August 19, 2015 (Wednesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Boko Haram insurgency
- A Boko Haram attack last week on a northeastern Nigerian village, Yadin Kukuwa killed at least 151 people. News of the attack was slow to emerge because the militants destroyed telecom masts around the village. (The Independent), (AFP via Times Live)
- ISIL beheading incidents, Destruction of cultural heritage by ISIL, Syrian Civil War
- Islamic State militants behead 82-year-old antiquities scholar Khaled Asaad, who worked for over 50 years as head of antiquities in Palmyra. (Reuters), (BBC)
- Iraqi Civil War (2014–2017)
- A suicide bomber kills at least 20 Iraqi Army troops in the city of Baiji. (Al-Arabiyah)
- South Sudanese Civil War
- Fighting resumes in South Sudan after the failure to reach a deal between tribes loyal to the president and tribes loyal to the former vice-president. (AP via Fox News)
- Turkey-PKK Conflict
- A bomb detonated by Kurdish militants kills at least eight soldiers. (The New York Times), (The Independent)
Business and economy
- Greek government-debt crisis
- The Bundestag votes to approve a third bailout for Greece. (The Guardian)
- Samsung Bioepis Co., a drug development arm of global giant Samsung, picks four banks to manage an IPO it plans for the United States in 2016. (Reuters)
Disasters and accidents
- A brush fire burning near the American town of Twisp, Washington, kills three firefighters, injures as many as four others, and forces the evacuation of the towns of Twisp and Winthrop. (KREM), (The Seattle Times)
International relation
- Estonian-Russian relations
- A court in Russia sentences Estonian security official Eston Kohver to 15 years in prison for espionage. (BBC)
- South Sudan–United States relations
- The United States announces that it is proposing sanctions against those connected to the South Sudan conflict, unless a ceasefire is reached promptly. (Al Jazeera)
Law and crime
- Following a July 15 hacking, user data of the infidelity-promoting dating website Ashley Madison is leaked with over 30 million users having their information compromised. (BBC)
- Police in the U.S. city of St. Louis, Missouri make nine arrests and use tear gas to disperse protesters after a killing of an armed man allegedly aiming a gun at police officers earlier in the day. (CNN)
- A drive by shooting outside of a Boys & Girls Club in Rochester, New York leaves three people killed and four injured. (WGRZ)[permanent dead link]
Politics and elections
- The United States Navy SEALs announce a plan to allow women to register, the first time in history. (The Navy Times)
Sports
- The International Association of Athletics Federations elects former British Olympic champion runner Lord Sebastian Coe as its new President, replacing Lamine Diack of Senegal. Ukrainian pole vault champion Sergey Bubka was the other contender for the position. (BBC), (Al Jazeera)