Portal:Current events/2016 August 26
August 26, 2016 (Friday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Kurdish–Turkish conflict (1978–present)
- Eight Turkish police officers are killed and 40 are injured in a bombing at a police checkpoint in the town of Cizre, with the PKK believed to be responsible. (CNN)
- Syrian civil war
- Following a ceasefire agreement with the government, Syrian rebels begin evacuating the war-torn suburb of Darayya, near Damascus, ending a four-year-long siege by government forces. Under the terms of surrender, the 8,000 civilians who reside in the suburb will be moved to regime-controlled areas while several hundred rebel fighters will be given passage to the Idlib Governorate. (The Telegraph)
Arts and culture
- U.S. President Barack Obama expands the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument off the coast of Hawai'i, making it the largest national park on the planet. (The Washington Post)
Business and economy
- Turkey opens the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge in Istanbul, one of the world's biggest suspension bridges. (Reuters)
Disasters and accidents
- Southeast Asian haze
- Fires in Indonesia burn and blow smoke into Singapore, engulfing the city-state into darkness. (ABC News)
- An explosion at a sports centre in the Belgian town of Chimay kills one person and injures another four. A gas explosion is suspected to be the cause. (CBC)
- 2016 Central Italy earthquake
- A state of emergency is declared in Italy following several strong earthquakes. (CNN)
- The official death toll rises to 278. (Radio New Zealand)
- A large herd of wild reindeer is struck by lightning on the Hardangervidda in central Norway, killing 323. (Global News)
Law and crime
- Bolivia's deputy interior minister, Rodolfo Illanes, is kidnapped and beaten to death by striking miners. (BBC)
- An assassination attempt against Angela Merkel is foiled by Czech police. (The Daily Mail)
- Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte unintentionally reveals that a US$1 million ransom was given to the Abu Sayyaf terror group in exchange for a Norwegian hostage. (IBTimes) (Rappler)
- Trial of Oscar Pistorius
- The Johannesburg High Court rejects an appeal against the sentencing of Oscar Pistorius. (The Telegraph)
- The France Conseil d'État suspends Villeneuve-Loubet commune's ban on full-body burkini swimsuits. (Reuters)
Politics and elections
- 2016 Zimbabwe protests
- Police and protesters clash in Harare after a court ruled that protests against Robert Mugabe can continue. (ABC News)
Science and technology
- A newly-discovered galaxy known as Dragonfly 44 appears to be made up mostly of dark matter. (IBTimes)