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Worldwide current events
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Blue Cut Fire

The Blue Cut Fire in California displaces more than 82,000 residents, burns more than 30,000 acres (47 sq. mi; 120 sq. km) and threatens at least 34,500 structures.
The China National Space Administration successfully launches Quantum Experiments at Space Scale, the first spacecraft capable of quantum key distribution.
In eSports, The International Dota 2 championships conclude with Wings Gaming defeating Digital Chaos in the final.
Flooding in the U.S. state of Louisiana kills at least eleven people and displaces thousands.
The Syrian Democratic Forces capture the city of Manbij from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

August 18, 2016 (Thursday)

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Politics and elections

Philippine Drug War
- Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte escalates a spat with opposition senator Leila de Lima over her criticism of Duterte's policies against illegal drugs. (CNN)

Science and technology

Twitter announces 235,000 terror-linked accounts have been suspended over the past six months amid increasing pressure on tech companies from the White House to censor extremists from groups like ISIL. (CBS News)

August 17, 2016 (Wednesday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Federal Security Service (FSB) officers kill at least four suspected North Caucasus Islamic militants during a counter-terrorism raid on an apartment building in the Russian city of Saint Petersburg. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

Business and economy

Cisco anounces a cut of 5,500 jobs in their shift from switches to software. (Reuters)
Energy Future Holdings, a Texas electric utility, asks a bankruptcy court in Delaware to confirm a plan that would allow it to exit Chapter 11 after more than two years. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

Eight people are seriously injured when a passenger train collides with a tree that had fallen across the railway line at Saint-Aunès, Hérault, France. (BBC News Online)
All 511 passengers and crew are evacuated from the ferry Caribbean Fantasy which caught fire off San Juan, Puerto Rico. (World Maritime News)
An unusual kiting incident in India leaves three people dead. 500 birds were also injured in similar incidents. (CNN)

International relations

The governments of Papua New Guinea and Australia confirm that the Manus Regional Processing Centre will close following a ruling by the Supreme Court of Papua New Guinea. (ABC News)
North Korean defectors
- North Korea's deputy ambassador to the United Kingdom, Thae Yong-ho, defects with his family to South Korea. (Reuters) (BBC)

Law and crime

A Malaysian oil tanker, MT Vier Harmoni, is hijacked off the coast of Malaysia and is believed to have been taken to Indonesian waters near the island of Batam, according to the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency. The identity of the hijackers is not yet known. (BBC)
Judge Keyla Blanc, of Brazil's Special Tribunal for Fans and Major Events, orders Brazil police to question U.S. swimmer Ryan Lochte over inconsistencies describing the armed robbery of himself and three other American Olympians. Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger are later removed from a plane returning to the United States. (Reuters), (Daily Telegraph)
NSA's website goes down amid hacking fears. (FOX News)

Science and technology

The Hybrid Air Vehicles HAV 304 Airlander 10 hybrid airship makes its maiden civil flight. (BBC News Online)

August 16, 2016 (Tuesday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

The Russian Air Force uses an Iranian airbase near Hamadan to launch airstrikes in Syria. (BBC)
Houthi shelling kills seven in Saudi Arabia; nine Yemenis from one family die from an airstrike by the Saudi-led alliance. (Reuters)

Arts and culture

Westfield World Trade Center opens on schedule, part of the World Trade Center Ground Zero redevelopment in New York City. (CBS NY)

Business and economy

Barnes & Noble fires CEO Ronald Boire after less than a year in the job. Executive Chairman and company founder Leonard Riggio, who is postponing his September retirement, will assume Boire's duties. (Reuters) (USA Today)
China successfully launches QUESS, the world's first ever quantum-communications quantum key distribution satellite. (The New York Times)(Space.com)

Disasters and accidents

2016 California wildfires
- The town of Wrightwood, California, is evacuated due to threats from the Blue Cut Fire burning in the Cajon Pass. (KTLA)
- The Governor of California declares a state of emergency in San Bernardino County due to the Bluecut Fire. (ABC 7)

Law and crime

California wildfires
- California authorities charge a Clearlake resident with 17 counts of arson in connection with the wildfires over the last two years. (The Los Angeles Times)
Medical marijuana
- A United States Court of Appeals rules that the Department of Justice, per the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment, cannot spend money to prosecute federal marijuana cases if the defendants comply with state medical marijuana laws. (Washington Post) (Reuters)

August 15, 2016 (Monday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Yemeni Civil War
- An air strike by the Saudi-led coalition which hit a hospital in northern Yemen run by Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) kills at least 11 people. (BBC)

Disasters and accidents

2016 Louisiana floods
- At least seven people have died and thousands have been rescued in the American state of Louisiana. President of the United States Barack Obama has declared a federal emergency in the state. (BBC), (NBC News)
2016 Summer Olympics
- An Olympics aerial camera and its cables fall sixty-five feet, injuring seven people. (USA Today)
At least 33 people are killed and 38 injured after a bus accident in Nepal. (CNN)

Law and crime

Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane is convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice. (WCAU-TV)
Former English Premier League player Dalian Atkinson dies after being tasered by police in Telford, Shropshire. (The Independent)
New York authorities charge a man with second-degree murder in the deaths of a New York Muslim imam and his assistant. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

The Obama administration transfers 15 Guantanamo Bay detainees to the United Arab Emirates. (BBC)

August 14, 2016 (Sunday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Yemeni Civil War
- About 40 suspected Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters are killed as Yemeni forces, aided by Saudi-led airstrikes, fight their way into Zinjibar and Jaʿār in eastern Yemen. (Reuters) (Daily Mail)
Syrian Civil War
- Russian and Syrian government jets conduct 26 airstrikes across Idlib province, killing 122 civilians. (The Washington Post)
Beni massacre
- At least 64 to 100 people are killed in a massacre. (Al Jazeera)

Business and economy

Volkswagen emissions scandal
- Volkswagen gets approval from Germany's motor vehicle authority for technical fixes on 460,000 cars. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

A wedding bus carrying over 50 passengers falls into a ravine in Azad Kashmir, killing at least 25 people and wounding 20 more. Many people are critically injured, with the death toll expected to increase. (Anadolu Agency)
2016 California wildfires
- 100 homes are destroyed and thousands of people are forced to leave due to wildfire in Lower Lake, California. (WSJ)

Law and crime

American Olympic swimmers Ryan Lochte, Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger and Jimmy Feigen are robbed at gunpoint in Rio de Janeiro by men posing as Brazilian police officers. (The New York Times)
HEI Hotels & Resorts, a firm that operates hotels for Hyatt, Intercontinental, Marriott, and Starwood, reports that malware designed to collect payment information was discovered on computers at 20 of their locations across the United States. (Reuters)
Sage, a British accounting software firm, reports a data breach; it is presently unclear what data was viewed or taken. (BBC)

Science and technology

SpaceX successfully launches Japanese communication satellite JCSAT-16 into geostationary orbit from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The Falcon 9 Full Thrust rocket used to place the satellite in orbit successfully landed on an autonomous spaceport drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. (RT)

Sports

2016 Summer Olympics
- Athletics
  - Usain Bolt of Jamaica becomes the first man to win three gold medals in the men's 100 metres. (CNN)
  - In the men's 400 metres, Wayde van Niekerk of South Africa breaks the world record set in 1999 by Michael Johnson en route to winning South Africa's first gold medal in a track event since 1928. (ESPN)
- In golf, England's Justin Rose, representing Great Britain, wins the first gold medal in the sport since 1904. (The New York Times)
- In tennis, Scotland's Andy Murray, representing Great Britain, defeats Argentine Juan Martín del Potro in the men's singles final for his second consecutive gold medal in the event. Murray becomes the first male tennis player ever to win two Olympic gold medals, whether consecutively or not. (ESPN)

August 13, 2016 (Saturday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Yemeni Civil War (2015–present)
- At least 10 children are killed and 28 injured in an air attack on a school in northern Yemen. The Houthi group claims that the Saudi Arabia led coalition is responsible. (Reuters via ABC News)
Syrian civil war
- The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says that at least 51 people have been killed in the Syrian city of Aleppo. (AFP via Yahoo! News)

Disasters and accidents

2016 Louisiana floods
- Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards declares a state of emergency as over 17 inches of rain (43 cm) causes unprecedented flooding across the region and takes at least three lives in his state, with more rain expected through Sunday. (Reuters), (AP)
The death toll from Thursday's explosion in a Silver Spring, Maryland, apartment building rises to three with others still missing. The cause of the blast has not yet been officially determined. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Six people are injured by a knifeman who also set fire to a train at Salez, Switzerland. (BBC News Online)
A lone gunman shoots a Muslim cleric and an associate to death in the Ozone Park neighborhood of Queens, New York City. Both were still wearing religious garb following afternoon prayers. No arrests have been made. (Reuters)
2016 Milwaukee riots
- Violence breaks out in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, following a fatal police shooting of a 23-year-old male criminal armed with a handgun earlier in the day. The Milwaukee Police Department says an officer was injured after being struck in the head by a brick, while a police car and gas station were set on fire. (NBC News)

Sport

2016 Summer Olympics
- Darya Klishina, Russia's sole track and field competitor at the Rio Olympics, has her exemption to Russia's blanket ban revoked. Reportedly, new evidence emerged in relation to a World Anti-Doping Agency report. Klishina is appealing the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. (Reuters)
- The United States becomes the first nation to win 1000 gold medals at the Olympic Games when its 4 × 100 medley relay team of Kathleen Baker, Lilly King, Dana Vollmer and Simone Manuel wins. (USA Today)

August 12, 2016 (Friday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

August 2016 Thailand bombings
- A series of coordinated bombings across Thailand, mostly at sites popular with tourists, leaves at least four people dead and dozens wounded. No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks. (The New York Times)
Syrian Civil War
- U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) say they have seized full control of Manbij in Syria's northern Aleppo Governorate after ISIL militants withdrew from their last remaining strongholds in the city. (Reuters)
- Suspected Syrian government or Russian airstrike hits the Kafr Hamra children's hospital in a village on the outskirts of Aleppo, killing a nurse and a technician and rendering the hospital's facilities unusable. (The Telegraph)

Disasters and accidents

Heavy rain on the Gulf Coast of the United States causes floods in the state of Louisiana and the southern part of Mississippi with one person drowning. (Weather)
A small plane crashes after an aborted landing at Shannon Airport (Virginia) near Fredericksburg, Virginia, killing six people. (Reuters)

Health

Zika virus outbreak timeline
- The United States declares a public health emergency in Puerto Rico over an outbreak of the Zika virus which has infected nearly 11,000 people. (AP via St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
- Sexual abstinence, post-Zika infection, may need to be extended to six months. (BBC)

Law and Crime

Brendan Dassey, the subject of Netflix's hit drama Making a Murderer is found to have been wrongly convicted of murdering the photographer Teresa Halbach. A federal judge orders that he must be released from prison within three months. (People)

Politics and elections

Labour Party leadership election, 2016
- Britain's Court of Appeal, reversing Monday's High Court decision, rules the Labour Party has the right to prevent up to 130,000 new members who joined less than six months ago from voting in the party's leadership contest between incumbent Jeremy Corbyn and legislator Owen Smith. An appeal to the United Kingdom Supreme Court is possible. (AP via The Christian Science Monitor) (The Guardian)

Science and technology

Scientists say Greenland sharks are now known to be the longest-living vertebrates on Earth, after researchers at the University of Copenhagen, using radiocarbon dating, determined the ages of 28 of the animals, and estimated that one female was about 400 years old. The former vertebrate record-holder was a Bowhead whale estimated to be 211 years old. (BBC)

Sport

2016 Summer Olympics
- Singaporean swimmer Joseph Schooling defeats American swimmer Michael Phelps in the 100m butterfly event, attaining Singapore's first-ever Olympic gold; Schooling's winning time of 50.39 seconds is an Olympic, Asian, and national record. (The New York Times)

More August 2016 events...

Ongoing events
Business Bangladesh Bank heist Brexit Panama Papers Venezuelan protests State of emergency in Venezuela Culture Pokémon Go phenomenon and backlash Disasters 2016 California wildfires 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire 2016 Portugal wildfires 2016 Pacific typhoon season 2016 Atlantic hurricane season 2016 Pacific hurricane season Health Flint water crisis Zika virus outbreak Law Philippines v. China Political War in Afghanistan Boko Haram insurgency Brazil protests Burundian unrest Ethiopian protests European migrant crisis (timeline) Iraqi and Syrian Civil War (map) Military intervention against ISIL Mosul offensive Israeli–Palestinian conflict Lebanese political deadlock Libyan Civil War Moldova protests Nagorno-Karabakh conflict Armenian–Azeri border conflict Philippine Drug War PKK rebellion Polish Constitutional Court crisis Sinai insurgency South China Sea disputes Turkish coup d'état attempt Turkish purges War in Donbass Yemeni Civil War Zimbabwe protests More details on ongoing conflicts below Sports 2016–17 Premier League 2016 Summer Olympics 2016 Formula One season 2016 ATP World Tour 2016 Major League Baseball season 2016 WTA Tour Technology Democratic National Committee email leak Philippine Commission on Elections data breach edit sidebar

Recent deaths
August 17: Arthur Hiller 16: Mauril Bélanger 16: João Havelange 16: John McLaughlin 15: Dalian Atkinson 15: Bobby Hutcherson 14: Fyvush Finkel 13: Kenny Baker 13: Pramukh Swami Maharaj 12: Alison Piepmeier 12: Ruby Wilson 11: Hanif Mohammad 11: Thomas Steinbeck 11: Glenn Yarbrough 10: Neill Armstrong 10: John Saunders 9: Gerald Grosvenor 9: Aftab Ghulam Nabi Kazi 9: Jimmy D. Long 9: W. Carter Merbreier 9: Ernst Neizvestny 9: Kalikho Pul 9: Wang Tuoh 8: Edward Daly 8: Vijaya Nandasiri 7: John Boreland 7: Bryan Clauson 6: Helen Delich Bentley 6: Philip Bialowitz 6: Pete Fountain 5: Shamim Ara 4: Jean Antone 4: Patrice Munsel 4: Albert Nicholas 3: Shahram Amiri 3: Chris Amon 3: Mel Hurtig 2: Forbes Carlile 2: David Huddleston 2: Franciszek Macharski 2: Ahmed Zewail edit sidebar

Ongoing conflicts
Africa Algeria and Tunisia Maghreb insurgency ISIL insurgency in Tunisia Central African Republic Civil war Democratic Republic of the Congo Kivu conflict ADF insurgency Ituri conflict Lord's Resistance Army insurgency Libya Civil war Mali Northern Mali conflict Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, and Niger Boko Haram insurgency Somalia Civil war South Sudan Ethnic violence (South Sudanese Civil War) Sudan War in Darfur South Kordofan conflict Sudanese nomadic conflicts Americas Colombian conflict Internal conflict in Peru Mexican War on Drugs Asia Afghanistan Afghanistan War China Xinjiang conflict India Naxalite–Maoist insurgency Insurgency in Northeast India India and Pakistan Kashmir conflict Pakistan War in North-West Pakistan Balochistan conflict Philippines CPP-NPA-NDF rebellion Moro conflict Moro conflict in Sabah Southeast Asia Internal conflict in Burma Papua conflict South Thailand insurgency Europe Georgia Abkhaz–Georgian conflict Georgian–Ossetian conflict Chechen–Russian conflict North Caucasus insurgency Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Nagorno-Karabakh conflict Ukraine War in Donbass Russian military intervention in Ukraine Middle East Arab–Israeli conflict Gaza–Israel conflict Israeli–Lebanese conflict Israeli–Palestinian conflict Egypt Sinai insurgency Iran Iran–PJAK conflict Iraqi civil war American-led intervention in Iraq Iranian intervention in Iraq Syrian Civil War American-led intervention in Syria Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War Syrian Civil War spillover in Lebanon Turkey Turkey–PKK conflict Turkey–ISIL conflict Yemeni Crisis Yemeni Civil War Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen Houthi rebellion Al-Qaeda insurgency South Yemen insurgency edit sidebar

Elections and Referendums
Recent August 7: São Tomé and Príncipe, President (2nd round) 7: Thailand, Constitutional referendum 11: Zambia, National Assembly, President, Constitutional referendum Upcoming August 27: Gabon, President September 4: Hong Kong, Legislative Council 8: Seychelles, National Assembly 11: Belarus, House of Representatives 11: Croatia, Parliament edit sidebar

Trials
Recently concluded Australia: Brett Peter Cowan, Craig Thomson, Robert Hughes, Roger Rogerson and Glen McNamara Brazil: Mensalão scandal Canada: Luka Magnotta China: Ji Jianye, Li Chuncheng, Jiang Jiemin, Liao Shaohua, Ni Fake, Ling Jihua, Chen Baihuai, Zhou Yongkang, Gu Junshan Croatia: Ivo Sanader Egypt: Hosni Mubarak, Peter Greste, Mohamed Morsi Germany: Bernie Ecclestone, Uli Hoeness, Christian Wulff Iran: Mohammad Reza Rahimi Israel: Hussam Qawasmeh Jordan: Abu Qatada Philippines: Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Romania: Liviu Dragnea, Dan Diaconescu, Gheorghe Ștefan, Gabriel Sandu, Dorin Cocoş, Dumitru Nicolae Russia: Leonid Khabarov, Eston Kohver, Vladimir Kvachkov South Africa: Shrien Dewani, Oscar Pistorius Turkey: Kenan Evren, Tahsin Şahinkaya United Kingdom: Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale, Kevin Hutchinson-Foster, Derek Rose, Stuart Hazell, Mark Bridger, Andrew Lancel, Dale Cregan, Ray Wilkins, Liam Adams, R v Grillo and Grillo, Ian Watkins, William Roache, Dave Lee Travis, Nicholas Jacobs, Nigel Evans, Max Clifford, Stuart Hall, Dappy, Rebekah Brooks, Andy Coulson, Rolf Harris, Tulisa Contostavlos, Chris Denning, Ray Teret, Gary Glitter, Fred Talbot, Adam Johnson United States: Abu Hamza al-Masri, Michael Grimm, Jesse Jackson Jr., Bob McDonnell, Vilma Bautista, Kermit Gosnell, Chelsea Manning, Whitey Bulger, Robert Bales, Nidal Malik Hasan, Jodi Arias, Chris Brown, Justin Bieber, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, James Eagan Holmes, Sheldon Silver, Dylan Quick International ECCC: Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan ICC: Germain Katanga ICTY: Momčilo Perišić, Mladen Markač, Ante Gotovina, Zdravko Tolimir, Radovan Karadžić Ongoing China: Yao Mugen, Guo Youming, Yang Weize, Zhu Zuoli Germany: Beate Zschäpe Iran: Babak Zanjani Netherlands: Geert Wilders Philippines: Andal Ampatuan, Jr., Jovito Palparan Romania: Darius Vâlcov, Dan Șova, Elena Udrea, Radu Mazăre, Gheorghe Nichita, Marian Vanghelie, Cătălin Voicu, Relu Fenechiu Russia: Alexei Navalny South Korea: MV Sewol crew members Spain: Lionel Messi United States: Dean Skelos International ICTY: Ratko Mladić Upcoming China: Wu Changshun Estonia: Edgar Savisaar Libya: Saif al-Islam Gaddafi United Kingdom: Max Clifford, Rolf Harris, Ched Evans United States: Paul Anthony Ciancia, Javaris Crittenton, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Aaron Hernandez, Graham Spanier, Tim Curley, Gary Schultz, Rick Perry, Bill Cosby International ICC: Laurent Gbagbo edit sidebar