By Friday evening the Himalayan missing count had nearly doubled, Norway was in mourning, and Washington announced a Venezuela oil deal as the Iran war hit six months. Ten stories as of August 28.
1. NepalâTibet border. Nepalâs disaster authority put the death toll at 579 on Friday; Chinese state media, via Xinhua early Saturday, said seven had died in Tibetâ586 in all. The missing list jumped to 1,924 in Nepal (517 of them foreigners, 933 of them hydropower workers) and 554 in Tibet, including 260 foreigners, about 2,478 combined. The Red Cross said at least 93,000 people were in great need. Nepal reversed an earlier line and said it would let foreign teams help. The U.S. State Department said 90 Americans were unaccounted for and three had been rescued; India recovered seven bodies downstream. Two debris-dammed lakes were still a flood risk. The European Union pledged âŹ2 million.
2. Oslo. King Harald V of Norway died Friday at 89 at Oslo University Hospital, the Royal House said, at 6:35 a.m. local time. His son became King Haakon VIII the moment Harald died. Hundreds laid flowers at the palace. The government declared nationwide mourning until after the funeral, planned for Oslo Cathedral, with burial in the royal mausoleum at Akershus Fortress. Harald had reigned 35 years after King Olav V. Prime Minister Jonas Gahr StĂžre said a whole nation was in mourning.
3. Tehran / Strait of Hormuz. The U.S.âIran war reached six months on Friday. Iranâs foreign ministry called new U.S. sanctions âstate terrorismâ and said other countries were legally obliged not to implement them. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, after Thursday talks with Qatar, said putting diplomacy âback on track isnât impossibleâ if Washington dropped pressure. President Trump has said the United States is not talking to Tehran and is ânot in a hurry.â Preliminary shipping data showed only seven commodity vessels transiting Hormuz on Thursday, down from 17 the day before.
4. Caracas / Washington. President Trump said Friday the United States had entered an agreement with Venezuela for what he called âthe biggest oil deal in world history,â negotiated by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Venezuelaâs interim president, Delcy RodrĂguez. Trump said the deal secured majority U.S. control of more than 65 billion barrels of proven reserves through a private-business partnership, âat no cost to the American taxpayer.â RodrĂguezâs government said it covers 17 fields, could draw $100 billion in investment, and yield more than $209 billion in taxes. U.S. strategic petroleum reserves had fallen below 300 million barrels by early August.
5. Iceland. Hours from Saturdayâs 9 a.m.â10 p.m. GMT advisory referendum on restarting EU accession talks, the latest poll put No ahead at 51.6 percent, the BBC reported; an earlier MaskĂna reading had Yes at 51.3. More than one in five voters had already cast early ballots, RĂV said. A yes would restart talks frozen in 2013, not membership; any later deal would need a second vote. Fishing rights and sovereignty dominate. Prime Minister KristrĂșn FrostadĂłttir led the yes campaign; Independence Party chair GuĂ°rĂșn HafsteinsdĂłttir led no.
6. Kisangani / eastern Congo. Congo began vaccinating frontline health workers Thursday against the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak with Ervebo, a shot licensed for Zaire Ebola, not this species. As of Tuesday the government counted 5,713 confirmed cases and 2,744 deaths, AP reportedâthe countryâs deadliest Ebola outbreak on record. WHO has said it remains out of control and is on track to surpass the 2014â16 West Africa epidemic. About 50,000 of 70,000 allocated doses are for health workers; 20,000 go to a trial of whether the Zaire vaccine works on Bundibugyo. Six provinces are in it.
7. Auckland / Palau. New Zealandâs Christopher Luxon hosted Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown, Niueâs Dalton Tagelagi, and Ulu-o-Tokelau Petelo Alapati Tavite in Auckland on Friday for what he called the first four-way meeting of Realm leaders, then they head this weekend to Palau for the 55th Pacific Islands Forum. Luxon said the row with the Cook Islands over a China security deal was âsorted.â Tokelau wants back into the Parties to the Nauru Agreement vessel-day scheme after being expelled in February.
8. Kenscoff, Haiti. The United Nations said at least 47 people were killed, including five children, and more than 50 kidnapped when gangs raided Kenscoff above Port-au-Prince on Sundayâone of the largest recent mass kidnappings in Haiti. Secretary-General AntĂłnio Guterres condemned the attack. Residents accused local police of failing to protect people killed near the station as gangs push beyond the capital.
9. Moscow / London. Russiaâs foreign ministry said Thursday it could strike British military installations and equipment âin Ukraine and beyond its bordersâ if Kyiv kept firing British long-range cruise missiles into Russia. Maria Zakharova said London was âone step awayâ from being treated as complicit. The warning followed Prime Minister Andy Burnhamâs August 24 statement in Kyiv that a British contractor could share classified details of U.K.-made parts in SCALP/Storm Shadow so Ukraine could build the weapon. A Ministry of Defence spokesperson told Reuters Britain would keep sending what Kyiv needed.
10. ChadâSudan border. Chad accused Sudanâs army of a Thursday air strike that killed at least 12 people and wounded seven at a fuel market near the shared border where Rapid Support Forces paramilitaries refuel, AFP reported. Chad had already raised its eastern alert to the maximum and deployed armor near Tine. Sudan denied targeting Chadian territory and called for an independent investigation. The U.S. embassy in Khartoum condemned the recent strikes on Chad.
Coming up. Saturday 29 August â Icelandâs advisory EU-talks referendum. Sunday 30 AugustâFriday 4 September â Pacific Islands Forum, Palau. Monday 31 Augustâ1 September â G20 finance ministers, Asheville. Tuesday 1 September â SCO heads of state, Bishkek. The standing calendar is at The Watch.
Sources: The Guardian, Al Jazeera, Reuters, AP via PBS, BBC, AP, RNZ, Al Jazeera (UK), Reuters (UK), Al Jazeera (Chad).