Portal:Current events/August 2023
August 2023 was the eighth month of that common year. The month, which began on a Tuesday, ended on a Thursday after 31 days.
This is an archived version of Wikipedia's Current events Portal from August 2023.
August 1, 2023 (Tuesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Attacks on civilians in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Bombing of Kherson
- A civilian is killed and five others are injured by a Russian airstrike on a Kherson hospital. (The Kyiv Independent via Yahoo! News)
- Bombing of Kherson
- 2022–2023 western Russia attacks
- Russia says that it destroyed three drones near Moscow. One drone damaged the 21st floor of the IQ-quarter mixed-use complex, which hosts offices for the Ministry of Economic Development. The Vnukovo International Airport temporarily closed for the second time in two days. (The Guardian) (Meduza)
- Turkmenistan Airlines announces that they will temporarily suspend flights from Ashgabat to Moscow following the drone attacks. Flights will instead travel to Kazan, located in Tatarstan. (The Moscow Times) (Turkmenportal)
- Attacks on civilians in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Religious violence in India
- 2023 Haryana riots
- A deputy imam is killed and another is injured when Hindus storm a mosque in Gurgaon, Haryana, India, as a spillover of yesterday's intercommunal violence in the neighboring Nuh district. (Al Jazeera)
- 2023 Haryana riots
- 2023 Sudan conflict
- Protests begin in Kadugli, South Kordofan, Sudan, against the ongoing clashes in the city, with protesters also denouncing the war and the country's violations against women. (Dabanga Sudan)
- Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- A Palestinian man is shot and killed by Israeli security forces after opening fire on Israelis in the settlement of Ma'ale Adumim in the West Bank. (Al Jazeera)
Arts and culture
- Decommunization in Ukraine
- The Soviet state emblem emblazoned on the Motherland Monument statue in Kyiv is removed and will be replaced with the tryzub. (AFP via The Manila Times)
Business and economy
- Major credit rating agency Fitch downgrades the United States' bond credit rating from AAA to AA+, citing an "erosion of governance" manifested in the country's debt ceiling impasses. (Financial Times)
Disasters and accidents
- 2023 Pacific typhoon season
- Typhoon Doksuri
- Eleven people are killed and 13 others are reported missing during floods in Beijing, China. More than 50,000 people have been evacuated from the city. (BBC News)
- Typhoon Doksuri
- Twenty workers are killed and three others are injured when a large crane collapses at a highway construction site in Thane, Maharashtra, India. (Al Jazeera)
- One person is killed and 56 others are injured after a tour bus rolls over in Grand Canyon West, Arizona, United States. (Reuters)
Health and environment
- 2023 Asia heat wave
- The Iranian government declares a two-day nationwide holiday due to extreme heat, closing all schools, banks, and government offices. (Sky News)
International relations
- 2023 Nigerien coup d'état
- France and Italy begin the evacuation of their citizens and other European nationals from Niger. (Al Jazeera)
- Territorial disputes in the South China Sea
- The Senate of the Philippines adopts a resolution condemning China's incursions in the West Philippine Sea and urges the Department of Foreign Affairs to file a resolution regarding China's harassment of Philippine vessels before the United Nations General Assembly. (GMA News)
- Belarus–Poland relations
- Poland orders an increase in the number of soldiers near its border with Belarus after the Polish Ministry of National Defence says two Belarusian helicopters that were carrying out training exercises violated its airspace. (AP)
- Foreign relations of Burundi, Foreign relations of Russia
- Burundi and Russia sign a memorandum of cooperation on sharing nuclear technology for peaceful purposes at the Russia-Africa Economic and Humanitarian Forum in Saint Petersburg, Russia. (World Nuclear News)
Law and crime
- Attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election
- Aftermath of the January 6 United States Capitol attack, US DOJ investigation on the 2020 presidential election
- Former U.S. President Donald Trump is indicted by DOJ Counsel Jack Smith on four criminal counts as part of an investigation for his role in attempting to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election. (Politico) (Fortune)
- Two members of the Michigan Republican Party are charged by prosecutors for attempting to tamper with voting machines in Michigan during the 2020 election. (AP)
- Aftermath of the January 6 United States Capitol attack, US DOJ investigation on the 2020 presidential election
- Two people are killed and five others are injured when an assailant robs passengers and throws a Molotov cocktail on a bus in Dakar, Senegal. (AFP via UrduPoint)
- Suspended Filipino congressman and alleged mastermind of the Pamplona massacre Arnolfo Teves Jr. and twelve others are designated as terrorists by the Anti-Terrorism Council. (GMA News)
- Myanmar's former leader Aung San Suu Kyi is pardoned on five of her convictions, thereby reducing her prison sentence from 33 to 27 years. (AFP via France 24)
- The Public Prosecutor of Costa Rica launches an influence peddling investigation into President Rodrigo Chaves Robles and several other government officials. (AFP via New Vision)
Science and technology
- Royal Mail initiates the first regular postal delivery by drones in the United Kingdom, delivering mail by Skyports drones on Scotland's Orkney archipelago. (AFP via Manila Bulletin)
August 2, 2023 (Wednesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Russian strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure
- A Russian drone strike in Izmail, Odesa Oblast, damages administrative buildings and grain storage facilities. (Bloomberg)
- Russian strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure
Business and economy
- Cryptocurrency legality
- The Wall Street Journal discloses that cryptocurrency exchange Binance continues to do business within the People's Republic of China despite a formal prohibition of such activity by PRC authorities in 2021; WSJ says that more-or-less open trading totals US$90 billion per month. (Wall Street Journal)
Disasters and accidents
- 2023 Pacific typhoon season
- Twenty people are killed, five others are missing, and nine others are rescued after a boat carrying charcoal and food capsizes in the Ugandan waters of Lake Victoria. (Al Jazeera)
- A train collides with a bus near El Marqués, Querétaro, Mexico, killing at least seven people and injuring seventeen others. (AP)
- Two people are killed and two others are injured by an explosion at a house in Buena, New Jersey, United States. (NBC News via Yahoo!)
- A Cessna 152 aircraft crashes in Luna, Apayao, Philippines, during a training flight from Laoag, Ilocos Norte, to Tuguegarao, Cagayan, killing an Indian student pilot and his flight instructor. (AFP via Gulf News)
Law and crime
- Pittsburgh synagogue shooting
- The perpetrator of the 2018 mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, is sentenced to death. (Reuters)
- At least 10 people are killed in a police raid on a favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, days after 19 people in Bahia and 14 people in São Paulo State were killed in other raids. (BBC News)
- A man is charged after crashing a stolen Hyundai Tucson car that injured 10 pedestrians during a police chase near the Grand Central Terminal in New York City, U.S. (CBS News) (New York Daily News)
- The Moldovan Interior Ministry reports that a man has been arrested by Chișinău police after ramming his vehicle near the Russian Embassy in the country. (Meduza)
- Brazilian footballer Dani Alves is indicted in Spain on sexual assault charges. (Reuters)
Politics and elections
- Tunisian president Kais Saied appoints Ahmed Hachani as prime minister after dismissing Najla Bouden, the first female prime minister in the Arab world, from the role. (Reuters via Devdiscourse)
- Former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra announces a return to Thailand after 15 years of exile in the United Arab Emirates. (DW)
- Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie Grégoire Trudeau announce their separation. (Reuters)
Sports
- 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup
- Jamaica become the first Caribbean team to qualify for the knockout stage of a FIFA Women's World Cup after drawing 0–0 with Brazil in their final group stage match to finish second in their group. (Forbes)
August 3, 2023 (Thursday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Attacks on civilians in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Bombing of Kherson
- Eight civilians are injured in Russian strikes on the St. Catherine's Cathedral in Kherson. (AP) (The Kyiv Independent via Yahoo! News)
- Bombing of Kherson
- Attacks on civilians in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- 2023 Sudan conflict
- Darfur campaign
- Clashes in Sirba, West Darfur, Sudan, cause at least 460 deaths and more than 1,000 injuries, with the Rapid Support Forces seizing the city. (Dabanga Sudan)
- Darfur campaign
- Colombian conflict
- Colombia and the National Liberation Army begin a six-month ceasefire aimed at creating peace between both sides. (AP)
- War in Amhara
- Ethiopian soldiers clash with ethnic Amhara Fano militiamen in several areas across the Amhara Region, with Fano seizing several airports and major cities. (AP)
Business and economy
- Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, extends their voluntary oil production cut of one million barrels per day for another month, maintaining daily production at approximately nine million barrels. (AFP via RFI)
- South Korean automakers Hyundai and Kia announce that they have recalled over 113,000 vehicles in the United States due to the risk of fire. (Reuters)
Disasters and accidents
- In Mexico, at least 18 people are killed and 23 others are injured when a bus traveling from Mexico City to Tijuana, Baja California, falls into a ravine in Tepic, Nayarit. The driver is arrested for suspected overspeeding. (AFP via Le Monde)
- Nine days after catching fire off the coast of the Netherlands, the car carrier MV Fremantle Highway is successfully towed to the port of Eemshaven. (AD)
- The Kyrgyzstan Emergency Situations Ministry declares an emergency in the Tüp District due to flooding. (AKIPress)
International relations
- International sanctions during the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- The European Union extends sanctions against Belarus over their support of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. (RFE/RL)
- 2023 Nigerien coup d'état
- Senegal pledges to contribute troops if the Economic Community of West African States decides to intervene militarily in Niger in response to the recent coup d'état. (AFP via The Guardian)
- Norway–Russia relations
- Russia adds Norway to its list of "unfriendly countries" after Norway expelled 15 Russian diplomats earlier this year. (Reuters)
Law and crime
- Cristiano Zanin is sworn in as a justice of the Supreme Federal Court of Brazil. (AP)
- At least 52 people are injured and 100 others are arrested at an Eritrean pro-government festival in Stockholm, Sweden, when anti-government protesters storm the festival. (AFP via The Manila Times)
Science and technology
- Research shows that fossil bones of the Perucetus colossus whale discovered in Peru could indicate that it was the heaviest animal to have ever existed. (BBC News)
August 4, 2023 (Friday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- War in Amhara
- 2023 Fano–ENDF clashes
- The Ethiopian government declares a state of emergency in response to heavy clashes between the ENDF and Fano militia in Amhara Region. (Al Jazeera)
- The Sudanese state of El Gedaref closes its border with Ethiopia in response to the clashes. (Sudan Tribune)
- 2023 Fano–ENDF clashes
- Russian invasion of Ukraine
- 2022–2023 western Russia attacks
- The Russian Olenegorsky Gornyak landing ship is damaged by a Ukrainian naval drone attack at the naval base at the Port of Novorossiysk, Krasnodar Krai. (BBC News)
- 2022–2023 western Russia attacks
- 2023 Sudan conflict
- Authorities in the Sudanese state of North Kordofan announce a state-wide curfew. (Dabanga Sudan)
- Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- Israeli settlers storm the Palestinian village of Burqa, Ramallah, killing a 19-year-old man, hours after Israeli soldiers killed another teenager in Tulkarm. (Al Jazeera)
Disasters and accidents
- 2023 Carinthia and Slovenia floods
- Three people are killed in flash floods in Slovenia. (RTV Slovenija)
- Eight people are killed and four others are injured when a freight train collides with a pickup truck at a level crossing in Mueang Chachoengsao district, Thailand. (Al Jazeera)
Health and environment
- Cyprus approves the use of human COVID-19 medication molnupiravir to combat a local feline virus mutation causing feline infectious peritonitis resulting in numerous cat deaths locally. The government assures that there is no risk of depleting medication stocks for potential COVID-19 surges in the human population. (AP)
Law and crime
- Disqualification of Rahul Gandhi
- The Supreme Court of India suspends Indian National Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's defamation conviction, potentially allowing his return to parliament after disqualification. (AFP via Le Monde)
- Kai Cenat Union Square giveaway
- Civil unrest and rioting occur in Manhattan, New York City, United States, after Twitch streamer and YouTuber Kai Cenat announces a gift card and PlayStation 5 video game console giveaway in Union Square. (CBS News)
- A court in Melekhovo, Vladimir Oblast, Russia, sentences opposition politician Alexei Navalny to nineteen years in prison for six crimes, including inciting and financing extremist activity and creating an extremist organization. (Reuters)
- Nicolás Petro is released from detention while under investigation for allegations of illicit enrichment and money laundering connected to his father's 2022 presidential campaign. He is barred from engaging in political activities and from leaving Colombia. (AP)
August 5, 2023 (Saturday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Crimea attacks
- Ukraine says that it damaged the Russian tanker Sig in a naval drone attack in the Black Sea near the Crimean Bridge. (BBC News) (The Guardian)
- Peace negotiations in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Peace talks begin in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The talks will last for two days and are being attended by officials from around 40 countries, including those from the Global South, but not Russia. (Reuters) (The New York Times)
- Attacks on civilians in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Russia hits a blood transfusion centre in Kupiansk, Kharkiv Oblast, killing two people and injuring four. (BBC News)
- Crimea attacks
- Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- A gunman opens fire on a street in Tel Aviv, Israel, killing a policeman, before being shot dead by another officer. (Al Jazeera)
Disasters and accidents
- At least 17 people are killed and 18 others are missing in a landslide in Shovi, Georgia. (Radio Free Europe)
- Floods and landslides occur in southern Austria, with water being pumped out of a dam in the Viktring district of Klagenfurt, Carinthia, after concerns are raised over its stability. (DW) (Atlas News)
International relations
- China–Philippines relations
- Territorial disputes in the South China Sea
- The Philippine Coast Guard accuses the China Coast Guard of firing water cannons at its vessels near the Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands where Filipino military personnel are stationed. (AFP via Malay Mail)
- Territorial disputes in the South China Sea
Law and crime
- A court in Lahore, Pakistan, sentences former prime minister Imran Khan to three years in prison on corruption-related charges. (Al Jazeera)
- An Eritrean festival in Toronto is delicensed hours after a clash with pro-government protestors hospitalizes nine people. (Global News)
Politics and elections
- Aftermath of the 2023 Cambodian general election
- The National Election Committee declares a landslide victory for Prime Minister Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party, which won 120 of the 125 seats in the parliament. The royalist FUNCINPEC party secured the remaining five seats. (AP)
Science and technology
- Chandrayaan programme
- India's Chandrayaan-3 successfully enters the Moon's orbit ahead of the country's second attempted Moon landing between August 23 and 24. (AFP via France 24)
Sports
- NASCAR announces that it has indefinitely suspended driver Noah Gragson after he liked a meme ridiculing the death of George Floyd. (NBC News)
August 6, 2023 (Sunday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- 2023 Sudan conflict
- Darfur campaign
- Siege of Zalingei
- The Rapid Support Forces claim the state of Central Darfur, Sudan, after capturing the capital of Zalingei from the Sudanese Armed Forces. (Radio Dabanga)
- Siege of Zalingei
- Darfur campaign
- Russian invasion of Ukraine
- 2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive
- An Armed Forces of Ukraine missile damages a bridge connecting the Russian-occupied Kherson Oblast and Crimea over the Chonhar Strait. (Reuters)
- 2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive
- Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- Israeli soldiers open fire against a vehicle in Jenin in the occupied West Bank, killing three people. (Al Jazeera)
Arts and culture
- The American film Barbie becomes the first film by a solo female director (Greta Gerwig) to surpass $1 billion in the worldwide box office. (AFP via France 24)
Disasters and accidents
- 2023 Hazara Express derailment
- At least 34 people are killed and at least 100 others are injured when ten carriages of a Hazara Express train derail near the Sarhari railway station in Nawabshah, Sindh, Pakistan. (AFP via VOA)
- 2023 European heat waves, 2023 Iberian wildfires
- The ongoing forest fires in Spain and Portugal have burned about 6,200 hectares. (NOS)
- A minibus plunges into a ravine near Demnate, Béni Mellal-Khénifra, Morocco, killing 24 people. (BBC News)
Law and crime
- Welsh singer and convicted sex offender Ian Watkins is stabbed and seriously injured in the Wakefield Prison. (BBC News)
Politics and elections
- The Supreme Court of the Maldives bars former president Abdulla Yameen from running for office while he serves an 11-year prison sentence. (Reuters)
Science and technology
Sports
- 2023 Netball World Cup
- Australia wins a record 12th Netball World Cup title after defeating England 61–45 in the gold medal match in Cape Town, South Africa. (The Guardian)
- 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup
- The United States, two-time defending champions, are eliminated from the tournament after losing to Sweden in a penalty shoot-out in the round of 16, marking their earliest exit from the FIFA Women's World Cup. (AFP via Manila Bulletin)
August 7, 2023 (Monday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Attacks on civilians in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- At least seven people are killed and 88 others are injured in a Russian Iskander double tap strike on residential buildings in Pokrovsk, Donetsk Oblast. (Reuters) (The Kyiv Independent via Yahoo! News) (The Guardian)
- Russian forces strike private houses in Kruglyakivka, Kharkiv Oblast, with guided aerial bombs, killing at least two civilians and injuring at least five others. (CNN International)
- Assassination attempts on Volodymyr Zelenskyy
- The Security Service of Ukraine says that it has arrested a Ukrainian citizen for allegedly assisting Russian intelligence, including his suspected role in a plot to assassinate President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. (The Washington Post)
- Attacks on civilians in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
Disasters and accidents
- 2023 Carinthia and Slovenia floods
- Storm Hans
- In Sweden, roads are flooded and a train carrying 120 passengers derails in Hudiksvall Municipality, while waves of up to eight meters (26 feet) are reported in Denmark, and several people being evacuated in Norway. In Lithuania and Latvia, two people are killed by falling trees, leaving 40,000 customers without electricity in Kurzeme and Zemgale. (AP)
- 2023 European heat waves
- Spain's State Meteorological Agency places Andalusia, Castilla–La Mancha, and Extremadura on orange alert as the country faces its third heat wave of the summer. (AFP via The Guardian)
- At least 23 Rohingya refugees are killed after a boat capsized in the Bay of Bengal. (BBC News)
- Two firefighting helicopters collide in midair in Cabazon, California, United States, killing three firefighters. (AP)
- A drunk wedding guest drives into a wedding in Chrouy Neang Nguon, Cambodia, injuring at least 13 Dutch nationals. (NOS) (Dutch News)
- Ten people are injured in an explosion at a grain silo near Derince, Kocaeli Province, Turkey. (Reuters)
Law and crime
- Murder of George Floyd
- Tou Thao, a former Minneapolis police officer, is sentenced to four years and nine months in prison for his role in the murder of George Floyd. He is the fourth person in the case to be convicted in a state court. (AP)
- A 29-year-old man is stabbed to death in Nea Filadelfeia and eight people were injured amidst clashes between fans of AEK Athens F.C. and GNK Dinamo Zagreb in Athens, ahead of the 2023–24 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round between the clubs. (The Guardian)
Politics and elections
- Politics of Cambodia
- Hun Manet is appointed as the prime minister of Cambodia by King Norodom Sihamoni, replacing his father, Hun Sen, who had served as prime minister since 1985. (AFP via France 24)
Sports
- Belarus 2020 Summer Olympics scandal
- Belarusian–Polish sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya is cleared to represent Poland at the World Championships after being removed from the Tokyo Olympics by the Belarus Olympic Committee. (AP)
August 8, 2023 (Tuesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- 2023 Sudan conflict
- Battle of Omdurman
- Clashes occur in the Abrof neighborhood of Omdurman, Khartoum, Sudan, between the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces. (Dabanga Sudan)
- Battle of Omdurman
Arts and culture
- Western Australia repeals a five-week-old law aimed at protecting Aboriginal sacred sites in the state, citing complexities in implementing the law. (AFP via Manila Bulletin)
Business and economy
- The World Bank halts new lending to Uganda in response to the Anti-Homosexuality Act bill, approved months ago. (Reuters)
Disasters and accidents
- 2023 Pacific typhoon season
- Typhoon Khanun
- The South Korean government evacuates over 36,000 participants of the 25th World Scout Jamboree from their campsite at Saemangeum, North Jeolla, ahead of Khanun's expected landfall. (AFP via The Australian)
- Typhoon Khanun
- 2023 Iberian wildfires
Health and environment
- 2023 heat waves
- The European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service reports that July 2023 was the hottest July on record, while this year is the third-warmest year to date. (Reuters)
Law and crime
- UK Electoral Commission data breach
- A cyberattack on the Electoral Commission of the United Kingdom during 2021–2022 is revealed. (The Register)
Politics and elections
- Geraldo Martins is appointed as the prime minister of Guinea-Bissau. (AFP via New Vision)
- Prime Minister of Vanuatu Ishmael Kalsakau reshuffles the cabinet and appoints two new ministers ahead of a no-confidence vote. (RNZ)
Sports
- In association football, the USL Championship club Sacramento Republic FC signs 13-year-old Da’vian Kimbrough, making him the youngest player in American sports history. (San Francisco Chronicle)
August 9, 2023 (Wednesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Attacks on civilians in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Bombing of Zaporizhzhia
- At least two people are killed and seven others are injured in a Russian missile strike on a residential area in Zaporizhzhia. (Reuters)
- Bombing of Zaporizhzhia
- Attacks on civilians in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un appoints Vice Marshal Ri Yong-gil to replace General Park Su-il as the chief of the General Staff Department of the Korean People's Army, and calls for enhancing war preparations, including increased weapons production and more drills. (AFP via Arab News)
Disasters and accidents
- 2023 Hawaii wildfires
- Parts of western and upcountry Maui island in Hawaii, United States, are evacuated as wildfires fueled by Hurricane Dora causes power outages and disruption to emergency services in western Maui and other parts of Hawaii including Oahu and the Big Island, with at least six people being killed. (AP)
- A large part of the historic Lahaina town, including the Waiola Church and the Lahaina Hongwanji Mission Temple, is destroyed by the wildfires. (NBC News) (Maui News)
- 2023 Tunisia migrant boat disasters
- Forty-one people are killed when a boat carrying 45 migrants from Sfax, Tunisia, capsizes and sinks in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Lampedusa, Italy. (BBC News)
- Storm Hans
- At least 27 people are found dead in the western desert of Libya near the border with Tunisia. (AP)
- Eleven people are killed in a fire at a guesthouse accommodating disabled people in Wintzenheim, Alsace, France. (AFP via Le Monde)
- One person is killed and more than 50 others are injured in an explosion at the Zagorsk Optical-Mechanical Plant in Sergiyev Posad, Moscow Oblast, Russia. (BBC News)
Health and environment
- COVID-19 pandemic
- The World Health Organization classifies the EG.5 variant of COVID-19 as a variant of interest. The variant has been spreading rapidly in the United States. (DW via ABS-CBN)
International relations
- Global Affairs Canada announces new sanctions against Belarus on the three-year anniversary of the 2020 Belarusian presidential election. (Global News)
Law and crime
- A man in Provo, Utah, United States, who made threats against President Joe Biden is shot and killed by FBI agents. (AFP via The Manila Times)
Politics and elections
- 2023 Ecuadorian general election
- Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio is assassinated by gunmen at a campaign rally in Quito. (El Universo) (BBC News)
August 10, 2023 (Thursday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Attacks on civilians in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Bombing of Zaporizhzhia
- At least one person is killed and 14 others are injured in a Russian Iskander missile strike on a hotel in Zaporizhzhia. (Reuters)
- Russian forces attack Toretsk, Donetsk Oblast, with mortars and aerial bombs, injuring at least six people. (The Kyiv Independent)
- The Kupiansk city military administration says it will begin evacuating civilians from the Kupiansk Raion of the Kharkiv Oblast due to intense Russian shelling. (Meduza)
- Bombing of Zaporizhzhia
- Attacks on civilians in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Syrian civil war
- At least 23 soldiers are killed and ten more injured during an ambush by Islamic State gunmen against a military vehicle in Deir ez-Zor, Syria. (Al Jazeera)
Arts and culture
- 2023 Hollywood labor disputes
- The American Academy of Television Arts & Sciences postpones the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards until January 2024, due to the ongoing strikes of the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA. (AFP via France 24)
- LGBT rights in Kuwait
- Kuwait bans the American film Barbie over homosexual content, with the Lebanese Minister of Culture proposing a similar ban. (The Hollywood Reporter) (Al Jazeera)
Disasters and accidents
- Wildfires in 2023
- 2023 Hawaii wildfires
- The death toll from the wildfires increases to 53, all in the town of Lahaina in western Maui, Hawaii, United States. (Al Jazeera)
- Maui County officials report that the wildfire is 80% contained. (Honolulu Star-Advertiser)
- President Joe Biden approves a national disaster emergency declaration for Hawaii. (Politico)
- 2023 Canadian wildfires
- Alaska, United States, reports its worst air quality in recorded history after extreme amounts of smoke enter the state. (Yahoo! News)
- 2023 Hawaii wildfires
- Storm Hans
- After several days of heavy rains in Norway, the town of Hamar floods the speed skating rink at the Vikingskipet arena in order to relieve the flooding in other parts of the town. (NOS)
Health and environment
- A mass grave is discovered near the city of Dzyarzhynsk, Belarus, believed to contain either the remains of a church cemetery, the inhabitants of the city's Jewish ghetto, or Calvinists. (Nasha Niva)
International relations
- China–Philippines relations
- Philippine President Bongbong Marcos suspends 22 land reclamation projects in Manila Bay due to environmental concerns and the involvement of Chinese state-owned enterprises. (AP)
- Iran–United States relations
- The United States announces an agreement with Iran to repatriate five American citizens in exchange for access to $6 billion in blocked funds. (CBS News)
Law and crime
- Assassination of Fernando Villavicencio
- Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso declares a state of emergency following the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio in Quito. (El Mundo)
- LGBT rights in Malaysia
- Malaysia bans the use of Swatch products containing LGBTQ elements, with users of these products facing up to three years in prison. (AP via NBC News)
- Criticism of Tesla, Inc.
- The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opens an investigation into a fatal vehicle crash in Virginia, U.S., involving a Model Y vehicle from Tesla. (Reuters)
- The United States imposes coordinated sanctions with Canada and the United Kingdom on former Lebanese central bank governor Riad Salameh and several of Salameh's associates for alleged embezzlement and money laundering of $300 million. (AFP via France 24)
Science and technology
- American spaceflight company Virgin Galactic launches its first space tourism flight, Galactic 02. Antigua and Barbudan tourists Keisha Schahaff and Anastatia Mayers become the first mother-daughter duo and first people from the Caribbean to fly to space, while Mayers also becomes the youngest woman and second youngest person to fly to space. (AFP via France 24)
August 11, 2023 (Friday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- 2023 Nigerien crisis
- The West African bloc ECOWAS announces an emergency summit after Niger's government rejected an ultimatum to restore the previous president. (AFP via The Manila Times)
- Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announces the dismissal of all heads of regional military recruitment centres due to corruption. (NOS) (CNN)
- Russia temporarily closes its airspace above Moscow due to detection of drones. A drone is later shot down. (NOS)
Business and economy
- 2021–2023 global energy crisis
- The International Energy Agency increases its 2023 forecast for global oil demand to a potential all-time annual high of 102.2 million barrels per day. (AFP via TRT World)
Disasters and accidents
- 2023 heat waves
- 2023 European heat waves
- Valencia, Spain, sets a new temperature record of 46.8 °C (116.2 °F) recorded at the Valencia Airport. (AFP via The Manila Times)
- 2023 Western North America heat wave
- Governor Katie Hobbs declares a state of emergency in Arizona amidst the heat waves in the state. (Axios)
- 2023 European heat waves
- 2023 Hawaii wildfires
- Authorities in Hawaii, United States, call the Lahaina fire the "worst natural disaster in the state's history", as the death toll increases to 80 people, and 11,000 homes and businesses continue to be without electricity. (Reuters)
- The Maria Lanakila Catholic Church is reportedly still standing despite the wildfires. The banyan tree is also standing, but is damaged by the wildfire and it is unknown if it will survive. (Asbury Park Press) (The New York Times)
- President Joe Biden orders the provision of federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts. (AFP via The Manila Times)
- Twenty-one people are killed and six others are missing after a mudflow caused by heavy rains occurs near Xi'an, Shaanxi, China. Thousands of people have been evacuated. (AP)
- Seven people are killed when a mosque collapses in Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria. (Reuters)
- Five people are killed and approximately 40,000 are evacuated due to floods and landslides from monsoon rains in Myanmar. (AFP via The Jakarta Post)
- A freight train derails in the Gotthard Base Tunnel in Switzerland, causing the tunnel to be closed for at least six days. (NOS)
Health and environment
- The United States CDC reports that the country recorded its highest number of suicides in 2022, with 49,449 people taking their own lives. (Al Jazeera)
- Nearly 14,000 residents of Lublin, Poland, are ordered to evacuate, after an unexploded bomb was found at the site of a pre-World War II factory yesterday. (TVP World)
- Due to a long-term structural damage at FSO Safer, a floating oil storage and offloading vessel moored near Al Hudaydah, Yemen, 1.1 million barrels of oil are transferred by Smit International to another ship to prevent a potential environmental disaster. (NOS)
Law and crime
- Bankruptcy of FTX
- American judge Lewis A. Kaplan revokes FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried's bail, citing reasonable cause to believe that Bankman-Fried attempted witness tampering while on bail. (The Guardian)
- Weiss special counsel investigation
- U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announces the appointment of Delaware attorney David Weiss as special counsel for the investigations into the financial dealings of presidential son Hunter Biden. (CNN)
- A man kills three people, including his ex-wife, and wounds three more, before killing himself, during a spree shooting in Gradačac, Bosnia and Herzegovina. (AP)
Politics and elections
- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ministry survives a motion of no confidence in parliament over their response to the Manipur violence. (AFP via France 24)
- South African President Cyril Ramaphosa pardons his predecessor Jacob Zuma, who was convicted last year for refusing to testify in his corruption trial, alongside other non-violent offenders as part of an attempt to reduce overcrowding in the country's prisons. (Al Jazeera)
Science and technology
- Russia launches the Luna 25 lunar lander at the Vostochny Cosmodrome, which will touch down near the Moon's south pole. The mission will investigate the composition of the moon's polar soil as well as the plasma and dust contained in the lunar exosphere. (CNN)
August 12, 2023 (Saturday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Corruption in Ukraine
- A government investigation uncovers corruption at recruitment centres in 11 regions with 112 criminal proceedings opened. Bribes averaged around US$6,000 for a medical certificate granting an exemption from military service. (Financial Times) (The Guardian)
- Investigative news website Dzerkalo Tyzhnia reveals documents showing the Ministry of Defence overpaid for summer camouflage kits bought as winter coats for troops. The documents are suspected to be related to a investigation launched in June by Ukraine’s security services into Former Deputy Defense Minister Vyacheslav Shapovalov. (The Guardian)
- A New York Times investigation reveals that a company tied to Serhiy Pashynskyi, who was previously under investigation for corruption, has become the biggest private arms supplier to the Ministry of Defence. (Insider)
- Crimea attacks
- The Russian Ministry of Defense says that it shot down twenty Ukrainian drones over Crimea. (NOS)
- Head of the Republic of Crimea Sergey Aksyonov says that three Ukrainian missiles were shot down over the Kerch bridge. (CNN International)
- Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu inspects the Northern Fleet and visits a Rosatom nuclear weapons test site in Novaya Zemlya. (Reuters) (Hindustan Times) (The Barents Observer)
- One person is killed and 12 others are injured in a Russian guided aerial bomb strike on Orikhiv, Zaporizhzhia Oblast. (CNN International)
- Corruption in Ukraine
Disasters and accidents
- 2023 Hawaii wildfires
- The death toll from the wildfires in Maui, Hawaii, United States, increases to 89, making it the deadliest wildfire in the state's history. (The Independent)
- 2023 Pacific typhoon season
- Hurricane Dora, which partially caused the wildfires in Hawaii, becomes a Pacific typhoon. (Forbes) (Hawaii News Now)
- English Channel migrant crossings
- Six people are killed and fifty others are rescued when a boat carrying migrants capsizes in the English Channel off the coast of Calais, France. (AP)
- Fukushima nuclear disaster
- South Koreans gather in central Seoul to protest against Japan's plan to release treated radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean. (Reuters)
- Four people are killed and one other injured following a house explosion in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, United States, that destroyed three structures and damaged at least a dozen others. (AP via The Manila Times)
- A Sukhoi Su-30 crashes during a training mission in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, killing both pilots. (RFE/RL)
Law and crime
- 2023 Ecuadorian general election
- Ecuador transfers head of the Los Choneros criminal group, Jose Adolfo Macias, from Prison 8 in Guayaquil to La Roca maximum security prison. He is accused of threatening presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio before his assassination. (AFP via The Manila Times)
- Italian police recover 266 antiques from the Greek, Roman and Etruscan periods, worth tens of millions of Euros, from the United States. (NOS)
Politics and elections
- 2023 Ecuadorian general election
- Andrea González Náder, the running mate of assassinated presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, is nominated by the Movimiento Construye party to run for president. (AFP via CNN-News18)
- 2023 Malaysian state elections
- Malaysians in Selangor, Kelantan, Terengganu, Negeri Sembilan, Kedah and Penang vote for their state assembly members, following the dissolution of the assemblies. (AFP via The Manila Times)
- Senator Anwar ul Haq Kakar is appointed as the new caretaker prime minister of Pakistan. (ANI News)
Sports
- 2023 Arab Club Champions Cup
- In association football, Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr FC wins their first Arab Club Champions Cup in a 2–1 victory. (Arab News)
August 13, 2023 (Sunday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Ethiopian civil conflict
- War in Amhara
- An Ethiopian Air Force airstrike kills 26 people in Finote Selam, Amhara Region, amid ongoing clashes between Fano militiamen and government forces. (BBC News)
- War in Amhara
- Insurgency in Balochistan
- Balochistan Liberation Army gunmen ambush a convoy transporting Chinese engineers to the Gwadar Port in Balochistan, Pakistan. Two separatists are killed in the subsequent shootout. (AFP via VOA)
- Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Attacks on civilians in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Russian forces strike Kherson Oblast, killing seven people, including an infant, and injuring 20 others. (Reuters)
- Attacks on civilians in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- One person is killed and seven others are injured in an attack at the Shah Cheragh mosque in Shiraz, Iran. (Reuters)
Arts and culture
- The Miss Universe and Miss Indonesia contests cut ties after six Miss Indonesia contestants allege sexual misconduct at the beauty pageant. (The Guardian)
Disasters and accidents
- 2023 Hawaii wildfires
- In the United States, Maui County officials announce that more than 93 people have died in the wildfires in Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii, making it the deadliest American wildfire since 1918, surpassing the death toll of the 2018 Camp Fire in California. (Washington Examiner) (People.com)
- Hawaii Governor Josh Green says that the banyan tree in Lahaina was damaged by the wildfires, but has survived. (The Messenger)
- Two restaurants in Lahaina, the Mala Ocean Tavern and Duckine, are reported to have survived the wildfires. The two restaurants confirmed this in a joint statement on Instagram, but also stated that they won't be able to open "any time soon". (San Francisco Chronicle)
- Four people are killed and four others are injured in separate accidents involving lightning strikes in the Yemeni governorates of Al Bayda, Al Hudaydah, and Raymah. (Xinhua)
- Three people are killed and eighteen others are injured in a fire at an apartment complex in Grasse, Alpes-Maritimes, France. (NOS)
Politics and elections
- 2023 Argentine primary elections
- Argentines head to the polls to vote in the primaries before the October general election. (WION)
- Libertarian Party candidate Javier Milei wins the primaries, with around a third of the votes. (Financial Times)
August 14, 2023 (Monday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Afghan conflict
- At least three people are killed and seven others are injured by an explosion at a hotel in Khost, Afghanistan. (AP)
- Libyan Crisis
- Fighting breaks out in Tripoli between the 444 brigade and the Special Deterrence Force after the head of the 444 brigade was allegedly detained by the Special Deterrence Force at an airport in Tripoli. Twenty-seven people are killed and more than 100 injured. (AP)
- Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Bombing of Odesa
- Russian forces strike Odesa with missiles and drones, injuring three people and damaging civilian infrastructure. (CNN International)
- Bombing of Odesa
- Syrian civil war
- A report to the UN Security Council finds that the Islamic State still commands between 5,000 and 7,000 members across Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, posing a serious threat to the region despite the imposition of economic sanctions. (AP)
Business and economy
- 2022–2023 food crises
- France announces that supermarket prices increased 13.1% year-on-year in July according to the national statistics bureau. (INSEE)
Disasters and accidents
- 2023 Hawaii wildfires
- Shares in Hawaiian Electric Industries drop 30% after the company was sued for refusing to shut down power lines. Lawsuits are also filed against three other power companies that oversee the state. (CNBC) (Radar Online)
- The wildfires in Maui, Hawaii, United States, are ranked as the fifth deadliest wildfire in American history. (ABC News)
- 2023 Makhachkala gas station explosion
- At least 35 people are killed and 80 others are injured in an explosion at a gas station in Makhachkala, Dagestan, Russia. (AP)
- 2023 Tunisia migrant boat disasters
- Five people are killed and seven others missing after a boat carrying 35 migrants from Sfax, Tunisia, sinks in the Mediterranean Sea. (AFP via RFI)
- Land mines in Cambodia
- A secondary school in Kratié, Cambodia, once a supply depot during the country's civil war, temporarily closes after over 2,000 pieces of unexploded ordnance are found. (AP)
- 2023 Hpakant jade mine disaster
- Eleven people are killed, ten missing and 30 others are injured in an explosion at a market in San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic. (AP)
- Eleven people are killed and nine others are injured in a collision between a truck and a minibus near Lanjik, Armenia. (RFE/RL)
Health and environment
- COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand
- Health Minister Ayesha Verrall announces New Zealand will end COVID-19 restrictions including mask mandates and 7-day quarantines. (Reuters)
- COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand
Law and crime
- Attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election
- Georgia election racketeering prosecution
- Former U.S. President Donald Trump and eighteen associates – including former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark – are indicted in Georgia by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis as part of an investigation into their alleged involvement in attempting to overturn the election results in the state. (AP)
- Georgia election racketeering prosecution
- Murder of Agnes Wanjiru
- Kenya launches an inquiry into British Army Training Unit Kenya, amid allegations of murder, sexual abuse, and damage to land near the base. (The Guardian)
- Terrorism in France
- Prosecutors announce that police are investigating bomb threats at the Eiffel Tower in Paris that resulted in two evacuations on Saturday. (AFP via The Manila Times)
- Terrorism in the United States
- The Philadelphia District Attorney and FBI announce charges against a 17-year-old Philadelphia resident for allegedly plotting terrorism on behalf of an al-Qaeda-linked group. (CBS News)
- Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announces a referendum on the acceptance of "thousands of illegal immigrants from the Middle East and Africa" as part of a European Union relocation plan. (AP)
Politics and elections
- Latvian Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš announces his resignation and says his government will step down this week citing a breakdown in relations within his multi-party government. (Reuters)
Sports
- Transgender people in sports
- FIDE requires trans women to provide proof of gender transition to compete in official women's chess events and states that titles held by those who transition to male will be abolished, but may be reinstated if they revert to female. (AP)
August 15, 2023 (Tuesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- 2023 Sudan conflict
- Battle of Nyala
- Three people are killed and 30 others are injured in a shootout and subsequent shelling at a hospital south of Nyala, South Darfur, Sudan. (AllAfrica)
- Clashes begin again in Nyala, with at least 43 people confirmed dead and dozens more injured. (AllAfrica)
- Battle of Nyala
- Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- Two Palestinians combatants, including a 16-year old, are killed during a raid by Israeli soldiers in Jericho, in the occupied West Bank. (AP)
- Russian invasion of Ukraine
- 2022–2023 Russian strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure
- 2022–2023 western Russia attacks
- Bryansk Oblast Governor Alexander Bogomaz says that Russian soldiers and security services stopped a Ukrainian sabotage group from infiltrating the border near the village of Kurkovichi. (AFP via Al Arabiya)
- Poland displays its weapons and defense systems at a military parade in Warsaw involving 2,000 troops, 200 vehicles and 100 aircraft. (AP)
Business and economy
- 2023 Brazil blackout
- Brazil is affected by a nationwide blackout, with all of the states connected to the national energy system impacted. The state of Roraima is unaffected as it has its own energy system. The cause of the outage is still unknown. (The Brazilian Report)
- Economy of China
- The Chinese national statistics office announces that retail sales increased by 2.5% year on year in July, while industrial production increased by 3.7% and unemployment increased to 5.3%. However, further releases of statistics on age-specific data will be suspended. (AFP via CNA)
- The Chinese central bank lowers the medium-term lending facility rate, which is the interest rate on one-year loans to financial institutions, to 2.5%. (Reuters)
- Economy of Kenya
- Kenya's government debt surges to a record KSh 10.1 trillion (US$70.75 billion), surpassing its KSh 10 trillion debt limit, attributed to external debt and currency fluctuations. President William Ruto's response to the country's financial crisis has been met with months of civil disorder. (AFP via RFI)
- Sri Lankan economic crisis
- Sri Lanka permits the importation of buses and trucks, reversing a part of its 2020 vehicle import ban initiated due to foreign exchange shortages, while bans on cars, motorcycles, and three-wheeled motor scooters persist pending improved foreign reserves. (AFP via New Straits Times)
Disasters and accidents
- Wildfires in 2023
- 2023 Canadian wildfires
- A state of emergency is declared in Canada's Northwest Territories as wildfires spread closer to the territorial capital Yellowknife. The hamlet of Enterprise, South Slave Region, is almost completely destroyed due to the fires. (Reuters)
- 2023 Hawaii wildfires
- In the United States, Maui County officials including Governor Josh Green say that the death toll of the wildfires have reached 106. (Hawaii News Now) (Maui Now)
- 2023 Canadian wildfires
- 2023 North India floods
- At least 65 people are killed and 20 others are missing after flooding and landslides in northern India. (AFP via France 24)
- 2023 Pacific typhoon season
- Typhoon Lan makes landfall in western Japan. (The New York Times)
Law and crime
- 2023 Ecuadorian general election
- Pedro Briones, a local leader of the Citizen Revolution Movement, is assassinated by gunmen in the northern province of Esmeraldas. (AP)
- Child welfare advocates in the United States file a federal lawsuit to require the Biden administration to block imports of products containing cocoa harvested by children in West Africa, alleging that Customs and Border Protection and the Department of Homeland Security have ignored evidence of the existence of these imports. (AP)
- Former Malaysian prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin is acquitted by the high court of four corruption charges of obtaining bribes for his political party. (AP)
Sports
- 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup
- Spain advances to the FIFA Women's World Cup final for the first time after defeating Sweden 2–1 in the semi-final. (The New York Times)
August 16, 2023 (Wednesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- 2023 Sudan conflict
- Battle of Geneina
- More than 1,000 bodies are discovered in 30 mass graves within the RSF-occupied city of Geneina in West Darfur, Sudan, by civil leaders. (Radio Dabanga)
- 2023 Sudanese refugee crisis
- The number of people who have fled Sudan since April reaches 1 million while nearly 3.5 million have been internally displaced. (Reuters)
- Battle of Geneina
- Islamist insurgency in the Sahel
- Jihadist insurgency in Niger
- Seventeen soldiers are killed and 20 others are injured in an ambush of a military vehicle in Koutougou, Tillabéri Region, Niger. (Al Jazeera)
- Jihadist insurgency in Niger
- Libyan Crisis
- 2023 Tripoli clashes
- The death toll from fighting in Tripoli between the 444 brigade and the Special Deterrence Force increases to 55 people, with 146 more injured. The fighting ends following the release of a commander. (Al Jazeera)
- 2023 Tripoli clashes
- Russian invasion of Ukraine
- 2022–2023 western Russia attacks
- Russia's Federal Security Service says that it has stopped a Ukrainian sabotage group, consisting of four fighters, from infiltrating the border in Starodubsky District, Bryansk Oblast. (AFP via Al Arabiya)
- 2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive
- Ukraine recaptures the village of Urozhaine, Donetsk Oblast, from Russian forces. (CNN)
- A Russian strike in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast kills a civilian and injures six others, and damaging agriculture and civilian infrastructure. (CNN International)
- 2022–2023 western Russia attacks
- A Muslim mob storms a Christian area in Jaranwala, Punjab, Pakistan, burning a church, damaging two other churches, and demolishing the house of a man who they accused of desecrating the pages of a Quran. (AP)
Business and economy
- Economic impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- The Hong Kong-flagged Joseph Schulte becomes the first cargo ship to depart from the Port of Odesa, Ukraine's largest seaport, using new Black Sea shipping lanes, after Russia withdrew from the Black Sea Grain Initiative. (AFP via Manila Bulletin)
- Economy of the Netherlands
- The Netherlands statistics office reports that the country has entered a recession after the economy declined by 0.3% in the second quarter with exports and household spending falling despite rising interest rates that were intended to lower inflation. (AP)
Disasters and accidents
- 2023 Cape Verde migrant boat disaster
- At least 63 people are killed and 38 others are rescued after a boat carrying mostly Senegalese migrants capsizes off the coast of Cape Verde. (Al Jazeera)
- 2023 Hawaii wildfires
- The Lahaina Bypass in west Maui, Hawaii, United States, reopens to traffic after being closed for a week due to the wildfires. (KHON-TV)
- 2023 Hpakant jade mine disaster
- The death toll from the explosion in San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic, on 14 August increases to 27, after sixteen more people are found dead. The cause is still unknown. (AP)
Health and environment
- Surgeons from NYU Langone Health in the United States report the successful functioning of a genetically modified pig kidney in a human recipient for 32 days, a record in xenotransplantation. (AFP via The Japan Times)
Law and crime
- North Korea–United States relations
- The Korean Central News Agency confirms that United States Army soldier Travis King has been detained for illegal entry, stating that King claimed "inhuman maltreatment and racial discrimination" within the U.S. Army and also that he is seeking refugee status in the country. (Reuters)
- A lawsuit is filed against the Hawaiian Electric Industries company, accusing it of negligence as the reason for the wildfires. (Forbes)
- Singapore police arrest ten foreign nationals and seize assets worth approximately S$1 billion (US$750 million), suspecting involvement in an international money laundering operation tied to transnational organized crime, including online gambling and Internet fraud. (AFP via The Guardian)
- Spanish Civil Guard police arrest five French tourists and one Swiss tourist for allegedly raping an 18-year-old British woman on the island of Mallorca. (AP)
- United States federal judge James V. Selna rejects a proposed $200 million settlement in a class-action lawsuit prompted by a rise in thefts of vehicles manufactured by South Korean automakers Hyundai and Kia. (AP)
Politics and elections
- Aftermath of the 2023 Thai general election
- The Constitutional Court of Thailand dismisses the petitions on election winner Pita Limjaroenrat's renomination as prime minister, allowing a new round of leadership elections in the National Assembly to take place. (AFP via The Manila Times)
- Vanuatu Prime Minister Ishmael Kalsakau survives a no-confidence vote, with the opposition falling one vote short of removing him from power. (Reuters)
- The House of Representatives of the Philippines unanimously votes for expulsion of Negros Oriental representative Arnolfo Teves Jr. due to his continued absence. (ABS-CBN News)
- The Central American University in Managua, Nicaragua, suspends its operations after the government seizes its assets, alleging the university's involvement in terrorism during the 2018 protests. (AFP via RFI)
Science and technology
- Luna programme
- Roscosmos spacecraft Luna 25 enters into a lunar orbit around the Moon as it prepares to make a soft landing on the lunar south pole in the coming days. (Reuters)
Sports
- 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup
- The current European champions England advance to the FIFA Women's World Cup final for the first time after defeating co-host Australia 3–1 in the semi-final. They will play against fellow first-time finalists Spain. (CNN)
August 17, 2023 (Thursday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War
- The U.S. approves the transfer of F-16 Fighting Falcons to Ukraine from Denmark and the Netherlands after training for Ukrainian Air Force pilots is completed. (Reuters)
- Military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War
Business and economy
- 2020–2023 Chinese property sector crisis
- Chinese property developer Evergrande Group files for chapter 15 bankruptcy protection in the United States as it works on a multi-billion dollar deal with creditors to restructure its debts. (BBC News)
- In the Yellow Corporation bankruptcy proceeding, the court names financing lenders. Hedge funds Citadel and MFN Partners will together provide $142.5 million in debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing, which will give Yellow’s estate the funds necessary to liquidate assets. (Reuters)
Disasters and accidents
- 2023 central Colombia earthquakes
- Two people are killed by a magnitude 6.3 earthquake near Cumaral, Meta Department, Colombia. (Infobae)
- 2023 Pacific hurricane season
- Tropical Storm Hilary strengthens into a hurricane off the coast of Mexico. (The Guardian)
- Elmina plane crash
- In Malaysia, a Beechcraft 390 travelling from Langkawi to Kuala Lumpur crashes into the Guthrie Highway in Elmina, Selangor, killing all eight people on board as well as two people on the ground. (BBC News)
- Wildfires in 2023
- 2023 Canadian wildfires
- The city of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, begins a complete evacuation amid the spread of nearby wildfires. (CBC News)
- Wildfires near Kelowna, British Columbia, cause the mandatory evacuation of over 2,400 properties and result in multiple structural losses. (Kelowna Now)
- 2023 Hawaii wildfires
- In the United States, Herman Andaya resigns as Maui's top emergency official amidst reproval for not activating the emergency sirens during the wildfires. (NBC News)
- More than 4,500 people in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, evacuate due to a wildfire burning over 2,600 hectares of the Teide National Park. (Reuters via CNA)
- 2023 Canadian wildfires
Health and environment
- The World Health Organization opens its first summit on traditional medicine in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India. (AFP via The Japan Times)
International relations
- Germany–Israel relations
- Israel receives permission from the United States to sell its Arrow 3 missile defense system to Germany, according to the Israeli Defence Ministry. (FAZ)
- Iran–Saudi Arabia relations
- Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian visits Saudi Arabia for the first time since the restoration of diplomatic relations. (AFP via France 24)
Law and crime
- 2023 Quran burnings in Sweden
- The Swedish Security Service raises the country's terror alert level from "elevated" to "high", citing increased threats in response to the series of Quran burnings in the country. (AFP via The Times of India)
- Corruption in Slovakia
- The former and current heads of Slovakia’s spy agency and five other police and intelligence officers are being investigated for abuse of power and criminal conspiracy in two separate cases. (AP)
- A Canadian woman is sentenced to nearly 22 years in prison in Washington for mailing a threatening letter containing ricin to then-President Donald Trump at the White House. (AP)
Politics and elections
- Opposition parties in Vanuatu boycott the parliament after a failed no-confidence vote against Prime Minister Ishmael Kalsakau. (Reuters)
August 18, 2023 (Friday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Afghan conflict
- Healthcare in Afghanistan
- The World Health Organization says that 29 million Afghan people require urgent aid, emphasising the importance of increased investment in healthcare services in Afghanistan. (Al Arabiya)
- Healthcare in Afghanistan
- Russian invasion of Ukraine
- 2022–2023 western Russia attacks
- Russia says that Ukraine launched a drone attack on Moscow, striking a building in the International Business Center. Mayor Sergey Sobyanin says that air defences shot down a drone with debris falling over the Expocentre. (BBC News)
- 2022–2023 western Russia attacks
Disasters and accidents
- 2023 wildfire season
- 2023 Canadian wildfires
- McDougall Creek Fire
- Premier of British Columbia David Eby declares a province-wide state of emergency in response to the ongoing wildfires. (CBC News)
- The city of Kelowna, British Columbia, declares a state of emergency and evacuations, as wildfires engulf parts of the city and surrounding area. Lake Okanagan Resort and several residential buildings are destroyed. (CTV News Vancouver)
- McDougall Creek Fire
- 2023 Hawaii wildfires
- The death toll from the wildfires in Maui, Hawaii, United States, rises to 114. (Forbes)
- 2023 Washington wildfires
- The community of Medical Lake, Washington, U.S., is evacuated due to the Gray Fire near Spokane in eastern Washington. (AP)
- 2023 Canadian wildfires
- 2023 Pacific hurricane season
- Hurricane Hilary
- The National Hurricane Center issues the first ever tropical storm watch for the West Coast of the United States in Southern California as Hurricane Hilary approaches from Mexico. (AP)
- Hurricane Hilary
- The Greek Coast Guard rescues 90 migrants from a stranded sailboat near the Aegean Sea island of Amorgos. (AP)
Law and crime
- Countess of Chester Hospital baby murders
- Lucy Letby is convicted of seven counts of murder and seven counts of attempted murder following the deaths of multiple babies in the neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester hospital in Chester, England. Letby is acquitted on two other counts of attempted murder. (BBC News)
- Operation Lesa Pátria
- The Brazil Federal Police arrests seven military police officers that are accused of assisting right-wing rioters and supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro during the January 8 attacks on government buildings in Brasília. (ABC News)
- Haitian crisis
- The UN Human Rights Office reports that at least 2,439 people have been killed by gang violence in Haiti this year. (AFP via France 24)
- Kurz corruption probe
- Former Chancellor of Austria Sebastian Kurz is charged with making false statements to a parliamentary inquiry into alleged corruption in his first government. (AP)
- Protests against the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- The Moscow City Court dissolves the Sakharov Center, a human rights organization, for holding unauthorized conferences and exhibitions. (AFP via Barron's)
- In Oupeye, Liège Province, Belgium, a man on a quad bike is shot dead by police after running over a policeman and refusing to stop at a police control. Anti-police riots break out in the village and eleven people are arrested. (Le Soir)
Politics and elections
- 2023 Gabonese general election
- Gabon's main opposition parties field former education minister Albert Ondo Ossa as their presidential candidate in the upcoming election, challenging the incumbent president Ali Bongo Ondimba who seeks a third term. (AFP via TRT Afrika)
- 2023 Quran burnings in Sweden
- Swedish police detain a woman who sprayed an anti-Islam activist with a fire extinguisher as he staged a Quran-burning protest outside the Iranian Embassy in Stockholm. (AP)
August 19, 2023 (Saturday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- Palestinian political violence
- Two Israelis from Ashdod are killed in an attack in Huwara in the occupied West Bank. The Israel Defense Forces launches a manhunt for the assailant and closes off roads in the area. (Times of Israel)
- Palestinian political violence
- Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Chernihiv missile strike
- At least seven people are killed and 129 others are injured in a Russian ballistic missile strike on a theater in Chernihiv hosting a meeting of military and engineers at an exhibition on the use of consumer drones in the conflict. (BBC News) (CNN)
- Chernihiv missile strike
Disasters and accidents
- 2023 Pacific hurricane season
- Hurricane Hilary
- A man dies after being swept by a current in Baja California Sur while attempting to cross a stream in his vehicle to evacuate the area. (La Prensa Latina Media)
- Hurricane Hilary
- 2023 Canadian wildfires
- 35,000 people are ordered to evacuate in British Columbia due to wildfires, with another 30,000 people under evacuation alerts. (CBC News)
- Nine members of the Indian Army are killed and another is seriously injured after their vehicle falls into a gorge near Leh, Ladakh, India. (Mirror Now via The Economic Times)
- The Greek Coast Guard rescues 60 migrants in inflatable dinghies who were attempting to cross from Turkey to the eastern Aegean Sea islands in two separate incidents. (AP)
Law and crime
- Human rights in Japan
- A government panel investigating harassment cases in the military and the defense ministry finds widespread cover-ups and reluctance among supervisors to address these cases. (AP)
- Oupeye, Liège Province, Belgium, bans gatherings of more than four people following riots. The riots spread to the neighboring commune of Herstal. A school and various homes were damaged and garbage can fires were reported. (7Sur7) (Le Soir)
Science and technology
Sports
- 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup
- Sweden defeats co-host Australia 2–0 in the third place play-off. Sweden defends its podium finish from the previous edition, while despite the loss, Australia records its best finish at the World Cup. (Fox Sports)
- 2023 Leagues Cup
- Major League Soccer club Inter Miami CF wins the Leagues Cup, 10–9, in a penalty shoot-out, making it their first title since joining the league in 2020. (The Tennessean) (The Guardian)
August 20, 2023 (Sunday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
- 2023 North Waziristan landmine attack
- Eleven people are killed when a vehicle carrying workers hits a land mine in North Waziristan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. (Al Jazeera)
- 2023 North Waziristan landmine attack
- Islamist insurgency in the Sahel
- Mali War
- Gunmen kill at least 23 people and wound 12 others in a mass shooting at a village in Yarou, Bandiagara, Mopti Region, Mali. (AP)
Business and economy
- Economy of Libya, Libyan crisis
- The Central Bank of Libya announces its reunification, having been politically divided since 2014 due to the Second Libyan Civil War. (AP)
- 2023 Syrian protests
- Protests begin in Al-Suwayda over the high inflation rate and deteriorating economic situation in the country amid a severe economic crisis. (BBC News) (The Guardian)
Disasters and accidents
- 2023 Pacific hurricane season
- Hurricane Hilary
- Hurricane Hilary weakens to Category 1, with warnings and evacuation orders issued as the hurricane is expected to make landfall in Baja California, Mexico, and California, United States. (ABC News)
- Hilary makes landfall as a tropical storm in San Quintín, Baja California. Flooding is reported in the Mexican city of Tijuana and California area of Palm Springs. (KCBS-TV) (NewsNation) (La Jornada) (KABC-TV)
- Hurricane Hilary
- A magnitude 5.1 earthquake strikes Ojai, California, US, causing minor damage. (LA Times)
- Greek authorities evacuate five villages near the northeastern border with Turkey, where a wildfire that has already destroyed several homes approached. (AP)
Law and crime
- Human rights in India
- Indian police stop a meeting of activists, academics and politicians discussing global issues ahead of a summit of the G20 that will be hosted in New Delhi. (AP)
- Canary Islands President Fernando Clavijo says police confirmed that a wildfire on the island of Tenerife, Spain, was started deliberately. (AP)
Politics and elections
- 2023 Ecuadorian political crisis
- 2023 Ecuadorian general election
- A special election is held to elect the president and the National Assembly to complete the current four-year terms. Presidential candidates Luisa González and Daniel Noboa will face off in a second round vote on 15 October. (CNN)
- 2023 Ecuadorian general election
- 2023 Guatemalan general election
- Bernardo Arévalo defeats former first lady Sandra Torres by 59% to 36% in the presidential election run-off vote. (CNN)
Sports
- 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup
- Spain defeats England 1–0 in the final match of the 2023 Women's World Cup, winning their first FIFA Women's World Cup championship. (The Guardian)
August 21, 2023 (Monday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- The United Nations Middle East envoy says the conflict has killed over 200 Palestinians and nearly 30 Israelis this year, surpassing the previous year. (AP)
- A Palestinian man opens fire on Israeli settlers driving in Hebron in the occupied West Bank, killing a woman and injuring a man. (Al Jazeera)
- Russian invasion of Ukraine
- 2022–2023 western Russia attacks
- Ukraine claims that saboteurs coordinated by military intelligence destroyed a Tupolev Tu-22M heavy bomber at the Soltsy-2 airbase in Novgorod Oblast, Russia. (AP)
- Two people are injured by falling debris from a Ukrainian drone strike on Moscow and flights are disrupted at the city's airports. Russia says they shot down one drone and jammed another. (Reuters)
- 2022–2023 western Russia attacks
Business and economy
- 2021–2023 inflation surge
- Germany's central bank announces the country's economy will be stagnant in the third quarter, due to high energy prices and rising borrowing costs. (AP)
- Somalia orders its telecommunication companies to block 1xBet, Telegram and TikTok, saying that militant groups like al-Shabaab use these apps to spread inappropriate content and misinformation to the public. (Al Jazeera)
Disasters and accidents
- 2023 Atlantic hurricane season
- A tropical storm warning is issued for the southern coasts of the Dominican Republic and Haiti due to Tropical Storm Franklin. (ABC News)
- 2023 Hawaii wildfires
- Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen says that 850 people are still missing after the wildfires in Lahaina and other areas of Maui, Hawaii, United States. (NBC News)
- Cyprus police rescue 18 Syrian migrants after their boat started taking on water off the island's southeastern coast. (AP)
- Greek patrol boats rescue nearly 80 migrants in the eastern Aegean Sea who were trying to cross from Turkey in inflatable dinghies in two separate incidents. (AP)
- Twelve people are killed and 19 others are injured when a bus crashes into a roadside ditch in Yozgat, Turkey. (AP)
- Eleven people are killed in an explosion at a coal mine in Yan'an, Shanxi, China. (AP)
- One person is killed and two others are injured in a high-rise building explosion in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. (AKIPress)
Law and crime
- Corruption in the United Kingdom
- London police say they will take no further action in an investigation into allegations that associates of King Charles III's charity offered to help a Saudi Arabian billionaire secure a knighthood and British citizenship in return for donations of up to £1.5 million. (AP)
- Countess of Chester Hospital baby murders
- Lucy Letby is sentenced to a whole-life order following her conviction on seven counts of murder and seven counts of attempted murder. (BBC News)
Sports
- 2023 World Athletics Championships
- Sha'Carri Richardson wins gold in the 100 m at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, beating Shericka Jackson and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in a new championships record time of 10.65 seconds. (BBC Sport)
August 22, 2023 (Tuesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
- Pakistani Taliban insurgents ambush a military convoy in South Waziristan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, triggering a shootout, with at least six soldiers and four militants killed. (AP via Yahoo! News)
- Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- More than 200 fishermen stage a protest on the docks of Gaza’s seaport after the arrest of at least six fishermen and the seizure of multiple boats by Israeli forces, requesting immediate international intervention. (Al Jazeera)
- Mexican drug war
- The Mexican Army says that drug cartels have increased usage of improvised explosive devices, with 42 soldiers, police and suspects wounded this year. (AP)
- Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Eastern Ukraine campaign
- Russian forces shell Torske and Zavitne in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, killing three people and injuring two others. (BBC News)
- Military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War
- France delivers the first shipment of its SCALP-EG air-launched cruise missiles to Ukraine. (Al Arabiya)
- Eastern Ukraine campaign
Disasters and accidents
- 2023 Atlantic hurricane season
- Tropical Storm Harold makes landfall in south Texas, United States, the first during the hurricane season. A tropical storm warning is issued for parts of Texas and the Mexican border. (ABC News)
- 2023 Greece wildfires
- Eighteen people are found dead amid wildfires in the Dadia Forest in Greece. (BBC News)
- Sixteen people are killed and thirty-six others are injured after a bus carrying Mexican and Venezuelan migrants crashes into a freight truck in Oaxaca, Mexico. (AP)
International relations
- 15th BRICS summit
- The BRICS summit begins in Johannesburg, South Africa. The summit will focus on the bloc's expansion and role among the economies of the Global South. (Peoples Dispatch)
- 2023 Nigerien crisis
- The African Union's Peace and Security Council votes to suspends Niger's membership with immediate effect. (Al Jazeera)
Law and crime
- Human rights in the United States
- The American Civil Liberties Union and three advocacy groups release a report examining the screening system at the Torrance County Detention Facility where claims to asylum were inappropriately screened out for deportation. Complaints of retaliation against migrants who objected to procedures and living conditions were cataloged. (AP)
Politics and elections
- 2023 Cambodian general election
- Hun Manet is approved as the next Prime Minister by the National Assembly. (AFP via WION)
- 2023 Thai general election
- Srettha Thavisin is approved as the next Prime Minister in a joint session of parliament. (Reuters)
- Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra returns to Thailand after 15 years of self-exile. He is arrested and jailed by the Supreme Court of Thailand over his existing convictions. (BBC News) (Bangkok Post)
Sports
- Women's Chess World Cup 2023
- Aleksandra Goryachkina wins her first Women's Chess World Cup title after defeating Bulgaria's Nurgyul Salimova in a tiebreak. (The Free Press Journal)
August 23, 2023 (Wednesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Boko Haram insurgency
- At least 42 women, residents of an IDP camp, are abducted by Islamic extremist group Boko Haram in Jere, Borno State, Nigeria. (AP)
- Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Attacks on civilians in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- 2022–2023 western Russia attacks
- The governor of Belgorod Oblast, Russia, says that a Ukrainian attack killed three civilians in the region. (AFP via Al Arabiya)
- Four people are killed and four others are injured in a Russian drone strike on a school in Romny, Sumy Oblast. (Reuters)
- 2022–2023 western Russia attacks
- Russian strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure
- A Russian drone strike on agricultural facilities in Izmail, Odesa Oblast, destroys 13,000 tons of grain and damages infrastructure. (CNN International)
- Attacks on civilians in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
Disasters and accidents
- 2023 Hawaii wildfires
- The Federal Bureau of Investigation reports that around 1,110 people have been missing since the wildfires that affected Maui, Hawaii, United States. (BBC News)
- 2023 Mizoram bridge collapse
- Twenty-six people are killed when a railway bridge being built across a ravine collapses in Mizoram, India. (Al Jazeera)
- 2023 Tver Oblast plane crash
- An Embraer Legacy 600 aircraft crashes in Tver Region, Russia, killing all ten people on board. The leader of the Wagner Group Yevgeny Prigozhin and mercenary Dmitry Utkin were listed as passengers. (BBC News)
- Eight people are killed and several others are injured when a bus drives off the Prithvi Highway and crashes into the Trishuli River in Gajuri, Nepal. (AP)
- At least two people are killed and 37 more are rescued during a building collapse in Abuja, Nigeria. (Punch)
- Two people are killed and another is injured when an aircraft operated by the Lebanese Air Force crashes near Hammana, Lebanon. (Al Jazeera)
- Tropical Storm Franklin makes landfall on the island of Hispaniola, with heavy rain reported in the Dominican Republic and Haiti. (AP)
Law and crime
- 2023 Trabuco Canyon shooting
- Three people are killed and six others are injured in a mass shooting at a biker bar in Trabuco Canyon, Orange County, California, United States. The perpetrator is killed in a shootout. (AP)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
- The U.S. Justice Department announces that they have brought 718 law enforcement actions costing $836 million in COVID-19 fraud during the pandemic. (The Washington Post)
- Southwark Crown Court in London, United Kingdom, rules that two teenagers were part of the hacking group Lapsus$ and participated in a blackmail campaign against technology companies, including Rockstar Games, the maker of the Grand Theft Auto video game series. (AP)
- Cyprus says it has dismantled a criminal human smuggling ring responsible for transporting migrants on boats from Lebanon, Syria and Turkey. (AP)
- Meta, Facebook’s parent company, and 184 of its content moderators based in Kenya agree on a mediation attempt to settle in a lawsuit seeking $1.6 billion in compensation, alleging poor working conditions, insufficient mental health support and low pay. (AP)
Politics and elections
- Immigration to Germany
- Germany passes legislation to ease citizenship rules, aiming to reduce a shortage of skilled workers and to improve the integration of immigrants. (AP)
- War in Amhara
- Amhara regional president Yilkal Kefale resigns after the Ethiopian government placed the region under a state of emergency. (AFP via TRT Afrika)
- 2023 Zimbabwean general election
- Zimbabweans vote for a president and members of the National Assembly. (AFP via France 24)
- A presidential decree extends voting by one day in 40 wards across the country due to delayed distribution of ballot papers, which the electoral commission attributes to late printing caused by court challenges. (Reuters)
Science and technology
- Chandrayaan programme
- Chandrayaan-3 makes a soft landing near the Moon's South Pole, marking India's first landing on the Moon and the first soft landing of a spacecraft near the lunar South Pole. (CNN)
- North Korean missile tests
- North Korea launches a military satellite from the Sohae Satellite Launching Station. The launch fails due "to an error in the emergency blasting system during the third-stage flight", according to state media, with the satellite likely crashing into the Pacific Ocean after passing over Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. (Kyodo News) (BBC News)
August 24, 2023 (Thursday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Kurdish–Turkish conflict
- Seven Kurdistan Workers' Party militants are killed in Kurdistan Region, Iraq, by two Turkish drone strikes. (AFP via France 24)
Business and economy
- Air traffic controllers at Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport in Lebanon announce they will go on strike next month due to severe staffing shortages, partially closing the airport. (AP)
Disasters and accidents
- Twelve people are killed and seven are rescued in a boat crash in Lafia, Nasarawa State, Nigeria. (Punch)
- One person is killed and eight others are injured by rockfalls in the Ein Gedi nature reserve in Israel. (Times of Israel)
Health and environment
- Discharge of radioactive water of the Fukushima Nuclear Plant
- Japan begins the discharge of treated radioactive waste water from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the Pacific Ocean. (The Independent)
International relations
- 15th BRICS summit
- South African President Cyril Ramaphosa invites Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates to join the bloc, with membership taking effect next year. (Bloomberg)
- China–Japan relations
- China suspends the import of Japanese seafood following Japan's discharge of treated radioactive waste water from Fukushima. (AFP via The Times of Malta)
Law and crime
- 2023 Hawaii wildfires
- The County of Maui in Hawaii, United States, files a lawsuit against Hawaiian Electric, alleging negligence and failing to shut down equipment during the wildfires that ravaged the island including Lahaina. (Reuters)
- Adass Israel School sex abuse scandal
- The County Court of Victoria in Australia sentences Malka Leifer, the principal of a Jewish religious school in Melbourne, to 15 years in prison for the sexual assault of two sisters. (AFP via Bangkok Post)
- Georgia election racketeering prosecution
- Former U.S. President Donald Trump is booked at a jail in Fulton County, Georgia. (NBC News)
- Colombia introduces passports with a non-binary option, following a 2022 court ruling that permitted such identification on official documents. (AFP via Philippine Daily Inquirer)
- A German federal court rejects an appeal by a military officer who posed as a asylum-seeker and was convicted of plotting to attack prominent politicians. (AP)
- The U.S. Department of Justice sues SpaceX for alleged hiring discrimination against refugees and people seeking or granted asylum. (AP)
Sports
- Chess World Cup 2023
- Norway's Magnus Carlsen wins his first Chess World Cup title after defeating India's R Praggnanandhaa in a tiebreak. (CNN)
August 25, 2023 (Friday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Somali Civil War
- The army reports the killing of 27 al-Shabaab jihadists near Awdheegle, Lower Shabelle, along with the destruction of militant hideouts, as part of an ongoing campaign to secure areas previously under al-Shabaab control. (Xinhua)
Disasters and accidents
- Three Ukrainian Air Force pilots are killed when two L-39 trainer aircraft collide in midair in Zhytomyr, Ukraine. Andrii Pilshchykov was among the dead. (Al Jazeera) (The Guardian)
Arts and culture
- British Museum director Hartwig Fischer resigns after insufficient investigations of recent thefts of items from the museum's collection, including jewelry and antiquities. (AFP via RTÉ) (AP)
Business and economy
- 2022–2023 food crises
- Norway announces that it will spend 63 million kroner (US$6 million) each year on grain reserves due to environmental and geopolitical concerns. (AP)
- Haitian crisis
- Two telecommunication companies in Haiti, Digicel and Access Haiti, said their fiber optic cables were severed this week, temporarily disrupting service in suspected acts of sabotage by criminal gangs. (AP)
- The United Auto Workers of the United States vote to call a strike if contract negotiations with Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis are not finalized by the stated deadline. (AFP via RFI)
- A U.S. federal control board files a new plan for restructuring $10 billion in debt owned by Puerto Rico’s power company in an attempt to end bankruptcy negotiations. (AP)
Disasters and accidents
- At least 12 people are killed and 80 are injured in a human crush during the opening ceremony of the Indian Ocean Island Games at the Mahamasina Municipal Stadium in Antananarivo, Madagascar. (Reuters)
International relations
- 2023 Nigerien crisis
- Foreign relations of Niger
- The ruling Nigerien military junta orders the ambassadors of France, Germany, Nigeria, and the United States to leave the country. France rejects the ultimatum, claiming they do not recognize its authority, while the US claims it has received no request to withdraw its personnel from Niger. (Reuters) (AFP via SCMP)
- Foreign relations of Niger
- Finland–Russia relations
- Yan Petrovsky, one of the leaders of the Russian far-right paramilitary Rusich Group, is detained in Finland. Ukraine has sent a request for Petrovsky's extradition. (Meduza) (Fontanka.ru)
Law and crime
- Capital punishment in the United States
- Capital punishment in Alabama
- The Alabama attorney general’s office makes a filing with the Supreme Court of Alabama indicating plans to carry out a death penalty by nitrogen hypoxia, an execution method that is authorized in three US states but has never been used. (AP)
- Capital punishment in Alabama
- Corruption in Lebanon
- Monaco’s judicial authorities announce they have closed a probe against Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati and his family over corruption allegations due to lack of evidence. (AP)
- Homelessness in the United States
- Officials in Boston, Massachusetts, announce police will remove tents and other makeshift shelters at the Mass and Cass tent city, an encampment for the homeless, many of whom struggle with mental health issues and substance abuse disorders. (AP)
- Yale University and a student group announce they have reached a settlement in a U.S. federal lawsuit that accused the Ivy League school of discriminating against students with mental health disabilities, including pressuring them to withdraw. (AP)
- A Pakistani doctor and former Mayo Clinic research coordinator who sought to join the Islamic State terrorist group to fight in Syria and expressed interest in carrying out attacks in the U.S. is sentenced to 18 years in prison. (AP)
Politics and elections
- Aftermath of the Afghanistan War
- U.S. Rep. Cory Mills introduces articles for impeachment against Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, accusing Austin of ignoring key intelligence during the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan that caused the killing of 13 soldiers and the surrender of Kabul to the Taliban. (The Hill)
- 2023 Guatemalan general election
- Sandra Torres, who lost Guatemala's presidential election, files a complaint alleging fraud in the way the votes were counted. (AP)
Sports
- 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup
- The 19th edition of the FIBA Basketball World Cup opens, with the Philippine Arena setting a World Cup attendance record of 38,115 during the co-hosts' opening game against the Dominican Republic. (AP)
August 26, 2023 (Saturday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- 2023 Jacksonville shooting
- Three people are killed in a racially motivated shooting at a store in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. The perpetrator, who killed himself after the attack, released a manifesto against black people. (AP)
- 2023 Nigerien crisis
- The ruling Nigerien military government orders the Niger Armed Forces to go on maximum alert, citing an increased threat of attack. (Al Jazeera)
- Haitian crisis
- Seven people are killed when gang members open fire on a protest in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. (BBC News)
- Aftermath of the Tigray War
- Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Attacks on civilians in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- 2022–2023 western Russia attacks
- The governor of Belgorod Oblast says that Ukrainian shelling and usage of cluster munitions injured six civilians in Urazovo. (Al Jazeera)
- Russian forces shell the front-line city of Kupiansk, killing two people and injuring another. (AP via MSN)
- 2022–2023 western Russia attacks
- Attacks on civilians in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Russia's Northern Fleet conducts navy exercises in the Barents Sea aimed at preventing the passage of unauthorised and foreign ships. (Al Jazeera)
Arts and culture
- British Museum chair George Osborne announces that the museum has begun the process of recovering 2,000 stolen artifacts. (The Guardian)
Business and economy
- Ukraine’s foreign ministry expresses opposition to a continuation of European Union import restrictions on its grain after member states including Poland, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, and Hungary supported an extension. (Al Jazeera)
- The Panama Canal imposes a one-year restriction on ship passage due to severe drought conditions, leading to delays and decreased maritime traffic. (AFP via ABS-CBN News)
Disasters and accidents
- 2023 Hawaii wildfires
- A new brush fire in Maui, United States, burns up to 10 acres in a Kaanapali neighborhood located a few miles from the Lahaina area damaged by wildfires, prompting evacuations. The evacuation order is lifted after the fire was contained. (AP) (Honolulu Star-Advertiser)
- Nine people are killed and nine more are injured when a gas canister explodes on a train in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. (BBC News)
- Three people were killed and 46 others were injured in series of explosions at a liquefied petroleum gas station in Crevedia, Romania. (Reuters via RTÉ)
Law and crime
- American food delivery platform DoorDash announces that it will pay $1.6 million to its workers after a Seattle Office of Labor Standards investigation finds that the company failed to implement the city’s required sick and safe time policy. (AP)
- 2023 Greece wildfires
- Fire department officials in Greece arrest two men on suspicion of setting fires amid ongoing wildfires. (AP)
Politics and elections
- 2023 Gabonese general election
- Gabonese citizens vote for a president and members of the parliament. (AFP via France 24)
- The government imposes a nightly curfew and suspends internet access following the closure of polls, citing the need to prevent violence and misinformation. (AFP via Le Monde)
- 2023 Zimbabwean general election
- President Emmerson Mnangagwa is re-elected to a second term with 52.6% of the vote, defeating main challenger Nelson Chamisa who garners 44%. Mnangagwa's ZANU–PF also wins a majority in the National Assembly elections. Chamisa's Citizens Coalition for Change rejects the results, alleging electoral irregularities. (AFP via SCMP)
Sports
- Disputes involving the Spain women's national football team
- FIFA suspends Spanish football federation president Luis Rubiales for 90 days for kissing player Jennifer Hermoso after the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup final. Hermoso says that Rubiales acted without her consent, which Rubiales denies. (AFP via France 24)
- American triathlete Taylor Knibb wins her second consecutive Ironman 70.3 World Championship title with a time of 3:53:02, five seconds ahead of runner-up Kat Matthews. (Tri247)
August 27, 2023 (Sunday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Yemeni civil war
- Ten Yemeni soldiers from a southern separatist faction are killed and twelve others are injured in an attack by Houthi militants at the border between Al Bayda and Lahij. (AFP via VOA)
Disasters and accidents
- 2023 Atlantic hurricane season
- Tropical Storm Idalia forms in the Gulf of Mexico as the tenth tropical storm or subtropical storm of the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season. (The New York Times)
- 2023 Tver Oblast plane crash
- Russia's Investigative Committee confirms the identities of the bodies recovered at crash site corresponds to the names on the flight list. (AFP via The Moscow Times)
- At least 13 people are killed in Vahdat and Rudaki, Tajikistan, due to heavy rains that triggered landslides and falling rocks. (AFP via PTV News)
- Three US Marines are killed and 20 others are injured when their MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor crashes on Melville Island, Northern Territory, Australia. (BBC News)
Health and environment
- COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in North Korea
- The North Korean government announces the lifting of certain pandemic-era travel restrictions, allowing citizens abroad to return to the country provided that they quarantine for one week. (AFP via WION)
- COVID-19 pandemic in North Korea
International relations
- Israel–Libya relations
- Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh suspends Foreign Minister Najla El Mangoush for administrative investigation following reports of an unauthorized meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen. (AFP via France 24)
Law and crime
- Police arrest two male Polish citizens suspected of hacking into the national railway communication system, disrupting rail traffic in Poland and issuing false signals. (AFP via Al Arabiya)
Sports
- 2022–23 PGA Tour
- 2023 FedEx Cup Playoffs
- In golf, Norway's Viktor Hovland wins the U.S. PGA Tour's season-ending Tour Championship and secures the FedEx Cup championship trophy, finishing five strokes ahead of the United States' Xander Schauffele. (AFP via France 24)
- 2023 FedEx Cup Playoffs
- 2023 U.S. National Gymnastics Championships
- In artistic gymnastics, Simone Biles sets a new record for the most all-around titles by a gymnast of either gender, surpassing the previous record set by Al Jochim in 1933, after winning her eighth title at the individual all-around event of this year's USA Gymnastics National Championships. (AFP via Manila Bulletin)
August 28, 2023 (Monday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Russian invasion of Ukraine
- 2022–2023 western Russia attacks
- Russia says that it shot down two aerial drones over the north and west of Crimea. (Al Jazeera)
- 2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive
- Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant crisis
- The International Atomic Energy Agency warns that Ukraine's offensive in Zaporizhzhia Oblast has increased the risk of damage to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. (Al Jazeera)
- Ukraine claims they retook the village of Robotyne, Zaporizhzhia Oblast from the Russian forces. Russia says they have repelled attacks in the area. (Reuters)
- Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant crisis
- Russia–United States relations
- Russia's Federal Security Service charges Robert Shonov, a former U.S. consulate employee, with passing information on Russia's mobilization campaign to U.S. embassy staffers in Moscow. (Al Jazeera)
- 2022–2023 western Russia attacks
- Mali War
- Malian Air Force jets bomb the town of Anefif, attempting to strike Coordination of Azawad Movements troops, but miss. (AFP via Barron's)
- Mexican drug war
- The Mexican government says that it has deployed 1,200 more troops to the Mexican state of Michoacán after drug cartel violence has been reported over the weekend. (ABC News)
- Myanmar civil war
- Military forces clash with the insurgent Ta'ang National Liberation Army in northern Shan State, Myanmar, following reinforcements to the area in recent days. (The Irrawaddy)
- South Thailand insurgency
- Two defence volunteers and a policeman are killed, and five other officers are wounded, during an ambush in Yarang district, Pattani province, Thailand. (Bangkok Post)
- 2023 Sudan conflict
- Head of the Rapid Support Forces Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo publishes a 10-point plan that proposes a non-symmetrical federal system and a new apolitical Sudanese Army. (Al Jazeera)
Business and economy
- 2020–2023 Chinese property sector crisis
- Trading of Evergrande resumes on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange after a 17-month suspension with the company confirming its compliance with financial information disclosure and listing regulations. (AFP via The Philippine Star)
Disasters and accidents
- Three people are killed and two others are injured in a building collapse in Ismailia, Egypt. (Al-Ahram)
International relations
- Iran says it has reached an agreement with Iraq to disarm and relocate Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq and shut down bases run by the groups in the semi-autonomous region. (Al Jazeera)
Law and crime
- Capital punishment in Iraq
- Iraq announces the execution by hanging of three members of the Islamic State for the 2016 Karrada bombing which killed hundreds of people. (AFP via Barron's)
- Polish railway cyberattack
- Poland arrests sixteen people on suspicion of spying for Russia in relation to a cyberattack on Polish railways. (The Washington Post)
- A Chilean court upholds the prison sentences ranging from eight to 25 years for seven former soldiers involved in the 1973 murder of singer Víctor Jara, which occurred after the coup d'état that ushered in Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship. (AFP via CNA)
Politics and elections
- 2023 Guatemalan general election
- The Registry of Citizens of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal suspends the legal personality of Movimiento Semilla, the party of President-elect Bernardo Arévalo. (Prensa Libre)
- 2024 Taiwanese presidential election
- Foxconn founder Terry Gou announces that he will run as an independent in next year's presidential election on a platform of restoration of positive Cross-Strait relations and closer business ties. (Al Jazeera)
Sports
- 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup
- Cape Verde and South Sudan, who both make their World Cup debut, score their first-ever wins at the tournament. After first-round losses to Georgia and Puerto Rico, the African teams defeat Venezuela and China. (AP)
August 29, 2023 (Tuesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Ethiopian civil conflict
- War in Amhara
- The United Nations reports that at least 183 people have been killed during recent clashes between Fano militiamen and security forces in Amhara Region, Ethiopia. (Reuters)
- War in Amhara
- Russian invasion of Ukraine
- 2022–2023 western Russia attacks
- At least four Ilyushin Il-76 military transport aircraft in Pskov are damaged in a drone attack on Pskov. Russian authorities say they have shot down eight drones over the Bryansk, Oryol, Ryazan, Kaluga and Moscow oblasts. (The Guardian)
- 2022–2023 western Russia attacks
- Syrian civil war
- The government of Kyrgyzstan says 95 wives and children of Islamic State fighters have been repatriated from internment camps in Syria. (Al Jazeera)
Disasters and accidents
- 2023 Atlantic hurricane season
- Hurricane Idalia
- Widespread flooding and power outages are reported as Idalia makes landfall in Cuba. (Reuters)
- Hurricane Idalia
Health and environment
- In a study published in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, Australian doctors report the removal of an eight-centimeter Ophidascaris robertsi roundworm from the brain of a 64-year-old woman. This is the first documented case of such a parasite in any mammalian brain. (AFP via Bangkok Post)
International relations
- Foreign relations of Papua New Guinea
- Prime Minister James Marape announces that his country will open its Israeli embassy in Jerusalem. (RNZ)
Law and crime
- 2023 Imran Khan arrest attempts
- The Islamabad High Court in Pakistan reverses a lower court's three-year imprisonment verdict against former prime minister Imran Khan for graft, while also granting Khan bail. (AFP via CNA)
- Cyprus police arrest 21 people after violent clashes between refugees and residents of Chloraka village in the west of the island which has a large population of asylum seekers. (Al Jazeera)
- Indonesian police arrest 88 Chinese nationals in Batam, Riau Islands, after receiving a tip from Chinese police, for allegedly operating a cyber extortion scheme involving romance scams targeting victims in China. (AFP via France 24)
Politics and elections
- 2024 United States presidential election
- 2024 Republican Party presidential primaries
- Mayor of Miami Francis Suarez suspends his campaign for President of the United States, becoming the first Republican candidate to do so. (The Guardian)
- 2024 Republican Party presidential primaries
August 30, 2023 (Wednesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Kivu conflict
- 2023 DRC anti-MONUSCO protests
- At least 48 people are killed during a crackdown on anti-United Nations protests in Goma, North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo. (i24 NEWS)
- 2023 DRC anti-MONUSCO protests
- 2023 Gabonese coup d'état
- Officers of the Gabonese military depose president Ali Bongo and annul the results of the general election in which Bongo was declared the winner. They also dissolve the government and close all borders. (Reuters)
- Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Bombing of Kyiv
- Russia says that its aircraft destroyed four military boats carrying up to 50 members from landing groups of the special forces of Ukraine operating in the Black Sea as well as two Ukrainian military speedboats carrying military personnel east of Snake Island. (Al Jazeera) (Reuters)
- Syrian civil war
- Rojava conflict
- Clashes in Deir ez-Zor between Arab tribal fighters and Kurdish-led fighters kill and injure several people. (Al Jazeera)
- Rojava conflict
Business and economy
- Russian invasion of Ukraine
- 2022–2023 Russia–European Union gas dispute
- Global Witness reveals that EU countries increased their imports of liquefied natural gas from Russia despite committing to reductions, rising by 40% in 2023, accounting for 22 million cubic meters. (Reuters)
- Economic sanctions during the Russo-Ukrainian War
- India asks the United States to release $26m belonging to at least two Indian diamond firms that has been frozen due to alleged trade links with sanctioned Russian diamond mining company Alrosa. (Reuters)
- 2022–2023 Russia–European Union gas dispute
Disasters and accidents
- 2023 Atlantic hurricane season
- Hurricane Idalia makes landfall in the U.S. state of Florida as a category 3 hurricane. Flooding is reported in the Tampa Bay area, including Tampa and other parts of Hillsborough County. Two deaths are reported with both being due to vehicle accidents. (The Washington Post) (Spot On Florida)
- The death toll from torrential rains in Tajikistan increase to 21, as flooding, landslides, and mudflows affect towns near Dushanbe. (AFP via Barron's)
International relations
- Mali War
- Russia vetoes a United Nations Security Council resolution to extend targeted sanctions on Mali for one year and maintain a team of UN rapporteurs investigating abuses. (AFP via France 24)
Law and crime
- Colombian conflict
- Former Colombian National Army General Mario Montoya Uribe is charged for his role in the "false positives" scandal. Montoya is accused of carrying out extrajudicial executions of 130 people. (La Prensa Latina)
Politics and elections
- 2023 Australian Indigenous Voice referendum
- Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announces that the Australian Indigenous Voice referendum will be held on 14 October. (ABC News)
- 2023 Guatemalan general election
- President of Congress Shirley Rivera dissolves the parliamentary group of Movimiento Semilla and declares them "independent". President-elect and member of Congress Bernardo Arévalo is also affected by the decision. (La Hora)
- 2024 Mexican general election
- The Broad Front for Mexico fields Senator Xóchitl Gálvez as its candidate for president. (AFP via RFI)
Science and technology
- Censorship of TikTok
- Kyrgyzstan's Ministry of Culture, Information, Sports and Youth Policy announces that it will ban the TikTok platform in an effort to protect the health of young children. (RFE/RL)
Sports
- In an event billed as "Volleyball Day in Nebraska", 92,003 people fill the University of Nebraska's Memorial Stadium for a match between the Nebraska Cornhuskers and Omaha Mavericks, setting a new verified attendance record for a women's sports event. (ESPN)
August 31, 2023 (Thursday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Ecuadorian security crisis
- Fifty-seven police and prison officers are taken hostage in six different prisons in Quito as explosive attacks occur in Ecuador's capital targeting the country's prison authority. (AFP via Malay Mail)
- Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
- Nine soldiers are killed and five more injured during a suicide bombing against a convoy in Bannu District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. (ARY News)
- Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- An Israeli soldier is killed and two others injured during a vehicle-ramming attack at a checkpoint in Beit Sira, in the occupied West Bank. The perpetrator is shot dead. (Al Jazeera)
Disasters and accidents
- 2023 Johannesburg building fire
- At least 73 people are killed by a fire in a government building that had been taken over by gangs who rented it out to squatters in Johannesburg, South Africa. (CNBC)
- Fifteen people are killed in a fire at a clothing factory in Quezon City, Philippines. (AP) (The New York Times)
- Five people are killed and seven others injured when a truck collides with several vehicles in La Guaira, Venezuela. (Xinhua)
- Five people are killed and two others are injured when a passenger train collides with track workers doing maintenance work in Brandizzo, Piedmont, Italy. (BBC News)
International relations
- 2023 Gabonese coup d'état
- The African Union announces the suspension of Gabon's membership after the country's military instigates a coup d'état. (AFP via The Peninsula)
- North Korea–South Korea relations
- The Korean Central News Agency reports that North Korean forces has conducted drills simulating a nuclear missile strike on South Korea, in protest of ROKAF-USAF military drills said to simulate plans for a preemptive nuclear attack. (Reuters)
- Sierra Leone–United States relations
- The United States announces visa restrictions for Sierra Leoneans implicated in undermining recent elections. (AFP via The Manila Times)
Law and crime
- Aftermath of the January 6 United States Capitol attack
- Criminal proceedings in the January 6 United States Capitol attack
- Proud Boys leader Joe Biggs is sentenced to 17 years in federal prison after being convicted of seditious conspiracy in connection with the planning of the January 6 riot at the United States Capitol. (NBC News)
- Criminal proceedings in the January 6 United States Capitol attack
- The Brazilian Federal Police questions former president Jair Bolsonaro in an investigation in which he is accused of smuggling $3 million in diamond jewelry from Saudi Arabia. (AP)
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