Zambian president Hakainde Hichilema is declared the winner by the electoral commission, re-electing him to a second term.
Source:
AP 
August 18
Politics and elections
Disasters and accidents
At least eight people are killed and more than 20 others are injured after a vehicle rams into a truck in Madhya Pradesh, India.
Source:
Xinhua
A second M4.7 earthquake strikes the province of Granada, in Spain. Damage and injures are reported in Granada and the surrounding area, while the Alhambra is evacuated.
Source:
Expansión
Health and environment
The UK Health Security Agency confirms that an outbreak of salmonella in the UK has left one person dead and hundreds more ill. The outbreak is believed to be linked to imported eggs.
Source:
BBC News
Armed conflicts and attacks
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations reports that a cargo vessel has come under attack in the Strait of Hormuz, leaving one dead.
Source:
Al Jazeera
The United Arab Emirates's defence ministry detects two missiles fired from Iran towards the country, including one that fell outside territorial waters and another that fell within it.
Source:
Emirates 24/7
British prime minister Andy Burnham confirms that the United Kingdom will continue to militarily support Ukraine after Russia warned the UK will face "consequences" for allowing Ukraine to use British-made drones to strike targets deep inside Russian territory.
Russo-Ukrainian war (2022–present)Attacks in Russia during the Russo-Ukrainian war (2022–present)Russia–United Kingdom relations
Source:
BBC News
A Russian ballistic missile strike kills ten civilians and injures eight others in Pechenihy, Kharkiv Oblast. Several homes are completely destroyed.
Russo-Ukrainian war (2022–present)Russian attacks on civilians in the Russo-Ukrainian war (2022–present)
Source:
AP
A drone strike hits a bus stop near the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Enerhodar, killing one plant worker and injuring several others.
Source:
Reuters
The Sudanese Doctors Network reports that recent attacks in Geissan of Sudan's Blue Nile region has displaced over 5,000 people to Damazin.
Source:
Sudan Horizon
The Rapid Support Forces launches a major crackdown in Nyala, South Darfur, its largest security and military mobilization since seizing the city in 2023.
Source:
Sudan Tribune
Law and crime
A student is killed while nine other people are injured in a mass shooting at a junior secondary school building of the Ateneo de Zamboanga University in Zamboanga City, Philippines. The perpetrator, also a student, later kills himself.
Source:
The Philippine Star
Pakistan's Supreme Court orders imprisoned former prime minister Imran Khan transferred from the central jail in Rawalpindi, Punjab, to Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad for medical examinations following a petition by his lawyers concerning his health.
Source:
AFP via RFI
Singapore begins requiring major Internet messaging platforms to restrict unsolicited contacts and social media services to verify advertisers and block suspected scam advertisements under new anti-scam rules, with penalties of up to S$1 million (US$780,000) for non-compliance.
Source:
The Manila Times
August 17
Law and crime
A Russian court sentences Yabloko deputy chairperson Lev Shlosberg to 11 years and one month in prison for discrediting the armed forces and spreading disinformation after he publicly condemned the Russo-Ukrainian war.
Source:
Reuters
Discord suspends live streaming, screen sharing, and video calls in Brazil to comply with an order from the national data protection authority following the death of a 13-year-old girl allegedly encouraged to kill herself during an online broadcast.
Source:
AFP via RFI
The trial of Duane "Keffe D" Davis for his alleged role in the murder of Tupac Shakur begins in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States.
Source:
CNN
Elements of the Mexican Navy seized 3.2 million doses of cocaine floating off the coasts of the state of Michoacán. This action represent a financial blow of 340.2 million pesos to organized crime.
Source:
López Doriga
Disasters and accidents
A 90-year-old woman is confirmed dead in Nāʻālehu, Hawaii, United States, and over 100,000 people remain without power after Hurricane Lala struck the state.
Source:
The Guardian
Floods and landslides caused by the southwest monsoon and Tropical Storm Kujira kill at least 23 people and displace thousands across the Philippines.
Source:
AA
A crowd crush at the Ashokdham Temple in Bihar, India, kills at least seven people and injures 19 others.
Source:
AFP via ABS-CBN News
Seven people are killed and several others are injured after a fire breaks out in a hotel in Birbhum District, West Bengal, India.
Source:
Xinhua
Source:
AP
Torrential rainfall causes widespread flooding in Geoje-si, South Gyeongsang, South Korea, killing at least one.
Source:
The Guardian
Politics and elections
United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) commissioner Rodney S. Scott pauses construction of a $1.7 billion border-security project in Big Bend National Park, Texas, while the CBP reviews the plan amid bipartisan local opposition and environmental concerns.
Source:
AFP via RFI
Former South Korean prime minister Kim Min-seok is elected as the new leader of the Democratic Party with 54.08% of the vote against its former leader Jung Chung-rae.
Source:
The Korea Herald
International relations
Iran says it barred two French embassy employees from returning for allegedly violating the Vienna Convention through activities supporting Iranian civil society. France says their work involved programs for civil society, students, and artists.
Source:
Reuters
United States president Donald Trump orders the Department of Defense to substantially reduce the Ulchi-Freedom Guardian military exercises with South Korea, citing their cost and his relationship with North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong Un. The drills begin as scheduled.
Source:
The Straits Times
Armed conflicts and attacks
A Russian Banderol cruise missile explodes in Ștefan Vodă District, Moldova, after entering from Ukrainian airspace, triggering a wildfire in a corn field. Moldovan authorities condemn the strike as "a serious violation of Moldova’s sovereignty".
Russo-Ukrainian war (2022–present)Violations of non-combatant airspace during the Russo-Ukrainian war (2022–present)
Source:
The New Voice of Ukraine
The Sudanese Armed Forces says that it has shot down a long-range drone used by the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan's North Kordofan state, the second drone shot down this month in the region.
Source:
Sudan Tribune
South Sudanese president Salva Kiir meets with Darfur governor Minni Minnawi in Juba, South Sudan, to discuss efforts to end the conflict in Sudan.
Source:
Eye Radio
Several fighters from both sides are killed after Somali federal forces and opposition groups clash in the South West State. Two civilians are also killed. Militias loyal to former state president Abdiaziz Laftagareen enter the regional capital Baidoa, challenging two battalions of the Somali National Army loyal to Somali president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.
Somali Civil War (2009–present)Constitutional crisis in SomaliaControversies of Hassan Sheikh Mohamud
Source:
i24 news
Source:
Tribune
A explosion is reported at a school in the Dashte Barchi neighborhood of Kabul, Afghanistan, injuring several people. The perpetrator is unknown.
Source:
Al Jazeera
Health and environment
The United Nations reports that at least 2,325 people have died from the current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, making it the deadliest in the country's history.
Source:
DW
A city official reports that at least 500 people have been hospitalized for severe diarrhea, with nearly 150 testing positive for cholera, in Yangon, Myanmar.
Source:
AFP via CNA
California's energy commission approves the United States's first energy-efficiency standards for replacement tires, aiming to reduce rolling resistance and lower driver fuel costs by 2029. However, manufacturers warn the strict limits could eliminate up to 70% of current replacement tire options by 2033.
Source:
Fox Businesss
August 16
Disasters and accidents
The death toll of the Lake Kariba vessel capsizing in Zimbabwe from last week rises to 72 after twelve more bodies are recovered.
Source:
AP
A passenger bus carrying tourists from Poland crashes in to a ditch in Mezőkeresztes, Hungary, killing 12 people and injuring ten more.
Source:
AP
Source:
O Globo
Five teenagers are killed and four others, including a child, are injured in a head-on collision caused by a wrong-way driving vehicle on the M9 motorway in County Kildare, Ireland.
Source:
BBC News
St. Nicolas' Church is completely destroyed by a fire at the Museum of Folk Architecture in Sanok, Podkarpackie Voivodeship, Poland.
Source:
TVP World
Law and crime
Three people, including a teenager, are killed and two others are injured in a shooting in Isla Cristina, Andalusia, Spain. Police investigate the attack as a possible dispute between rival drug-trafficking groups and search for the gunman.
Source:
Reuters
Armed conflicts and attacks
A Spanish F/A-18 Hornet jet shoots down a Russian drone in Romanian airspace. The drone was downed near Galați after entering from Moldova.
Russo-Ukrainian war (2022–present)Violations of non-combatant airspace during the Russo-Ukrainian war (2022–present)Russia–NATO relations2026 drone incidents in Romania
Source:
Politico
Ukrainian forces launch 822 drones at Russia, including over 600 towards Moscow, killing at least seven people and injuring 39 others. A Wildberries warehouse is also destroyed. Russian officials say it is the largest Ukrainian drone attack launched this year.
Source:
BBC News
Seven suspected members of the Pakistani Taliban are killed in a intelligence-based joint operation in Kharan District, Balochistan, Pakistan.
Source:
The Express Tribune
Source:
Arab News
Two civilians are killed and several homes are damaged by a government airstrike in Thandwe, Rakhine State, Myanmar.
Source:
Narinjara News
The African Union (AU) holds a meeting with Sudanese officials in an effort to end the war, marking the first talks by the AU in the country since the military led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan seized power in the October 2021 coup.
Source:
Sudan Tribune
Sports
In flag football, Canada's women's team defeats the defending champion United States to win its third IFAF Flag Football World Championship title. Additionally, the men's football team qualifies for the upcoming Summer Olympics.
Source:
Global News