Portal:Current events/2019 August 18

{{Current events|year=2019|month=08|day=18|content=

;Armed conflicts and attacks

• War in Afghanistan
• 17 August 2019 Kabul bombing
• ISIL claims responsibility for a terrorist attack against a wedding party in Afghanistan the day prior, which left 63 people dead and over 200 injured. [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/aug/17/dozens-feared-dead-or-wounded-after-afghan-wedding-hall-blast (The Guardian)]

;International relations

• Iran–United States relations; United Kingdom–United States relations
• Gibraltar authorities reject the request by the U.S. to seize the Iranian oil tanker Grace 1. They argue that EU, not U.S. law, is applicable in Gibraltar. The tanker is also renamed. [https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2019/08/18/Gibraltar-authorities-reject-US-demand-to-seize-Iranian-tanker.html (Al Arabiya)]

;Politics and elections

• 2019 Hong Kong anti-extradition bill protests
• The organizers claim that at least 1.7 million people join a peaceful rally in Victoria Park, Hong Kong. Protesters spill into nearby streets, with train service intermittently suspended due to the sheer number of people. [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/aug/18/hong-kong-huge-rally-china-condemns-us-gross-interference (The Guardian)]

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