Portal:Current events/2017 August 8

August 8, 2017 (Tuesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Battle of Marawi
- The Pentagon is considering conducting airstrikes in Marawi, which if approved would later put U.S. troops on the ground to battle the ISIS-affiliated Maute group as well as related Islamist terror groups. A spokesperson later denied the claims as well as clarified that the Philippines has yet to make a request. (NBC News)

Disasters and accidents

2017 Jiuzhaigou earthquake
- A magnitude 7.0 earthquake strikes Sichuan in southwest China, killing at least thirteen people and injuring more than 175. (BBC) (Reuters)

International relations

2017 North Korea crisis
- U.S. President Donald Trump promises "fire and fury like the world has never seen" if North Korea threatens the United States. (NBC News)
- Hours after Trump made this remark, North Korea says it is "carefully examining" a missile strike against United States territory of Guam. (CNBC)

Law and crime

Politics and elections

Kenyan general election, 2017
- Voters in Kenya go to the polls to elect the President, as well as members of the National Assembly and Senate. (BBC)
Corruption in South Africa
- President Jacob Zuma survives his eighth no-confidence motion in parliament via a 198–177 secret ballot vote with nine abstentions. The rand fell by 1 percent on the announcement of the outcome. (Reuters)

Sports

PGA Championship
- In golf, the PGA of America and the PGA Tour jointly announce that the PGA Championship, currently the last of the four men's major championships to be held each year, will move from its current August date to May effective in 2019. In the same year, The Players Championship will move from May to March. (Reuters via The New York Times)