war fuel crisis

• United States tariff policy

Politics and diplomacy

• Gaza peace plan
• Israel–Lebanon peace negotiations and ceasefire
• Russia–Ukraine peace negotiations

Protests and strikes

• Albanian anti-government protests

Weather

• Canadian wildfires
• European heatwaves

• UK heatwaves and wildfires

• North American heat wave
• 2026–2027 El Niño event

Elections and referendums

Recent

• August

• 11: Hungary, President (indirect)
• 12: Cook Islands, Parliament
• 13: Zambia, President, National Assembly
• 20: Bangladesh, President (indirect)

Upcoming

• 23: Kazakhstan, Kurultai
• 29: Iceland, Referendum
• 30: Guinea-Bissau, Constitutional referendum

• September

• 02: Estonia, President (indirect)

Sports

• Association football

• 2026–27 UEFA Champions League (qualifying)
• 2026–27 UEFA Europa League (qualifying)
• 2026–27 UEFA Conference League (qualifying)
• 2026–27 UEFA Women's Champions League (qualifying)
• 2026–27 Premier League
• 2026–27 La Liga
• 2026–27 Serie A
• 2026–27 Ligue 1
• 2026 Copa Libertadores
• 2026 Major League Soccer season
• 2026 National Women's Soccer League season

• Athletics

• 2026 Diamond League

• Australian rules football

• 2026 AFL season

• Baseball

• 2026 Major League Baseball season
• 2026 Nippon Professional Baseball season
• 2027 Women's Baseball World Cup
• 2026 Little League World Series

• Basketball

• 2026 WNBA season

• Canadian football

• 2026 CFL season

• International cricket

• 2025–27 ICC World Test Championship

• Cycling

• 2026 UCI World Tour
• 2026 UCI Women's World Tour
• 2026 Vuelta a España

• Golf

• 2026 PGA Tour
• 2026 European Tour
• 2026 LPGA Tour

• Motorsport

• 2026 Formula One World Championship
• 2026 MotoGP World Championship
• 2026 NASCAR Cup Series
• 2026 IndyCar Series

• Rugby league

• 2026 NRL season
• 2026 Super League season

• Rugby union

• 2026 Nations Championship

• Softball

• 2027 Women's Softball World Cup

• Tennis

• 2026 ATP Tour
• 2026 WTA Tour

More details – current sports events

Recent deaths

August0/0July

• 22: Siim Kallas
• 20: Matteo Fiorini
• 18: Bill Rasmussen
• 17: Frank Beard
• 16: Hayden Panettiere
• 15: Tommy John
• 14: Jason Arday
• 14: Dave Marsh
• 14: Johnny Young
• 13: Prichard Colón
• 13: Mark Rydell
• 12: Zhu Rongji
• 11: Ward Churchill
• 11: John Irvin
• 10: Jackie
• 10: James McHugh
• 09: Reggie Bannister
• 09: Livio Berruti
• 09: Ben Jones
• 09: Don Nelson
• 07: Violet Hensley
• 05: Sydney Towle
• 04: Dory Funk Jr.
• 04: Lloyd Robertson
• 03: Jimmy Cricket
• 03: Jon Cypher
• 03: Allan Nascimento
• 02: Kay Granger
• 02: Rod Liddle
• 01: Vincent Pastore
• 31: Franco Baresi
• 31: Glenn A. Baker
• 31: Kazimira Prunskienė
• 30: Nadhira Al Harthy
• 30: Nirmal Purja
• 29: Glen Hansard
• 29: Billy Ray Smith Jr.
• 28: Kavinsky
• 27: Phyllida Law
• 26: Gerry Kelly
• 26: Betye Saar
• 25: Bill Oddie
• 24: Gunther von Hagens
• 24: Lou Koller
• 23: Keigo Higashino
• 23: William Orbit
• 22: Chuck Russell
• 21: Jordan Devey
• 21: Kaylee Hottle
• 21: James Woolsey
• 20: Kevin Keegan
• 20: Daniel Siad

Ongoing conflicts

Global

• War against the Islamic State

Africa

• Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda

• M23 campaign

• Cameroon

• Anglophone Crisis

• Sahel

• Burkina Faso
• Chad Basin

• Mali
• Niger

• Somalia

• Civil war

• Sudan

• Blue Nile campaign

• Kordofan campaign

Americas

• Haiti

• Gang war

• War on cartels
  • United States military intervention

• Colombia

• Mexico

Asia−Pacific

• Afghanistan and Pakistan

• Border war

• Myanmar

• Civil war

• Pakistan

• Insurgency in Balochistan

Europe

• Russia and Ukraine

• Russo-Ukrainian war

Middle East

• Israel–Palestine

• Gaza war

• Middle Eastern crisis

• Iran war

• Lebanon war

• Syria

• Post-Assad conflict

• Yemen

• Civil war

• Red Sea crisis

See also – List of ongoing proxy wars

2026 events and developments by topic

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Environment and environmental sciences

• Climate change
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Transportation

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