18.08.2025 – WEEKLY BRIEFING

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  • Flash floods kill more than 300 in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir – 15.08.2025

The death toll from heavy monsoon rains and landslides in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir has risen to 307, with most fatalities reported in the mountainous Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Several homes were damaged, and a rescue helicopter crashed during operations, killing its five crew members. Authorities confirmed nine deaths in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and five in Gilgit-Baltistan. Officials warned that rainfall is expected to continue until 21 August, with some areas declared disaster zones. In Indian-administered Kashmir, at least 60 people were killed after floods swept through a Himalayan village. Monsoon rains account for the majority of South Asia’s annual precipitation, and scientists warn that climate change is making such extreme weather events more frequent and intense.

  • Spain, Portugal, and Greece battle wildfires as heat wave is expected to last for days – 15.08.2025

Firefighters in Spain, Portugal and Greece continued battling wildfires on Friday amid persistent heat and dry conditions, coinciding with a major religious holiday in all three countries. Spain faced 14 large blazes, with authorities warning of extreme fire risk as a heat wave pushing temperatures above 40°C was expected to last through Monday. In Galicia, fires forced highway closures and suspended high-speed rail services to Madrid. So far this year, wildfires in Spain have burned 158,000 hectares, an area about the size of metropolitan London, according to EU data.

  • ‘He is finished’: Serbian protesters’ fury with Vučić hits boiling point – 16.08.2025

Serbia has seen its largest protest movement in modern history escalate into violent clashes, with demonstrators and pro-government groups confronting each other and riot police in multiple cities. The unrest, which began last November after a fatal railway station collapse in Novi Sad killed 16 people, has grown amid anger over government denials of responsibility and perceived lack of accountability. Opposition figures accuse authorities of using masked supporters to provoke violence, while officials report rising attacks on police, with over 100 officers injured and more than 100 people arrested. President Aleksandar Vučić acknowledged that tensions have entered “the phase of beatings,” as calls for elections intensify and analysts warn of growing instability if protesters’ demands continue to be ignored.

  • Text of European leaders statement on Trump-Putin talks in Alaska – 16.08.2025

After a summit in Alaska between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, European leaders including those of France, Germany, Italy, the UK, Finland, Poland, and top EU officials issued a joint statement welcoming Trump’s efforts to end the war in Ukraine and pursue a just and lasting peace. They emphasized that further talks involving Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy are essential and expressed readiness to support a trilateral summit. The leaders underlined the need for firm security guarantees for Ukraine, rejected any Russian veto over Ukraine’s EU or NATO path, and affirmed that territorial decisions belong solely to Ukraine. They pledged continued military, political, and economic support, including sanctions on Russia, until peace is achieved in line with Ukraine’s sovereignty and Europe’s security.

  • Trump says Xi told him China will not invade Taiwan while he is in office – 16.08.2025

US President Donald Trump said in a Fox News interview that Chinese President Xi Jinping assured him China would not invade Taiwan while he is in office, though Xi also stressed China’s patience. Trump’s remarks came ahead of his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. The Chinese embassy in Washington did not comment, while it was noted that Trump and Xi held their first confirmed call of Trump’s second presidential term in June. China regards Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to achieve reunification, by force if necessary, while Taiwan rejects these claims. The US, despite not having formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, remains its main arms supplier and international supporter.

  • Hurricane Erin, first of Atlantic season, weakens slightly to Category 4. Maps show its path and forecast – 16.08.2025

Hurricane Erin, the first hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic season, rapidly intensified to Category 5 strength before weakening slightly to Category 4 while undergoing an eyewall replacement cycle, a process in which a new outer eyewall forms, temporarily reducing intensity but potentially allowing the storm to strengthen again. As of August 16, Erin was tracking north of the Leeward Islands, including the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, and was forecast to pass east of Turks and Caicos and the southeastern Bahamas, bringing risks of heavy rainfall, flash floods, landslides, and hazardous surf. Although not projected to make landfall in the United States, forecasters emphasized continued monitoring due to potential shifts in its path. Erin originated as a tropical storm near Cabo Verde and became the fifth named storm of the season, which NOAA has predicted will be more active than average, with expectations of 13 to 18 named storms and up to five major hurricanes during the peak period from mid-August to mid-October.

  • Israel prepares to move Palestinians to southern Gaza as Israelis urge mass protest over war – 17.08.2025

Israel announced preparations to relocate Palestinians from combat zones to southern Gaza as it plans a military offensive in densely populated areas, while families of Israeli hostages called for nationwide protests demanding a deal to secure their release. Concerns over civilian safety grew after an Israeli airstrike killed a baby and her parents in the Muwasi area, which had been designated a safe zone, and Gaza’s Health Ministry reported 11 new malnutrition-related deaths, bringing the total to 251. The UN has warned of worsening starvation and disease amid restrictions on aid delivery, with at least 1,760 people killed while seeking assistance since late May. The ongoing war, sparked by Hamas’ October 2023 attack that killed about 1,200 people in Israel, has since resulted in 61,897 deaths in Gaza, according to local health authorities, who say roughly half were women and children.

  • Bolivians go to polls in election that could end 20 years of socialism – 17.08.2025

Bolivia is holding elections that could end nearly two decades of rule by the leftist Movimiento al Socialismo (Mas), which risks losing its legal status if it fails to reach 3% of the vote. President Luis Arce, facing widespread unpopularity amid the country’s worst economic crisis in four decades, chose not to run and instead backed his minister Eduardo del Castillo, who is polling poorly. The main contenders are center-right businessman Samuel Doria Medina and right-wing former president Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga, with left-wing senator Andrónico Rodríguez also in the race after breaking from Mas. Former president Evo Morales, barred from running and facing legal troubles, has called for supporters to cast null votes, further fragmenting the left. Analysts say that if no candidate secures an outright victory, a second round will be held on 19 October, marking a likely end to Mas’s long dominance of Bolivian politics.

  • US-India trade talks scheduled for August called off, source says – 17.08.2025

The planned U.S.-India trade negotiations scheduled for August 25-29 in New Delhi have been canceled and postponed to an unspecified date, undermining expectations of relief from additional U.S. tariffs set to take effect on August 27. President Donald Trump recently announced a 25% surcharge on Indian goods over New Delhi’s continued imports of Russian oil, a measure that will raise duties on some exports to as high as 50%, among the steepest applied to any U.S. trading partner. Previous rounds of talks stalled after five sessions due to disagreements on opening India’s farm and dairy markets and halting Russian oil purchases. India, in response, has argued that it is being unfairly targeted while the United States and the European Union continue trading with Russia.

  • Wildfire in Türkiye’s Canakkale nears residential areas, 5 villages evacuated – 17.08.2025

On August 16, 2025, a forest fire broke out in the Gelibolu district of Türkiye’s northwestern province of Çanakkale, prompting precautionary evacuations in five villages. The fire began at 16:28 local time in a wooded area near a village, though its cause remains under investigation. Authorities launched a large-scale response, deploying 12 airplanes, 12 helicopters, 94 fire trucks, six municipal engines, three bulldozers, and 560 personnel to contain the flames. The operation is being carried out under the coordination of AFAD, the Regional Forestry Directorate, gendarmerie, police, and other relevant agencies. Officials confirmed that firefighting efforts are ongoing as crews continue to battle the blaze.

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