Wednesday 20 August 2025

American special forces carry out a raid in Northern Syria and kills an ISIS leader with the reported assistance of Syrian government forces. The slain ISIS leader was purportedly in succession to succeed as the caliph of ISIS's Syrian branch.

A Russian MLRS rocket strike on a market in Kostiantynivka, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, kills three people and injures four others, according to Governor Vadym Filashkin.

The Guatemalan Immigration Institute grants temporary humanitarian status to 161 Mexican nationals, including 92 adults and 69 children from Chiapas, allowing them to remain legally in Guatemala after fleeing cartel-related violence in the border municipality of Frontera Comalapa.

Israeli defense minister Israel Katz approves a planned ground invasion to seize control of Gaza City.

India and China agree to resume direct flights suspended since 2020, reopen designated border trade points and boost investment in their economies following talks in New Delhi between Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi and Indian officials, including Indian prime minister Narendra Modi.

The United Kingdom imposes sanctions on eight individuals and entities accused of helping Russia evade Western sanctions through financial and cryptocurrency networks, including Kyrgyz firms linked to the ruble-pegged stablecoin A7A5. Kyrgyz president Sadyr Japarov has appealed to the UK regarding the sanctions.

The United States Department of State imposes sanctions on International Criminal Court judges Nicolas Guillou and Kimberly Prost and deputy prosecutors Nazhat Shameem and Mame Mandiaye Niang over their involvement in cases concerning Israel and the United States.

A New Zealand court-martial sentences a soldier to two years in military prison and orders his discharge after he pleads guilty to attempted espionage, possession of banned material, and unauthorized access to a military computer system, marking the country's first conviction for spying.

Mexico City mayor Clara Brugada announces the arrest of 13 people, including three alleged gunmen, in connection with the May shooting that killed her personal secretary and an adviser.

A man is detained on suspicion of murder after four bodies were found in the Seine river in Choisy-le-Roi, Île-de-France, France.

At least two people are killed and two others are injured in a rockfall on the Égratz Viaduct in Chamonix, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France.