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Worldwide current events
Sports events

Topics in the news

Atal Bihari Vajpayee

Former Prime Minister of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee (pictured) dies at the age of 93.
American soul singer and songwriter Aretha Franklin dies at the age of 76.
In Afghanistan, hundreds are killed as the Taliban seize most of the strategic city of Ghazni for four days.
A portion of the Ponte Morandi motorway bridge in Genoa, Italy, collapses, killing at least 41 people.
NASA's Parker Solar Probe is launched to study the Sun's outer corona.

August 18, 2018 (Saturday)

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Arts and culture

Russian president Vladimir Putin attends the wedding of Austrian foreign minister Karin Kneissl (FPÖ) and businessman Wolfgang Malinger. (BBC)

Disasters and accidents

Ponte Morandi § Collapse
- The death toll from the Ponte Morandi collapse in Genoa, Italy, rises to 43. (Adnkronos)

Politics and elections

Politics of Belarus
- Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko reshuffles his government in the wake of a corruption scandal. Andrei Kobyakov is replaced by Sergei Rumas as Prime Minister of Belarus. (The Guardian)
Politics of Turkey
- At the 6th Ordinary Congress of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is re-elected as the party's chairman, receiving 1380 of 1381 votes. (Anadolu)
Protests against Rodrigo Duterte
- Vice President Leni Robredo protests President Rodrigo Duterte's remark that her hometown Naga City is a "hotbed of shabu." (CNN Philippines)

Sports

2018 Asian Games
- The opening ceremony of the Asian Games takes place. (NDTV Sports)

August 17, 2018 (Friday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

2018 Gaza border protests
- Around 20,000 Palestinians protest near the Israel–Gaza barrier. Medical sources say that Israel Defense Forces killed two people and wounded at least 270 others, 50 of them with live bullets. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

Accidents and incidents involving commercial aircraft
- A Boeing 737 skids off a runway at Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Philippines, while landing in a downpour. All aboard are unharmed. (Fox News)

International relations

United States foreign policy in the Middle East, Syrian Civil War
- The U.S. Department of State announces that it will redirect approximately US$230 million in stabilization funds for Syria to "other key foreign policy priorities." Career Ambassador James Jeffrey is appointed as "special representative for Syrian engagement". (AP via Chron)

Law and crime

A high court in İzmir, Turkey, rejects an appeal to release U.S. pastor Andrew Brunson. (USA Today)
Amnesty International releases a report accusing Indonesian police of fatally shooting at least 77 suspected petty criminals since January 2018, in the lead-up to the 2018 Asian Games. Authorities insist that lethal force is used when the suspects resist the police. (BBC)

Politics and elections

Pakistani general election, 2018
- Imran Khan, the chairman of the Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, is elected as the Prime Minister of Pakistan. (Al Jazeera)

August 16, 2018 (Thursday)

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Arts and culture

2018 Washington Veterans Day Parade
- The United States Department of Defense postpones President Donald Trump's military parade, which was slated to take place on 10 November, until 2019. The estimates for the parade's cost have risen from $12 million to $92 million. (ABC News) (Market Watch)
Freedom of the press in the United States
- In coordinated editorials defending press freedom, hundreds of U.S. newspapers rebuke President Donald Trump's repeated accusations that the news media reports "fake news" and that journalists are "enemies of the people". (RTÉ News)

Business and economy

Constellation Brands, the owner of Corona Beer, announces plans to invest in Canadian marijuana producer Canopy Growth. (BBC)

Disasters and accidents

2018 California wildfires
- Analysis shows that a rare fire tornado that barreled into the city of Redding on July 26 during the Carr Fire was responsible for the death of a firefighter as he raced towards a neighborhood in flames. (Los Angeles Times)
2018 Kerala floods
- Authorities in India say that 324 people are confirmed dead in the heavy floods in Kerala. (Times of India)

Law and crime

Mexican Drug War
- The Mexican government announces that they are offering up to MXN$30 million (equivalent to US$1.56 million) for anyone who provides information that leads to the arrest of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes (alias "El Mencho"), the suspected leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and one of Mexico's most-wanted. (El Universal)
The government of DR Congo issues an international arrest warrant for opposition leader Moïse Katumbi, who was hoping to take part in the upcoming December 2018 Congolese general election. (Zambia Reports)

Politics and elections

Elections in Canada, Premiership of Justin Trudeau
- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau dismisses speculation that he would call an early election this fall and states that his government remains focused on renegotiating NAFTA and strengthening the economy. (Reuters)
Dog meat consumption in South Korea
- Animal rights groups hold protests against dog meat consumption in Seoul. (UPI)

Sports

2018 Major League Baseball season
- The Texas Rangers pull off a triple play [get three players out in a single play] against the Los Angeles Angels without retiring the batter, the first such triple play in MLB since 1912. (HuffPost)

August 15, 2018 (Wednesday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan
- At least 48 people, mostly students, are killed and a further 67 are injured in a suicide bomb attack at an education centre in Kabul. The Taliban denies any involvement. (BBC)
- The Taliban attacks two units of Afghan security forces in the Baghlan-e-Markazi district of Baghlan Province, killing at least 39 soldiers and police officers. (SFGate)

Arts and culture

Me Too movement § China
- Following accusations by fellow monks of sexual misconduct and embezzling funds — accusations which were subsequently posted on social media —, the Buddhist Association of China announces Shi Xuecheng's resignation from the office of president of that organization. Xuecheng had dismissed the records as a fabrication. (The Guardian)

Business and economy

Automotive industry in South Korea
- The government of South Korea announces that it will ban 20,000 BMW vehicles following engine fires. (BBC)
Economy of New Zealand
- New Zealand's parliament votes to ban the sale of homes to non-resident foreign nationals amid a housing affordability crisis. Australians and Singaporeans are exempt due to free-trade deals. (BBC)

Disasters and accidents

2018 California wildfires
- Officials lift all mandatory evacuation orders for the deadly Carr Fire in Northern California that destroyed nearly 1,100 homes and killed eight people. (KHQ) (ABC News)
22 children and a woman drown after their boat sinks in the Nile in Sudan while travelling to school. (Business Standard)

International relations

Foreign relations of South Korea
- South Korean President Moon Jae-in announces plans to create a Northeast Asian railroad community with North Korea, the United States, China, Japan, Russia, and Mongolia. (CNBC)

Law and crime

Transgender rights in Germany
- The Cabinet of Germany approves a third gender option for official identification records. The change will come into force by the end of the year. (Deutsche Welle)
Caracas drone explosions
- Venezuelan authorities arrest a military general, a colonel, and a dozen others in connection to a failed assassination attempt on President Nicolás Maduro. (UPI)
Iraqi Civil War (2014–present)
- Omar Ameen, an ISIL member who lived in California as a refugee, is arrested in Sacramento for a 2014 murder in Rawa, Iraq. (The New York Times)

Politics and elections

President Donald Trump revokes the security clearance of former Central Intelligence Agency director John Brennan, and the White House announces clearance reviews for other current and former national security officials. (ABC News)

Science and technology

Indian Space Research Organisation
- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi says India will launch its first manned space mission by 2022, which would make it the fourth nation to do so after Russia, the United States, and China. (Reuters)
Discoveries of exoplanets
- Scientists observe the signal of iron and titanium atoms in the atmosphere of KELT-9b, an exoplanet located 600 light-years from Earth. (Gizmodo)

August 14, 2018 (Tuesday)

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Disasters and accidents

Ponte Morandi § Collapse
- The Ponte Morandi viaduct collapses on the A10 motorway in Genoa, Italy. 38 people are confirmed dead, 16 others are seriously injured, 5 are missing and 632 displaced. 35 cars and three heavy vehicles are involved in the accident. Several homes are also damaged and people inside them also injured. (TGCom)
A road accident in Quito, Ecuador involving a bus and a truck leaves 24 people dead and 18 others injured. (CNN en Español)
Ten people are killed and another injured in a fire at a care home in Chiguayante, Chile. (24 Horas)

Law and crime

2018 Westminster car crash
- Salih Khater is arrested near the Palace of Westminster in London after a Ford Fiesta hit pedestrians, cyclists and a security barrier. He is a 29-year-old Sudanese immigrant with British citizenship who was living in Birmingham. (The Daily Telegraph)
Stand-your-ground law in Florida
- Michael Drejka is charged with manslaughter by a state attorney after a reversal of an earlier decision made by police. The case stems from a controversial video that shows Drejka shooting another man over a handicapped parking space and claiming self defense. (NBC)
Capital punishment in Nebraska
- Nebraska executes convicted murderer Carey Dean Moore, becoming the first U.S. state to execute an inmate with fentanyl, and what is also the state's first execution in 21 years, and its first by lethal injection. (BBC)

Politics and elections

European migrant crisis
- Spain, Portugal, France, Germany and Luxembourg agree to take in 141 migrants, 67 of them unaccompanied children, who were rescued on Friday by the MV Aquarius; Malta allows the ship to dock. (The Guardian)
Kansas gubernatorial election, 2018
- Incumbent Governor of Kansas Jeff Colyer concedes defeat to Republican challenger Kris Kobach in the primary election. (CNN)

August 13, 2018 (Monday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan
- More than 100 Afghan soldiers and police, 13 civilians and hundreds of Taliban are killed during the ongoing offensive in Ghazni. (BBC)
- The Taliban captures Camp Chenaya, an Afghan Army base in Ghormach District, Faryab Province. (Voice of America)
At least 40 people are killed by paramilitary forces in eastern Ethiopia, in the latest spate of violence driven by ethnic divisions. (Voa News)

Business and economy

Turkish currency and debt crisis, 2018
- Asian stock prices sink as Turkey’s financial turmoil fuels fears contagion might spread to other emerging markets. (Market Watch)

Disasters and accidents

2018 Laos dam collapse
- The death toll from a dam collapse in Laos on 23 July rises to 36, while 98 people are still missing. (Business Standard)
Authorities in India confirm that 774 people have been killed so far during monsoon rains. (Financial Express)
Nine people are killed and 16 others injured after a fire breaks out in a ward on the seventh floor of a hospital in New Taipei City, Taiwan. (BBC)
More than 300 people are injured, five seriously, after a section of wooden jetty collapsed at an urban sports and music festival in Vigo, Spain. (BBC)
Twelve fans of Ecuadorian football team Barcelona S.C. are killed and 30 others are injured after the bus they were traveling on overturns in Azuay, Ecuador. (Xinhua)
Three Russian climbers and two Tajik pilots die while 12 other people are injured in a helicopter crash in Tajikistan. (Tampa Bay Times)
41 people are injured when an overturned coach crashes in Kent, England, United Kingdom. (Kent Live)

International relations

North Korea–South Korea relations
- North Korea and South Korea officials begin high-level negotiations, with reports suggesting that Kim Jong-un and Moon Jae-in could be planning for a summit in Pyongyang later this month. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

Special Counsel investigation (2017–present)
- The lawyer of Peter Strzok, a former agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) who was removed from Robert Mueller's Special Counsel investigation, announces that his client has been fired by the FBI. (The Washington Post via MSN)

August 12, 2018 (Sunday)

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Disasters and accidents

August 2018 Lombok earthquake
- The BNPB spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho confirmed that the death toll from the earthquake in Lombok rises to 436. (Tempo.co)
A report by the SOHR says that the explosion of an arms depot in Sarmada, Idlib Governorate, Syria, kills at least 69 people, including 17 children. The cause of the blast is "not yet clear". Most of the victims were reportedly family members of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham militants. (Reuters)
At least 15 people die after a bus falls into a ravine in the western region of Ancash, in Peru. (Xinhua)

International relations

Convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea
- After more than 20 years of negotiations, the five countries bordering the Caspian Sea sign an agreement in Aktau, Kazakhstan, on its shared use and the distribution of its resources. The convention legally defines the body of water as a sea rather than a lake, but with special provisions. (Deutsche Welle)
Foreign relations of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Foreign relations of South Africa
- South African President Cyril Ramaphosa meets with President Joseph Kabila of DR Congo in Kinshasa, praising him for his "respect for the constitution" by agreeing to step down and not take part in the upcoming December 2018 Congolese general election. (The South African)

Law and crime

Moss Side mass shooting
- Ten people are injured in a mass shooting in Manchester, United Kingdom. (BBC)

Politics and elections

Unite the Right 2
- Around twenty white nationalists hold a protest march in Washington, D.C. on the first anniversary of the Unite the Right rally, with thousands of counter-protesters. (AP via CBC News)

Science and technology