Portal:Current events/2018 August 26

August 26, 2018 (Sunday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan
- Afghan authorities say that, in a joint ground and air operation on Saturday night, Afghan and foreign forces killed the head of ISIL/K, along with ten other members of the militant group. (Reuters) (CNN)

Arts and culture

Pope Francis's visit to Ireland
- Pope Francis holds Sunday Mass at Phoenix Park in Dublin, Ireland, for the World Meeting of Families. (CNN)
- Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò accuses Pope Francis of covering up sexual abuse allegations against Theodore McCarrick. Pope Francis declines to comment on Viganò's accusations. (ABC News)
- After returning from his visit, the Pope says that, when parents discover their child is homosexual, they should not judge or condemn them. However, he also remarks that "many things can be done by psychiatry". (Belga via Het Laatste Nieuws) (The Washington Post)

Disasters and accidents

2018 Kerala floods
- The death toll from the Kerala floods rise to 445, while 15 remain missing. (Gulf News)
A magnitude 6.0 earthquake strikes the western Iranian province of Kermanshah, killing at least two people and injuring more than 200 others. (Deutsche Welle)
Eight people die in a house fire in Chicago, Illinois. (Chicago Tribune)

Law and crime

Jacksonville Landing shooting
- The sheriff's office reports a mass shooting at a Madden 19 tournament at the Jacksonville Landing shopping mall in Jacksonville, Florida. Two attendees are killed, and nine others are taken to nearby hospitals. The suspected shooter is reported dead at the scene. (Twin Cities Pioneer Press) (BBC)
2018 Chemnitz stabbing attack
- One man is killed, two more are seriously injured and partly violent protests erupt after a stabbing attack in Chemnitz, Germany. (Deutsche Welle)

Politics and election

2018 Zimbabwean general election
- Emmerson Mnangagwa is sworn in as the President of Zimbabwe, after an assassination attempt two months earlier. (Al Jazeera)
2018 Colombian anti-corruption referendum
- Colombia holds its first referendum since amending its constitution in 1991 and fails to pass anti-corruption measures due to low voter turnout. (The Washington Post)
Iran's finance minister Masoud Karbasian is sacked after an impeachment attempt by parliament. This is the second impeachment this month, after Ali Rabiei's on 8 August. (Telegraph)