slingshot

The European Union, the United States, the United Kingdom and seven other countries sign the first international legally binding treaty on the use of artificial intelligence systems. (DW) (Council of Europe) 

Twenty percent of the Brasília National Forest in Brazil is destroyed by a wildfire that investigators suspect was started deliberately. (Reuters) 

Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro announces that Venezuela will celebrate an early Christmas on 1 October. (NBC News) 

Ugandan marathoner Rebecca Cheptegei dies after sustaining burns from a petrol attack by her partner almost a month after her participation in the women’s marathon at the 2024 Summer Olympics. (BBC) 

Four people are killed and nine others are injured in a mass school shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, United States. (CNN) 

An armed Austrian is killed in a shootout with police in Munich, Germany, near the Munich Documentation Centre for the History of National Socialism and the Israeli Consulate. (TIME) 

Michel Barnier is named the prime minister of France, two months after the July legislative elections. (The Washington Post) 

Six people are killed and another is wounded during an Israeli airstrike against a vehicle in Tubas, in the Palestinian-occupied territories. Separately, a teenager is shot dead in the city by Israeli soldiers. (Al Jazeera) 

The ruling Labour Party in the United Kingdom announces a bill to remove the right of all hereditary peers to sit in the House of Lords(BBC News) 

SpaceX removes its employees from Brazil amid ongoing legal issues between CEO Elon Musk and the Brazilian Supreme Court over Musk’s social media company X. (The Wall Street Journal) 

Jonathan Meijer files a lawsuit against Netflix for allegedly portraying him negatively for his serial sperm donation in its documentary series The Man With 1,000 Kids(DW) 

The New Zealand Māori Council selects Ngā Wai Hono i te Pō as the new Queen following the death of her father King Tūheitia in August. (DW) 

At least seven people are killed and 53 others are injured when Russian drones and missiles hit buildings in Lviv, Ukraine. (Reuters) 

A civilian is killed and seven others are injured in Israeli airstrikes and shelling in southern Lebanon. (Al Jazeera) 

Seven people are rescued and at least 21 others remain missing after a boat carrying Syrian migrants from Libya capsizes off the coast of Lampedusa in the Pelagie Islands of Italy. (Al Jazeera) 

The second phase of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry concludes, with the report noting “systematic dishonesty” of manufacturers and the failures of the government leading up to the fire. (BBC News) 

Ukrainian foreign affairs minister Dmytro Kuleba resigns from office amid a cabinet reshuffle. (Left Bank) 

The End Thursday 

added thursday above

A small 1.5-metre (4.9 ft) asteroid is predicted to fall harmlessly as a fireball over Luzon in the Philippines at approximately 16:40 UTC (00:40 local time), the ninth asteroid to be successfully discovered before impacting Earth. (Newscientist) 

An expedition to the shipwreck of the RMS Titanic reveals considerable deterioration of the bow, as well as the rediscovery of a bronze Diana of Versailles replica last seen during the initial survey of the wreck in 1986. (AP) 

The United States Department of Justice charges Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and five other militants with conspiracy to provide material support for terrorism, conspiracy to murder Americans, and five other counts each. (DW) 

The World Health Organization announces that its polio vaccination campaign in the Gaza Strip has surpassed its intended target of 156,500 projected vaccinations within two days. (BBC News) 

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba resigns from office amidst a cabinet shuffle. (LB.ua) 

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken is subpoenaed by the House Committee on Foreign Affairs after refusing to testify on the government’s actions regarding the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021 and the concurrent deaths of thirteen service members. (Reuters) 

The Islamic State claims responsibility for yesterday’s suicide bombing outside a Taliban building in Kabul, Afghanistan, which killed six people. (Al Arabiya) 

A suicide bombing in Kabul, Afghanistan, kills 6 people and injures 13. (AP) 

Dismissed Bamban mayor Alice Guo is arrested by the Directorate General of Immigration in Tangerang City, Indonesia, after fleeing to the country from the Philippines amidst an ongoing Senate inquiry. (The Guardian) 

Over ten thousand hotel workers strike in cities across the U.S. to demand higher pay, as part of the Hotel Workers Rising campaign organized by the UNITE HERE labor union. (Reuters) 

The South Korean National Police Agency announces an investigation into the messaging app Telegram for abetting and hosting chat rooms that distribute deepfake pornography, including of children. (DW) 

The Brazilian Supreme Court unanimously upholds justice Alexandre de Moraes‘ decision to block social media platform X, in the country. De Moraes also set a daily fine of R$50,000 (US$8,900) for people or companies using VPNs to access the site. (AP) 

Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine is “seriously injured” after being shot in the leg in a shootout with the Uganda People’s Defence Force near Kampala. (AP) 

Five Ukrainian ministers resign from their positions, including Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna, resulting in vacancy of over one-third of the cabinet. (Reuters) 

Russian missile strikes on Poltava, Ukraine, kill at least 51 people and injure more than 237 others. (AP) 

A clash between the isolated indigenous Mashco-Piro community and Peruvian loggers attempting to clear a forest path near their territory results in the deaths of two loggers, with two more missing. (Reuters) 

During a people smuggling operation, at least 12 migrants drown when their boat breaks apart and capsizes in the English Channel. (Sky News) 

The death toll from yesterday’s attempted jailbreak at the Makala Central Prison in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, increases to 129. (BBC News) 

Isabel Perelló is elected as President of the Supreme Court and the General Council of the Judiciary in Spain, becoming the first woman to hold the position.  (El Diario) 

A weather station near Qeshm International Airport in Dayrestan, Iran, records the highest unverified heat index on Earth of 82.2 °C (180.0 °F) and the highest dew point of 36.1 °C (97.0 °F). Climatologists will investigate to confirm the readings’ accuracy. (The Economic Times) 

The number of wildfires in the Amazon rainforest reaches its highest number in fourteen years at 38,266 fire hotspots as a result of an ongoing drought in South America. (Reuters) 

President of Russia Vladimir Putin arrives in Mongolia to discuss a China–Russia gas pipeline meant to recoup Russian losses from Western sanctions, despite Ukraine’s urges for Mongolia to arrest Putin under his International Criminal Court warrant. (Reuters) 

Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry states that Mongolia’s refusal to arrest Vladimir Putin while on a state visit means that it shares “responsibility for the war crimes” committed by Russia, and vows to work with allies to enforce punitive measures on Mongolia. (Reuters) 

Turkey formally applies to join the BRICS geopolitical bloc, citing the lack of progress in its accession to the European Union. (Bloomberg) 

Two people, including an independent contractor working for UNIFIL, are killed in an Israeli airstrikes on the Tyre-Naqoura road in Lebanon with other airstrikes on Bint Jabal, Yaroun, Ayta al-Shab, Hanine, Tayr Harfa and Blida and shelling of Kfarchouba and Shebaa. (Al Jazeera) 

Hezbollah launches Katyusha rockets on Ein Ya’akov, Ga’aton and Yehiam, northern Israel. (Al Jazeera) 

Houthi militants strike two crude oil tankers in the Red Sea with multiple missiles and drones. (Reuters) 

At least fourteen people are killed in landslides and floods caused by Tropical Storm Yagi in the Philippines. (AP) 

Eleven children are killed and 13 more are injured when a bus crashes into a group of middle school students and their parents in Tai’an City, Shandong, China. (ABC) 

At least two inmates are killed in an attempted prison break at Makala Prison [fr] in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. (Al Jazeera) 

At least five people are shot, with two critically injured, at the West Indian Day Parade in Brooklyn, New York, United States. (AP) 

Thousands of people gather in Manhattan, New York City, United States, to protest against the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, rally for support of Palestinians, and call for New York institutions to divest from Israeli businesses. (CBS News) 

Histadrut, Israel’s national trade union center, begins a one-day general strike to protest against the Netanyahu government’s failure to negotiate a ceasefire and hostage deal. The strike is later ordered to end prematurely by a Tel Aviv labor court, claiming the strike was illegally political in nature rather than economic. (BBC) 

The United States seizes a Dassault Falcon 900 jet used by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on accusations that its purchase violated U.S. sanctions against Venezuela, and flies it from the Dominican Republic to Florida. (Reuters) 

Japan defeats the United States in the Wheelchair rugby final, winning the first ever gold medal for the country in the sport. (Olympics) 

coolidge corner and chinatown

A weather station near Qeshm International Airport in Dayrestan, Iran, records the highest unverified heat index on Earth of 82.2 °C (180.0 °F) and the highest dew point of 36.1 °C (97.0 °F). Climatologists will investigate to confirm the readings’ accuracy. (The Economic Times) (Times of India) 

NASA announces discovery of Earth’s subtle electric field (ambipolar electric field), which contributes to the polar wind phenomenon. Its significance as to the emergence of life and complex organisms on Earth, and the planet’s physical and chemical properties, are to be analyzed. (NASA Science) (MSN, Newsweek) 

The number of August fires in the Amazon rainforest reaches its highest number in fourteen years at 38,266 fire hotspots as a result of an ongoing drought across South America. (Reuters) 

Ukraine launches over a hundred drones against targets in Russia, including the Konakovo Power Station in Konakovo, Tver Oblast and the Moscow Refinery in Moscow. (Reuters) 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismisses the commander of the Ukrainian Air Force Mykola Oleshchuk following the crash of an F-16 fighter jet and the death of its pilot while defending against Russian strikes. (Reuters) 

 At least 47 people are injured when Russian missiles hit a shopping mall and events complex in Kharkiv, Ukraine. (Reuters) 

Russia reports that its forces have taken control of the settlements of Ptyche and Vyimka in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. (Reuters) 

Three Israeli police officers are killed in a shooting on a road near Tarqumiyah in the West Bank. (The Jerusalem Post) 

The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights announces that it will deploy a fact-finding team to investigate human rights abuses and violations committed by government forces during the quota reform movement, after being requested to do so by the interim government of Muhammad Yunus. (The New York Times) 

Mil Mi-8T helicopter which went missing yesterday over the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia is found crashed, with all 22 people on board dead. The victims include nineteen passengers and three crew members. (Kommersant) 

Germany deports 28 convicted Afghan criminals, marking the first such action since the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in August 2021. (AP) 

The number of August fires in the Amazon rainforest reaches its highest number in fourteen years at 38,266 fire hotspots as a result of an ongoing drought across South America. (Reuters) 

At least 15 Islamic State militants are killed and seven U.S. troops are injured in a joint United States–Iraq raid on Islamic State camps in Anbar Desert, Iraq. (AP) 

Eleven people are killed and more than 40 others are injured when a truck crashes into a bar in AzuaDominican Republic. The driver subsequently flees the scene. (AP) 

Hundreds of thousands of Israelis, including approximately 300,000 in Tel Aviv, protest in cities across the country following the recovery of the bodies of six hostages from Gaza, with the national trade union center calling for a general strike on Monday and for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to resign after failing to negotiate a ceasefire.  (CNN) 

At least 29 people are arrested in Tel Aviv on accusations of vandalism, disorderly conduct, and attacking police officers. (CNN) 

At least 11 people are killed and more than 30 are injured after a truck crashes into a bar in Azua, Dominican Republic. The driver subsequently flees the scene. (AP) 

Parliamentary elections in the German states of Saxony and Thuringia show large gains for the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany party and the left-wing populist Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht party as well as losses for the left-wing and liberal parties of the governing coalition and for the socialist The Left party. In Thuringia, a far-right party comes in first place in a state election for the first time since World War II. 

Saturday, August 31st, 2024 

The Israeli military recovers the bodies of six hostages kidnapped by Hamas during the October 7 attack on Israel, including American citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin, from an underground tunnel near Rafah, Gaza. (NBC News) 

Israeli strikes kill at least 48 people across the Gaza Strip. (Reuters) 

Israeli strikes kill at least 48 people in the Gaza Strip. (Reuters) 

Five civilians are killed in Ukrainian missile strikes on Belgorod, Russia. (Reuters) 

The Houthis claim they have attacked the Liberia-flagged container ship MV Groton for the second time in the Gulf of Aden. (Reuters) 

Al-Shabaab bombs several businesses in the Tabelaha Sheikh Ibrahim neighborhood of Mogadishu, Somalia, targeting shops that had complied with the government’s directive to install CCTV cameras(Idilnews) 

The death toll from the effects of Typhoon Shanshan in Japan increases to six, with over 100 people injured. (Reuters) 

Mil Mi-8T helicopter with 22 people onboard goes missing over the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia. (AP) 

The death toll from flooding in Al Mahwit Governorate, Yemen, increases to at least 97 people. (DW) 

Three people are killed and two more injured after a Cessna 421C crashes in a row of townhouses near Troutdale Airport in Troutdale, Oregon, United States. (AP) 

The BRICS New Development Bank authorizes Algeria as a new bank member. (Reuters) 

Seven people are killed and dozens more are injured in a bus crash near Vicksburg, Mississippi, United States. (CBS News) 

Ford Motor Company announces it is recalling over 90,000 vehicles due to issues with the engine intake valves. (Reuters) 

Polish F32 Paralympian Róża Kozakowska is disqualified a day after winning gold in the Women’s club throw F32 event due to an irregularity with her equipment. (Polsatnews) 

Friday,  August 30th, 2024 

President of Ukraine Volodomyr Zelenskyy urges Mongolia to arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin as he travels to Ulaanbaatar to make his first meeting to an International Criminal Court member state since the issue of his ICC arrest warrant. (France 24) 

Three Palestinian militants, including Hamas’ leader in Jenin, Wissam Hazem, are killed in a drone strike at the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank. (Al Jazeera) 

An Israeli soldier is killed and several others are injured in an IED attack in Jenin, West Bank. (Palestine Chronicle) 

Seven people are killed when a Russian guided bomb strikes a residential building and playground in Kharkiv, Ukraine. (Reuters) 

Seven people are killed and 25 others are injured in shelling near Khartoum, Sudan. (Sudan Tribune) 

Twelve Pakistani Taliban members are killed during a raid by the Pakistani Army in the Tirah Valley of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, bringing the number of insurgents killed there to 37 since August 20. (AP) 

A widespread power outage affects most of Venezuela with President Nicolás Maduro’s government blaming it on sabotage by the opposition. (DW) 

Four people are killed and one other is missing when a National Republican Guard helicopter crashes into the Douro river in Lamego, Portugal. (DW) 

Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg declares that Ukraine’s incursion into Russian territory in Kursk Oblast is legitimate under international law, as part of Ukraine’s right to self-defense. (Reuters) 

A Brazilian judge orders the social media platform X to be blocked after the platform failed to comply with court orders. (The New York Times) 

Six people are wounded in a stabbing attack on a bus in Siegen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. (DW) 

Incumbent Māori King Tūheitia dies at the age of 69 while recovering from heart surgery. (New Zealand Herald) 

The End