World
Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan Sign Mecca Joint Defence Agreement; Trump Praises Pact, Turkey Says Egypt Could Join
The August 7 agreement says an armed attack on any one of the three states is an attack on all, and Turkish officials have said other countries may be added.
Iran's Army Chief Announces $30,000 Reward for Killing or Capturing U.S. Soldiers
Major General Amir Hatami said Iran's army will pay the equivalent of $30,000 — doubled if the act is carried out by a woman — to anyone who kills or captures what he called an invading American service member.
Moroccan State Broadcaster Reports 294 Migrants and 61 Alleged Facilitators Arrested Near Ceuta
The arrests reported on Saturday, August 15, follow a late-July mass crossing into the Spanish enclave whose death toll Spanish and Moroccan authorities count very differently.
Russia Says It Downed 822 Ukrainian Drones Overnight; Russian Missiles Hit Kyiv and a Kryvyi Rih Steel Plant
Russian officials reported drone intercepts across 16 regions and Crimea on August 16, 2026, while Ukrainian officials reported deadly missile strikes on Kyiv and on ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih.
Taiwan Confirms AI-Assisted Cyberattack on Government Systems; Israeli Firm Says Open-Source AI Agents Breached 85 Accounts in Four Days
Taiwan's digital ministry says the July intrusion came from "overseas sources" and was contained, while researchers at the Israeli firm Dream say the attackers built the tool from open-source AI agent frameworks and left Chinese-language traces.
Israeli Strikes Kill 11 in Southern Lebanon After Hezbollah Drone Wounds Three Israeli Soldiers
Lebanon's health ministry says 11 people died, including three children; Israel says the strikes hit a Hezbollah command site and killed a Radwan Force commander.
Japan's Defense Minister and Three Other Cabinet Ministers Visit Yasukuni Shrine; China and South Korea Lodge Protests
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi was among four cabinet ministers who visited the Tokyo shrine on the 81st anniversary of Japan's WWII surrender, while Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi stayed away and sent a ritual offering.
Ukraine Offers Russia a Mutual Halt to Black Sea Attacks on Civilian Ships; Moscow's Foreign Ministry Says It Sees No Grounds for It
Kyiv passed the offer to Moscow through a third country on August 13; Russian officials first said no formal proposal had arrived, then dismissed the idea a day later.
UAE Says Iranian Drones Struck Two ADNOC-Linked Vessels in Strait of Hormuz on Aug. 14
The UAE called the strikes acts of piracy by Iran's Revolutionary Guard; they were the latest in a series of attacks during an ongoing U.S.-Iran war in which the strait has been largely closed since early 2026.
NATO Jets Shoot Down Drone Over Eastern Latvia; Origin Not Yet Confirmed
Latvia's military says Russian electronic jamming pushed a foreign drone across its border early on August 14; NATO says it cannot yet say whether the aircraft was Russian or Ukrainian.
Venezuela's Government Says It Moved 131 Political Prisoners Out of Jail; Opposition Group Verified 43
The acting government of Delcy Rodriguez, Maduro's former vice president, granted 131 detainees "alternative measures" short of full freedom, and rights group Foro Penal counts 391 still held.
U.S. Ambassador Huckabee Calls Israeli Settler Siege of Palestinian Homes in Qusra a 'Horrific Act of Terror'
Settlers blocked three homes in the West Bank village of Qusra, including one owned by a Palestinian American, and Israel's military says it dismantled two illegal outposts and detained one Israeli.