Portal:Current events/2014 August 24

August 24, 2014 (Sunday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War
- After more than 18 months of requests, Turkey comes under heavy international pressure to secure its borders to the influx of foreign fighters, oil, and weapons crossing into Syria to fight for ISIS. ISIS fighters have been moving towards the Turkey-Syria border using armored cars looted from Iraqi military bases. (The Guardian)
- Fighters from the Islamic State seize Al-Thawrah airbase, the last remaining stronghold of Bashar al-Assad's government in Ar-Raqqah Governorate. (BBC)
- Peter Theo Curtis, an American citizen, is released by an al-Qaida-linked group after two years in captivity. (AP)
2014 Israel-Gaza conflict
- Four Arab-Israeli taxi drivers are injured, two seriously, after they came under mortar and rocket attack at the Erez border crossing while waiting to transport critically injured Palestinians for treatment at Israeli hospitals. (Times of Israel)
- An Israeli airstrike levels a seven story apartment building in Gaza, injuring 20 people and displacing over 40 families. Due to warnings by the IDF to evacuate the building, there were no fatalities in the strike. (Fox News)
- The Palestinian Authority confirms earlier reports that Fatah activists were shot in the legs and arms after being placed under house arrest by Hamas. Hamas alleges the attacks were carried out by members acting on their own. (Jerusalem Post)
- During an interview with Iranian TV, Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal, rejects resuming negotiations for a cease-fire while saying resistance is the only way of achieving demands. (Times of Israel)
An Israeli-made drone is shot down near the Natanz nuclear enrichment facility by Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution. (Reuters) (BBC News) (Aljazeera)

Arts and culture

British actor, director, producer, and entrepreneur Richard Attenborough dies, aged 90. (BBC)

Business and economy

Swiss drugmaker Hoffmann-La Roche agrees to acquire American drugmaker InterMune for $8.3 billion. (San Francisco Chronicle)

Disasters and accidents

A 6.0 magnitude earthquake strikes Napa, California, in the northern San Francisco Bay area of the United States. It is the largest earthquake to strike Northern California in 25 years since the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. (Los Angeles Times) (MSN)^{[permanent dead link‍]}

Health

The Democratic Republic of Congo confirms two deaths from Ebola in the north of the country, the first cases reported from the current outbreak. (Xinhua)

Sports

Association footballer Albert Ebossé dies after being struck by a projectile thrown by a fan just hours after a matchup between his home team JS Kabylie and USM Alger. The match ended in a 2-1 defeat and the Cameroonian died of head injury due to the strike. He was aged 24. (The Guardian)
In baseball, South Korea beats Illinois to win the 2014 Little League World Series. (AP via CTV News)