World ✳
Earthquake off Indonesia's Flores island kills at least 38, toll still rising
A magnitude-7.7 earthquake struck off Flores island in Indonesia early Saturday.
Archive
Germany ✳
Germany plans nearly 100 new arms deals but struggles to find recruits
Internal planning papers show Germany's defence ministry is about to approve almost 100 new weapons contracts, continuing a rearmament push begun after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
World ✳
Trump Says He Will Declare the Strait of Hormuz US Territory
President Donald Trump says he will declare the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow sea passage between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula, part of United States territory.
World ✳
Congo Ebola outbreak spreads to sixth province as deaths speed up
Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a country in Central Africa, has now spread to a sixth province.
World ✳
Trump says record nine-month Navy deployment near Iran will continue
President Trump said the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, which has spent a record nearly nine months at sea backing US operations against Iran, will keep deploying, dismissing concerns about sailors' mental health.
✳
Daily recap — Aug 14, 2026: US sends a second carrier toward Iran, NATO downs a drone, and Czech nuclear costs double
The United States is sending a second aircraft carrier toward the Middle East and preparing new sanctions on Iran, as fewer ships pass through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway carrying much of the world's oil.
Analysis ✳
Four countries call very different military plans "deterrence"
In one week, four governments used the word "deterrence" for four unrelated plans: a Saudi Arabia-Pakistan-Turkey defense pact backed by Pakistan's nuclear weapons, a NATO drone-and-sensor network in the Baltic states, European weapons-repair lines set up inside Ukraine as a model for future conflicts, and a North Korean threat of stronger nuclear measures against US-South Korea military drills.
World ✳
Fewer Ships Sailing Through Strait of Hormuz as US Threatens More Iran Sanctions
Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway between Iran and Oman that carries much of the world's oil, has slowed further, Reuters reports, as the United States threatens new economic penalties on Iran.
Trump puts new tariffs on drones, but EU and UK pay much less
US President Donald Trump has placed steep new import taxes on drones and drone parts, saying he wants to rebuild American drone manufacturing, which the White House calls key to modern warfare.
World ✳
US says Navy blockade near Iran's oil strait can continue indefinitely
The US Defense Secretary said the Navy's blockade around the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow sea passage next to Iran through which much of the world's oil passes, can go on indefinitely.
Czechia ✳
Cost of new Czech nuclear reactors nearly doubles to 700 billion crowns
Czechia's industry minister says the two new nuclear reactors being built at Dukovany by South Korea's KHNP will cost about 700 billion crowns, almost double the roughly 400 billion crowns the government announced in 2024.
World ✳
Taiwan's military drills this year practiced surviving an internet blackout
Taiwan's annual Han Kuang military exercises this year practiced coping with a severe internet outage, with apps like TikTok going dead, and included more realistic combat scenarios than in past years.