Portal:Current events/2015 August 15

August 15, 2015 (Saturday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Iraqi Civil War (2014–2017)
- ISIL bombings kill 21 and wound more than 100 others in Shia neighborhoods of Baghdad. (The News Hub)
Yemeni Civil War (2015–present)
- Saudi-backed forces loyal to the former Government retake the Shabwah Governorate from the Iran-backed rebels. (AFP via Maktoob Yahoo)
Syrian Civil War, Battle of Zabadani (2015)
- Fighting resumes in Syria near the Lebanese border and Idlib Governorate as a temporary ceasefire between the Syrian government, its ally Hezbollah and an alliance of insurgent groups ends. (Reuters)
Boko Haram insurgency
- A suicide bomber kills at least three people in an attack on a marketplace in Borno state. (Reuters via The New York Times)
2015 Burundian unrest
- Jean Bikomagu, a leader of the military during the Civil War is assassinated, heightening fears of another civil war developing. (AFP via The Daily Star)

Arts and culture

Victory over Japan Day
- Countries around the world commemorate the end of World War II. (AFP/Reuters via ABC News Australia), (ABC News Australia)
- North Korea moves its clock back half an hour to introduce Pyongyang Time 8.5 hours ahead of UTC in commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Korean peninsula. (The South China Morning Post)

Disasters and accidents

2015 Tianjin explosions
- The death toll from the explosions in Tianjin rises to at least 85. In a further update, Chinese state media says that the death toll is at least 104. (AP via MSN), (AFP, AP, via The Daily Telegraph)
- Police order further evacuations near the blast site following reports of more explosions. (The Guardian)
Suffocation in the hold of a boat in the Mediterranean Sea near the Libyan coast kills at least 40 migrants. (Reuters)
Ecuador evacuates several villages around the Cotopaxi volcano ahead of a possible eruption. (AFP via Makhtoob Yahoo)

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