August 31, 2016 (Wednesday)
Arts and culture
- Mother Teresa of Calcutta is to be canonized into sainthood after "proof" of two miracles. (NPR)
Business and economy
- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe plans on increasing the spending for the Japan Self-Defense Force. (The New York Times)
Disasters and accidents
- United Airlines Flight 880 makes an emergency landing at Shannon Airport in the Republic of Ireland due to "severe and unexpected turbulence". At least 12 people are hospitalized. (BBC)
- 2016 Pacific typhoon season, Typhoon Lionrock
- At least two rivers break embankments, causing floods on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido. Operations are underway to rescue 400 stranded people. On Honshu Island, at least 11 people, including nine elderly from a nursing home, have died. (AP via Daily Mail) (CNN) (The New York Times)
- 2016 Atlantic hurricane season, Tropical Storm Hermine
- The National Hurricane Center declares a hurricane watch and tropical storm warning from the Anclote River, north of Tampa, to Destin, Florida, near the Georgia border. Hermine, now at 45 mph (75 km), is expected to reach hurricane strength when it makes landfall Thursday afternoon. Florida Governor Rick Scott, with life-threatening flooding forecast, declares a state of emergency. (Reuters) (NHC)
- At least five people are killed after two small planes collide near Russian Mission, Alaska. Officials from the Alaska Army National Guard say the planes involved were a Cessna 208 Caravan and a Piper PA-18 Super Cub. (Fox News)
Health
- Embattled tech company Theranos pulls out of a research project regarding the Zika virus. (The Washington Post)
International relations
- Cuba–United States relations, United States–Cuban Thaw
- The first commercial flight from the United States to Cuba since 1961 takes place as JetBlue Flight 387 lands in Santa Clara, Villa Clara province, after a 51-minute flight from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. JetBlue Flight 387 had 150 passengers, including United States Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx. (USA Today)
- Philippines v. China
- The Philippines says it won't have bilateral talks with China until the Chinese stop all provocations in the South China Sea. (Nikkei Asian Review)
- Mexico–United States relations
- U.S. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump meets with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto in Mexico City after accepting an invitation from him. (The Washington Post)
Law and crime
- Singer Chris Brown is released on a US$ 250,000 bail for an assault charge. (Billboard)
- More than 2,000 people have reportedly died in the Philippine Drug War. (The Wire)
Politics and elections
- Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff
- President of Brazil Dilma Rousseff is removed from office by a vote of 61–20 in the Senate. Current Acting President Michel Temer will serve out the remainder of her term, which ends January 1, 2019. (BBC) (CNN)
- Gabonese presidential election, 2016
- Ali Bongo is re-elected President of Gabon. (Reuters)
- Protestors set fire to the National Assembly of Gabon in Libreville in response to the disputed presidential election result. (The Washington Post)
- Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi holds historic peace talks to end decades of ethnic conflict in the country. (CBC)
- Turkish Interior Minister Efkan Ala resigns amid criticism over his handling of a string of ISIL and PKK terror attacks, and is replaced by Süleyman Soylu. (Reuters)
Science and technology
- The population of African elephants have fallen by about 30% between 2007 and 2014. (National Geographic) (PEERJ)
- The fossil of a new species of pterosaur is discovered on Hornby Island, British Columbia in Canada. (Christian Science Monitor)
- The oldest fossil (stromatolite) that had life is discovered in the melting snow at the Isua Greenstone Belt of Greenland. (Nature)