Aug. 10, 2026 - Daily News Digest

On this day: in 1519, Ferdinand Magellan's five ships set sail from Seville to circumnavigate the globe. The Basque second-in-command Juan Sebastián Elcano will complete the expedition after Magellan's death in the Philippines..

QOTD: “We are not naive, we see the information, we read between the lines and we are doing our homework," Lithuanian Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas told Reuters.

UKRAINE/RUSSIA/MIL/ENERGY - Ukrainian drone attack on an oil hub deep inside Russia kills 13, officials say
https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-drones-oil-d0e7dc74936cf153e8e473444cc09366

Ukraine attacked the petroleum hub of Nizhnekamsk in central Russia’s Tatarstan region on Monday, killing 13 people and injuring 75 others, local authorities said, in one of the deadliest attacks in the country in the 4-year-old war.

The Ukrainian military said it hit an oil refinery in Nizhnekamsk, which is about 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) east of the Ukrainian border and has a population of about 240,000.

Russian officials didn’t say what the drones targeted, but the city is home to two refineries and a petrochemical plant. Ukraine has targeted Russian oil facilities with long-range drones almost daily in recent months. The campaign has caused fuel shortages in Russia, eaten into its refining capacity and unsettled the population.

Also on Monday, several Ukrainian drones sparked a fire at an industrial facility in the Tyumen region of western Siberia, said Gov. Alexander Moor, without offering any details. Last month, Ukrainian drones hit a refinery in Tyumen, more than 2,400 kilometers (about 1,500 miles) east of the border with Ukraine.

COLOMBIA - Colombia Suffers Widespread Damage From Magnitude 7.4 Quake
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-08-10/colombia-hit-by-strong-earthquake-that-shakes-bogota

A major earthquake hit Colombia on Monday morning, burying people under rubble and causing severe destruction to buildings and infrastructure in the Pacific region and the central Andes.

The magnitude 7.4 tremor struck at 7:34 a.m. local time near the town of San José del Palmar, Choco province, according to the US Geological Survey. There was at least one aftershock, but no tsunami warning.

The event is the first major test for President Abelardo de la Espriella, who was sworn in on Friday in a ceremony in Cali. He said he would travel to the coffee-producing region of Pereira, which appears to have suffered some of the most intense damage. Local media showed images of people trapped under fallen masonry. In nearby Manizales, a tower was knocked over from the cathedral.

ISRAEL/US/GAZA - Netanyahu rejects Trump-backed Gaza plan for Hamas disarmament, Israeli withdrawal
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/08/09/netanyahu-rejects-trump-backed-plan-hamas-disarm-israel-leave-gaza/

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a U.S.-backed plan Sunday for Hamas to lay down its weapons in Gaza in exchange for Israeli withdrawal from the territory — a proposal President Donald Trump recently touted as a breakthrough toward ending the conflict there.

Netanyahu, at the start of a government meeting, said that “Israel does not accept the 15-point document.”

Hamas, in a statement, reaffirmed its own commitment to the plan it agreed on with the Board of Peace — which was created by Trump — and called on parties to help ensure its implementation. The White House, when asked for comment on Netanyahu’s remarks, referred The Washington Post to the Board of Peace, which did not immediately respond.

IRAN/US/SHIPPING - Iran Insists Strait Will Stay Closed Until U.S. Agrees to Demands
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/10/world/middleeast/iran-strait-of-hormuz-us-oman-talks.html

Iran said on Monday that any deal with Oman on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz would not lead to the waterway being fully reopened and that the route would remain closed until the United States agreed to demands including lifting a naval blockade.

The comments were the latest sign that Iran sees its grip on the strait — which has driven up global energy prices, creating a political headache for President Trump — as its best form of leverage in negotiations with Washington.

Esmail Baghaei, spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, said at a news conference on Monday that the focus of the talks with Oman was “on reaching an understanding over a route for the safe passage of shipping,” Iranian state media reported.

The Oman talks were proceeding smoothly, Mr. Baghaei added, according to the reports, but “this issue is separate from the discussion of reopening the Strait of Hormuz,” which was “contingent upon the removal of the conditions that have been imposed on the Islamic Republic of Iran” by the United States.

CANADA/FIRE - British Columbia to get federal assistance as wildfire forces evacuations
https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/british-columbia-get-federal-assistance-wildfire-forces-evacuations-2026-08-09/

The Canadian federal government said on Sunday it would assist British Columbia as raging wildfires forced thousands of ​people to evacuate by providing shelter and accommodation for ‌residents displaced in regions around Summerland and Peachland.

The Bald Range wildfire, which prompted British Columbia to declare a provincial state of emergency and evacuate ​about 18,000 people, had spread to more than 10,300 ​hectares by Saturday night as firefighters continued to battle ⁠the blaze.

"Last night, I approved a request for Federal ​Assistance from British Columbia to provide shelter and accommodations for people ​who have been forced to leave their homes due to wildfires across the province," Eleanor Olszewski, Canada's minister of emergency management and community resilience, ​said in a social media post.

"I have tasked federal ​officials, led by the Government Operations Centre at Public Safety Canada, to work ‌with ⁠the province to ensure support reaches those who need it most," the minister said.

POLAND/THE BALTS/RUSSIA - Poland and Baltics shield infrastructure, fearing a Russian false-flag strike
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/poland-baltics-shield-infrastructure-fearing-russian-false-flag-strike-2026-08-10/

Russia's northern NATO neighbours are tightening security around dams, power plants and natural gas infrastructure in a sign of mounting concern that Moscow will stage a "false flag" attack on them using Ukrainian drones.

Lithuania said last ​week that Moscow is considering such a staged attack and Poland, Latvia and Estonia have also warned of acts of sabotage to test NATO's response at a time when U.S. commitment to the Western military ‌alliance is in question.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov last month said warnings of Russian clandestine attacks are "scare stories" used to justify militarization against Russia.

Poland and the three Baltic states, which all border Russia and have already found Ukrainian drones on their territory, are taking no chances.

INDIA/POL - Indian police fire tear gas, use batons to disperse youth protesters
https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/thousands-youth-march-legislature-india-protest-alleged-job-exams-wrongdoing-2026-08-10/

Police in eastern India used tear gas, batons and water cannon to disperse ​thousands of youth protesters as they marched on the state legislature in ‌Jharkhand state on Monday over alleged wrongdoing in civil service examinations, TV footage showed.

Students and unemployed youth in Jharkhand, one of India's poorer states, launched the protests late last month over the ​alleged wrongdoing including recruitment test paper leaks.

The protest follows weeks-long youth-led demonstrations in ​the capital, Delhi, also linked to exam paper leaks, which led to ⁠the resignation of the country's Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan last month.

Police and paramilitary forces ​used tear gas, pellet guns and batons in Delhi to scatter some 50,000 youth protesters, some ​of whom clashed with police. The demonstrations were seen as a reflection of their anger over corruption in education, a lack of opportunities and unemployment.

The demands of protesters in Jharkhand include an overhaul ​of the state's examination system, cancellation of some tests and an investigation by the ​federal police.

UAE/ENERGY - U.A.E.’s Adnoc Gas to Invest More Than $8 Billion in Expansion Push
https://www.wsj.com/business/energy-oil/u-a-e-s-adnoc-gas-to-invest-more-than-8-billion-in-expansion-push-cceb572d?mod=world_lead_pos2

The United Arab Emirates’ Adnoc Gas said it would invest over $8 billion to grow its production capacity, just months after the country’s departure from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries​. The exit freed Abu Dhabi from the cartel’s quota restrictions.

Majority owned by state-run Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, Adnoc Gas is already one of the world’s largest producers of natural gas but it is betting on a substantial growth program to meet rising gas demand, fueled by population growth and power hungry data centers.

The U.A.E., free of OPEC’s quotas, is ramping up oil production in a bid to establish itself more prominently as an energy superpower. More oil usually means more gas, which is extracted along with the oil. Adnoc Gas processes the gas and LNG for domestic and international markets.

It is the U. A.E’s wider oil-production growth that gives Adnoc Gas the confidence that it will have the volumes and composition of gas it needs, the company’s finance chief, Peter Van Driel, said in an interview.

Globally energy companies are investing heavily in natural gas and LNG processing units. The fuel is a cleaner source of energy compared with coal and is witnessing a surge in demand given it is seen as affordable and helpful for energy security. British energy major Shell said in June that it expects global LNG demand to soar to nearly 700 million tons a year by 2050, a roughly 65% rise from 2025 levels.

CHINA/SEC - In China, ‘Moles’ Are Leaking Official Secrets for Profit
https://www.wsj.com/world/china/in-china-moles-are-leaking-official-secrets-for-profit-94b156ac?mod=world_lead_pos3

Secrets from Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s disciplinary purges keep surfacing online, defying a crackdown that has ensnared millions of people—and highlighting how deeply embedded graft and disloyalty remain within the Communist Party.

With the party detaining tens of thousands of officials each year, an underground market for corruption gossip has emerged on Chinese social media, where shadowy users drop hints on who’s getting purged next—in return for fees and clicks, state media said.

Such tipoffs can help suspects beat charges or evade arrest while enabling outsiders to make well-timed trades—a Chinese twist on concerns in the U.S. about political insiders cashing in on prediction markets such as Kalshi and Polymarket.

Party authorities have voiced alarm about the phenomenon while trying to hunt down leakers. The corruption-probe tipoffs also raise questions about the effectiveness of Xi’s crackdown, which has disciplined more than seven million people for misconduct such as taking bribes, defying policies and divulging secrets since late 2012.

“A small number of officials leak information in violation of regulations,” Banyuetan, a magazine published by the official Xinhua News Agency, said in a recent report. “This data is then resold through online groups—passing through multiple hands—thus forming a covert and illicit supply chain.”

Using such leaks, some social-media accounts “have been ‘predicting’ the downfall of government officials in advance using methods such as posting résumés or using homophones and coded language” that hint at a suspect’s identity, said the report. These cryptic posts are meant to skirt secrecy rules, since officials’ names and résumés generally aren’t considered sensitive.