Thursday, 13 August 2026
Donald Trump said on Wednesday the United States has "total control" of the closed Strait of Hormuz, while Tehran denied that talks on extending the ceasefire were under way. The IEA and OPEC trimmed their oil forecasts over the blockage, and crude fell on Thursday.
Ukrainian drones hit Novorossiysk overnight into Wednesday, halting all three grain terminals at Russia's main wheat port and killing three people, one of them eight years old. Putin threatened to seize European ships, and NATO blamed Moscow for drones over Poland and Romania. Israel struck Gaza for the first time in over a week, killing one man, and its defence minister ruled out any pullback from Gaza, Lebanon or Syria. Settlers have kept two Palestinian families trapped in Qusra since Sunday.
US consumer prices rose 0.1 percent in July, easing the annual rate to 3.4 percent and buying the split Federal Reserve time. Bank of America pledged $250bn for AI and energy infrastructure, and Anthropic is in talks to buy Decart for about $6bn, Bloomberg reported. New-energy vehicles passed 60 percent of China's car sales for the first time.
Least covered: the US Treasury will not enforce the 2021 Corporate Transparency Act, which campaigners say reopens one of the world's largest secrecy loopholes. Watch Zambia's vote, held with copper revenues and civil liberties on the ballot.
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Ukrainian drones hit Novorossiysk overnight into Wednesday, halting all three grain terminals at Russia's main wheat port and killing three people, one of them eight years old. Putin threatened to seize European ships, and NATO blamed Moscow for drones over Poland and Romania. Israel struck Gaza for the first time in over a week, killing one man, and its defence minister ruled out any pullback from Gaza, Lebanon or Syria. Settlers have kept two Palestinian families trapped in Qusra since Sunday.
US consumer prices rose 0.1 percent in July, easing the annual rate to 3.4 percent and buying the split Federal Reserve time. Bank of America pledged $250bn for AI and energy infrastructure, and Anthropic is in talks to buy Decart for about $6bn, Bloomberg reported. New-energy vehicles passed 60 percent of China's car sales for the first time.
Least covered: the US Treasury will not enforce the 2021 Corporate Transparency Act, which campaigners say reopens one of the world's largest secrecy loopholes. Watch Zambia's vote, held with copper revenues and civil liberties on the ballot.
Important today
Trump claims total control of Hormuz as Iran denies truce talks
Congo Ebola cases pass 4,400 as UN warns of doubling every 20 days
Colombia quake toll rises to 265 as regional aid arrives
Ukrainian drones halt grain exports at Russia's biggest Black Sea port
Heat and record-low rivers start showing up in Europe's accounts
US inflation eases to 3.4% as the Fed stays split
IEA and OPEC cut oil forecasts as Hormuz stays shut
Bank of America pledges $250bn for AI and energy infrastructure
Israel resumes Gaza strikes and rules out any withdrawal
Chinese-Indonesian frigates end drill east of Taiwan as Beijing rejects missile rebuke
Beijing evacuates thousands as Typhoon Dolphin's remnants drench northern China
Putin threatens European ships as NATO blames Russia for drones
All stories
Global · 3
Middle East · 11
- Trump claims total control of Hormuz as Iran denies truce talks
- Israel resumes Gaza strikes and rules out any withdrawal
- Settlers hold Qusra siege as Israeli troops pull back
- EU and 32 states condemn Iran's executions of protesters
- Pentagon counts 153 civilian deaths in Yemen strikes as Houthis hit Red Sea shipping
- Iraq and US finalise anti-ISIS coalition withdrawal
- Oil from grounded shadow-fleet tanker reaches Oman's beaches
- Erdogan invites more countries to join Mecca defence pact
- Syria protests to UN over Colombia's recognition of Israeli Golan claim
- Lebanese firefighters accuse Israel of setting forests alight
- Turkish business groups expect investment boost from PKK law
Africa · 6
- Congo Ebola cases pass 4,400 as UN warns of doubling every 20 days
- Lake Kariba ferry death toll rises to at least 44
- Suspected RSF drones strike Khartoum, Atbara and Al Obeid
- Turkey visits both Libyan camps as drones cut Zawiya power
- Nigeria offers deep offshore tax breaks to draw $50bn in oil investment
- Zambia votes with copper revenues and civil liberties on the ballot
South America · 4
Europe · 14
- Ukrainian drones halt grain exports at Russia's biggest Black Sea port
- Heat and record-low rivers start showing up in Europe's accounts
- Putin threatens European ships as NATO blames Russia for drones
- Black Sea shipping costs hit record as Ukraine cuts grain export forecast
- Poland says medical data of 19 million people stolen in cyberattack
- Russian GDP beats forecasts as fuel rationing returns
- Russia's Supreme Court bars only antiwar party from Duma election
- Morocco tightens Ceuta and Melilla borders after new online calls for crossings
- Germany approves sweeping new powers for its intelligence services
- Norway's oil fund posts record half-year profit
- Britain plans safeguards against AI-assisted bioweapons
- Ukrainian drones beat US forces in joint exercise
- European grid operators anticipated drop in solar output during eclipse
- Zelensky's Belgrade shell deal overshadowed by Kosovo remarks
North America · 14
- US inflation eases to 3.4% as the Fed stays split
- Canada weighs accepting US auto tariffs as Mexico seeks relief
- US-China investment board stalls before Trump-Xi meeting
- WHO warns against Trump's childhood vaccination overhaul
- New York opens sweeping investigation into Polymarket and Kalshi
- US Treasury drops enforcement of shell-company ownership rules
- ICE to buy electric-shock gloves worth up to $20m
- Greenland forces Trump-linked oil firm to delay Arctic drilling
- Apple in talks to pay publishers for Siri training data
- Anthropic in talks to buy Decart for $6bn
- Former Guerrero governor charged over 43 missing Ayotzinapa students
- Pentagon inspector warns of severely degraded US bases in the Pacific
- Media groups sue Trump over paid access to presidential posts
- Google says Gemini has passed one billion monthly users
Asia · 9
- Chinese-Indonesian frigates end drill east of Taiwan as Beijing rejects missile rebuke
- Beijing evacuates thousands as Typhoon Dolphin's remnants drench northern China
- Zhu Rongji, architect of China's market overhaul, dies
- China's EV share tops 60 percent at home as carmakers shift output abroad
- Chinese censorship reported in US AI answers as DeepSeek targets Claude Code
- US and Japan plan world's deepest undersea mine
- US judge dismisses fraud charges against Adani
- Tata Sons chairman to step down as group shares fall
- Thailand suspends new gun permits after school shooting
Oceania · 1
Geopolitics · 37
- Trump claims total control of Hormuz as Iran denies truce talks
- Congo Ebola cases pass 4,400 as UN warns of doubling every 20 days
- Colombia quake toll rises to 265 as regional aid arrives
- Ukrainian drones halt grain exports at Russia's biggest Black Sea port
- Israel resumes Gaza strikes and rules out any withdrawal
- Chinese-Indonesian frigates end drill east of Taiwan as Beijing rejects missile rebuke
- Beijing evacuates thousands as Typhoon Dolphin's remnants drench northern China
- Putin threatens European ships as NATO blames Russia for drones
- Settlers hold Qusra siege as Israeli troops pull back
- Lake Kariba ferry death toll rises to at least 44
- Zhu Rongji, architect of China's market overhaul, dies
- Suspected RSF drones strike Khartoum, Atbara and Al Obeid
- EU and 32 states condemn Iran's executions of protesters
- Turkey visits both Libyan camps as drones cut Zawiya power
- Pentagon counts 153 civilian deaths in Yemen strikes as Houthis hit Red Sea shipping
- Colombia joins US coalition against drug cartels
- US-China investment board stalls before Trump-Xi meeting
- WHO warns against Trump's childhood vaccination overhaul
- Russia's Supreme Court bars only antiwar party from Duma election
- Iraq and US finalise anti-ISIS coalition withdrawal
- Oil from grounded shadow-fleet tanker reaches Oman's beaches
- Morocco tightens Ceuta and Melilla borders after new online calls for crossings
- Erdogan invites more countries to join Mecca defence pact
- Syria protests to UN over Colombia's recognition of Israeli Golan claim
- Germany approves sweeping new powers for its intelligence services
- ICE to buy electric-shock gloves worth up to $20m
- Greenland forces Trump-linked oil firm to delay Arctic drilling
- Lebanese firefighters accuse Israel of setting forests alight
- Turkish business groups expect investment boost from PKK law
- Former Guerrero governor charged over 43 missing Ayotzinapa students
- Pentagon inspector warns of severely degraded US bases in the Pacific
- Ukrainian drones beat US forces in joint exercise
- Media groups sue Trump over paid access to presidential posts
- Zelensky's Belgrade shell deal overshadowed by Kosovo remarks
- Zambia votes with copper revenues and civil liberties on the ballot
- Drone-equipped attackers target Ecuadorean fishing boats in the Pacific
- Thailand suspends new gun permits after school shooting
Economy · 18
- Heat and record-low rivers start showing up in Europe's accounts
- US inflation eases to 3.4% as the Fed stays split
- IEA and OPEC cut oil forecasts as Hormuz stays shut
- Bank of America pledges $250bn for AI and energy infrastructure
- Black Sea shipping costs hit record as Ukraine cuts grain export forecast
- China's EV share tops 60 percent at home as carmakers shift output abroad
- Russian GDP beats forecasts as fuel rationing returns
- Canada weighs accepting US auto tariffs as Mexico seeks relief
- Record El Niño hits three continents as USDA cuts US corn yield forecast
- US and Japan plan world's deepest undersea mine
- New York opens sweeping investigation into Polymarket and Kalshi
- US Treasury drops enforcement of shell-company ownership rules
- Norway's oil fund posts record half-year profit
- US judge dismisses fraud charges against Adani
- Nigeria offers deep offshore tax breaks to draw $50bn in oil investment
- European grid operators anticipated drop in solar output during eclipse
- Australia bails out Rio Tinto aluminium smelter with $1.8bn
- Tata Sons chairman to step down as group shares fall
Technology · 7
- Poland says medical data of 19 million people stolen in cyberattack
- Chinese censorship reported in US AI answers as DeepSeek targets Claude Code
- Britain plans safeguards against AI-assisted bioweapons
- Apple in talks to pay publishers for Siri training data
- Anthropic in talks to buy Decart for $6bn
- Brazil orders Discord to suspend live streams after teenager's suicide
- Google says Gemini has passed one billion monthly users