Portal:Current events/2015 August 22

August 22, 2015 (Saturday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

South Korea evacuates residents near the North Korean border as tension escalates. High level talks in Panmunjom attempt to defuse tensions. (Yonhap), (Yonhap)
Somali Civil War (2009–present)
- An al-Shabaab suicide bomber attacks a Somali military training base in Kismayu with at least 16 people dead. Another suicide bombing in Mogadishu leaves five people killed. (Reuters)
Iran launches a new surface-to-surface missile called the Fateh 313. (Haaretz)
War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
- An Afghan suicide bomber attacks a NATO convoy in Kabul killing at least twelve people and injuring 66 others. (CBS)
Syrian Civil War
- Missile strikes by pro-Assad forces leave over 50 people killed in the Syrian rebel-held town of Douma, near the capital Damascus. (Reuters)

Arts and culture

Mei Xiang, a female giant panda at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park in Washington, D.C., delivers two cubs. The identity of the father is not known. (The Washington Post), (Zoo's Facebook page)
The Hugo Award committee announces their choices for the 2015 winners in Spokane, U.S. (The Hugo Awards)

Disasters and accidents

2015 Pacific typhoon season
- Typhoon Goni leaves seven people dead and two people missing as it moves from the Philippines towards Taiwan and Okinawa, Japan. (AP via The Hindustan Times)
2015 Tianjin explosions
- The State Council of the People's Republic of China orders a thorough investigation of the explosions as the death toll rises to 121. (Xinhua via icrossChina), (AP via Fox News)
2015 Shoreham Airshow crash
- A Hawker Hunter aircraft crashes onto the A27 road during an airshow after failing to pull out of dive at Shoreham Airport, West Sussex, United Kingdom, killing eleven people and injuring 16 others. (BBC News)
An explosion occurs at a chemical warehouse in China's Shandong province, with nine people injured according to Chinese media. (RT)
A landslide in China's Yunnan Province leaves three people dead and eight missing. (Xinhua)

International relations

Law and crime

Indian police arrest Jammu and Kashmir separatist Shabir Shah ahead of a meeting with Pakistani National Security Adviser Sartaj Aziz. (The Indian Business News Live)
An unknown attacker kills a second journalist in the Philippines in a week. (CNN Philippines)
An incident in the Quetzaltepeque penitentiary in El Salvador leaves fourteen members of the Barrio 18 street gang killed; the killings are believed to be a result of a power struggle within the gang. (Reuters via Yahoo)

Politics and elections

President of the State of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas resigns from the Executive Committee of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation along with 11 ministers to force an election. The last time there were elections in the Palestinian authority was in 2005. (The Jerusalem Post)