Portal:Current events/2017 August 21

August 21, 2017 (Monday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Aftermath of the 2017 Barcelona attacks
- Spanish police hunting the chief suspect in last Thursday's van attack in Barcelona shoot dead a man to the west of the city who appeared to be wearing an explosive belt. (BBC)
Ain al-Hilweh conflict
- A ceasefire brings calm after heavy fighting between Fatah and extremists that left two people dead at the Palestinian refugees camp of Ain al-Hilweh, Lebanon. (Daily Star)

Arts and culture

Renovation of Big Ben
- The famed clock tower Big Ben chimes for the final time until 2021 before undergoing repairs. (USA Today)

Disasters and accidents

Shipwrecks in 2017
- The United States Navy's USS John S. McCain collides with the Liberian-flagged Alnic MC near Singapore. Rescue efforts are underway with ten sailors reported as missing. (Reuters)(AP)
- The U.S. Navy orders an investigation into its Pacific Fleet following the collision, which is the fourth crash involving a U.S. Navy ship in the past two years and the second in the past two months. (BBC)
Earthquakes in 2017
- A magnitude 4.0 earthquake strikes the Italian island of Ischia, leaving one person dead and 25 others injured. Italian media report 10 others are unaccounted for after several buildings collapsed in Casamicciola Terme. (BBC)

International relations

North Korea–United States relations
- In a video interview posted on the state-run website Uriminzokkiri, the two sons of James Joseph Dresnok (the last remaining American defector to North Korea) have confirmed that their father has died of a stroke last November 2016. (The Guardian)
Syria chemical weapons program, Sanctions against North Korea
- Two North Korean shipments to a Syrian government agency of its chemical weapons program were intercepted in the past 6 months, according to a confidential United Nations report on violations of North Korea's sactions. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Philippine Drug War
- After the shooting of Kian Loyd delos Santos, a 17-year-old student, in the campaign against drugs in the Philippines, thousands of marchers protest in EDSA heeding calls from the Philippine Catholic Church to criticize the drug war. (Al Jazeera)
Beating of DeAndre Harris
- Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe calls for arrests related to the beating of a black counterprotester by white supremacists during the Unite the Right rally. (The Richmond Times-Dispatch)

Science and technology

Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017
- Millions of United States residents and visitors are able to witness a total solar eclipse that crosses through North America. It is the first total solar eclipse visible across the entire contiguous United States since the solar eclipse of June 8, 1918. (CBS)