Disasters and accidents

• Heavy rains cause floods and landslides in Gapyeong, South Korea, killing at least 14 people and forcing the evacuation of more than 1,000. The rains have also battered China, Thailand, India and Myanmar. Neighboring North Korea warns of possible floods, while the New Zealand government reports the death of three of its citizens in the South Korean floods. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

• 2020 Thai protests
  • Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha asks people "not to create chaos at this time" as protests grow amid demands to reform the constitution, dissolution of parliament, new elections and a reform of the monarchy. (Reuters)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• War in Afghanistan
  • August 2020 Afghanistan attacks
    • Jalalabad prison attack
      • The military retake a prison in Jalalabad, Nangarhar, that came under attack yesterday by the ISIL, resulting in a mass jailbreak and shootout between Afghan forces and jihadists that ended today. At least 29 people are killed and 50 injured, among them civilians, prisoners, guards, and Afghan security forces. (AP)
• Israeli–Syrian ceasefire line incidents during the Syrian Civil War, Israeli involvement in the Syrian Civil War
  • Israeli Air Force helicopters strike Syrian military observation posts, intelligence collection systems, anti-aircraft batteries and command-and-control bases in Quneitra Governorate, in response to yesterday's incident along the Purple Line border fence in the Golan Heights, in which four militants were killed after attempting to plant an IED where Israeli soldiers patrol. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

• 2020 Atlantic hurricane season
  • Hurricane Isaias
    • Isaias regains hurricane strength with maximum winds of 75 mph (120 km/h) after leaving 2-4 inches of precipitation and causing minor power outages along the Florida coast. The storm is moving north-northeast at 16 mph (26 km/h), and is expected to make landfall in eastern North Carolina early Tuesday and then continue along the Mid-Atlantic coast heading toward the northeastern states. The storm surge will cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded with rising waters before moving inland. (NPR) (National Hurricane Center)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
    • Victorian premier Daniel Andrews orders the temporary closure of many businesses and retail stores in Melbourne under stage four lockdown restrictions for six weeks to contain the spread of COVID-19 in Victoria. Only essential services such as supermarkets, food stores, liquor shops, petrol stations, pharmacies, convenience stores, and other essentials can remain open. (9 News)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Iran
    • BBC News reports that the number of deaths and confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Iran are about three times higher than what was reported by the government, according to a data leak. (BBC) (Business Insider)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Spain
    • Catalonia exceeds 100,000 COVID-19 cases since the beginning of the pandemic. (La Vanguardia)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil
    • Brazil's Chief of Staff of the Presidency Walter Souza Braga Netto tests positive for COVID-19. (Reuters)

International relations

• North Korea and weapons of mass destruction
  • A UN Security Council Sanctions Committee on North Korea report concedes that North Korea has "probably developed miniaturized nuclear devices to fit into the warheads of its ballistic missiles". (Reuters)

Law and crime

• Internet censorship in Thailand
  • Thailand's digital minister threatens action against Facebook for not complying with the government request of restricting content that is illegal in the country, including insults of King Vajiralongkorn. Facebook responded by disabling English-to-Thai automatic translations. (Reuters)
• Monarchy of Spain, Corruption in Spain
  • The Spanish Royal Household announces that Emeritus King Juan Carlos I has informed King Felipe VI that he is leaving the country motivated by "the public repercussion that certain past events are generating". His finances are being judicially investigated by a Swiss judge and the Spanish Prosecutor's Office for alleged financial dealings from Haramain high-speed railway construction and his accounts in tax havens. (El Mundo) (The Washington Post) (BBC)
• Authorities announce the arrest of a 48-year-old man two days earlier in San Antonio, Texas, for threatening to commit a mass shooting at Fort Hood in retaliation for the killing of Vanessa Guillén there in April. He is being charged with making terroristic threats. (San Antonio Express-News)

Politics and elections

• 2020 United States presidential election
  • Postal voting in the United States
    • U.S. President Donald Trump vows to sue Nevada over legislation signed by Governor Steve Sisolak that, amid the coronavirus pandemic, requires election officials to send all active, registered voters a mail-in ballot ahead of the November election. This also would apply to any others that happen in the wake of a statewide emergency or disaster directive. (Reuters) (AP via ABC News)
    • President Donald Trump says he has the right to issue an executive order on mail-in voting but hasn’t gotten to it yet. (Reuters)
• Lebanese Foreign Minister Nassif Hitti resigns over the government's slow pace at reforms, warning the country is at risk of becoming a failed state. Diplomatic affairs advisor Charbel Wehbe takes his place. (Al Jazeera)

Science and technology

• Two anonymous sources confirm to Reuters that the classified United Kingdom–United States trade documents leaked ahead of the UK parliamentary election last year was caused by Russians hacking the email account of former International Trade Secretary Liam Fox. (Reuters)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Boko Haram insurgency
  • Nguetchewe attack
    • Suspected Boko Haram militants attack a refugee camp with a grenade in Far North, Cameroon, killing 15 people and wounding six others. (Reuters)

Business and economy

• Syrian civil war
  • The Syrian government condemns a deal signed between Delta Crescent Energy, a U.S. oil firm and Kurdish rebels of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to manage the Kurdish-controlled northeastern oil fields. The statement says the deal is "stealing" Syrian crude. On Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the U.S. is supportive of the deal. (Reuters) (Oil Price)

Disasters and accidents

• 2020 Atlantic hurricane season
  • Hurricane Isaias
    • A tropical storm with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph (100 km/h), Isaias is less than a mile off the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Florida's Atlantic Coast, moving north-northwest at about 8 mph (13 km/h). Tropical storm warnings have been issued as far north as Surf City, North Carolina. (Orlando Sentinel) (National Hurricane Center)
    • Earlier this week, one man was killed in the Dominican Republic, when a power line fell on his horse, killing both the rider and the animal, and a woman was killed in Puerto Rican flooding while crossing a bridge. The storm has resulted in uprooted trees, destroyed crops and homes, and widespread flooding and small landslides. (The Weather Channel)
• Apple Fire
  • Nearly 8,000 people are evacuated from the town of Cherry Valley, California, United States, due to a growing wildfire. The Apple Fire has burned over 20,500 acres and is five percent contained. (USA Today)
• The United States Marine Corps, Navy, and Coast Guard halt a massive search and rescue operation for seven Marines and Navy sailors who went missing on Thursday off the coast of San Clemente Island in California. All the missing are now presumed dead. (USA Today)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in India
      • India's Minister of Home Affairs, Amit Shah, tests positive for COVID-19 and is admitted to hospital. (Al Arabiya)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines
      • President Rodrigo Duterte reimposes modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ), one of the strictest lockdown measures on Metro Manila and the surrounding provinces of the Philippine capital for 15 days. (Rappler)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand, COVID-19 pandemic in Hawaii
      • A military spokesman says that plans to undertake joint military exercises with the U.S. military have been suspended after nine Thai soldiers who returned from Hawaii tested positive for COVID-19. (Reuters)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Australia, COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns
    • Victorian premier Daniel Andrews declares a state of disaster across the state and imposed stage 4 lockdown in Metropolitan Melbourne. The new measures include nighttime curfew, which will be implemented across Melbourne from 20:00 to 05:00 (AEST). The restrictions comes into effect at 18:00 (6 pm) and last until September 13. (BBC)
    • The rest of Victoria places under stage three restrictions and will take effect on August 6. (ABC News Australia)
  • COVID-19 pandemic on cruise ships
    • At least 40 passengers and crew from the MS Roald Amundsen cruise ship test positive for COVID-19 after two recent Arctic voyages. Health authorities are trying to trace other passengers that may be infected. (Reuters)

International relations

• Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on international relations, Iran–United Arab Emirates relations
  • In rare talks, Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif held a video call to discuss various regional issues, including combating COVID-19 in their respective countries. (Al Jazeera)

Law and crime

• Mexican Drug War
  • Guanajuato state officials announce that Mexican security forces captured former Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel leader José Antonio Yépez Ortiz alongside five other people. (Al Jazeera)

Politics and elections

• George Floyd protests
  • George Floyd protests in Portland, Oregon
    • Hundreds of people gather and protest in Portland, Oregon, marking the 66th night of protests in the city. (CNN)
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accuses the media of instigating anti-corruption protests against him and downplaying incidents of violence by the protesters. Earlier in the day, the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court ordered his son Yair to take down a Tweet doxing the leaders of the protests. (Times of Israel) (Al Jazeera)

Science and technology

• Crew Dragon Endeavour makes its first splashdown after successfully completing the Crew Dragon Demo-2 mission. (Space.com)