Hormuz reopening talks advance as strait stays closedEU ministers back Spain's Ceuta response as death toll risesEbola deaths in DR Congo pass 1,600 as WHO calls response overstretchedHegseth denies munitions shortage after reports of depleted US missile stocksMediators rebuke Israel after one of Gaza's deadliest days since the truceUkrainian drones kill five near Moscow as Wildberries warehouses burnUS says yen intervention aimed at containing Asian currency risksWhite House AI security review to exempt open-weight modelsUN warns of surging Afghan hunger as food aid funding falls shortHouthis strike Saudi airport as Indian ship sinks off YemenRussian strikes kill four in Sumy and MykolaivItaly suspends free movement from Spain as EU ministers back MadridRecord low rivers force more reactors offline across EuropeNorth Korea vows military response after Japan's defence white paperAnthropic model sent phishing emails on its own in safety testUS AI figures call Chinese open-weight models safer as price gap widensJordan questions US security alliance as Iranian attacks increaseNetanyahu rules out Gaza withdrawal until Hamas disarmsStocks hit record as US signals Hormuz deal is closeOil majors post windfall profits as Iran war lifts pricesUS drafts ban on Chinese datacentre componentsTaiwan opens war games with first blockade scenarioChina's weather agency forecasts Super El NinoAnthropic signs $10bn computing deal with cloud startupOfficials suspect Iran behind attacks on US water utilitiesRussian envoy rules out evacuation after Cuban blackoutsMan arrested over largest Spokane wildfireRussian insurers drop war cover after Black Sea ship attacksFloods and landslides kill at least 21 in India and Sri LankaSpaceX revenue jumps 92% in first results since listingGaza families bury 112 recovered from 2023 strike rubbleLebanon and Israel resume direct talks in Rome25 states sue Trump administration over new tariffsSlowing growth weighs on Beijing's strong-yuan ambitionsEU seeks to drop Palantir as NATO confirms its useFinland licenses world's first deep store for spent nuclear fuelKashmir protests challenge Islamabad's authorityUS revokes visa of Brazil's ambassador in WashingtonCommission holds to permanent ban on Russian oilFed chair Warsh pressed over mixed inflation signalsHouse panel says data centres exposed US carriers to China hackThousands of sailors stranded as blockade grips Strait of HormuzSyria's Al Shara meets Kurdish commander AbdiRussia claims capture of Kharkiv region villageUkraine's farm sector faces $3bn hit from port closuresPilots' strike halts Argentina's grain exports'Terror-free Türkiye' bill circulates in parliamentJudge sets March trial for Paramount-Warner dealWorld Bank sees narrow AI window for poorer economiesRussia expands shadow fleet of LNG tankers before supply banHormuz reopening talks advance as strait stays closedEU ministers back Spain's Ceuta response as death toll risesEbola deaths in DR Congo pass 1,600 as WHO calls response overstretchedHegseth denies munitions shortage after reports of depleted US missile stocksMediators rebuke Israel after one of Gaza's deadliest days since the truceUkrainian drones kill five near Moscow as Wildberries warehouses burnUS says yen intervention aimed at containing Asian currency risksWhite House AI security review to exempt open-weight modelsUN warns of surging Afghan hunger as food aid funding falls shortHouthis strike Saudi airport as Indian ship sinks off YemenRussian strikes kill four in Sumy and MykolaivItaly suspends free movement from Spain as EU ministers back MadridRecord low rivers force more reactors offline across EuropeNorth Korea vows military response after Japan's defence white paperAnthropic model sent phishing emails on its own in safety testUS AI figures call Chinese open-weight models safer as price gap widensJordan questions US security alliance as Iranian attacks increaseNetanyahu rules out Gaza withdrawal until Hamas disarmsStocks hit record as US signals Hormuz deal is closeOil majors post windfall profits as Iran war lifts pricesUS drafts ban on Chinese datacentre componentsTaiwan opens war games with first blockade scenarioChina's weather agency forecasts Super El NinoAnthropic signs $10bn computing deal with cloud startupOfficials suspect Iran behind attacks on US water utilitiesRussian envoy rules out evacuation after Cuban blackoutsMan arrested over largest Spokane wildfireRussian insurers drop war cover after Black Sea ship attacksFloods and landslides kill at least 21 in India and Sri LankaSpaceX revenue jumps 92% in first results since listingGaza families bury 112 recovered from 2023 strike rubbleLebanon and Israel resume direct talks in Rome25 states sue Trump administration over new tariffsSlowing growth weighs on Beijing's strong-yuan ambitionsEU seeks to drop Palantir as NATO confirms its useFinland licenses world's first deep store for spent nuclear fuelKashmir protests challenge Islamabad's authorityUS revokes visa of Brazil's ambassador in WashingtonCommission holds to permanent ban on Russian oilFed chair Warsh pressed over mixed inflation signalsHouse panel says data centres exposed US carriers to China hackThousands of sailors stranded as blockade grips Strait of HormuzSyria's Al Shara meets Kurdish commander AbdiRussia claims capture of Kharkiv region villageUkraine's farm sector faces $3bn hit from port closuresPilots' strike halts Argentina's grain exports'Terror-free Türkiye' bill circulates in parliamentJudge sets March trial for Paramount-Warner dealWorld Bank sees narrow AI window for poorer economiesRussia expands shadow fleet of LNG tankers before supply ban
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The Situation · Edition 12

Wednesday, 5 August 2026

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The Strait of Hormuz stayed shut on Tuesday, day 158 of the US-Iran war, but US, Qatari and Omani officials say a deal to reopen it could come within days. Pete Hegseth denied Reuters reporting that the army used "virtually all" its long-range precision missiles in the war.

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Israeli strikes killed 18 Palestinians in Gaza on Sunday and two more on Monday, drawing a rebuke from mediators, and Netanyahu ruled out any pullback until Hamas disarms. Ukrainian drones killed five in the Moscow region overnight into Tuesday; Russian strikes killed four in Sumy and Mykolaiv. EU interior ministers backed Madrid over the Ceuta crossing, where a forensic commission puts the death toll at 77; Italy suspended free movement at its Spanish border. The Houthis claimed a drone strike inside Saudi Arabia.

Wall Street closed at record highs on Tuesday after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said a Hormuz deal could be close, and Brent fell below $80. Saudi Aramco's quarterly profit rose 44% to about $33bn. Washington is preparing a voluntary AI security review that would exempt open-weight models.

Less noticed: the WHO says Ebola has killed more than 1,600 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo and is still expanding beyond the response's capacity. Watch Taiwan's Han Kuang drills, testing a blockade scenario for the first time.

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