Portal:Current events/2024 August 16

August 16, 2024 (Friday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Attacks in Russia during the Russian invasion of Ukraine
  - 2024 Kursk offensive
    - Ukraine reports capturing 82 Russian settlements within an area of 1,150 square kilometres (440 sq mi) since the start of the Kursk incursion on August 6. (Reuters)
    - Over 120,000 Russian citizens have been evacuated according to Russia, and at least 100 Russian soldiers are captured according to Ukraine. (AP)
    - Russia accuses the United States and European nations of directly helping Ukraine in its incursion on Kursk Oblast by planning operations and providing military support, and states that their involvement "created all the prerequisites for Ukraine to lose its sovereignty and lose part of its territories". (Reuters)
- A Russian Iskander-M ballistic missile strike on an airbase in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Ukraine, destroys a MiG-29 jet that was equipped with Storm Shadow missiles. Ukraine's air force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat later confirms the loss of the aircraft on August 20. There are no casualties reported. (The Kyiv Independent)
Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- Israeli occupation of the West Bank
  - One Palestinian is killed and many houses are burned down in a large organized Israeli settler raid on the village of Jit, Qalqilya Governorate, in the West Bank. (CNN) (Reuters)
Ituri conflict
- Sixteen people are killed and 20 more kidnapped during an attack by Allied Democratic Forces militants at agricultural lands in Mambasa, Ituri Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. (AP)
Yemeni civil war
- Sixteen soldiers are killed and 18 more injured during a suicide car bombing in Mudiyah, Abyan Governorate, Yemen. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula claims responsibility for the attack. (Al Jazeera)

Disasters and accidents

2024 Pacific typhoon season
- Thousands of people are ordered to evacuate in northern Japan as Typhoon Ampil approaches the country. (AP)
At least 54 people are killed in Chad after days of floods. (AL24News)

Health and environment

2024 Gaza Strip polio outbreak
- The first case of polio in the Gaza Strip in 25 years is confirmed, coming from an unvaccinated 10-month-old child in Deir al-Balah. (Euronews)

Law and crime

Haitian crisis
- Eleven inmates are killed during shootouts with police after escaping from a jail in Saint-Marc, Haiti. (Al Jazeera)
LGBT rights in Bulgaria
- Bulgaria passes a new amendment by a large parliamentary majority that bans “propaganda, promotion, and incitement” of LGBT “ideas and views” in schools, sparking criticism from several European LGBTQ+ organizations stating that the law will marginalize LGBTQ+ children. (Politico)
The Argentine Federal Police dismantle an alleged Islamist terrorist organization planning attacks against Jewish community centers in Mendoza. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

2024 United States presidential election
- Cornel West 2024 presidential campaign
  - Independent presidential candidate Cornel West and his running mate Melina Abdullah are both disqualified from and refused entry on the 2024 Michigan presidential election ballot due to an improperly notarized form. (Washington Post)
2024 Dominican Republic general election
- Luis Abinader is sworn in for a second term as President of the Dominican Republic. (Reuters)
The Thai House of Representatives selects Paetongtarn Shinawatra as the new Prime Minister, replacing Srettha Thavisin who was dismissed by the Constitutional Court on Wednesday. (Bloomberg)

Science and technology

Wow! signal, Search for extraterrestrial intelligence
- The Wow! signal is found to have likely been caused by a rare astrophysical event, the sudden brightening of a cold molecular cloud triggered by a stellar emission. (University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo)