Portal:Current events/2024 August 15

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Russian invasion of Ukraine
  • Attacks in Russia during the Russian invasion of Ukraine
    • August 2024 Kursk Oblast incursion
      • Ukrainian occupation of Kursk Oblast
        • Ukraine establishes a military administration in Sudzha with major general Eduard Moskalyov appointed as its senior commander. General Oleksandr Syrskyi says that the administration will "maintain law and order" in the region. (BBC News)
      • Russia announces the mandatory evacuation of all civilians from Glushkovsky District in Kursk Oblast. (Reuters)
      • The Russian Defence Ministry claims that Russian forces have retaken the settlement of Krupets. (Anadolu Agency)
      • The Security Service of Ukraine captures 102 Russian servicemen as prisoners of war, marking the largest single group of Russian soldiers to surrender during the conflict. (Bloomberg)
    • Ukrainian troops and military vehicles enter Russia's Belgorod Oblast with the region declaring a state of emergency. Heavy fighting is reportedly underway. (The Washington Post)
  • Eastern Ukraine campaign
    • Pokrovsk offensive
      • Pokrovsk's military administration issues immediate evacuation orders for its citizens due to shelling from Russian troops about 10 km away from the city in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. (UNN)
  • Military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War
    • The United Kingdom says that Ukraine can use British weaponry, including Challenger 2 tanks, for its military operations inside Russia. (Sky News)
• Israel–Hamas war
  • Evacuations during the Israel–Hamas war
    • Peter Dutton, the leader of Australia’s Liberal Party, calls on the Australian government to ban the entry of Palestinian refugees fleeing from conflict in the Gaza Strip, which is met with significant condemnation from several politicians and organizations as promoting racial stereotypes. (ABC Australia) (Al Jazeera)
    • SBS World News reports that the Australian government has rejected a majority of Palestinian visa applications, accepting 2,922 applications and rejecting 7,111 applications while granting 8,746 visas to Israeli citizens and rejecting only 235 applications. (Al Jazeera)
  • Casualties of the Israel–Hamas war
    • The Gaza Health Ministry reports that more than 40,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, including more than 16,000 children, have been killed due to the ongoing Israeli invasion and blockade, and that more than 10,000 Palestinians are still missing. (Al Jazeera)
• Israel–Hezbollah conflict
  • Hezbollah launches four rockets at IDF targets in Shamir and Malkia in Upper Galilee which were intercepted by the Iron Dome causing a fire in Shamir and Ruwaysat al-Alam of Kfarchouba in southern Lebanon. (Al Jazeera)

Business and economy

• American video game magazine Game Informer discontinues publication after 33 years. The magazine's website is also shut down. (BBC News)

Disasters and accidents

• A Russian Air Force Tupolev Tu-22M crashes due to a "technical malfunction" in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. The pilots safely ejected, according to Russian media. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

Health and environment

• 2023–2024 mpox epidemic
  • Sweden reports the first case of the new mpox variant outside Africa in a patient in Stockholm. (Arab News) (Reuters)
  • Pakistan reports its first case of mpox this year. (First Post)

International relations

• Germany–United States relations, Foreign relations of NATO
  • The United States approves the sale of 600 MIM-104 Patriot air defense missiles to Germany worth US$5 billion (€4.6 billion) to improve German national defense and the overall security of NATO. (DW)

Law and crime

• 2022 Nord Stream pipeline sabotage
  • Ukraine denies its involvement in explosions that damaged the Nord Stream 2 pipeline in 2022 and accuses Russia of causing the explosions, following Germany issuing its first arrest warrant on the case towards a Ukrainian man. (Reuters)
• New Zealand extradites German hacker and Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom to the United States to face charges for computer fraud, cyber espionage, and embezzlement. (DW)
• Croatian Defence Minister Ivan Anušić announces that the country will reintroduce a compulsory 2-month military service starting from January 1, 2025, as part of it's reform of the Armed Forces of Croatia. Conscription was previously scrapped in 2008 when Croatia shifted to a volunteer-based system. (The Independent)

Politics and elections

• 2024 United States presidential election
  • 2024 United States presidential debates
    • The Democratic Party candidate for vice president Tim Walz and the Republican Party candidate for vice president JD Vance agree to a debate on October 1 on CBS. (Reuters)
• 2024 Venezuelan presidential election
  • International reactions to the 2024 Venezuelan presidential election
    • Brazilian President Lula da Silva, Colombian President Gustavo Petro, and US President Joe Biden call for new elections in Venezuela. (Reuters)
• 2024 Sri Lankan presidential election
  • Sri Lanka receives a record number of presidential candidates for the upcoming election with 39 applications accepted, surpassing 2019's record of 35 candidates. (Al Jazeera)

Sports

• 2024 CFL season
  • The Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League are sold to businessman Larry Thompson, ending 75 years of community ownership. (Edmonton Journal)