Friday, August 21st, 2026 

Oil 

SpaceX 

Tesla 

Nvidia 

Palantir 

Disasters and accidents 

The Syrian Civil Defense reports that an explosion at a house in the Ain al-Qasab village of Idlib, Syria, has killed three civilians and wounded six others. (AA) (Middle East Eye) 

Project Elephant  India’s Supreme Court orders states to protect elephant corridors, identify and remove obstructions, and prohibit groups from using fire to drive wild elephants away amid increasing habitat loss and human-elephant conflict. (AFP via France 24) 

The Hong Kong Court of First Instance convicts activists Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung of incitement to subversion over their leadership of a group that organized annual Tiananmen crackdown vigils. They face up to 10 years in prison. (AFP via RFI) 

Multiple people are injured in a mass stabbing at the Brinellskolan in Fagersta, Sweden. The perpetrator was arrested. (Reuters) 

Thursday, August 20th, 2026 fin

The USS George Washington arrives in the Middle East to relieve the USS Abraham Lincoln amidst a nine-month deployment and reports of mental health challenges among the crew and supply shortages on the aircraft carrier during the Iran war. (AP) (The Guardian) 

The Israel Defense Forces accuses Hamas of using the Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis to carry out interrogations and torture Palestinians. (The Jerusalem Post) 

Human Rights Watch reports that Africa Corps forces summarily killed nine civilians, including four children, in Mali last month. (Al Jazeera) (HRW) 

The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement–North led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu regains control of Kauda, South Kordofan, following two days of clashes with Otoro fighters. (Sudan Tribune) 

LSEG data shows that a vessel in France is loading wheat destined for Sudan, marking the first export of wheat from France to Sudan since August 2008. (Baird Maritime) 

Eight people are killed when a Cessna 441 Conquest II aircraft, operating as Security Aviation Flight 45, crashes at the Cape Newenham Long Range Radar Site in western Alaska, United States. (KTUU-TV) 

Four railway workers on the Tōbu Nikkō Line are killed after being struck by a Limited express train in Kanuma, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. (The Japan Times) 

Five people are reported missing and eight others are injured after a fire at a restaurant with apartments in Thusis, Grisons, Switzerland.  (BBC News) 

The World Health Organization says that the Democratic Republic of the Congo will receive 70,000 doses of the Ebola vaccine candidate developed by Merck to combat the Ebola outbreak in the country. (CNBC) (Africanews) 

A Chinese court sentences Evergrande founder Hui Ka Yan to life imprisonment for financial fraud, bribery, and embezzlement, and fines Evergrande and its real estate arm a combined ¥15.8 billion (US$2.35 billion). (AFP via CNA) 

2025 Mexican fuel smuggling scandal Argentina deports Rear Admiral Fernando Farías Laguna, accused of leading a fuel-smuggling network inside the Mexican Navy, to Mexico after the Mexican government withdraws its extradition request. He is taken to the Altiplano maximum-security prison, where his brother and alleged co-leader, Vice Admiral Manuel Roberto Farías Laguna, is also imprisoned. (Infobae) 

The Jatiya Sangsad elects Mirza Alamgir as the President of Bangladesh in the first directly contested presidential election in 35 years. Alamgir will take office tomorrow. (Al Jazeera) (AP) (Dhaka Tribune) 

Syrian Kurdish leader Mazloum Abdi says the integration of Kurdish military, security, and administrative institutions into the Syrian state is complete following an agreement reached with president Ahmed al-Sharaa in January. (AFP via France 24) 

Wednesday, August 19th, 2026 

Axios reports that the U.S. military has created a new shipping lane in the Strait of Hormuz to help ships transit through the waterway, including the facilitating of 10 million barrels of oil per day. (The Jerusalem Post) (Axios) 

Qatari prime minister and foreign minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani meets with Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya and other senior leaders in Doha, Qatar, to discuss the situation in the Gaza Strip and other occupied Palestinian territories. (Doha News) 

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launches an investigation into troop conduct for their roles in the 2024 killing of five-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab, her family, and 15 paramedics. (AP) 

The Israel Defense Forces launches a investigation into troop conduct for their roles in the 2024 killing of five-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab, her family, and 15 other paramedics. (AP) 

Around ten people are reported killed in an Israeli airstrike on a police station in Gaza City. (Middle East Eye) 

The IDF says that the Air Force have targeted two Hamas commanders, including one who participated in the October 7 attacks, along with Hamas tunnels in the Gaza Strip. (The Jerusalem Post) 

IDF says that the Air Force have targeted two Hamas commanders, including one who participated in the October 7 attacks, along with Hamas tunnels in the Gaza Strip. (The Jerusalem Post) 

The IDF also confirms that they have killed four Nukhba force commanders from the Al-Qassam Brigades wing of Hamas in an airstrike on a cafe yesterday in Gaza City. (The Jerusalem Post) (The Times of Israel) 

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that a Russian missile and drone attack on Kyiv killed at least 15 people and injured 40 others, damaging residential buildings, a children’s hospital, and a school. (ABC News) (BBC News) 

Mexican drug war Nine CJNG members, including four ringleaders, are arrested during a military operation in Tinaja de Vargas y Colesio, municipality of Tanhuato and Ecuandureo. Among the detained is Heraclio Guerrero aka “Tio Lako”, leader identified as behind the operation of cartel training camps and the offensive during the 2026 Jalisco operation. (CNN en Español in Spanish) 

The United Nations reports that 36 humanitarian workers and contractors in South Sudan have been killed since the start of the year, surpassing the 31 killed last year. (AP) 

U.S. president Donald Trump announces an economic war against Iran, along with new sanctions for countries trading with Iran. (The Hill) 

The Office for National Statistics reports that inflation in the United Kingdom rose to 2.9% last month amidst the Iran war. (The Guardian) 

The United States Department of the Treasury reports that the national debt surpassed $40 trillion for the first time the previous day, and is currently at $40.047 trillion. (Reuters) (CNBC) (AP) 

Six passengers, including Ecuadorian intelligence head Michele Sensi-Contugi and his wife, and the pilot are killed in a helicopter crash on Mount Ololokwe in Samburu County, Kenya. (NBC News) 

Twenty-three people are killed and five others are injured in a head-on collision between a bus and a truck on the BR-373 near Ipiranga, Paraná, Brazil. (Reuters) (UOL) 

Nine people, including eight Bangladeshi nationals, are killed and six others are injured in a hotel fire in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. (AP) (The Independent) 

Amidst the ongoing measles outbreak in Bangladesh, health minister M. A. Muhit says that the outbreak will need 2-3 months for it to be under control. (Jagonews24) 

In a study from the Bangladesh Shishu Hospital & Institute, around 82% of children who died from measles during the outbreak in Bangladesh did not receive adequate or exclusive breastfeeding during their first 6 months of their life. (Dhaka Tribune) (The Business Standard) 

Four more children are reported to have died from measles in 24 hours, bringing the death toll in the country from the outbreak past 922. (The Business Standard) 

Merck and Moderna report that their cancer vaccine candidate showed positive results in their late-stage trial in preventing a recurrence of melanoma, including in high-risk patients. (AFP via France 24) (CNBC) 

Merck and Moderna reports that their cancer vaccine candidate showed positive results in their late-stage trial in preventing a recurrence of melanoma including in high-risk patients. (CNBC) 

Former Liberian vice president Jewel Taylor is charged for drug trafficking, money laundering ‌and other offenses as part of an investigation of a transnational narcotics network. (Reuters) 

A U.S.-led research team grows human brain organoids for seven years, the longest reported period, and finds that their cells continue maturing in patterns similar to normal brain development. (AFP via France 24) 

The End Friday 

new above Friday

Wednesday, August 19th, 2026 

The Israel Defense Forces launches a investigation into troop conduct for their roles in the 2024 killing of five-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab, her family, and 15 other paramedics. (AP) 

Around 10 people are reported killed in a Israeli airstrike on a police station in Gaza City in violation of the ceasefire. (Middle East Eye) 

IDF says that the Air Force have targeted two Hamas commanders, including one who participated in the October 7 attacks, along with Hamas tunnels in the Gaza Strip. (The Jerusalem Post) 

Merck and Moderna reports that their cancer vaccine candidate showed positive results in their late-stage trial in preventing a recurrence of melanoma including in high-risk patients. (CNBC) 

Tuesday, August 18th , 2026 

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations reports that a cargo vessel has come under attack in the Strait of Hormuz, leaving one dead. (Al Jazeera) 

The United Arab Emirates’s defence ministry detects two missiles fired from Iran towards the country, including one that fell outside territorial waters and another that fell within it. (Gulf News)

British prime minister Andy Burnham confirms that the United Kingdom will continue to militarily support Ukraine after Russia warned the UK will face “consequences” for allowing Ukraine to use British-made drones to strike targets deep inside Russian territory. (BBC News) 

A Russian ballistic missile strike kills ten civilians and injures eight others in Pechenihy, Kharkiv Oblast. Several homes are completely destroyed. (AP) 

A drone strike hits a bus stop near the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Enerhodar, killing one plant worker and injuring several others. (Reuters) 

The Sudanese Doctors Network reports that recent attacks in Geissan of Sudan’s Blue Nile region has displaced over 5,000 people to Damazin. (Sudan Horizon) 

The Rapid Support Forces launches a major crackdown in Nyala, South Darfur, its largest security and military mobilization since seizing the city in 2023. (Sudan Tribune) 

A bus head-on collision in Parana, Brazil kills at least 21 people and injures four others. (Reuters) 

At least eight people are killed and more than 20 others are injured after a vehicle rams into a truck in Madhya Pradesh, India. (Xinhua) 

Three people are killed after an explosion at a thermal power plant in Baniyas, Syria. (Xinhua) 

A second M_w 4.7 earthquake strikes the province of Granada, in Spain. Damage and injures are reported in Granada and the surrounding area, while the Alhambra is evacuated. (Expansión in Spanish) 

The UK Health Security Agency confirms that an outbreak of salmonella in the UK has left one person dead and hundreds more ill. The outbreak is believed to be linked to imported eggs. (BBC News) 

A student is killed while nine other people are injured in a mass shooting at a junior secondary school building of the Ateneo de Zamboanga University in Zamboanga City, Philippines. The perpetrator, also a student, later kills himself. (Reuters)

Pakistan’s Supreme Court orders imprisoned former prime minister Imran Khan transferred from the central jail in Rawalpindi, Punjab, to Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad for medical examinations following a petition by his lawyers concerning his health. (AFP via RFI) 

Singapore begins requiring major Internet messaging platforms to restrict unsolicited contacts and social media services to verify advertisers and block suspected scam advertisements under new anti-scam rules, with penalties of up to S$1 million (US$780,000) for non-compliance. (AFP via The Manila Times) 

Zambian president Hakainde Hichilema is declared the winner by the electoral commission, re-electing him to a second term. (AP)

Monday, August 17th , 2026 

A city official reports that at least 500 people have been hospitalized for severe diarrhea, with nearly 150 testing positive for cholera, in Yangon, Myanmar. (AFP via CNA) 

A 90-year-old woman is confirmed dead in Nāʻālehu, Hawaii, United States, and over 100,000 people remain without power after Hurricane Lala struck the state. (AP) (The Guardian) 

Elements of the Mexican Navy seized 3.2 million doses of cocaine floating off the coasts of the state of Michoacán. This action represent a financial blow of 340.2 million pesos to organized crime.(López Doriga) 

The trial of Duane “Keffe D” Davis for his alleged role in the murder of Tupac Shakur begins in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States.  (CNN) 

The United Nations reports that at least 2,325 people have died from the current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, making it the deadliest in the country’s history. (DW) 

The Emperor orders the Department of Defense to substantially reduce the Ulchi-Freedom Guardian military exercises with South Korea, citing their cost and his relationship with North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong Un. The drills begin as scheduled. (AFP via The Straits Times) 

United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) commissioner Rodney S. Scott pauses construction of a $1.7 billion border-security project in Big Bend National Park, Texas, while the CBP reviews the plan amid bipartisan local opposition and environmental concerns. (AFP via RFI) 

California’s energy commission approves the United States’s first energy-efficiency standards for replacement tires, aiming to reduce rolling resistance and lower driver fuel costs by 2029. However, manufacturers warn the strict limits could eliminate up to 70% of current replacement tire options by 2033. (Fox Businesss) 

Discord suspends live streaming, screen sharing, and video calls in Brazil to comply with an order from the national data protection authority following the death of a 13-year-old girl allegedly encouraged to kill herself during an online broadcast. (AFP via RFI) 

A Russian Banderol cruise missile explodes in Ștefan Vodă District, Moldova, after entering from Ukrainian airspace, triggering a wildfire in a corn field. Moldovan authorities condemn the strike as “a serious violation of Moldova’s sovereignty”. (The New Voice of Ukraine) 

A Russian court sentences Yabloko deputy chairperson Lev Shlosberg to 11 years and one month in prison for discrediting the armed forces and spreading disinformation after he publicly condemned the Russo-Ukrainian war. (Reuters) 

Iran says it barred two French embassy employees from returning for allegedly violating the Vienna Convention through activities supporting Iranian civil society. France says their work involved programs for civil society, students, and artists. (Reuters) 

Former South Korean prime minister Kim Min-seok is elected as the new leader of the Democratic Party with 54.08% of the vote against its former leader Jung Chung-rae. (The Diplomat)

Kurdistan Region prime minister Masrour Barzani reports that Iran has launched a drone attack on the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) prime minister’s office. No casualties are reported. (Al Jazeera) 

The Sudanese Armed Forces says that it has shot down a long-range drone used by the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan’s North Kordofan state, the second drone shot down this month in the region. (Sudan Tribune) 

South Sudanese president Salva Kiir meets with Darfur governor Minni Minnawi in Juba, South Sudan, to discuss efforts to end the conflict in Sudan. (Eye Radio) 

Several fighters from both sides are killed after Somali federal forces and opposition groups clash in the South West State. Two civilians are also killed. Militias loyal to former state president Abdiaziz Laftagareen enter the regional capital Baidoa, challenging two battalions of the Somali National Army loyal to Somali president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. (Reuters) (Garowe Online) (i24 news) 

At least 22 people are killed in a mass shooting in Kebbe, Sokoto State, Nigeria. (Tribune) 

A explosion is reported at a school in the Dashte Barchi neighborhood of Kabul, Afghanistan, injuring several people. The perpetrator is unknown. (Al Jazeera) 

Floods and landslides caused by the southwest monsoon and Tropical Storm Kujira kill at least 23 people and displace thousands across the Philippines. (AA) 

A crowd crush at the Ashokdham Temple in Bihar, India, kills at least seven people and injures 19 others. (AFP via ABS-CBN News) 

Seven people are killed and several others are injured after a fire breaks out in a hotel in Birbhum District, West Bengal, India. (Xinhua) 

Humanitarian NGO Emergency rescues 50 migrants from a wooden boat in international waters off Libya and recovers seven bodies. Two survivors require urgent medical evacuation, and 29 of those rescued are unaccompanied minors. (Reuters) 

Three people are killed when a private helicopter crashes on Sifnos, South Aegean, Greece. (AP) 

Torrential rainfall causes widespread flooding in Geoje-si, South Gyeongsang, South Korea, killing at least one. (BBC News)

The End