Portal:Current events/2017 August 15

August 15, 2017 (Tuesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Boko Haram insurgency
- Three suicide bombers kill 27 people and wound 83 near Maiduguri, Nigeria. (Reuters)

Arts and culture

The 50th anniversary of the death of Father Vincent R. Capodanno, the decorated Navy chaplain, is commorated with a Mass and documentary premiere. He was killed in 1967 along with ambushed Marines during the Vietnam War. (Catholic News Agency)

Business and economy

Airlines of Germany
- Air Berlin, Germany's second largest airline, files for bankruptcy protection after its main shareholder, Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways, chose not to make more financing available. (BBC)

Disasters and accidents

Disasters in Portugal
- A tree falls over at a religious ceremony in Funchal, Madeira, killing at least 12 people and injuring over 50 others. (BBC)

Law and crime

Libyan Civil War
- The International Criminal Court issues an arrest warrant against Mahmoud al-Werfalli for the war crime of murder following the circulation of several videos in which he appears to oversee the execution of over 30 prisoners. (Al Jazeera)

Politics and elections

Aftermath of the Unite the Right rally
- During a press conference at Trump Tower in New York City, which was intended to announce an executive order on infrastructure policy, President Donald Trump defended his August 12 remarks about the Charlottesville rally, placing "blame on both sides" for the incidents at the rally and criticizing what he referred to as the "alt-left," equating them with white supremacists and neo-Nazis on the right. (ABC News) (NBC News)
- Alliance for American Manufacturing president Scott Paul, AFL–CIO president Richard Trumka and the union's former chief of staff Thea Lee resign from President Trump's American Manufacturing Council due to their disagreements with Trump's response to the rally. The three corporate executives join Merck CEO Kenneth Frazier, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich and Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank, who also resigned from the council in protest the day prior. (CNBC) (The New York Times)