Thursday

August 20, 2026

Armed conflicts and attacks

Middle Eastern crisis

2026 Iran war

2026 United States military buildup in the Middle East

The USS George Washington arrives in the Middle East to relieve the USS Abraham Lincoln amidst a nine-month deployment and reports of mental health challenges and supplies shortages on the aircraft carrier during the Iran war. (AP)

Gaza war

The Israel Defense Forces accuses Hamas of using the Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis to carry out interrogations and torture Palestinians. (The Jerusalem Post)

Mali War

2026 Mali offensives

Human Rights Watch reports that Africa Corps forces summarily killed nine civilians, including four children, in Mali last month. (Al Jazeera) (HRW)

Business and economy

LSEG data shows that a vessel in France is loading wheat destined for Sudan, the first export of wheat from France to Sudan since August 2008. (Baird Maritime)

Disasters and accidents

Four railway workers on the Tōbu Nikkō Line are killed after being struck by a Limited express train in Kanuma, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. (The Japan Times)

A Mw6.7 earthquake strikes the Parinacochas province in Peru. (AP)

Law and crime

Chinese real estate crisis

A Chinese court sentences Evergrande founder Hui Ka Yan to life imprisonment for financial fraud, bribery, and embezzlement, and fines Evergrande and its real estate arm a combined ¥15.8 billion (US$2.35 billion). (AFP via CNA)

Politics and elections

2026 Bangladeshi presidential election

The Jatiya Sangsad elects Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir as the President of Bangladesh in the first contested presidential election in 35 years. (AP) (Dhaka Tribune)

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