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Typhoon Lekima

Typhoon Lekima (pictured) impacts the Philippines, the Ryukyu Islands, Taiwan and East China, killing at least 80 people.
At least 75 people are killed and more than 50 others injured in a fuel tanker truck explosion in Morogoro, Tanzania.
A suicide bombing near a police station in Kabul, Afghanistan, kills 14 people and injures 145 others.
American novelist Toni Morrison dies at the age of 88.

August 13, 2019 (Tuesday)

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Business and economy

China–United States trade war
- The United States Trade Representative announces a delay until December 15 on a significant number of products affected by 10% import tariffs announced on August 1 and set to be imposed in September. (CNBC) (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

According to Interfax, the governor of Arkhangelsk Oblast dismisses as "complete nonsense" the advice by authorities in Severodvinsk to residents of Nyonoksa to evacuate on August 14. This follows the accidental explosion on Thursday of what is speculated to be a nuclear-powered missile. Russian nuclear agency Rosatom says the failed test involved a "nuclear isotope power source" for a liquid-propelled rocket engine. (The Independent) (CBS News)

Law and crime

2019 Sydney stabbing attack
- A man in Sydney, Australia, stabs and kills one person and wounds another. The motive of the suspect, who was arrested at the scene, is unknown. (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

August 12, 2019 (Monday)

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Business and economy

After Argentine President Mauricio Macri comes second in Argentina's primary elections, the country's peso loses 15% of its value against the US dollar. (Reuters)

International relations

Japan–South Korea relations
- In a tit-for-tat move, South Korea removes Japan from its preferred trade list. (US News)
Human rights in Venezuela
- Venezuelan activist Tamara Sujú visits London to ask the United Kingdom, and specifically Dominic Raab, to pressure the International Criminal Court to investigate claims of torture and human rights abuses by the Nicolás Maduro government. (The Guardian)

Law and crime

Death of Jeffrey Epstein
- Federal Bureau of Investigation agents raid late financier billionaire Jeffrey Epstein's private Caribbean island, amid an investigation into alleged sex trafficking. The raid comes two days after Epstein's death. (NBC News)

Politics and elections

Hong Kong protests
- The Airport Authority Hong Kong cancels all departure flights from Hong Kong, effectively locking down Hong Kong International Airport amid ongoing unrest. (BBC)
- A spokesperson for China's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office releases a statement accusing violent protesters that threw petrol bombs at Hong Kong Police officers of being "terrorists", saying that a violent minority within the pro-democracy movement poses "a serious challenge to Hong Kong's prosperity and stability". (Channel News Asia)
2019 Argentine general election
- Former Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers Alberto Fernández gains a 15% lead over incumbent President Mauricio Macri in Argentina's primaries. (The New York Times)
Operation Car Wash
- Text messages leaked by The Intercept Brasil show that Deltan Dallagnol, former coordinator of Operation Car Wash's prosecution team and anti-corruption public figure, knew that Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's Chief of Staff Onyx Lorenzoni was involved in corruption, but chose not to act on it. (O Dia)

August 11, 2019 (Sunday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
- Saudi coalition forces intervene in Aden. The Southern Transitional Council says it will not "negotiate under duress" with their coalition partners. (Reuters)
Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- Israeli riot police clash with Palestinians at the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Temple Mount site in East Jerusalem. With holidays coincidentally falling on the same day (11 August) this year for both Judaism and Islam, some Palestinians began protesting the admittance of Jewish visitors to the site, despite a longstanding agreement barring Jewish visitors. Following the agreement, the Al-Aqsa police barred Jews from the site. Israeli forces then fired rubber bullets and tear gas at people inside. The Jews were then admitted, which caused further tensions on both sides of the dispute. (Al Jazeera)

Politics and elections

Guatemalan general election
- Conservative Alejandro Giammattei is elected in the second round of the presidential election and will take office in January 2020. (BBC News)

August 10, 2019 (Saturday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Yemeni Civil War
- Fighters of the Southern Movement capture the port city of Aden from forces loyal to the internationally recognized President of Yemen Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi. (Al Jazeera)
Libyan Civil War
- A car bomb goes off in Benghazi, killing three members of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya and two other mission members, and wounding dozens of civilians. (The Guardian)
Bærum mosque shooting
- A man in Bærum, Norway, opens fire in Al Noor Islamic Centre, injuring a congregant. A woman was found dead at the house of the suspect. (BBC)
Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- Israeli forces shoot dead four Palestinian militants near the border with Gaza, the Israeli military say. Israel Defense Forces say the men were armed with assault rifles, anti-tank missiles and hand grenades. (The Guardian)
- Israeli forces arrest two Palestinians who are suspected of having killed an Israeli soldier. (Jerusalem Post)

Disasters and accidents

The death toll due to the monsoon flooding in southern and western India rises to 147, while hundreds of thousands have been evacuated from their homes. (Al Jazeera)
At least 48 people have been killed and more than a million forced from their homes as Typhoon Lekima hits eastern China. (Xinhua)
Morogoro tanker explosion
- At least 75 people have been killed and 60 injured in a fuel tanker explosion in Morogoro, Tanzania. (Xinhua)
Five people are confirmed dead and three injured following an accidental rocket explosion on a naval test range in Russia on Thursday. (BBC)

International relations

North Korea–United States relations
- In a letter sent by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to U.S. President Donald Trump, Kim apologizes for the testing of short-range missiles. Trump says he expects to meet Kim soon and see a denuclearized North Korea as "one of the most successful countries in the world". (Clarín)

Law and crime

Death of Jeffrey Epstein
- American financier Jeffrey Epstein is found dead in his Manhattan jail cell in an apparent suicide while awaiting trial for sex trafficking charges. (The New York Times)

Politics and elections

2019 Moscow City Duma election
- As many as 50,000 people gathered at ongoing protests in Moscow against the Russian authorities preventing several opposition candidates from running in the election, which turned into a protest against the government in general. It is the biggest such event since the 2011 protests. (ABC News)

August 9, 2019 (Friday)

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Business and economy

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has given waivers to 31 small oil refineries, freeing them from obligations to blend biofuels into their gasoline. (Reuters)
The International Monetary Fund finds that China's currency, the yuan, has been "broadly stable" against other currencies over the last year. The yuan is pulled down by market pressures due to the slowing economy. Suggesting little intervention by China's central bank, the IMF position is at odds with the designation of China by the U.S. as a currency manipulator. (AP News)

Disasters and accidents

A landslide in south-eastern Myanmar kills 59 people. (BBC)

A massive power failure affects most of the northwestern and southeastern United Kingdom and London, leaving thousands of homes, various train lines, and parts of Newcastle International Airport without power. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Canadian tourist Kristian Lee Baxter, who had been held in Syrian detention since 2018, is released in Lebanon. (BBC)
Le Parisien claims French ex-head of security Yves Bonnet [fr] brokered a secret deal with Fatah in the 1980s offering immunity in exchange for no further terror attacks in France. (The Guardian)

Politics and elections

Deputy Prime Minister of Italy Matteo Salvini presents a vote of no-confidence against Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte. (Reuters)

August 8, 2019 (Thursday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Kyrgyzstan's security forces storm the compound of former President Almazbek Atambayev on the outskirts of Bishkek for the second time after a failed overnight raid left one officer dead. Atambayev and his loyalists are "putting up severe armed resistance", according to President Sooronbay Jeenbekov. Atambayev is detained, ending a two-day standoff. One officer was killed, while 80 people were injured. (Reuters) (BBC)
The Human Rights Watch breaks a report on violence around the Colombia—Venezuela border since the Colombian peace process, announcing that there has been an ongoing War in the Catatumbo region since early 2018. (The Guardian) (Human Rights Watch)

Disasters and accidents

Floods hit the states of Karnataka and Kerala in India, resulting in 11 dead and 43,000 people being evacuated. (Gulf News)

Health and environment

Dengue fever outbreaks
- The Department of Health of the Philippines declares a national dengue epidemic in the country, as cases spike to 622 deaths. (Gulf News)

Law and crime

Uruapan massacre
- Jalisco New Generation Cartel massacres 19 people, hanging 9 of their desecrated bodies from a bridge in Uruapan. (The Guardian)

Politics and elections

Matteo Salvini, Italian Deputy Prime Minister, announces the collapse of the coalition government with the Five Stars Movement, opening the possibility of holding a snap election. (Politico)
Marek Kuchciński, speaker of the Sejm in Poland, announces his resignation after admitting the use of a government jet for 23 personal flights. (Euractiv)

August 7, 2019 (Wednesday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan
- August 2019 Kabul bombing
  - A car bombing by the Taliban kills 14 and injures over 150 in Kabul, Afghanistan. (CNN)

Disaster and accidents

The death toll of the heat wave in Japan rises to 57, while 18,347 others are hospitalized. (Japan Times)

Law and crime

2019 California stabbing rampage
- A Garden Grove, California, man stabs and kills four people and wounds two others in a two-hour crime spree at a series of Orange County locations. Both injured victims are expected to survive. The motive of the 33-year-old suspect, who was arrested at the last scene, appears to be robbery as well as "anger and hate." (CNN) (AP via KESQ-TV)

Politics and elections