Friday,  August 25th, 2023 

Director of the British Museum Hartwig Fischer resigns, claiming responsibility for insufficient investigation of the recent series of thefts and disappearances of hundreds of items from its collection, including gold jewelry, semi-precious gems and antiquities. (AFP via RTÉ) 

Norway announces it will spend 63 million kroner ($6 million) per year until the end of the decade stocking up on grain due to environmental and geopolitical reasons. (AP) 

George Soros founded Grantmaking network Open Society Foundations plans to significantly reduce their activities in Europe and lay off much of their staff. The change coincides with Alex Soros‘s announcement of a shift to a new operating model. (AP) 

Estonia‘s pro-Ukrainian Prime Minister, Kaja Kallas, comes under pressure to resign after it was revealed her husband’s company indirectly undertook business in Russia after the invasion of Ukraine. (AP) 

The 19th edition of the FIBA Basketball World Cup opens, with the Philippine Arena setting a World Cup attendance record of 38,115 during the co-hosts‘ opening game against the Dominican Republic. (AP) 

Thursday, August 24th, 2023 

Seven members of the militant Kurdistan Workers’ Party are killed in Kurdistan Region, Iraq, by two Turkish drone strikes. (AFP via France 24) 

Japan begins the discharge of treated radioactive waste water from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the Pacific Ocean. (The Independent) 

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa invites Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates to join the bloc, with membership taking effect next year. (Bloomberg) 

China suspends the import of Japanese seafood following Japan’s discharge of treated radioactive waste water from Fukushima. (AFP via The Times of Malta) 

The County Court of Victoria in Australia sentences Malka Leifer, the principal of a Jewish religious school in Melbourne, to 15 years in prison for the sexual assault of two sisters. (AFP via Bangkok Post) 

Colombia introduces passports with a non-binary option, following a 2022 court ruling that permitted such identification on official documents. (AFP via Philippine Daily Inquirer) 

The End Friday 

Seven members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party are killed in Iraq by two Turkish drone strikes. (France 24) 

One person is killed and eight others are injured by rockfalls in the Ein Gedi nature reserve in Israel. (Times of Israel) 

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa invites Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates to join the bloc, with membership taking effect next year. (Bloomberg) 

The County of Maui in Hawaii, United States, files a lawsuit against Hawaiian Electric, accusing it of negligence and failing to shut down their equipment during the wildfires that ravaged the island including Lahaina. (Reuters) 

Former U.S. President Donald Trump is booked at the Fulton County jail. (NBC) 

Trump releases his mugshot on Twitter, now known as X, his first post since being suspended from the platform in January 2021. He also releases the mugshot on his Truth Social platform. (Reuters) (The Hill) 

Norway’s Magnus Carlsen wins his first Chess World Cup title after defeating India’s R Praggnanandhaa in a tiebreak. (CNN) 

Wednesday, August 23rd, 2023 

An Embraer Legacy 600 aircraft crashes in Tver Region, Russia, killing all ten people on board. The leader of the Wagner Group Yevgeny Prigozhin and mercenary Dmitry Utkin were listed as passengers. (BBC News) 

Three people are killed and six others are injured in a mass shooting at a biker bar in Trabuco Canyon, Orange County, California, United States. The perpetrator is killed in a shootout. (AP) 

A Russian drone strike on agricultural facilities in Izmail, Odesa Oblast, destroys 13,000 tons of grain and damages infrastructure. (CNN International) 

The Federal Bureau of Investigation reports that around 1,110 people have been missing since the wildfires that affected Maui, Hawaii, United States. (BBC News) 

Twenty-six people are killed when a railway bridge being built across a ravine collapses in Mizoram, India. (Al Jazeera) 

Eight p

At least two people are killed and 37 more are rescued during a buildin

Two people killed and another is injured after an aircraft operated by the Lebanese Air Force crashes near Ham

Tropical Storm Franklin makes landfall on the island of Hispaniola, with heavy rain reported in the Dominican R

The U.S. Justice Department announces that they have brought 718 law enforcement actions costing $836 million in COVID-19 fraud during the pandemic. (The Washington Post) 

Chandrayaan-3 makes a soft landing near the Moon’s South Pole, marking India’s first landing on the Moon and the first soft landing of a spacecraft near the

North Korea launches a military satellite from the Sohae Satellite Launching Station. The launch fails due “to an error in the emergency blasting system during the third-stage flight”, according to state media, with the satellite likely crashing into the Pacific Ocean after passing over Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. (Kyodo News) (BBC News) 

The End Thursday 

Wednesday, August 23rd, 2023 

A plane crashes in Tver, Russia, killing all the ten people on board. Wagner Group’s leader Yevgeny Prigozhin and mercenary Dmitry Utkin were among the listed passengers. (BBC) 

Chandrayaan-3 makes a soft landing near the Moon’s South Pole, marking India’s first landing on the Moon and the first soft landing near the lunar South Pole. (CNN) 

The Federal Bureau of Investigation reports that around 1,110 people have been missing since wildfires have hit Maui, Hawaii, including the historic town Lahaina. (BBC) 

Germany passes legislation to ease citizenship rules, aiming to reduce a shortage of skilled workers and to bolster the integration of immigrants. (AP) 

France delivers the first shipment of its SCALP-EG air-launched cruise missiles to Ukraine. (Al Arabiya) 

Ukrainian forces reportedly strike a Russian SAM site at Cape Tarkhankut, Crimea, destroying the S-400 missile system and killing service personnel. (Interfax-Ukraine) 

A Russian drone strike on agricultural facilities in Izmail, Odesa Oblast, destroys 13,000 tons of grain and damages infrastructure. (CNN International) 

The governor of Belgorod Oblast, Russia, says that a Ukrainian attack killed three civilians in the region. (AFP via Al Arabiya) 

Four people are killed and four others are injured in a Russian drone strike on a school in Romny, Sumy Oblast. (Reuters) 

Southwark Crown Court in London, United Kingdom, rules that two teenagers were part of the hacking group Lapsus$ and participated in a blackmail campaign against technology companies, including Rockstar Games, the maker of the Grand Theft Auto video game series. (AP) 

Twenty-six people are killed after a railway bridge being built across a ravine collapses in Mizoram, India. (Al Jazeera) 

Eight people are killed and other are injured, after a passenger bus veeres off the Prithvi Highway and crashes into the Trishuli River in Nepal. (AP) 

Tropical Storm Franklin makes landfall on the island of Hispaniola, with heavy rain in the Dominican Republic and Haiti. (AP) 

Tuesday,  August 22nd, 2023 

Mexican Drug War  The Mexican army says that drug cartels have increased usage of improvised explosive devices, with 42 soldiers, police and suspects wounded this year. (AP) 

Sixteen people are killed and thirty-six others are injured after a bus carrying Mexicans and Venezuelan migrants crashes into a freight truck Tuesday in Oaxaca, Mexico. (AP) 

Ukraine claims that saboteurs coordinated by military intelligence destroyed a Tupolev Tu-22M heavy bomber at the Soltsy-2 airbase in Novgorod Oblast, Russia. (AP) 

Russian forces shell Torske and Zavitne in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, killing three people and injuring two others. (BBC News) 

The United Nations Middle East envoy says the conflict has killed over 200 Palestinians and nearly 30 Israelis this year, surpassing the previous year. (AP) 

More than 200 fishermen stage a protest on the docks of Gaza’s seaport after the arrest of at least six fishermen and the seizure of multiple boats by Israeli forces, requesting immediate international intervention. (Al Jazeera) 

Pakistani Taliban fighters ambush a military convoy in South Waziristan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, triggering a shootout, with at least six soldiers and four militants killed. (AP via Yahoo! News) 

Tropical Storm Harold makes landfall in south Texas, United States, the first during the hurricane season. A tropical storm warning is issued for parts of Texas and the Mexican border. (ABC News) 

The BRICS summit begins in Johannesburg, South Africa. The summit will focus on the bloc’s expansion and role among the economies of the Global South. (Peoples Dispatch) 

The African Union’s Peace and Security Council votes to suspends Niger’s membership with immediate effect. (Al Jazeera) 

The American Civil Liberties Union and three advocacy groups release a report examining the screening system at the Torrance County Detention Facility where claims to asylum were inappropriately screened out for deportation. Complaints of retaliation against migrants who objected to procedures and living conditions were cataloged. (AP) 

Hun Manet is approved as the next Prime Minister by the National Assembly. (AFP via WION) 

Two people are injured by falling debris from a Ukrainian drone strike on Moscow and flights are disrupted at the city’s airports. Russia says they shot down one drone and jammed another. (Reuters) 

Eighteen people are found dead amid wildfires in Dadia Forest, Greece. (BBC News) 

Srettha Thavisin is approved as the next Prime Minister in a joint session of parliament. (Reuters) 

Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra returns to Thailand after 15 years of self-exile. He is arrested and jailed by the Supreme Court of Thailand over his existing convictions. (BBC News) 

Two people are injured by falling debris from a Ukrainian drone strike on Moscow and flights are disrupted at the city’s airports. Russia says they shot down one drone and jammed another. (Reuters) 

Somalia orders its telecommunication companies to block 1xBet, Telegram and TikTok, saying that militant groups like al-Shabaab use these apps to spread inappropriate content and misinformation to the public. (Al Jazeera) 

Monday,  August 21st, 2023 

Cyprus police rescue 18 Syrian migrants after their boat started taking on water off the island’s southeastern coast. (AP) 

Greek patrol boats rying to cro

Twelve people are kill

One person is killed and two others are injured in a high-rise building explosion in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. (AKIPress) 

Sha’Carri Richardson wins gold in the 100 m at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, beating Shericka Jackson and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in a new championships record time of 10.65 seconds. (BBC Sport) 

The End Tuesday 

Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen says that 850 people are still missing since the wildfires have ravaged across Lahaina and other areas of Maui, Hawaii. (NBC News) 

Domino’s announces it will withdraw from Russia. Its parent company, DP Eurasia, says it will file for bankruptcy for its Russian unit. (CNN) 

Germany’s central bank announces the country’s economy will be stagnant in the current quarter, due to high energy prices and rising borrowing costs. (AP) 

A Palestinian man opens fire on a car carrying Israeli settlers in Hebron, in the occupied West Bank, killing a woman and injuring a man. (Al Jazeera) 

Greek patrol boats rescue nearly 80 migrants in the eastern Aegean Sea trying to cross from Turkey in inflatable dinghies in two separate incidents. (AP) 

A passenger bus crashes into a roadside ditch in Yozgat, Turkey, killing 12 people and injuring 19 others. (AP) 

Lucy Letby is sentenced to a whole-life order following her conviction of seven counts of murder and seven counts of attempted murder. (BBC News) 

London police say they will take no further action in an investigation into allegations that associates of King Charles III’s charity offered to help a Saudi Arabian billionaire secure a knighthood and British citizenship in return for donations of up to £1.5 million. (AP) 

The End