News from around the world: regional politics, global trends, and the problems that cross borders.
Vietnam Airlines flight VN34 returned to Munich on August 15 after its Boeing 787-9 reportedly struck its tail during a late takeoff for Hanoi. The jet held near the airport before landing with damaged tires; no injuries were reported, and the cause remains unconfirmed.
The death toll from Indonesia's magnitude 7.7 Flores earthquake rose to 51 on August 16 as rescuers searched landslides and damaged buildings. Its reported 10-kilometer depth put the source close to the surface, while small tsunami waves were recorded before the warning was lifted.
Japan's Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and six other senior government and ruling-party figures visited Yasukuni Shrine on August 15, 2026. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi stayed away but sent a cash offering, while China and South Korea protested.
Luigi Mangione pleaded guilty on August 14 to two US federal stalking charges and is due to be sentenced on December 18. His lawyers now say New York’s murder case is barred by the state’s broader double-jeopardy law, a claim prosecutors will contest.
Mastercard said a scheduled system update caused transaction declines on August 15, 2026, as shoppers across Australia reported payment failures. The available public statement did not identify the countries, issuers or transaction volume affected.
Ademola Adeleke won re-election as governor of Nigeria's Osun State on August 16, 2026, taking 511,067 votes to Bola Oyebamiji's 444,815. Local reports said violence interrupted voting at an Ejigbo polling unit, while accreditation faults and vote-buying allegations were reported elsewhere.
A US federal judge lifted a court-ordered pause on August 14, allowing the Trump administration to end Temporary Protected Status for Somalia. The decision affects an estimated 1,082 approved beneficiaries and applies a June Supreme Court ruling that narrowed available legal challenges.
USS George Washington was moving through the Strait of Malacca on August 13 and is expected to relieve USS Abraham Lincoln in the Middle East. The move leaves the western Pacific without a US carrier for an unknown period while Lincoln remains on a deployment exceeding 260 days.
BRICS finance ministers and central bank governors met in Jaipur, India, on August 12 and 13, 2026, as the bloc considered links among national payment systems. Iran said it would soon join the New Development Bank, but the lender’s public membership list does not include it.
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa is scheduled to visit China from August 16 to 23, his second trip there since taking office. The talks follow a rise in trade with China and Ecuador’s signing of a separate reciprocal trade agreement with the United States.
Mali's Azawad Liberation Front released 82 government soldiers on August 13, 2026, the army and a rebel spokesperson said. The group said some had been held since 2023 and about 118 others remained captive.
Israeli settlers remained near three Palestinian homes in Qusra on August 14 after Israeli troops intervened in a blockade that had lasted most of the week. US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee called the perpetrators terrorists, while residents questioned whether the army's action would last.
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.
