Portal:Current events/2023 August 16

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)
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)
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)
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)
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 13 August landslide at a jade mine in Hpakant, Kachin, Myanmar, increases to 31, with eight people still missing. (AFP via Bangkok Post)
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)