Portal:Current events/2017 August 17

August 17, 2017 (Thursday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

2017 Barcelona attacks
- A van drives into crowds of people in La Rambla, Barcelona, in what Spanish police are calling a terrorist attack, killing at least 12 people. Two suspects are taken into custody, and ISIL claims responsibility. (The Washington Post)

Disasters and accidents

Fires in Alaska
- A large fire continues to burn at the Peter Pan Seafoods fish processing plant in Port Moller, Alaska, on the Alaska Peninsula. Much of the facility has been destroyed, and the plant is out of commission. Power is out in the village. (King 5)
USS Fitzgerald and MV ACX Crystal collision
- The US Navy has announced that about a dozen sailors of the USS Fitzgerald are to be disciplined in the aftermath of the collision with a container ship last June, where 7 crew members died. (BBC)

International relations

2017 China–India border standoff
- An English-language Chinese propaganda video from Xinhua, entitled The Spark: 7 Sins of India about the Doklam stand-off involving China, India and Bhutan, goes viral and sparks anger within India. (BBC)
South Africa–Zimbabwe relations
- The South African Police Service issues a red alert at the country's borders to prevent First Lady of Zimbabwe Grace Mugabe from leaving the country. She is wanted on charges of "assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm" on a 20-year-old woman in a hotel room in Johannesburg. (BBC)

Law and crime

Philippine Drug War
- At least 25 people are killed and 48 are arrested by the Philippine National Police Manila Police District in consecutive anti-drug operations in Manila within 24 hours. (Manila Times)
- Shooting of Kian Loyd delos Santos
  - Kian Loyd delos Santos, a 17-year old Grade 11 student, was shot dead by police after trying to escape an antidrug operation in Caloocan. (GMA News)
Politics of Hong Kong
- Hong Kong opposition activists Alex Chow, Joshua Wong, and Nathan Law are sentenced between six to eight months in prison and barred from holding office until 2022 as the Hong Kong government imposes harsher punishments on the individuals for their role in the Umbrella Movement. (South China Morning Post)
International Criminal Court investigation in Mali
- The International Criminal Court has ruled that Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi is liable for about € 2.7 million in personal damages for the destruction of Timbuktu's heritage sites, and that the victims (including Mali itself and the international community) be paid "individual, collective, and symbolic" reparations. The Trust Fund for Victims is to decide until 16 February 2018 how the amount will be paid (the Court has also recognized that the penniless al-Mahdi would be unable to pay). (AFP)

Politics and elections

Science and technology

Aftermath of the Unite the Right rally
- Internet firm CloudFlare ceased CDN support for the neo-Nazi, white supremacist website The Daily Stormer, after The Daily Stormer claimed that the company supported their cause. The Daily Stormer website had already lost web-hosting services by the domain register GoDaddy and Google (Cloudflare's Official Blog) (CNN Money)
LIGO/Virgo gravitational wave detection.
- A gravitational wave signal called GW170817 is observed by the LIGO/Virgo-collaboration. A Neutron star collision triggered the gravitational waves which "also created heavy elements such as gold, platinum and lead". (CNN)