Portal:Current events/2026 August 13

August 13, 2026 (Thursday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Middle Eastern crisis
- 2026 Iran war
  - 2026 Strait of Hormuz crisis
    - The United Arab Emirates says that two vessels linked to the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company were attacked in the Strait of Hormuz, accusing Iran of being behind the attacks. (Al Jazeera) (The New Region)
  - 2026 United States military buildup in the Middle East
    - The Wall Street Journal reports that the Nimitz-class USS George Washington will deploy to the Middle East to replace the USS Abraham Lincoln following a nine-month deployment and amidst reports of conditions on the aircraft carrier. (CBS News) (The Hill) (The Wall Street Journal)
- Gaza war
  - The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Shin Bet says that they have killed Hamas commander and Gaza District Police chief Jamal Mahmoud Abu Kamil in a airstrike in Gaza City. Additionally, the IDF also kills a Hamas company commander in a separate strike in Khan Yunis. (The Jerusalem Post) (Israel National News)
Russo-Ukrainian war
- Crimea attacks
  - Russian military officer Robert Shagaev, who commanded the submarine Zaporizhzhia before defecting to Russia after its annexation of Crimea, is reported to have been killed by an explosive planted in a trash can in Sevastopol. (CNN) (Ynet)
Sudanese civil war
- Blue Nile campaign
  - The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) says that they have retaken control of the Blue Nile town of Kurmuk, a month after being recaptured by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). (Sudans Post)
- Kordofan campaign
  - The SAF and Joint Forces repels a major assault by RSF on the Jebrat al Sheikh district in North Kordofan, Sudan. (Sudan Tribune) (AA)
- Renewed drone attacks by the RSF are reported in Khartoum, Sudan, for a second consecutive day, with the SAF intercepting several drones targeting the area. (La Presse) (Sudan Tribune)

Disasters and accidents

2026 Pacific hurricane season
- In the United States, Hawaii governor Josh Green declares a state of emergency ahead of Tropical Storm Lala's expected landfall on the state over the weekend. (AFP via CNA)
2026 United Kingdom wildfires
- Multiple wildfires break out across England on the hottest day of the year in the United Kingdom so far, with widespread damage in Stourbridge, West Midlands. (BBC News)
Lewes derailment
- At least 20 people are injured when a GTR Southern commuter train derails near Lewes, East Sussex, United Kingdom. (BBC News) (CNN)
At least eleven people are killed and 13 others are injured after two trucks, two minibuses, two cars and a tricycle collided on the Accra–Kumasi Expressway, Ghana. (Xinhua)
Seven people are killed after an under-construction tunnel collapsed in Chamoli District, India. (Xinhua)
Unprecedented torrential rainfall due to severe thunderstorms causes widespread flooding in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, leaving at least eight people dead. (BBC News) (Reuters)

Health and environment

2026 European heatwaves
- Romania begins shutting down the second reactor at the Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant, the country's only nuclear power plant, after a drought lowered the Danube river below the level required for cooling, leaving both reactors offline. The government says alternative sources and imports will cover electricity demand. (AP)
Greece's public health agency reports 110 West Nile virus infections and nine deaths in 2026, including 45 new cases in one week, as authorities increase mosquito control measures in the Athens metropolitan area. (AFP via Daily Sabah)

Law and crime

Russian spies in the Russo-Ukrainian war
- Polish prime minister Donald Tusk says authorities, working with U.S. services, foiled an alleged Russian plot to kill a Ukrainian-American citizen in Warsaw and arrest a suspect accused of acting for Russian intelligence. Tusk says it is the first such Russian-directed plot in another NATO country. (CBS News)

Politics and elections

2027 Kyrgyz presidential election
- Kyrgyz president Sadyr Japarov announces that he will run for a second term in the upcoming presidential election in January 2027. (Reuters)
2026 Zambian general election
- Zambians vote to elect a president and 280 seats of the National Assembly. Incumbent president Hakainde Hichilema is running for re-election to a second term in office. (AP)
- Zambian police arrest several senior opposition figures during the elections, accusing them of possessing military weapons and planning armed insurrection. Opposition leader Brian Mundubile says security forces raided his residence after voting ended. (Reuters)