Portal:Current events/2016 August 26

• Kurdish–Turkish conflict (1978–present)
  • Eight Turkish police officers are killed and 40 are injured in a bombing at a police checkpoint in the town of Cizre, with the PKK believed to be responsible. (CNN)
• Syrian civil war
  • Following a ceasefire agreement with the government, Syrian rebels begin evacuating the war-torn suburb of Darayya, near Damascus, ending a four-year-long siege by government forces. Under the terms of surrender, the 8,000 civilians who reside in the suburb will be moved to regime-controlled areas while several hundred rebel fighters will be given passage to the Idlib Governorate. (The Telegraph)

• U.S. President Barack Obama expands the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument off the coast of Hawai'i, making it the largest national park on the planet. (The Washington Post)

• Turkey opens the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge in Istanbul, one of the world's biggest suspension bridges. (Reuters)

• Southeast Asian haze
  • Fires in Indonesia burn and blow smoke into Singapore, engulfing the city-state into darkness. (ABC News)
• An explosion at a sports centre in the Belgian town of Chimay kills one person and injures another four. A gas explosion is suspected to be the cause. (CBC)
• 2016 Central Italy earthquake
  • A state of emergency is declared in Italy following several strong earthquakes. (CNN)
  • The official death toll rises to 278. (Radio New Zealand)
• A large herd of wild reindeer is struck by lightning on the Hardangervidda in central Norway, killing 323. (Global News)

• Bolivia's deputy interior minister, Rodolfo Illanes, is kidnapped and beaten to death by striking miners. (BBC)
• An assassination attempt against Angela Merkel is foiled by Czech police. (The Daily Mail)
• Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte unintentionally reveals that a US$1 million ransom was given to the Abu Sayyaf terror group in exchange for a Norwegian hostage. (IBTimes) (Rappler)
• Trial of Oscar Pistorius
  • The Johannesburg High Court rejects an appeal against the sentencing of Oscar Pistorius. (The Telegraph)
• The France Conseil d'État suspends Villeneuve-Loubet commune's ban on full-body burkini swimsuits. (Reuters)

• 2016 Zimbabwe protests
  • Police and protesters clash in Harare after a court ruled that protests against Robert Mugabe can continue. (ABC News)

• A newly-discovered galaxy known as Dragonfly 44 appears to be made up mostly of dark matter. (IBTimes)