Portal:Current events/2024 August 20

August 20, 2024 (Tuesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Attacks in Russia during the Russian invasion of Ukraine
  - August 2024 Kursk Oblast incursion
    - Russian military sources claim that Ukrainian forces have destroyed or damaged all three bridges over the Seym river in western Russia, potentially trapping Russian forces between the river, the Ukrainian border, and advancing Ukrainian forces. (AP)
- Eastern Ukraine campaign, Pokrovsk offensive, Battle of Toretsk
  - Russia claims that its forces have taken control of the settlement of New York in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. (Reuters)
  - Ukraine says that Russian forces are launching heavy attacks on the Toretsk and Pokrovsk fronts. (Reuters)
- Russian strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure
  - Ternopil residents are urged to remain indoors after a Russian Shahed drone strikes an industrial facility, causing a large fire and an increased concentration of chlorine in the air. (Reuters) (The Kyiv Indepenent)
Israel–Hamas war
- Israel–Hamas war hostage crisis
  - The Israel Defense Forces recover the bodies of six hostages who were kidnapped by Hamas in the initial October 7, 2023 attack, including Alex Dancyg, from the Khan Younis area in Gaza. (Reuters)
- Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip
  - At least twelve Palestinians, including two children, are killed in an Israeli airstrike on a school used to shelter displaced people in Gaza City. (Middle East Eye)
Israel–Hezbollah conflict
- The Israeli Air Force launches airstrikes on the Hezbollah stronghold of Baalbek in the Beqaa Valley in Lebanon. (Haaretz)
- Four people are killed and two others are injured by Israeli strikes in Daraya, Mount Lebanon Governorate, Lebanon, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. In response, Hezbollah launches drone strikes on IDF positions in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. (Arab News)

Disasters and accidents

At least 20 bodies are recovered from the Lukenie River in Mai-Ndombe Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, following the capsizing of a boat carrying around 300 passengers over the weekend. At least 46 people are rescued and about 250 others remain missing. (AP)

Health and environment

2023–2024 mpox epidemic
- The Ivory Coast reports 21 new cases of mpox as well as the country's first death from mpox. (La Presse)
- A Liberia-flagged ship on the Paraná River near Rosario, Argentina, is quarantined after suspected cases of mpox are detected on the ship. The Argentine Health Ministry subsequently activates an emergency protocol against mpox. (Reuters) (CNN)
- Malawi declares mpox a public health emergency, following growing concerns and a reported probable case of mpox in the country. (MBC Malawi)

International relations

Azerbaijan–Russia relations
- Azerbaijan formally applies to join the BRICS economic bloc following a meeting between President Ilham Aliyev and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Baku, Azerbaijan. Aliyev also approves US$120 million to expand Russian–Azerbaijani cargo trade. (AP)
Germany–Iran relations
- Following the ordered closure of the Islamic Centre Hamburg in Hamburg, Germany, Iran orders the closure of two branches of a German language school in Tehran for "breaching Iranian law, committing various illegal actions and extensive financial violations." In response, Germany summons the Iranian ambassador. (DW)
Haiti–United States relations, Illegal drug trade in Haiti
- The United States Treasury Department imposes sanctions on musician and former Haitian President Michel Joseph Martelly for allegedly using his influence to facilitate drug trafficking in the country as well as into the United States. (Al Jazeera)
North Korea–South Korea relations
- A North Korean staff sergeant defects to South Korea after crossing the Korean Demilitarized Zone into Goseong County, Gangwon, and is taken into South Korean custody. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Law of Ukraine on the Activities of Religious Organizations
- Ukrainian lawmakers pass a bill to ban the activities of all Russia-associated religious groups across Ukraine, including the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, following arrests of dozens of the church's clerics on treason charges for alleged involvement in Russian espionage and the transfer of a cleric to Russia in a prisoner swap. (Reuters) (AP)
Suspected serial killer Collins Jumaisi Khalusha, accused of murdering 42 women, escapes from police custody in Nairobi, Kenya. (Al Jazeera)
The Taliban's virtue ministry dismisses 281 members of the security force for failing to grow a beard and announces that they also destroyed 21,328 musical instruments in the past year and prevented thousands of computer operators from selling "immoral and unethical" films in markets. (Al Arabiya)

Science and technology

BMW recalls more than 720,000 vehicles due to an electrical issue with the vehicle's water pump that could potentially cause a vehicle fire. (AP)