Ivonne Baki, an Ecuadorian diplomat running for United Nations secretary-general, called for reform of the Security Council’s current structure during an informal General Assembly discussion on Thursday. She said the council had failed to adapt to major global population changes since the Second World War, contributing to frequent deadlock. Tonga formally submitted Baki’s nomination to the General Assembly on Tuesday.

Baki said some continents retain permanent seats despite their declining share of the global population, while rapidly growing Africa has no permanent seat. In her view, this imbalance has created stagnation in the council’s work. The 75-year-old former Ecuadorian minister has served as ambassador to France, Qatar and the United States, and has previously acknowledged her friendship with US President Donald Trump.

Baki pledged that, if elected, she would work directly in areas affected by war and conflict rather than only carrying out administrative work from New York. She also stressed the need for greater participation by women in efforts to resolve conflicts, including the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. Eight candidates are now in the race, and the selected secretary-general will take office on January 1, 2027.

Turkey accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of creating a new “trap” to undermine peace and stability in the Middle East after Israel struck the Abu al-Zuhur air base in Syria’s Idlib last week. In a Thursday statement, Turkey’s presidential office said Ankara had enough experience not to fall into a trap set by someone like Netanyahu.

Israel said it carried out the attack because Turkey was attempting to deploy forces at the base. Both Turkey and the United States rejected that claim. The strike damaged the air base runway, and Israel later said a Turkish military delegation had visited the facility hours before the attack. Turkey also denied that assertion.

A Syrian monitoring group said the Turkish delegation visited the base only to assess its reconstruction. Netanyahu nevertheless said Turkish troops had gone to the facility and described their presence as a threat to Israeli security. Speaking to Israeli Army Radio, he said Israel would not accept the Turkish military moving toward the north because it posed a threat.

At least 46 people, most of them children, have died after a boat capsized near Gorau in Nigeria’s Goroni area, police spokesperson Ahmad Rufai said on Thursday. Sixteen people were rescued alive and 15 remained missing. Authorities believe the vessel, which sank in northwestern Sokoto province, was carrying more than 70 passengers.

The accident site is difficult to reach because it is in a remote area, Rufai said, adding that security forces and emergency workers were heading there. National Emergency Management Agency spokesperson Ezekiel Manzo said the agency’s team had reached Gorau. A witness told Reuters that children may have been travelling with farm owners and labourers heading to harvest rice.

Boat accidents occur frequently in Nigeria, with overcrowding, inadequate vessel maintenance and weak enforcement of safety rules cited as contributing factors. Authorities have recommended measures including safer boats and life jackets, dredging waterways, deploying waterway safety personnel at jetties and terminals, and ensuring boat operators receive proper training and licences. Rivers are an important transport route for many rural residents, where poor roads and a lack of bridges can make land travel difficult.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif called for broader cooperation with Syria in political, defence, trade and investment sectors during a meeting in Islamabad on Thursday with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani. Sharif formally invited Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa to make an official visit to Pakistan at a mutually convenient time.

According to a statement from the Pakistani prime minister’s office, Sharif welcomed the Syrian delegation and conveyed greetings to al-Sharaa. He reaffirmed Pakistan’s support for Syria’s sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity, and referred to Pakistan’s position on the Golan Heights. The meeting marked the first visit by a Syrian foreign minister to Pakistan in 19 years; Walid al-Muallem last visited in 2007.

Al-Shaibani arrived in Islamabad on Wednesday night for a two-day visit, his first trip to Pakistan as foreign minister after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government in December 2024. The sides identified energy, transport, agriculture, industry, housing, pharmaceuticals, textiles and information technology as potential cooperation areas. Syria proposed a joint investment forum in Damascus, while Pakistan expressed interest in sending trade and business delegations and reviving a joint ministerial commission.

Gaza’s Health Ministry said 10 more Palestinians were killed and 25 wounded in Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip during the past 24 hours. The ministry released the latest figures on Thursday, according to Middle East Eye, with the article published on August 20, 2026.

The ministry said the bodies of 10 people and 25 injured people were taken to hospitals in different parts of Gaza. It did not provide details about the conditions of those injured. It also said many people remained trapped beneath rubble, while rescue and emergency workers were unable to reach them.

With the latest casualties, the ministry put the number of Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since October 2023 at 73,417. It said 174,360 others had been injured. The ministry also reported that 1,283 Palestinians had been killed and 4,248 wounded in Israeli attacks since a so-called ceasefire took effect in October 2025.

Turkey, Egypt and Qatar have strongly condemned recent Israeli attacks in Gaza in a joint statement issued Thursday. The three countries said Israel must fulfill its obligations under the ceasefire agreement and refrain from any actions that could increase tensions. They called for efforts to preserve the ceasefire and prevent a further expansion of the conflict.

The mediator countries said the increased intensity of Israeli attacks was undermining regional and international efforts being pursued to implement a “comprehensive plan” aimed at ending the Gaza conflict. Their statement linked the attacks to risks facing the wider diplomatic process.

Turkey, Egypt and Qatar said constructive progress was being made in discussions, including meetings between the Board of Peace and Israeli officials. They warned that the Israeli attacks were harming those efforts. The three countries urged the international community and the Board of Peace to take necessary measures to maintain the ceasefire and avert further escalation.

US Central Command said the aircraft carrier USS George Washington has been deployed to the Middle East. In a statement posted on X, CENTCOM said the George Washington Carrier Strike Group arrived in its area of responsibility on Tuesday as part of a scheduled deployment and began operations in the region.

The deployment comes as concerns have been raised over the strain and quality of life of personnel aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, which has been stationed in the Middle East for more than 250 days. The source did not provide further details about the reported concerns.

US officials had previously said the George Washington was planned to replace the Abraham Lincoln in the Middle East. CENTCOM described the arrival as part of the carrier group's scheduled deployment, while the report did not specify its operational tasks or the timetable for the Lincoln's departure.

Joe Kent, former director of the US National Counterterrorism Center, criticized President Donald Trump’s hawkish policy and said a war with Iran would not serve US national security interests. In an interview with Fox News, Kent said Iran had not posed an imminent or immediate threat to the United States, and argued that the president has sufficient political authority to declare an end to the war.

Kent also criticized Israel’s role in what he described as the start of unjustified aggression against Iran. He said Israel’s influence within the Trump administration and Tel Aviv’s pressure on Washington to join the conflict were important factors behind US involvement. He further said the United States should not support parties involved in espionage and influence operations against Washington.

Referring to Iranian missile and drone attacks on US military bases in the region, Kent said Iran had demonstrated an ability to strike such facilities with ballistic missiles and drones. He said these attacks had forced the United States to evacuate several military bases, while its regional military presence leaves troops and installations vulnerable to potential Iranian targeting.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said no country should be allowed to obstruct freedom of navigation, particularly in the Strait of Hormuz, Bab al-Mandab and the Red Sea. He made the remarks at a press conference in Al-Alamein on Thursday, according to Al Jazeera. Abdelatty described threats to maritime navigation as a direct threat to regional and international security.

He said disruptions to shipping are harming global supply systems. He stressed that freedom of navigation through all strategically important straits must be maintained in line with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

The article said vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has declined significantly. It also reported renewed concern about security in the Red Sea and surrounding important sea routes. Abdelatty's comments placed the issue of uninterrupted maritime transit within the broader context of regional security and global supply-chain disruption.

Qatar’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani called for navigation in the Strait of Hormuz to return to conditions before the United States-Israel war against Iran. Speaking after a high-level meeting in Al-Alamein, Egypt, on Thursday, he said no party to the conflict should be able to “blackmail” another through the strategic waterway.

The Qatari minister said the consequences of the war had been severe not only for the Gulf region but also for other parts of the world. He said Qatar wanted the situation restored to its previous state and condemned all forms of threats and obstruction affecting the strait.

Oman said durable security in the Strait of Hormuz requires lasting peace in the region and rejected further escalation or conflict. Its foreign minister conveyed that position to his Japanese counterpart on Thursday. Iran, meanwhile, said an agreement with Oman on creating new shipping routes through the strait was nearing finalization.

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Kazem Gharibabadi said the United States was “begging” its allies for help after defeat, responding to President Donald Trump’s declaration of what Iran described as unprecedented economic warfare. In a Thursday post on X, Gharibabadi challenged US claims that Iran was near defeat and said Washington was seeking support from all its allies.

Trump warned that countries assisting Iran or conducting trade with it would face “severe economic consequences,” according to the report. Gharibabadi said military war had produced no result and that the United States had now named its next failure “economic war.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Trump’s newly announced economic war would bring another defeat for Washington and deepen anti-US sentiment among Iranians. In a Thursday post on X, Araghchi called the so-called “Economic D-Day” a tactic to divert attention from US domestic problems, citing unprecedented debt and rapidly rising interest costs.

Armed Israeli settlers were accused of setting fire to a Palestinian family’s home in the South Hebron area of the occupied West Bank before dawn on August 20, 2026. Palestinian media said family members were asleep during the attack. Homeowner Mohammad al-Nawaja told the Wafa news agency that five armed, masked settlers targeted the house.

According to al-Nawaja, one attacker broke a window and threw flammable material inside, causing the home to catch fire. Palestinian media reports said settlers from the nearby illegal Israeli settlement of Otniel may have been involved in the attack.

Separately, a settler blockade around several Palestinian homes in Qusra village, south of Nablus in the West Bank, entered its 12th day. Three homes remained blockaded, with residents unable to enter or leave, according to village council chairman Abdul Azim Wadi. He alleged that Israeli forces were protecting settlers and using one house as a military base. Wafa reported that the affected families faced shortages of food and medicine and worsening humanitarian conditions.

A Russian missile attack on Ukraine’s capital Kyiv killed at least 13 people and injured another 40, according to a report published on August 20, 2026. The overnight assault damaged residential buildings and warehouses in several parts of the capital, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said.

A children’s hospital and a school were also damaged in the attack. The reported casualties and destruction came as Kyiv faces growing vulnerability because of a shortage of air-defence missiles supplied by its Western allies.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the lack of sufficient air-defence missiles was one of the reasons for the loss of life. Ukraine relies heavily on missiles provided by Western partners to counter Russian ballistic missiles, according to the report.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz warned Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan over Turkey’s involvement in Syria, accusing him of drawing Turkey into “dangerous adventures.” The remarks were made in a post on social media platform X and were published on August 20, 2026.

Katz said Israel would not allow any party to threaten its security. He said Erdogan would be better off continuing what Katz described as empty and unrealistic speeches against Israel in Turkey’s parliament rather than testing Israel’s determination to defend itself.

Tensions between Israel and Turkey have been rising over the situation in Syria and the roles played there by different countries. Katz’s pointed statement directed at the Turkish president has prompted renewed discussion amid those tensions. The source did not include a response from Erdogan or Turkish officials.

Human Rights Watch said 107 Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank have been fully or partly displaced by Israeli settler attacks since January 2023. The international rights group released the findings in a report published Thursday, as Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank has also increased at an unprecedented pace.

The organization accused the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of supporting settler violence. It said settlers involved in attacks against Palestinians receive financial, military and legal support from the Israeli state. According to the report, armed settlers sometimes carry out attacks alongside Israeli soldiers, while troops in other cases are present but do not take effective action to stop them.

Human Rights Watch called for swift international action to halt settler attacks on Palestinians. It recommended sanctions against individuals linked to serious human rights violations, an end to arms supplies to Israel, and a ban on trade with illegal Israeli settlements. The group also urged consideration of suspending existing special trade agreements with Israel.