News from around the world: regional politics, global trends, and the problems that cross borders.
Palestinian American homeowner Loui Ridi returned to Qusra on August 17 and confronted Israeli settlers outside his occupied West Bank property the next day. Israeli soldiers ordered him back inside because the area was a closed military zone, while Israel's military did not say whether settlers remained nearby.
Zambia's election commission restarted national vote counting on August 14, hours after suspending it over reported attacks on poll workers and the theft of marked ballots. The commission said the threat was contained, but one party official was killed and opposition claims of military interference remained unsubstantiated.
Australian Attorney-General Michelle Rowland granted former army lawyer David McBride parole on August 13, 2026, after he served 27 months for taking and sharing classified military files. He remains under community supervision for the balance of a five-year, eight-month sentence.
A Revolutionary Court in Tehran sentenced photojournalist Yalda Moaiery in absentia to 15 years in prison on August 9, 2026. The judgment also ordered the confiscation of her electronic equipment and barred her from media work, public office and social media.
Monica Lennon, Michael Marra and Joe Fagan are seeking to replace Anas Sarwar as Scottish Labour leader after he joined the UK government. Nominations close August 17, with members and affiliated supporters due to vote before the result on September 19.
A US magistrate judge on August 13 postponed Andrew and Tristan Tate’s detention hearing to August 27, leaving the brothers in federal custody as they fight extradition to the United Kingdom. Their lawyers sought more time to answer prosecutors, while the extradition hearing itself remains unscheduled.
Karoline Leavitt will leave as White House press secretary at the end of August, US President Donald Trump announced on August 12, 2026. Trump said she would become an outside adviser as Republicans prepare for the November 2026 US midterm elections, but he did not name a successor.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention renewed its Ebola-related entry suspension for 30 days on August 12. Uganda and South Sudan remain covered even though Uganda ended its outbreak and South Sudan has reported no confirmed cases.
Russia released former US Marine Robert Gilman on August 11 after more than four years in custody. US President Donald Trump said Moscow sought no one in return, while Russian officials offered no immediate public account.
The US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services published a final rule on August 13 that ends federal matching funds for specified gender-affirming treatments on October 13. States may finance them separately, while a six-month federal transition applies only to people already receiving cross-sex hormone therapy.
Colombian authorities reported at least 287 deaths by August 14 after a magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck the country's west four days earlier. An initial 96-kilometer depth estimate put it in the intermediate range, but collapsed buildings kept rescuers searching in several cities.
Indonesian firefighters had mostly contained the Mount Bromo wildfire by August 11 after it burned nearly 900 hectares of protected parkland. The national park remained closed, with two hot spots active and three water-bombing helicopters supporting ground crews.
Meta announced Muse Glimmer and developer access to Muse Spark 1.2 on August 10, 2026, as CEO Mark Zuckerberg published a 6,500-word case for distributing advanced AI more widely. The release puts Meta’s product strategy behind that argument, but public details do not yet settle access terms, model performance or whether openness reduces risk.
Conflict-related deaths in Pakistan's Balochistan province rose from 109 in June to 372 in July 2026, the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies reported on August 1. The count combines civilians, security personnel, peace committee members and alleged militants killed in attacks and state operations.
Ukrainian drones struck Nizhnekamsk, an oil hub in Russia's Tatarstan region, on August 10, killing 13 people and injuring at least 75, regional authorities said. Ukraine said its forces hit the Taneco refinery, while Russian officials said a drone struck a worker hostel where nine people died.
US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on August 10 recognizing an 11-disease core childhood immunization list and calling for separate measles, mumps and rubella shots. Separate products are not currently available in the United States, while state school mandates do not change automatically.
South Australia announced on August 10, 2026, that a three-member royal commission into artificial intelligence is expected to begin October 1, 2026, and report by July 1, 2027. The state inquiry can compel testimony and documents, but its terms of reference and commissioners have not been published.
Workers sent by a Nepali expedition operator spotted five bodies near Yalung Ri on August 5, 2026, nine months after an avalanche killed seven climbers. Bad weather blocked access to the site, and officials had not confirmed the identities by August 7.
