Portal:Current events/August 2017
August 2017 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This is an archived version of Wikipedia's Current events Portal from August 2017.
August 1, 2017 (Tuesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
- An explosion kills at least 29 people and injures dozens more at a Shia mosque in Herat, Afghanistan. (BBC)
Arts and culture
- Angkor Wat
- A 2 meter (6.5 feet) tall 12th century sandstone statue of a human figure is unearthed by archaeologists during an excavation of a Khmer Empire-era hospital built during the reign of King Jayavarman VII at Cambodia's Angkor Wat temple complex in Siem Reap Province. (BBC)
Health and medicine
- Epidemiology of HIV/AIDS
- According to the United Nations, the Philippines has the largest increase in HIV/AIDS in the Asia Pacific region with about a 140% increase in cases from 2010 until 2016 possibly causing a 'national emergency.' (ABC.net.au) (Human Rights Watch)
Law and crime
- GTA gang
- Three so-called GTA gang members are shot dead and four others are wounded, including two guards, at a courthouse in Moscow, Russia, after they attempted to escape. (The Independent)
Politics and elections
- 2017 New Zealand general election
- Jacinda Ardern is elected the new leader of the Labour Party, after Andrew Little resigns on the back of poor opinion poll performance ahead of the 23 September election. (Stuff)
- Crisis in Venezuela
- Venezuelan opposition leaders Leopoldo López and Mayor of Caracas Antonio Ledezma are seized at their homes overnight by the Bolivarian Intelligence Service (SEBIN) and taken to Ramo Verde Prison. They had been arrested previously by the Venezuelan government, but were under house arrest at the time of being seized. (BBC)
- Political appointments by Donald Trump
- The United States Senate, in a 92–5 vote, confirms Christopher A. Wray as Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. (Reuters)
Sports
- 2017–18 Pro14
- In rugby union, Celtic Rugby Limited, organiser of the competition formerly known as Pro12, officially announces the addition of two former South African Super Rugby teams, the Cheetahs and Southern Kings, to the now-renamed Pro14 effective with the upcoming 2017–18 season. (ESPN UK)
August 2, 2017 (Wednesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- War in Afghanistan
- A suicide bomber kills two American troops near the Kandahar International Airport in Afghanistan. The Taliban insurgency claims responsibility. (Reuters)
Arts and culture
- British royal consorts
- Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, retires from public appearances at the age of 96, after having completed 22,219 solo engagements since 1952. (ABC News (Australia))
Business and economy
- Affirmative action in the United States
- The U.S. Justice Department announces internally that it is to start investigating colleges which have admissions policies that are seen as unfair to Asian Americans. (Newsweek) (The New York Times)
Disasters and accidents
- Floods in the United States
- Several streets in Miami and Miami Beach are underwater after Tropical Depression Emily causes 102 to 178 millimetres of rain overnight. (CNN)
- Minnehaha Academy gas explosion
- A natural gas explosion at college prep school Minnehaha Academy in Minneapolis, Minnesota, kills two staff members. Another nine people were injured, seven of whom are hospitalized, three in critical and four in serious condition. (AP) (CBS News)
Health and medicine
- Gene editing
- Teams of United States-based researchers, composed of American, Chinese and South Korean scientists, successfully edit a piece of faulty DNA that causes a deadly form of heart disease from cells in human embryos. (BBC) (CNN) (Science News Magazine) (Scientific American)
International relations
- Russia–United States relations
- President of the United States Donald Trump signs the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act. Prime Minister of Russia Dmitry Medvedev calls it a "trade war". (Reuters)
Law and crime
- Impeachment in the Philippines
- Two impeachment complaints are filed in the lower house of the Philippine Congress against Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno. (ABS-CBN News) (Manila Standard)
Politics and elections
- Papua New Guinean general election, 2017
- The parliament of Papua New Guinea re-elects Peter O'Neill as Prime Minister, ending a chaotic election campaign marred by violence, which analysts fear may continue amid widespread voter unrest. (Reuters)
- Venezuelan Constitutional Assembly election, 2017
- At a news briefing in London, the CEO of Smartmatic, the Venezuelan-owned multinational company that provided the election system used in Sunday's election, says the number of those participating in the poll was tampered with, off by at least one million. (NPR)
- Immigration policy of Donald Trump
- United States President Donald Trump, together with Senators Tom Cotton and David Perdue, unveils the RAISE Act, a plan that would, if passed, reduce legal immigration to the U.S. by half each year, and implement a "merit-based system" prioritizing skilled workers, instead of the current family-based chain migration system. (The Washington Post) (NPR)
Science and technology
- Effects of global warming on South Asia
- New research suggests that large parts of Southern Asia may be uninhabitable by 2100 due to levels of humidity dangerous to humans. (National Geographic)
August 3, 2017 (Thursday)
Attacks and armed conflicts
- War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
- A suicide bomber attacks a convoy in Afghanistan's Kabul province, killing a Georgian soldier and three civilians and wounding 13 others, including six Resolute Support personnel. (BBC News)
Disasters and accidents
- Nashville International Airport
- A sewage leak, due to a single toilet, contaminated about 200 passengers's bags at Nashville International Airport, according to Southwest Airlines. (ABC News) (New York Post)
International relations
- 2017 East African famine
- 2017 Venezuelan Constituent Assembly election
- South American trade bloc Mercosur will trigger its democratic clause this weekend to suspend Venezuela indefinitely, furthering its past temporary suspension, and not allow the country back until internal political issues have been resolved. (Reuters)
- 2017 Mexico–United States diplomatic crisis, Australia–United States relations
- Two transcripts of telephone conversations between U.S. President Donald Trump and foreign leaders are leaked. Trump was shown to disagree with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto on 27 January over the proposed border wall, and with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull the next day over the resettlement deal of refugees in Nauru and Manus. (The Washington Post)
Law and crime
- Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections
- Special counsel Robert Mueller has impaneled a grand jury in Washington, D.C., to investigate allegations of Russia’s interference in the 2016 elections. (Reuters)
- Grand jury subpoenas have been issued in connection with a June 2016 meeting that included Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner and a Russian lawyer. (Reuters)
- Abortion in Chile
- Chilean lawmakers have approved a bill that would legalize abortion in limited circumstances and end the socially conservative country's status as the last in South America with a blanket ban on the procedure. (AP)
- Raytheon
- Raytheon wins the dismissal of a USD$1 billion whistleblower lawsuit accusing the defense contractor of over billing the U.S. government on a contract for satellite sensors, nearly 18 months after the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit revived the case. (Reuters)
Politics and elections
- 115th United States Congress
- Politics of Japan
- Prime Minister of Japan Shinzō Abe appoints Tarō Kōno as Foreign Minister. (Reuters)
- Politics of the United States
- West Virginia Governor Jim Justice announces, during U.S. President Donald Trump's rally in Huntington, he is changing his party affiliation from Democratic to Republican. (Huff Post via MSN.com) (The Washington Post)
Sports
- Spanish and French football transfers
- In association football, Paris Saint-Germain sign Neymar from FC Barcelona for a world-record transfer fee of €222 million (£200 million, US$264 million). (BBC)
August 4, 2017 (Friday)
Arts and culture
- Danish royal consorts
- Denmark's Prince Henrik announces he won't be buried next to Queen Margrethe II in the Roskilde Cathedral where Danish royals have been buried since 1559. The 83-year-old, French-born Henrik has been dissatisfied with his non-equal role as Prince consort. The 77-year old Margrethe, who had a specially designed sarcophagus made for the couple, accepts Henrik's decision, according to a royal house spokeswoman. (AP via ABC News)
Business and economy
- Economy of the United States
- The U.S. economy added over 200,000 jobs last month, dropping the country's unemployment rate to match a previous 16-year low at 4.3%. Wage growth remained below the Federal Reserve Board's target of 3.5%. (CNN Money)
Disasters and accidents
- 2017 Dubai skyscraper fire
- A fire at the 79-story Dubai Torch Tower in the United Arab Emirates, which forced nighttime evacuations, was under control in a few hours with no serious injuries immediately reported. The building's exterior was still being renovated from a fire in February, 2015, which investigators had blamed, at least in part, to flammable siding, echoing the findings of this past June's Grenfell Tower fire in London. (The New York Times) (The National)
Law and crime
- Crime in New York (state)
- Former pharmaceutical company executive Martin Shkreli is convicted of three counts of securities fraud in a federal court in Brooklyn, New York.(Reuters)
- Volkswagen emissions scandal
- A former Volkswagen executive pleads guilty to defrauding the United States and violating the Clean Air Act. (BBC News)
Politics and elections
- Rwandan presidential election, 2017
- Voters in Rwanda go to the polls to elect their president. Paul Kagame, incumbent since 2000, referred to the election as a formality, despite challenges from the Democratic Greens' Frank Habineza and independent Philippe Mpayimana. Kagame is re-elected with 98.66 of the vote. (BBC) (Sky News)
- Crisis in Venezuela
- Socorro Flores Liera, Mexico's deputy foreign minister for Latin America and the Caribbean, speaks during an interview with Reuters in Mexico City, that during the first half of 2017, 1,420 Venezuelans have sought asylum in Mexico, a nearly four-fold jump compared to the 361 total Venezuelan asylum applicants for all of 2016, as the result of Venezuela's deepening political and economic crisis. (Reuters)
August 5, 2017 (Saturday)
Disasters and accidents
- 2017 V-22 Osprey crash
- Searches are underway for three members of the United States Marine Corps missing after a MV-22 Osprey crashed off the coast of the Australian state of Queensland. Twenty three of the twenty six people on board have been rescued. (AP) (9 News)
International relations
- North Korea and the United Nations, United Nations Security Council Resolution 2371
- The United Nations Security Council votes 15–0 to impose sanctions on North Korea for its intercontinental ballistic missile tests. (Reuters)
Law and crime
- Crime in Minnesota
- An improvised explosive device goes off at a mosque in Bloomington, Minnesota. No injuries were reported, and the FBI is investigating the case. (CNN)
Politics and elections
- Mauritanian constitutional referendum, 2017
- Voters in Mauritania participate in a referendum on whether to amend the Constitution of Mauritania, with the abolition of the Senate and addition of red bands to the flag of Mauritania among the most significant proposed changes. The OCHR has criticised Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz's government for apparent suppression of opposition protests. (Al Jazeera)
- Second inauguration of Hassan Rouhani
- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani takes the oath of office to start his second four-year term. (Financial Tribune)
- Indian vice-presidential election, 2017
- Venkaiah Naidu elected as India's 13th Vice-President of India.(NDTV)
- 2017 Venezuelan constitutional crisis
- The new Constituent Assembly votes to remove Attorney General Luisa Ortega Díaz, a prominent critic of President Nicolás Maduro, from her post. The move comes hours after troops from the National Guard surrounded her home in Caracas. (Al Jazeera)
August 6, 2017 (Sunday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Boko Haram insurgency
- Gunmen kill 11 worshipers in St Phillip's Catholic Church in the town of Ozubulu in Nigeria's Anambra State. (Reuters)
- 2017 Venezuelan constitutional crisis
- Armed men dressed as soldiers, apparently led by former National Guard captain Juan Carlos Caguaripano, attack a Venezuelan Army base near Valencia, Carabobo, declaring themselves in rebellion against the National Constituent Assembly and President Nicolás Maduro. At least two people are killed. (The Guardian) (Reuters)
Business and economy
- Al Jazeera controversies and criticism
- Israel plans to shut down all of Al Jazeera's operations in the country, alleging support of terrorism. (Reuters)
Disasters and accidents
- 2017 V-22 Osprey crash
- The search for three members of the United States Marines Corps lost in a MV-22 Osprey crash in Shoalwater Bay in the Australian state of Queensland is called off. (Sky News)
- 2017 Tulsa tornado
- An EF-2 tornado strikes Tulsa, Oklahoma, injuring 30 people and damaging dozens of buildings. (Reuters)
International relations
- Territorial disputes in the South China Sea
- During one of the meetings of the 50th Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum at Manila, the foreign ministers of the member nations issued a communiqué "emphasizing the importance of non-militarisation and self-restraint," ending an impasse regarding the disputes on the South China Sea. (Reuters)
Sports
- 2017 CrossFit Games
- Mathew Fraser and Tia-Clair Toomey win the 2017 CrossFit Games in Madison, Wisconsin, and claim the title of Fittest on Earth for individual men's and women's respectively. (Crossfit.com)
- UEFA Women's Euro 2017
- In the UEFA Women's Euro 2017 Final, the Netherlands beats Denmark 4–2 for their first UEFA Women's Championship title. (BBC Sports)
- 2017 FA Community Shield
- Arsenal F.C. beat local rivals Chelsea F.C. 1–1 (4–1 on penalties) to win the FA Community Shield. (The Independent)
August 7, 2017 (Monday)
Arts and culture
- Godzilla in popular culture
- Haruo Nakajima, who portrayed the monster Godzilla from 1954 to 1972, dies at the age of 88. (Daily Mail)
Business and economy
- Airline bankruptcies in the United States
- Air carrier PenAir declares Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States, and ends service to Denver, Colorado, and Portland, Oregon. (The Wall Street Journal)
Law and crime
- Media of the Philippines
- Two more Filipino journalists are murdered in a span of two days adding to toll of more than a hundred journalists killed since 2000. (The Straits Times) (The Committee to Protect Journalists)
Politics and elections
- Mauritanian constitutional referendum, 2017
- Results from Saturday's constitutional referendum show Mauritanians have voted to abolish the Senate. Turnout was 53.73%, with 85% of voters supporting the change, according to officials. (BBC)
- Corruption in South Africa
- The Speaker of the National Assembly of South Africa, Baleka Mbete, announces that a vote of no confidence in President Jacob Zuma will be held by secret ballot. The vote, to be held on 8 August 2017, will be the eighth vote of no confidence against the president and the first by secret ballot. (CNN)
August 8, 2017 (Tuesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Battle of Marawi
- The Pentagon is considering conducting airstrikes in Marawi, which if approved would later put U.S. troops on the ground to battle the ISIS-affiliated Maute group as well as related Islamist terror groups. A spokesperson later denied the claims as well as clarified that the Philippines has yet to make a request. (NBC News)
Disasters and accidents
International relations
- 2017 North Korea crisis
- U.S. President Donald Trump promises "fire and fury like the world has never seen" if North Korea threatens the United States. (NBC News)
- Hours after Trump made this remark, North Korea says it is "carefully examining" a missile strike against United States territory of Guam. (CNBC)
Law and crime
- Burial of Ferdinand Marcos
- The Supreme Court of the Philippines has junked all petitions against the burial of former President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, re-affirming its earlier ruling on 8 November 2016. (CNN Philippines)
Politics and elections
- Kenyan general election, 2017
- Voters in Kenya go to the polls to elect the President, as well as members of the National Assembly and Senate. (BBC)
- Corruption in South Africa
- President Jacob Zuma survives his eighth no-confidence motion in parliament via a 198–177 secret ballot vote with nine abstentions. The rand fell by 1 percent on the announcement of the outcome. (Reuters)
Sports
- PGA Championship
- In golf, the PGA of America and the PGA Tour jointly announce that the PGA Championship, currently the last of the four men's major championships to be held each year, will move from its current August date to May effective in 2019. In the same year, The Players Championship will move from May to March. (Reuters via The New York Times)
August 9, 2017 (Wednesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Levallois-Perret attack
- In a suspected terror attack, six French soldiers are injured, three seriously, when a man drives a car into them at a barracks in the Paris suburb of Levallois-Perret. (Independent)
Disasters and accidents
- 2017 Atlantic hurricane season
- Hurricane Franklin, the Atlantic Ocean's first hurricane of the season, is set to hit Mexico's Gulf state of Veracruz tonight or tomorrow morning. The category 1 storm is expected to lose strength as it moves inland through the oil-producing state. (Reuters) (National Hurricane Center)
International relations
- Cuba–United States relations
- Two Cuban diplomats are expelled from the Embassy of Cuba in Washington, D.C., after an incident in Havana forced U.S. officials to return home. (Fox News)
- Russia–United States relations
- Unarmed Russian Air Force reconnaissance jets, under the authority provided by international Open Skies Treaty, fly over several Washington, D.C., area government buildings and landmarks as well as the President's residence in Bedminster, New Jersey. (ABC News) (CBS News)
- United States–Venezuela relations
- The U.S. imposes new sanctions on eight Venezuelan officials, including Secretary of the 2017 Constituent Assembly Adán Chávez - the late President Hugo Chávez's brother, to "deter further democratic backsliding" in the South American country. (Reuters) (CBS News)
Law and crime
- Crime in North Korea
- North Korea releases imprisoned Canadian pastor Hyeon Soo Lim on "sick bail." (CBC News)
- Sexual orientation and gender identity in the United States military
- Five transgender United States military personnel sue President Donald Trump and top Pentagon officials over the President's policy change announced late last month banning transgender people from serving in the military. The suit asks the court to prevent the ban from going into effect. (The New York Times) (AP via NBC News)
Politics and elections
- GT road rally
- Former Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif goes home after his disqualification by the Supreme Court in the Panama Papers case. (ABC News)
- Regions of the Philippines
- President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte abolishes the Negros Island Region (first created in 2015 by his predecessor) through Executive Order no. 38, citing lack of funds to fully establish the region. Negros Occidental reverts back to the Western Visayas region, Negros Oriental back to the Central Visayas region. (Rappler) (Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines)
August 10, 2017 (Thursday)
Business and economy
- Economy of the United States
- New York State-based GateHouse Media announces an agreement to buy 11 U.S. newspapers from Georgia-based Morris Communications. Included in the deal is the Log Cabin Democrat, founded in 1879, and three Alaskan newspapers: the Juneau Empire, the Peninsula Clarion and Homer News. The deal is expected to close on October 2. (AdWeek)
- DineEquity announces it will close 160 Applebee's and IHOP restaurants. (USA Today)
Disasters and accidents
- Migrant crisis
- The United Nations International Organization for Migration reports, over the last two days in two incidents, smugglers have thrown 280 migrants from Ethiopia and other Horn of Africa countries into the sea off the coast of Yemen. More than 50 refugees have drowned with over 30 people still missing. (AP via CBS News) (Al Jazeera)
- Road incidents in China
- At least 36 people die in a bus crash in China's Shaanxi province. The bus was travelling between Chengdu and Luoyang. (The Telegraph)
International relations
- Canada–Cuba relations, Cuba–United States relations
- The Canadian government says at least one of their diplomats in Havana has been treated for hearing loss, following up on yesterday's report that American diplomats had similar injuries. U.S. officials say the problems started in the fall of 2016. The Cuban Foreign Ministry says it was informed of the incidents in February and has been investigating since that time. (Time)
Politics and election
- Mayor of Tehran
- Reformist candidate Mohammad-Ali Najafi is unanimously elected Mayor of Tehran by the city council, ending the 12-year tenure of Principlist Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf. (Financial Times) (ForexRepository)
August 11, 2017 (Friday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Syrian Civil War
- ISIL forces raid an Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps base in vast desert spaces of eastern Homs Governorate, Syria, manned by between 12 to 18 fighters, all but one of which are killed. (Almasdar News)
Arts and culture
- Oldest men
- The world's oldest man, Polish–Israeli Yisrael Kristal, who was also recognized as the oldest living Holocaust survivor, dies at age 113 years, 330 days, in Haifa, Israel. (BBC via MSN.com)
- Hugo Award
- The winners of the annual Hugo Awards are announced at the 75th World Science Fiction Convention in Helsinki. (The Guardian)
Disasters and accidents
- Alexandria train collision
- Two trains collide in Alexandria, Egypt, killing at least 41 people and injuring at least 179. (BBC)
- Migrant crisis
- At least 56 African migrants drown in the Red Sea while traveling from the Horn of Africa to Yemen. Human traffickers had forced 300 people aboard two boats into the sea. (AFP via Yahoo!)
Health and medicine
- Gorakhpur hospital deaths
- Over the past two days, 30 children from Baba Raghav Das Medical College have died, allegedly due to lack of oxygen supply to the wards. (The New York Times)
International relations
- Cambodia–Laos relations
- According to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, 30 Laotian soldiers cross the border into Steung Treng Province despite repeated requests for them to leave. Hun Sen gives Laos a six-day ultimatum to withdraw the soldiers or face a military response. (Al Jazeera)
- Peru–Venezuela relations
- Shortly after Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski called Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro a "dictator" in response to the Venezuelan constitutional crisis, Peru expels Venezuela's ambassador to Peru to protest Venezuela's recent formation of an all-powerful constituent assembly that has been widely condemned as a power grab by Maduro. (Reuters)
Politics and elections
- Kenyan general election, 2017
- The Kenyan electoral commission announces that President Uhuru Kenyatta has won re-election. Kenyatta leads ODM candidate Raila Odinga by more than 1.4 million votes. The opposition National Super Alliance rejects this finding as fraudulent. (NPR) (Reuters)
- Military of the United States
- Because of a recent pair of deadly crashes, the U.S. Marine Corps will ground its flight operations for 24 hours for an operational reset. The suspensions will be spread out over the next two weeks. (Reuters) (The New York Times)
- Unite the Right rally
- A white nationalist rally called "Unite the Right" takes place in Charlottesville, Virginia. (CNN)
August 12, 2017 (Saturday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Syrian Civil War
- Seven members of the White Helmets are shot dead by unidentified gunmen who stormed their office in rebel-held Sarmin, in northwestern Syria. (CNN)
- War in North-West Pakistan
- August 2017 Quetta suicide bombing
- A suicide bombing took place near a Pakistan army truck in Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan, leaving 15 people dead including 8 soldiers, while injuring 40 others. (The Guardian)
- August 2017 Quetta suicide bombing
- Unite the Right rally
- Fights break out between white supremacists and counterprotesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, over the removal of the Robert Edward Lee Sculpture. One person is killed and several people are injured after a man drove his car into a crowd of counterprotesters. (CNN) (BBC) (The Independent)
- The Governor of Virginia declares a state of emergency due to the protests. (CNN)
- A Virginia State Police helicopter monitoring protests crashes, killing two officers onboard. (NBC News)
Disasters and accidents
- August 2017 Nepal and India floods
- Flooding in Nepal leaves at least 36 dead and dozens more missing. (Hindustan Times)
International relations
- 2017 China–India border standoff
- India increases its military alert amid a border standoff with the People's Liberation Army of China at Doklam. (Bloomberg)
August 13, 2017 (Sunday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Iraqi Civil War (2014–2017)
- During combat operations in northern Iraq, two U.S. service members are killed and five injured. (Reuters)
- Syrian Civil War
- Central Syria campaign
- A Syrian Army commando unit backed by Russian warplanes and helicopters kills 25 ISIL militants in Central Syria, in the northeast of the Homs Governorate. (AFP via Yahoo!)
- Central Syria campaign
- 2017 Ouagadougou attack
- At least 17 people, including two Canadians, are reported dead and eight others injured in an attack on a Turkish themed restaurant in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. (RT) (Reuters)
Disasters and accidents
- Earthquakes in 2017
- A magnitude 6.4 earthquake occurs off the Indonesian island of Sumatra. There are no reports of casualties or structural damage to buildings. (Reuters via Channel NewsAsia)(US Geological Survey) (AP via The Washington Post)
- August 2017 Nepal and India floods
- At least 44 are killed in a landslide on a highway in the northern India province of Himachal Pradesh. (The Hindu)
- Monsoon floods and landslides have killed a total of 74 people in India and Nepal. (MSN)[permanent dead link]
Sports
- 2017 PGA Championship
- In golf, American Justin Thomas wins the PGA Championship for his first career major title. (AP via ESPN)
August 14, 2017 (Monday)
Arts and culture
- Big Ben
- London's Big Ben, atop Elizabeth Tower, will fall silent for four years beginning 21 August while essential repair works are performed. (BBC) (The Washington Post)
- Deadpool 2
- American stuntwoman Joi 'SJ' Harris is killed in a motorcycle crash in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, while filming for Deadpool 2. (The Hollywood Reporter)
- Removal of Confederate monuments and memorials
- During a protest in Durham, North Carolina, to show solidarity with the events in Charlottesville, Virginia, a Confederate monument was pulled down and destroyed; a woman has been arrested and charged in connection with the event. (CNN)
Disaster and accidents
- 2017 Sierra Leone mudslides
- A mudslide triggered by heavy rain near Sierra Leone's capital Freetown, kills at least 350 people with the death toll expected to rise as high as 500. (Central Queensland Radio) (BBC)
International relations
- Japanese war crimes
- The National Archives of Korea has received a donation of around 6,000 records showing the forced mobilization of Koreans during Korea's colonial occupation by the Empire of Japan, some of them involving details about the controversial Hashima Island. The government agency plans to publish the records online after classification. (KBS World Radio)
- 2017 North Korea crisis
- The International Institute for Strategic Studies releases a report arguing that North Korea has acquired a high-performance liquid-propellant engine for its missile program, probably from illicit networks in Russia and Ukraine, likely produced by Yuzhmash facilities. Ukraine denies the allegations. (Reuters) (The New York Times)
Law and crime
- Crime in France
- A 13-year-old girl is killed when a car is deliberately driven into a pizza restaurant's sidewalk cafe in Sept-Sorts, France. At least 12 other people are injured, four critically. The driver is arrested. Police do not believe the incident was terrorism-related. (CBS News) (The Independent)
- Philippine Drug War
- Senate Majority Leader Vicente "Tito" Sotto III has lashed out at UN special rapporteurs headed by Agnes Callamard, in his privilege speech calling them "helicopter experts" for offering "solutions" to a decades-old problem of a country "they are not even familiar with". (Philippine Daily Inquirer)
Politics and elections
- 2016–17 Rohingya persecution in Myanmar
- India announces that it is to deport an estimated 40,000 Rohingya refugees including 14,000 of those registered with the U.N. refugee agency. In the months leading up to the announcement, a string of anti-Rohingya protests had been held in the country. (Reuters)
- Politics of Australia
- The Deputy Prime Minister of Australia Barnaby Joyce is revealed to have unknowingly held dual citizenship with New Zealand since his election, which may have rendered him ineligible for candidacy under section 44 of the Constitution of Australia. (ABC News Australia)
- Politics of London
- The Garden Bridge project is officially abandoned after Mayor of London Sadiq Khan withdraws support. (BBC)
- Sanctuary cities
- California and San Francisco sue the United States Federal government over its opposition towards sanctuary cities. (Politico)
Science and technology
- Aftermath of the Unite the Right rally
- Several internet companies, such as domain registrar GoDaddy and video game chat application Discord, shut down services for neo-Nazi, white supremacist, alt-right website The Daily Stormer for violation of terms of service, and in response to this weekend's violence in Charlottesville, Virginia. (The Guardian) (TechCrunch)
- GW170814
- LIGO and Virgo observatories detect the gravitational wave signal from two merging black holes. (Phys.org)
August 15, 2017 (Tuesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
Arts and culture
- The 50th anniversary of the death of Father Vincent R. Capodanno, the decorated Navy chaplain, is commorated with a Mass and documentary premiere. He was killed in 1967 along with ambushed Marines during the Vietnam War. (Catholic News Agency)
Business and economy
- Airlines of Germany
- Air Berlin, Germany's second largest airline, files for bankruptcy protection after its main shareholder, Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways, chose not to make more financing available. (BBC)
Disasters and accidents
- Disasters in Portugal
Law and crime
- Libyan Civil War
- The International Criminal Court issues an arrest warrant against Mahmoud al-Werfalli for the war crime of murder following the circulation of several videos in which he appears to oversee the execution of over 30 prisoners. (Al Jazeera)
Politics and elections
- Aftermath of the Unite the Right rally
- During a press conference at Trump Tower in New York City, which was intended to announce an executive order on infrastructure policy, President Donald Trump defended his August 12 remarks about the Charlottesville rally, placing "blame on both sides" for the incidents at the rally and criticizing what he referred to as the "alt-left," equating them with white supremacists and neo-Nazis on the right. (ABC News) (NBC News)
- Alliance for American Manufacturing president Scott Paul, AFL–CIO president Richard Trumka and the union's former chief of staff Thea Lee resign from President Trump's American Manufacturing Council due to their disagreements with Trump's response to the rally. The three corporate executives join Merck CEO Kenneth Frazier, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich and Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank, who also resigned from the council in protest the day prior. (CNBC) (The New York Times)
August 16, 2017 (Wednesday)
Arts and culture
- Removal of Confederate monuments and memorials
- Several Confederate monuments are taken down overnight in the city of Baltimore, Maryland, including the Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee Monument, Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument, Confederate Women's Monument and the Roger B. Taney sculpture. The Baltimore City Council unanimously voted to remove the monuments on August 14. (NBC News)
Business and economy
- Aftermath of the Unite the Right rally
- 3M CEO Inge Thulin and Campbell CEO Denise Morrison resign from the American Manufacturing Council in protest of Trump's reaction to the alt-right's actions at Charlottesville, Virginia, bringing the total number of resignations this week to 8. (CNBC) (CNBC)
- President Donald Trump disbands both the Strategic and Policy Forum and American Manufacturing Council in response to the CEO resignations. (BBC) (Business Insider)
Disasters and accidents
- 2017 Sierra Leone mudslides
- A mass burial of victims of the landslide is held in Freetown to free up space in mortuaries. Nearly 400 people are confirmed dead with at least 600 missing. (BBC)
- 2017 DR Congo landslide
- A landslide in a village along Lake Albert in the Democratic Republic of the Congo leaves at least 60 dead. (Al Jazeera)
- Accidents and incidents involving helicopters
- A United States Army Combat Aviation Brigade UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashes off the coast of Hawaii, with five people on board. A United States Coast Guard-led search for the missing is underway. (Sky News)
Law and crime
- Philippine Drug War
- At least 32 people are killed in a series of police raids near Manila, Philippines, allegedly due to the ongoing drug war. (The Guardian)
- Crisis in Venezuela
- Venezuelan security forces raid a prison in Puerto Ayacucho, Amazonas State, killing at least 37 inmates. Amazonas Governor Liborio Guarulla describes the killings as a "massacre". (Reuters)
Science and technology
- Evolution
- Researchers from the University of Cambridge suggest that the Chilesaurus may be the so-called "missing link" between the Stegosaurus and the Tyrannosaurus. (CNN)
August 17, 2017 (Thursday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- 2017 Barcelona attacks
- A van drives into crowds of people in La Rambla, Barcelona, in what Spanish police are calling a terrorist attack, killing at least 12 people. Two suspects are taken into custody, and ISIL claims responsibility. (The Washington Post)
Disasters and accidents
- Fires in Alaska
- A large fire continues to burn at the Peter Pan Seafoods fish processing plant in Port Moller, Alaska, on the Alaska Peninsula. Much of the facility has been destroyed, and the plant is out of commission. Power is out in the village. (King 5)
- USS Fitzgerald and MV ACX Crystal collision
- The US Navy has announced that about a dozen sailors of the USS Fitzgerald are to be disciplined in the aftermath of the collision with a container ship last June, where 7 crew members died. (BBC)
International relations
- 2017 China–India border standoff
- South Africa–Zimbabwe relations
- The South African Police Service issues a red alert at the country's borders to prevent First Lady of Zimbabwe Grace Mugabe from leaving the country. She is wanted on charges of "assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm" on a 20-year-old woman in a hotel room in Johannesburg. (BBC)
Law and crime
- Philippine Drug War
- At least 25 people are killed and 48 are arrested by the Philippine National Police Manila Police District in consecutive anti-drug operations in Manila within 24 hours. (Manila Times)
- Shooting of Kian Loyd delos Santos
- Kian Loyd delos Santos, a 17-year old Grade 11 student, was shot dead by police after trying to escape an antidrug operation in Caloocan. (GMA News)
- Politics of Hong Kong
- Hong Kong opposition activists Alex Chow, Joshua Wong, and Nathan Law are sentenced between six to eight months in prison and barred from holding office until 2022 as the Hong Kong government imposes harsher punishments on the individuals for their role in the Umbrella Movement. (South China Morning Post)
- International Criminal Court investigation in Mali
- The International Criminal Court has ruled that Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi is liable for about € 2.7 million in personal damages for the destruction of Timbuktu's heritage sites, and that the victims (including Mali itself and the international community) be paid "individual, collective, and symbolic" reparations. The Trust Fund for Victims is to decide until 16 February 2018 how the amount will be paid (the Court has also recognized that the penniless al-Mahdi would be unable to pay). (AFP)
Politics and elections
- Presidency of Donald Trump
- President Donald Trump has ended his planned Presidential Advisory Council on Infrastructure after only a month, coming a day after two other advisory councils, the Strategic and Policy Forum and the American Manufacturing Council, were scrapped. No reason was given. (CNN) (Bloomberg)
Science and technology
- Aftermath of the Unite the Right rally
- Internet firm CloudFlare ceased CDN support for the neo-Nazi, white supremacist website The Daily Stormer, after The Daily Stormer claimed that the company supported their cause. The Daily Stormer website had already lost web-hosting services by the domain register GoDaddy and Google (Cloudflare's Official Blog) (CNN Money)
- LIGO/Virgo gravitational wave detection.
- A gravitational wave signal called GW170817 is observed by the LIGO/Virgo-collaboration. A Neutron star collision triggered the gravitational waves which "also created heavy elements such as gold, platinum and lead". (CNN)
August 18, 2017 (Friday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Aftermath of the 2017 Barcelona attacks
- Catalan police in the coastal town of Cambrils kill five suspected terrorists in a counter-terror operation to stop a second van attack. The police reported the attackers were wearing explosive vests, however they were later discovered to be fakes. (BBC)
- 2017 Turku stabbing
Arts and culture
- Removal of monuments and memorials
- The 145-year-old Roger B. Taney Monument outside Maryland State House in Annapolis, Maryland, is removed overnight by authorities. Maryland Governor Larry Hogan called on Wednesday for the monument to be taken down immediately. (Reuters)
- Repatriation of cultural heritage
- Two Joseon Dynasty-era royal seals which were repatriated last July from the U.S. after being illegally taken out by an American soldier during the Korean War, are on exhibit at the National Palace Museum of Korea. (The Korea Times)
Business and economy
- McDonald's
- Workers at two British McDonald's restaurants overwhelmingly vote to authorize a strike over working conditions and the use of zero-hour contracts, which would be the first such labor action against the fast-food chain in the U.K. (The Guardian) (Bloomberg)
Disasters and accidents
- August 2017 Nepal and India floods
- Flooding in South Asia has displaced tens of thousands of people and resulted in an estimated 500 deaths across India, Bangladesh, and Nepal. (BBC)
Politics and elections
- Political appointments by Donald Trump
- Steve Bannon resigns as President Donald Trump's White House Chief Strategist. (ABC News) (The New York Times)
- Carl Icahn steps down as special advisor to the President. (CNN)
- All 17 members of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities, including actor Kal Penn and artist Chuck Close, resign. (AP via Miami Herald) (India-West) (UPI)
- 2017 Venezuelan constitutional crisis
- The controversial National Constituent Assembly votes unanimously to assume the powers of the opposition-led National Assembly of Venezuela. (BBC)
August 19, 2017 (Saturday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Terrorism in Russia
- A 23-year-old stabs and injures eight people in the Russian city of Surgut, before being killed by police. ISIL claims responsibility for the attack. (South Front) (Reuters)
- Syrian Civil War
- A day after a Russian sponsored ceasefire with a rebel group agreed a halt of fighting in the last opposition enclave in the capital, Syrian government airplanes and artillery strike rebel-held eastern Damascus suburbs and Ghouta with barrel bombs, killing at least five civilians in the towns of Hamouriya and Zalamka with several case of suffocation from rockets filled with chlorine that were fired at the front lines of Jobar and Ain Terma. (U.S. News and World Report) (Reuters) (SN4HR)
- Syrian Civil War spillover in Lebanon
- The Lebanese Armed Forces launches operation Fajr al-Joroud, and on the first day recaptures 30 km of territory near the Lebanon–Syria border formerly occupied by ISIS militants. Twenty ISIS militants were killed and 10 Lebanese soldiers were wounded. (The Daily Star)
Arts and culture
- Religion in Pakistan
- Pakistan holds a state funeral for German-born Catholic nun Ruth Pfau, known as "Pakistan's Mother Teresa," who devoted her life to eradicating leprosy in the South Asian country. (Reuters)
Disasters and accidents
- Earthquakes in 2017
- A magnitude 6.4 earthquake strikes west of the Pacific Island of Tonga. There are no immediate reports of casualties or damage. (Reuters)
- 2017 Khatauli train derailment
- A train derails near Khatauli, Uttar Pradesh, India, resulting in at least 23 deaths and 156 injuries. (Reuters), (Reuters via ABC News Australia)
- US Navy losses in World War II
- The wreckage of the USS Indianapolis heavy cruiser, torpedoed by the Imperial Japanese Navy submarine I-58 and sunk in 1945 after delivering parts for the Little Boy atomic weapon, is discovered on the floor of the North Pacific Ocean. Only 317 of the U.S. Sailors/Marines who survived the sinking were finally rescued after 4–5 days in shark-infested waters. (CNN)
Politics and elections
- 2017 Australian constitutional crisis
- Australian Senator Nick Xenophon is discovered to hold dual citizenship with Britain. (News.com.au)
- Politics of Nigeria
- Nigerian state television reports that President Muhammadu Buhari is back in the country after a three-month sick leave in Britain. (Reuters)
- Political appointments by Donald Trump
- Pastor A.R. Bernard becomes the first religious leader to resign from the president's evangelical advisory board. (CNN)
- 2017–18 Togolese protests
August 20, 2017 (Sunday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Iraqi Civil War
- Battle of Tal Afar (2017)
- Iraqi security forces, along with Shi'ite volunteers and Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, launch a ground offensive to take the city of Tal Afar back from Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant militants. The city has been isolated from the rest of the ISIL-held territory since the recent Mosul liberation. (Reuters) (Al Jazeera)
- Battle of Tal Afar (2017)
- Syrian Civil War
- A rocket hits and injures several people at the Damascus International Fair. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says five people have died. (Daily Mail) (BBC)
Arts and culture
- Deaths in August 2017
- American comedian and Muscular Dystrophy Association chairman Jerry Lewis dies in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the age of 91. (Yahoo!)
Disasters and accidents
- Disasters in South Korea
- An explosion at a South Korean shipyard owned by STX Offshore & Shipbuilding kills four workers. (Reuters via The Australian)
Law and crime
- Philippine Drug War
- The Philippine Catholic Church condemns the killings in the Philippines after anger erupts due to the death of 17-year old Kian Loyd delos Santos.(Reuters) (BBC)
- Death of Jennifer Laude
- The Court of Appeals of the Philippines has junked U.S. Marine Joseph Scott Pemberton's motion for reconsideration, re-affirming its decision last April upholding the 2015 homicide ruling of the Olongapo City Regional Trial Court; citing the defendant's arguments as mere "rehash of issues". The Court of Appeals also upheld the payment of ₱ 4.32 million to Jennifer Laude's family for "loss of earning capacity". Pemberton faces 10 years in prison. (Rappler)
Politics and elections
- Politics of Iran
- Iranian MPs approve 16 out of 17 cabinet members nominated by recently re-elected President Hassan Rouhani. (The Washington Post)
- Media of North Korea
- The director of the BBC World Service says it is prepared for the North Korean government's reaction over the targeted launch of a radio service on North Korea in September, despite the recent international tensions. The North Korean embassy in London has already told the BBC "in no uncertain terms" that Pyongyang does not want any such service. (The Guardian)
August 21, 2017 (Monday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Aftermath of the 2017 Barcelona attacks
- Spanish police hunting the chief suspect in last Thursday's van attack in Barcelona shoot dead a man to the west of the city who appeared to be wearing an explosive belt. (BBC)
- Ain al-Hilweh conflict
- A ceasefire brings calm after heavy fighting between Fatah and extremists that left two people dead at the Palestinian refugees camp of Ain al-Hilweh, Lebanon. (Daily Star)
Arts and culture
- Renovation of Big Ben
- The famed clock tower Big Ben chimes for the final time until 2021 before undergoing repairs. (USA Today)
Disasters and accidents
- Shipwrecks in 2017
- The United States Navy's USS John S. McCain collides with the Liberian-flagged Alnic MC near Singapore. Rescue efforts are underway with ten sailors reported as missing. (Reuters)(AP)
- The U.S. Navy orders an investigation into its Pacific Fleet following the collision, which is the fourth crash involving a U.S. Navy ship in the past two years and the second in the past two months. (BBC)
- Earthquakes in 2017
- A magnitude 4.0 earthquake strikes the Italian island of Ischia, leaving one person dead and 25 others injured. Italian media report 10 others are unaccounted for after several buildings collapsed in Casamicciola Terme. (BBC)
International relations
- North Korea–United States relations
- In a video interview posted on the state-run website Uriminzokkiri, the two sons of James Joseph Dresnok (the last remaining American defector to North Korea) have confirmed that their father has died of a stroke last November 2016. (The Guardian)
- Syria chemical weapons program, Sanctions against North Korea
- Two North Korean shipments to a Syrian government agency of its chemical weapons program were intercepted in the past 6 months, according to a confidential United Nations report on violations of North Korea's sactions. (Reuters)
Law and crime
- Philippine Drug War
- After the shooting of Kian Loyd delos Santos, a 17-year-old student, in the campaign against drugs in the Philippines, thousands of marchers protest in EDSA heeding calls from the Philippine Catholic Church to criticize the drug war. (Al Jazeera)
- Beating of DeAndre Harris
- Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe calls for arrests related to the beating of a black counterprotester by white supremacists during the Unite the Right rally. (The Richmond Times-Dispatch)
Science and technology
- Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017
- Millions of United States residents and visitors are able to witness a total solar eclipse that crosses through North America. It is the first total solar eclipse visible across the entire contiguous United States since the solar eclipse of June 8, 1918. (CBS)
August 22, 2017 (Tuesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Ain al-Hilweh conflict
- Renewed clashes between Islamist extremists and the Fatah-supported Joint Palestinian Security Force at the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugees camp, near Sidon, Lebanon, wound three more Palestinians. (Daily Star) (Naharnet)
Business and economy
- Tourism in the Philippines
- Viacom International Media Networks has announced it will no longer pursue a Nickelodeon underwater theme park and resort in Palawan, Philippines. The project, announced last January, attracted controversy due to criticisms from environmentalist groups who fear the resort might destroy the area's marine ecosystem, home to two UNESCO World Heritage sites. (ABS-CBN News)
Disasters and accidents
- Maritime incidents in 2017
- The passenger ship Comandante Ribeiro sinks in the Xingu River near Porto de Moz, Brazil, with the loss of at least ten lives.(Shipwreck Log)
Law and crime
- Triple talaq in India
- The "triple talaq", an Islamic practice allowing men to divorce instantly, is declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of India. (The Guardian)
Sports
- 2017–18 NBA season transactions
- In the NBA, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics swap All-Star point guards, with Isaiah Thomas going to the Cavaliers and Kyrie Irving to the Celtics. The Celtics also send the Cavaliers forward Jae Crowder, center Ante Žižić, and a 2018 first-round draft pick that they had previously obtained from the Brooklyn Nets. (ESPN)
August 23, 2017 (Wednesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
- At least 35 people are killed in an air strike that hit a hotel near a Houthi-run checkpoint north of the Yemeni capital Sanaa. (Reuters via Channel NewsAsia)
Business and economy
- Nuclear weapons and the United States
- The U.S. Air Force awards Raytheon and Lockheed contracts to work on the new Long Range Standoff weapon, the replacement for the AGM-86B air-launched nuclear cruise missile. (Reuters)
Disasters and accidents
- Aftermath of the USS John S. McCain collision
- The United States Navy relieves vice admiral Joseph Aucoin as commander of the United States Seventh Fleet following four collisions in Asia this year that claimed the lives of 17 sailors. (New York Times) (Wall Street Journal)
- Auraiya train derailment
- A passenger train collided with a dump truck on the line at Auraiya, India, and was derailed. Twenty-five people were injured. (The Hindu)
- Earthquakes in 2017
- Two people die in an earthquake in Leyte, Philippines. (CNN Philippines)
- 2017 Atlantic hurricane season
- Hurricane and storm surge watches are issued for Texas and Louisiana as the tropical system Harvey strengthens into a tropical depression and is predicted to bring both heavy rainfall and storm surge. (The Weather Channel)
Law and crime
- Disappearance of Kim Wall
- A headless dismembered torso found washed ashore in Copenhagen two days ago is identified as Kim Wall. According to a police spokesperson, the body was deliberately mutilated and had metal attached to it so that it would not float. (Reuters via MSN) (BBC)
Politics and elections
- Angolan legislative election, 2017
- Voters in Angola go to the polls to elect 220 National Assembly members. The leader of the winning party will become the new president, following the retirement of José Eduardo dos Santos, who has held the role since 1979. (Al Jazeera)
August 24, 2017 (Thursday)
Arts and culture
- Archaeology of Israel
- A 6th century mosaic dated from the rule of Justinian I is discovered while installing communication cables in Jerusalem's Old City. (Reuters via ABC Australia)
Disasters and accidents
- 2017 Pacific typhoon season
- At least 12 people die in the southern Chinese city of Macau as a result of flooding caused by Typhoon Hato. Four more people die in neighbouring Guangdong province. (AP)
- 2017 Atlantic hurricane season
- Tropical depression Harvey becomes a hurricane, expected to make landfall on the Texas coast at Category 3, bringing life-threatening storm surge, rainfall, and wind hazards. (The Weather Channel) (National Hurricane Center)
International relations
- Iran–Qatar relations
- Qatar restores diplomatic ties with Iran. Tehran welcomes the move. (Financial Times)
- Colombia–Venezuela relations, Censorship in Venezuela
- Venezuela's National Commission of Telecommunications (Conatel) takes Colombian television channels Caracol Televisión and RCN Televisión off air due to their coverage of the 2017 Venezuelan constitutional crisis. (BBC)
- Cuba–United States relations
- The United States State Department says at least 16 U.S. government employees and family members based in Cuba showed physical symptoms from the previously reported acoustic attacks. Investigators are exploring whether some form of sonic attack was directed at diplomats' homes. (Reuters)
Law and crime
- Philippine Drug War
- The Philippine senate investigates the shooting of a 17-year old male student seemingly connected to the ongoing drug war. (Rappler)
August 25, 2017 (Friday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- War in Afghanistan
- New Zealand announces the stationing of three more non-combat military personnel in Afghanistan, boosting its military commitment to 13. (Reuters)
- Four gunmen attack a Shiite mosque in Kabul, Afghanistan, killing at least 20 people. (ABC News)
- Rohingya insurgency in Western Myanmar
- 2016–17 Northern Rakhine State clashes
- Government officials in Myanmar report that 12 security personnel (ten policemen, one soldier and one immigration officer) and 59 Rohingya insurgents were killed overnight during coordinated attacks by insurgents on at least 26 police posts and an army base in Rakhine State. (BBC) (AP)
- 2016–17 Northern Rakhine State clashes
- 2017 Northern India riots
- Riots erupt in Panchkula and later spread to other parts of the Northern Indian state of Haryana, as well as the state of Punjab and the Indian capital of New Delhi, after a special CBI court found the Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh guilty of rape. At least 28 people have been killed and 250 others injured. (The Hindu) (The Washington Post)
- American involvement in the Somali Civil War
- United States-supported Somali forces shoot and kill 10 Somalis, including three children, in Lower Shebelle's Bariire village near Mogadishu. While the Somalia government reports the other dead were members of the al Shabaab militia, Lower Shabelle deputy governor Ali Nur Mohamed says the victims were all civilians, farm owners, workers and their children. The U.S. Africa Command says they are investigating these civilian casualties reports. (Reuters) (Garowe Online)
- Two British police officers were assaulted with a sword while trying to arrest a man outside Buckingham Palace. (Reuters)
- August 2017 Brussels attack
Art and culture
- Culture in Toronto
- Toronto's Sheraton Cadwell Orchestras closes and its management resigns following public backlash to a fat-shaming email that said only "physically fit and slim" singers would be featured in shows. (Fox News) (BBC) (Global News)
Business and economy
- Environment of Brazil
- Brazilian President Michel Temer abolishes the 46,000 km2 National Reserve of Copper and Associates (Renca) ecological reserve, which spans the borders of Amapá and Pará states in northern Brazil. More than 20 domestic and multinational firms have expressed an interest in accessing the area's deposits of gold, copper, tantalum, iron ore, nickel and manganese. (The Guardian)
Disasters and accidents
- Hurricane Harvey
- In anticipation of Hurricane Harvey, residents from Corpus Christi to Galveston, Texas, and workers from Gulf of Mexico oil platforms are evacuating the region. The storm makes landfall between Port Aransas and Port O'Connor as a Category 4 hurricane around 11 p.m. EDT (0300 UTC, August 26) as the strongest storm to hit the United States mainland since 2004. The National Hurricane Center predicts Harvey will linger over Texas for days, dumping 15–25 inches (38–64 cm), and as much as 35 inches (89 cm) of rain on some parts of the state. (CNN) (Reuters) (National Hurricane Center)
- Oil prices rise in anticipation of Harvey's impact on production in the Gulf of Mexico. (Reuters)
- Accidents and incidents involving helicopters
- An American UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter on a training mission crashes off the coast of Yemen with six aboard, five of whom have been rescued. The search continues for the other U.S. service member. (Reuters) (Military.com)
International relations
- Sanctions against North Korea
- The Cabinet of Japan imposes sanctions on various companies in China and Namibia for their business relations with North Korea. (The Japan Times)
Law and crime
- Trial of Yingluck Shinawatra
- Thailand's Supreme Court issues an arrest warrant for former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who didn't appear in court for the verdict in her negligence trial regarding a rice subsidy program for farmers. The court also issued a statement questioning her attorney's report that she is unwell and a potential flight risk, citing the lack of a physician's certificate. The reading of the verdict has been rescheduled to September 27. Sources within Shinawatra's party Pheu Thai Party have said that she has allegedly fled the country, though not saying where to, in response current prime minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has ordered the border checkpoints to be closely monitored to prevent Shinawatra leaving the country if she has not already. (Reuters) (The Sydney Morning Herald) (The New York Times) (BBC Asia)
- 2016 South Korean political scandal
- Lee Jae-yong (Jay Y. Lee), the vice-chairman of the Samsung Group is sentenced to five years for graft for his involvement in the 2016 South Korean political scandal that led to the impeachment of President of South Korea Park Geun-hye. (Bloomberg) (Reuters)
- Volkswagen emissions scandal
- Former Volkswagen engineer James Liang is sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Sean Cox to 40 months in prison and a $200,000 fine for his role in the decade-long scheme to cheat on federal emissions tests for diesel-powered cars sold in the United States. He is the first company employee sent to prison in the scandal. (The New York Times) (Reuters)
- Donald Trump presidential pardons
- U.S. President Donald Trump pardons former sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona, Joe Arpaio. (The Washington Post) (Reason)
Politics and elections
- Political appointments by Donald Trump
- Deputy Assistant to the President Sebastian Gorka resigns expressing unhappiness with the direction of the Trump administration’s foreign policy. (New York Daily News) (The Federalist)
- Sexual orientation and gender identity in the United States military
- President Donald Trump issues a presidential memorandum that stops funding of sex reassignment procedures for military personnel, and that denies entry of transgender individuals into the military. President Trump announced this policy change via Twitter in late July. Two LGBT rights organizations filed a federal lawsuit two weeks ago arguing this policy change is unconstitutional because it denies transgender service members equal protection and due process. (The Washington Post) (AP via NBC News)
- Environmental policy of the Donald Trump administration
- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announces, effective in 2019, it will no longer sponsor the Climate Leadership Awards program that honors voluntary corporate actions to combat global warming. (Reuters) (The Hill)
Science and technology
- 2017 in spaceflight
- FORMOSAT-5, the first satellite fully designed by Taiwan's National Space Organization, is launched into low-earth orbit by SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket. (AP via Bloomberg)
August 26, 2017 (Saturday)
Disasters and accidents
- 2017 M1 motorway crash
- Several people are dead after two trucks collide with a minibus on the M1 motorway near the town of Newport Pagnell in the English county of Buckinghamshire. (Irish Independent)
- Hurricane Harvey
- Harvey is now a tropical storm with sustained winds of 70 mph (110 kmh). It made landfall on Texas's eastern coast, the eye striking the town of Rockport, as a Category 4 hurricane. It's the strongest storm to hit the state since 1961. Harvey is expected to maintain tropical storm strength, with heavy rains and flooding, for at least four days. (National Hurricane Center) (The New York Times) (BBC) (Houston Chronicle)
- Two people in Texas are confirmed dead with many more reported injured. Authorities are unable to visit the hardest hit area so the toll of dead and injured is expected to rise.(The Dallas Morning News) (Yahoo!)
- At Governor Greg Abbott's request, President Trump issues a disaster proclamation for the state, freeing up federal aid for the worst-affected areas. (The New York Times)
- Tornadoes are reported in Katy and Missouri City, Texas. This has not been officially confirmed by the National Weather Service. (Houston Chronicle)
- Downtown Houston has collected about 3.5 inches (8.9 cm) of rain with 7 inches (18 cm) recorded in some areas. Nearly 9 inches (23 cm) was tallied in First Colony early this morning. The National Hurricane Center predicts up to 30 inches (76 cm) of rain and isolated totals as high as 40 inches (100 cm) by the time the storm leaves. (The Dallas Morning News) (Houston Chronicle²)
International relations
- 2017 North Korea crisis
- The South Korean military reports North Korea has fired several short-range projectiles into the sea from its eastern Kangwon province. The U.S. military says three short-range missile launches either exploded on launch or failed in flight. (Reuters) (Reuters²)
Law and crime
- Trial of Yingluck Shinawatra
- Senior members of the Pheu Thai Party report former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra left Thailand last week ahead of the verdict in her negligence trial. She is in Dubai where her brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, lives. (Reuters)
- Philippine Drug War
- Hundreds of sympathizers attend the funeral procession of a teenager killed allegedly due to the ongoing drug purge in the Philippines. (Straits Times)
Sports
- 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup
- The Women's Rugby World Cup concludes with New Zealand defeating England 41–32 in the final. (BBC)
- Great Alaska Shootout
- The University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) announces that the 2017 Great Alaska Shootout, a national college basketball tournament, will be the final competition of the 40-year-old series. UAA blames economic conditions for the termination of the long running, national competition. (ESPN)
- Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Conor McGregor
August 27, 2017 (Sunday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Rohingya insurgency in Western Myanmar
- 2016–17 Northern Rakhine State clashes, 2016–17 Rohingya persecution in Myanmar
- Dozens of Rohingya Muslims fleeing renewed violence in Rakhine State are detained by Bangladeshi and Burmese authorities after they attempt to cross the border from Myanmar to Bangladesh. Many were en route to Kutupalong Refugee Camp, a refugee camp in Ukhia, Bangladesh, mostly inhabited by Rohingya refugees. (AFP via South China Morning Post)
- 2016–17 Northern Rakhine State clashes, 2016–17 Rohingya persecution in Myanmar
- Iraqi Civil War
- Battle of Tal Afar (2017)
- The Iraqi Army announces it is in full control of the Iraqi Turkmen city of Tal Afar in the Nineveh Governorate, after eight days of clashes with ISIL militants inside the city. (Rudaw)
- Battle of Tal Afar (2017)
- War in Afghanistan
- A car bomb in Helmand Province kills up to 13 people, including Afghan Army soldiers and civilians, and wounds 18 others, according to government spokesman Omar Zwak. (Reuters)
Disasters and accidents
- Hurricane Harvey
- The death toll from Hurricane Harvey in the American city of Houston, Texas, rises to three with several more days of heavy rain causing "catastrophic" floods to come. (Houston Chronicle)
- The entire Texas National Guard is activated by Texas Governor Greg Abbott for search and rescue operations, as weather forecasters stated that Harvey would move back over the Gulf of Mexico and restrengthen. (CNN)
- Maritime incidents in 2017
- A dry cargo vessel broke in two in the Black Sea off Turkey’s northwest coast, television images showed early on Sunday, while the 11-man crew was rescued. Leonardo, a 114 meters (374 ft)-long dry cargo ship flagged from Mongolia, started buckling and broke in two while on anchor off Istanbul’s Kilyos coast. (Reuters)
- Mountaineering deaths in Austria
- 2017 Pacific typhoon season
- Tropical Storm Pakhar hits Hong Kong and Macau with sustained winds of 100 km/h (62 mph) and heavy rain, four days after deadly Typhoon Hato passed through the area. (Reuters)
- Chemical haze near East Sussex coast
- Police issued a warning and evacuation orders after a unknown chemical "haze" leaves over 200 people on Britain's south coast, between the towns of Eastbourne and Birling Gap, suffering irritation to their eyes and throats. (Reuters) (BBC)
International relations
- Pakistan–United States relations
- Pakistan postpones a visit from U.S. acting Assistant Secretary of State Alice Wells, its foreign ministry says, as some protest President Donald Trump's accusations that Pakistan is harbouring terrorists. (Reuters)
Politics and elections
- Politics of Guatemala
- President of Guatemala Jimmy Morales announced Sunday he is expelling the head of the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), a U.N. anti-corruption commission that is investigating the president's campaign financing. (AP)
- The Constitutional Court suspends the order made by President Jimmy Morales to expel the U.N. anti-corruption commission head. (Reuters)
- Health Minister Lucrecia Hernández Mack and her deputies announce Sunday they have resigned. (AP)
Law and crime
- 2017 Berkeley protests
- Far-right protesters and thousands of far-left counter-protesters clash in Berkeley, California, leading to the arrest of at least 14 people. (Los Angeles Times)
Sports
- Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Conor McGregor
- In boxing, Floyd Mayweather Jr. defeats mixed martial artist Conor McGregor in the 10th round by technical knockout to improve to 50–0, breaking Rocky Marciano's 61-year-old record. (ESPN)
- Baseball
- 2017 Major League Baseball season
- Giancarlo Stanton of the Miami Marlins becomes the newest member of the 50 home run club, reaching the milestone during the Marlins' 6–2 win over the San Diego Padres. (AP via ESPN)
- 2017 Little League World Series
- The Kitasuna Little League from the Tokyo, Japan district of Kōtō wins the 2017 Little League World Series, defeating the U.S. champions from Lufkin, Texas 12–2 in a game stopped after five innings due to the LLWS mercy rule. It is the Kitasuna league's third LLWS crown in the last six years, and the 11th title overall for Japan. (AP via ESPN)
- 2017 Major League Baseball season
August 28, 2017 (Monday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Syrian Civil War, Syrian Civil War spillover in Lebanon
- Qalamoun offensive (July–August 2017)
- ISIL militants and their families, estimated to be around 600 people, begin to leave their strongholds on the Lebanon–Syria border and Qalamun Mountains for the Deir ez-Zor Governorate under Syrian military escort. A ceasefire was reached between warring parties yesterday. (Reuters)
- Qalamoun offensive (July–August 2017)
Disasters and accidents
- Hurricane Harvey
- At least eight people have died in the American state of Texas with 30,000 residents in the city of Houston expected to seek temporary shelter. (Los Angeles Times)
International relations
- 2017 China–India border standoff
- India and China agree to end a two month-long stand-off with the withdrawal of Indian troops. The stand-off began in June after China began constructing a road in the disputed territory of Doklam which is claimed by both China and Bhutan. (news.com.au)
Law and crime
- Same-sex marriage in Chile
- Chilean President Michelle Bachelet sends a bill to Congress for the legalization of same-sex marriage in Chile and adoption by same-sex couples, two years after recognizing civil unions for both same-gender and different-gender couples. (Reuters)
- Crime in Germany
- Investigations concerning Niels Högel, a German nurse already convicted for murdering two of his patients, revealed that the number of people killed while in his care is significantly higher, reaching at least 84, with some estimates being even higher. This makes Högel the serial killer with the highest known victim count in modern German history. (New York Times)
- Crime in New Mexico
- Two people are killed and four are hospitalized in a shooting in a library in the U.S. town of Clovis, New Mexico. (Reuters)
- Crime in Mexico
- Mexican authorities say two suspected thieves died after a mob beat them and four others in Tlatlauquitepec, Puebla, Mexico. (Reuters)
August 29, 2017 (Tuesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
- A suicide bomber kills five people at the entrance of a Kabul Bank subsidiary near the Embassy of the United States in Kabul. The Taliban claims their attack targeted soldiers and police withdrawing their salaries. (Reuters)
Business and economy
- Television in the United Kingdom
- Sky UK stops broadcasting Fox News in the United Kingdom after 15 years due to low audience figures. (BBC)
- Banking in the United States
- Berkshire Hathaway Inc has become the largest shareholder of Bank of America by exercising its right to acquire 700 million shares at a steep discount, more than tripling an investment it made six years ago. Bank of America on Tuesday announced the exercise of the warrants, which gave Berkshire, controlled by Warren Buffett, the right to buy the bank’s shares for about $7.14 each. Bank of America shares closed down 14 cents at $23.58 on the same day. (Reuters)
Disasters and accidents
- Hurricane Harvey
- The death toll from Hurricane Harvey reaches 30 as Sylvester Turner, the mayor of Houston, Texas, introduces a curfew to deter looters. (The New York Times)
International relations
- 2017 North Korea crisis, North Korean August 2017 missile launch over Japan
- North Korea fires a Hwasong-12 ballistic missile which flies 2,700 kilometres (1,700 mi), passing over Hokkaido, northern Japan, prompting the activation of the nationwide J-Alert warning system. This is first time since 2009 that a North Korean missile has passed over Japanese territory. (South China Morning Post) (The Independent)
- U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley says North Korea's launch of a missile over Japan was "absolutely unacceptable and irresponsible" and that North Korea has "violated every single U.N. Security Council resolution that we've had, and so I think something serious has to happen." (Reuters)
- 2017 clashes at the Turkish Ambassador's Residence in Washington, D.C.
- A grand jury in Washington, D.C. has issued indictments for 19 people, including 15 identified as Turkish security officials, for attacking protesters in May 2017. (AP)
- European migrant crisis
- The Libyan Navy rescues nearly 500 migrants in three operations in the seas west of the capital Tripoli. (Reuters)
Politics and elections
- Politics of Germany
- The Landtag of the Free State of Saxony has lifted the immunity of Frauke Petry, Party Chair in the Alternative for Germany party, opening the way for prosecutors to pursue possible perjury charges against her concerning statements made to a committee of the Saxony parliament about how the party’s campaign for the 2014 election was financed. (Reuters)
- Sexual orientation and gender identity in the United States military
- Defense Secretary James Mattis announces that transgender troops in the military will continue to serve pending the results of a study started in June to assess the Pentagon's ability to fight and win wars. (USA Today) (The Hill)
August 30, 2017 (Wednesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
- Syrian Civil War
- American-led intervention in Syria
- CJTF–OIR jets destroy a section of road, blocking the path of a convoy carrying ISIL evacuees from the Lebanon–Syria border en route to Abu Kamal in the Deir ez-Zor Governorate. The convoy, carrying 308 militants and 331 civilians according to Hezbollah, is now effectively stranded in Syrian government-controlled territory. (Reuters)
- American-led intervention in Syria
Disasters and accidents
- 2017 South Asian floods
- 2017 Mumbai flood
- At least 14 people are killed in the Indian city of Mumbai as nearly a month's average rainfall fell yesterday during the worst monsoon in years. More than 1,200 people have been killed across India, Nepal and Bangladesh. (The Telegraph) (Reuters)
- 2017 Mumbai flood
- Hurricane Harvey
- Tropical storm Harvey (hurricane earlier this month) makes its second landfall, this time in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The New York Times reports local officials say the death toll since last Friday is now 38. Moving northeast, Harvey is expected to gradually weaken to a tropical depression by tonight. (The New York Times) (Weather Channel) (The New York Times²)
Health and medicine
- Childhood leukemia
- The Food and Drug Administration has approved the first treatment that genetically engineers patients' own blood cells to destroy acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The approval makes Novartis the proprietor of the first gene therapy to hit the U.S. market. (AP)
Law and crime
- European migrant crisis
- The Government of Hungary has decided to extend the state of emergency declared last year because of the increased migration to and through the country. Government spokesman Zoltán Kovács stated that strict border controls were still needed because the "threat of terrorism in Europe has increased". (AP)
- Crime in California
- A shooting at a motel in Sacramento County, California, leaves a Sacramento County Sheriff's Department deputy dead and two California Highway Patrol officers injured. The suspect is later arrested. (NBC News) (The Sacramento Bee)
Science and technology
- Fast radio bursts
- Researchers at the Breakthrough Listen initiative announce they have detected 15 new powerful fast radio bursts (FRB) from FRB 121102, located in a dwarf galaxy about three billion light-years from Earth. FRB 121102 was first detected in 2012, and gained further attention after FRBs were detected from there again in 2015. (New Scientist) (Phys)
August 31, 2017 (Thursday)
Business and economy
- Wells Fargo account fraud scandal
- Wells Fargo reports finding an additional 1.4 million potentially fake bank and credit card accounts, bringing the total problematic accounts to approximately 3.5 million. (CNN)
Disasters and accidents
- Hurricane Harvey
- 2017 Arkema plant explosion
- A series of small explosions occur at the Arkema chemical plant in Crosby, Texas, and according to the company more are expected, after floodwaters shut down the cooling systems that kept the chemicals stable. Houston Methodist San Jacinto Hospital in Baytown, Texas treated 21 first responders for chemical exposure. Residents living within a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) radius of the plant are evacuated. (NBC News) (BBC) (The New York Times) (The New York Times²)
- A Harris County Flood Control District official says at the height of the flooding, 70 percent of the county’s 1,800 square miles, which includes the city of Houston, was covered with at least 1.5 feet of water, an area larger than the state of Rhode Island. (The Washington Post)
- 2017 Arkema plant explosion
- Aftermath of the 2016–17 Northern Rakhine State clashes
- Twenty-six bodies of women and children are recovered after three boats carrying ethnic Rohingya fleeing violence in Myanmar sink in the Naf River in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar District. (AP via The Washington Post)
- Building collapses in 2017
- A rickety multi-story apartment building collapses in the Indian city of Mumbai resulting in at least 24 deaths with at least 12 people missing. (AP via ABC News)
International relations
- Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action
- An IAEA report says Iran remains within key limits set in the 2015 agreement with world powers on development of its nuclear program. (Reuters)
- Russia–United States relations
- The United States State Department orders Russia to close the Consulate-General in San Francisco and two other buildings by September 2, 2017, invoking "parity" over a Russian measure in July. (BBC)
Law and crime
- Assassination of Benazir Bhutto
- Two police officials found guilty of negligence and mistreatment of evidence are sentenced to 17 years in prison. Five accused TTP militants are acquitted. The main suspect, former president Pervez Musharraf, who now resides in Dubai, is declared a fugitive for having failed to show up in court and has his property confiscated. (The Guardian)
- 2017 University of Utah Hospital incident
- Footage is released showing police officer Jeff Payne arresting the nurse Alex Wubbels after she refuses his request to draw blood from one of her patients. (The Salt Lake Tribune)
Politics and elections
- Politics of China
- The 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China is expected to start on October 18, 2017. (NPR)
- Political appointments by Donald Trump
- President Donald Trump is expected to nominate Columbia University law professor Robert Jackson to be a member of the Securities and Exchange Commission. (Reuters)
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