Aug. 12, 2026 - Daily News Digest
On this day in 1521, Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés captured Tenochtitlán (now Mexico City) after a 93-day siege, thereby ending the Aztec empire.
QotD: "We can see that the authorities of certain countries, in violation of international maritime law, are attempting to restrict the movement of our economic operators’ vessels...Naturally, this is nothing less than piracy and robbery. And if this begins to be put into practice, we shall be forced to respond in kind,” said Russian President Putin.
US/IRAN/MIL – Iran says no progress reviving interim peace deal with US.
Iran and the United States remain at loggerheads over efforts to agree a permanent end to the war in the Gulf, according to a senior Iranian source who said there had been no progress in talks to revive the interim deal agreed in June and define a timeframe to implement it.
The comments were a further blow to hopes of a swift resolution to the crisis, following attacks on shipping in the region on Tuesday that pushed oil prices higher.
The deal agreed in June declared an "immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts", but quickly unravelled, with U.S. President Donald Trump saying it was "over" on July 7 and Iran's foreign ministry declaring it "suspended" a week later.
The U.S. accuses Iran of failing to honour an agreement under the deal to reopen the vital Strait of Hormuz shipping route. Tehran says Washington has reneged on its commitments, including lifting a blockade of Iranian ports and releasing frozen Iranian assets.
"One of the issues that is being discussed via mediators is the U.S. returning to the interim agreement and defining a timeframe for implementing the commitments. There has been absolutely no progress on this issue," the Iranian source said.
HOUTHIS/US/SHIPPING – Four crew, two rescuers killed in Red Sea attack; US strikes ship in Gulf of Oman.
https://www.reuters.com/world/china/three-killed-attacks-ships-red-sea-gulf-sources-say-2026-08-11/
Four crew members were killed in an attack by Iran-backed Houthis on a cargo ship in the Bab el-Mandeb strait on Tuesday, Yemen's transport ministry said, while the U.S. military said it struck a container ship attempting to sail toward an Iranian port.
Two Yemeni rescuers from an anti-Houthi military group were also killed in the Bab el-Mandeb attack, Yemen's Coast Guard said.
The fatalities aboard the Egyptian-owned Tihamah, if confirmed, would mark the first deaths in a Houthi strike on shipping since the Iran war began on February 28.
Later in the day, the Houthis confirmed they attacked a ship in the Bab el-Mandeb, which they said was carrying Saudi military equipment but did not name the ship.
HEALTH/CONGO/UGANDA – New transmission from animals likely caused Congo-Uganda Ebola outbreak, study says.
The ongoing Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo concerns a previously unseen variant of the rare Bundibugyo species of the virus, indicating it stemmed from a new transmission from animals to humans rather than from variants linked to earlier outbreaks, a new study said.
Researchers from Congo, Uganda, Belgium and other countries analysed the genetic make-up of virus samples from 22 patients in Congo and Uganda and found the outbreak strain was genetically distinct from previous Bundibugyo Ebola viruses seen in outbreaks in 2007 and 2012.
The findings, published on Monday in the journal Nature Medicine, suggest the outbreak began with a fresh animal-to-human transmission event and was then spread between people.
The study did not identify the animal source of the outbreak, but Ebola viruses are known to spill over periodically from infected animals to humans.
COLOMBIA/HUMANITARIAN – As search for thousands of missing pushes on, Colombia earthquake tests new president.
https://apnews.com/article/colombia-choco-earthquake-rescue-e6afe31239c0deae34ab944014464399
Rescue crews and civilians in Colombia painstakingly searched through rubble Tuesday in the hopes of finding survivors trapped under debris after a powerful earthquake left thousands missing in dozens of cities and towns.
The 7.4 magnitude earthquake that hit western Colombia on Monday wreaked havoc, collapsing buildings, buckling roads, crushing cars and leaving devastated residents to console each other among the wreckage of their homes. Excavators and heavy machinery cleared heavy chunks of concrete, while buckets of rubble were passed hand-to-hand along a line of volunteers.
Rescue crews and volunteers picked through flattened concrete buildings in affected cities, searching for signs of life. They raised their hands to call for silence when they thought they heard someone beneath the piles of debris. At least one woman was retrieved — alive — from the rubble.
Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella said the earthquake killed at least 181 people and left 2,595 more injured. He said at least 195 remained missing, but civilian-run databases suggest that number could be closer to 4,000.
DPRK/MIL – North Korea fires missile ahead of major US-South Korea drills.
North Korea fired a ballistic missile on Wednesday toward the sea off the Korean peninsula's east coast, South Korean and Japanese authorities said, days ahead of major joint military exercises by Seoul and Washington long denounced by Pyongyang.
The missile was launched from the North's Wonsan area at about 6 a.m. (2100 GMT Tuesday), South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, six days after North Korea fired another ballistic missile from the same area.
The launch came ahead of South Korean and U.S. military drills, dubbed Ulchi Freedom Shield, set to run from August 17 to August 27, aimed at countering Pyongyang's evolving nuclear and weapons capabilities.
Hong Min, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification in Seoul, said the launch was likely part of North Korea's existing weapons development schedule, but the timing could also have been selected to send a message ahead of the exercises.
"Even if it was a test of a weapon under development, choosing when to conduct it requires a political decision," Hong said.
GERMANY/INTEL – German cabinet approves plan to grant more powers to spy services.
Germany's cabinet approved measures on Wednesday to grant intelligence services new powers to hack communications and disrupt foreign adversaries' operations to counter what officials say is a growing threat from cyber and hybrid attacks.
The measures, which have been under discussion for months, would allow both the BND, the foreign intelligence service, and the BfV, the domestic security service, broader authority to access digital communications, collect data and carry out active operations to thwart attacks.
Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said the measures, which would incorporate artificial intelligence tools, would "revolutionize Germany's security architecture".
"We are transforming our intelligence services into genuine secret services," he told a news conference in Berlin, saying that for the first time, the agencies would be given operational powers.
Germany's intelligence services, created after World War Two when memories of the Nazi regime were still fresh, have traditionally had more circumscribed powers than the equivalents of allies such as France, Britain or the United States.
META/TECH/COURTS – ‘Big Tobacco’ moment?: Meta faces 1.4 trillion lawsuit over harm to children.
With billions of users around the world, Meta will defend itself against allegations of harming children in a new trial in the United States this week which experts are describing as social media's big tobacco moment.
After a coalition of states sued Meta in 2023 for allegedly designing addictive features for kids in its apps, four states were selected to represent their claims: California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey.
Top prosecutors of those states now aim to prove in federal court that Meta deliberately made Facebook and Instagram addictive for children.
Meta "strongly disagrees with these allegations" and is "confident the evidence will show our longstanding commitment to supporting young people", a spokesperson told AFP, adding that the company has "listened to parents, worked with experts and law enforcement".
UKR/US/PATRIOTS – Short on US Patriot missiles, Ukraine looks for alternatives.
https://www.dw.com/en/short-on-us-patriot-missiles-ukraine-looks-for-alternatives/a-78328784
Russia is increasingly relying on ballistic missiles for its attacks on Ukraine — precisely the weapons that Ukraine's armed forces depend heavily on Western support to ward off.
However, the crucial US-produced Patriot interceptor missiles are often in short supply.
The French/Italian SAMP/T is considered an alternative to the Patriot system. However, Ukraine owns only a few of those, and the required Aster-30 interceptor missiles are also in short supply. In addition, the more powerful new-generation SAMP/T NG will only gradually become available. Therefore, the system is not a European short-term alternative to Patriot.
At the same time, Patriot deliveries are declining. According to Zelenskyy, Ukraine received only about one-third as many anti-aircraft missiles so far this year as it did in 2025. The war in the Middle East has further exacerbated the global shortage. Unlike at the beginning of the Ukraine war, the problem today lies less with launching facilities and more with Patriot ammunition.
Ukraine is no longer working alone on a system of its own, but is trying to set up a European-Ukrainian missile defense project instead. The program is known as Freya.
The core of the system will be the FP7.X interceptor missile provided by Ukrainian manufacturer Fire Point. According to the company's CTO, Iryna Terekh, its architecture is based on Soviet designs for the S-300 and S-400 air defense systems. Today's missile, however, had only some 20% in common with its predecessors, Terekh said.
US/RUS – Ex-marine released and returned to US from Russian prison.
https://www.dw.com/en/ex-marine-released-and-returning-to-us-from-russian-prison/a-78327699
Russia on Tuesday released Robert Gilman, a former US Marine who had spent more than four years in prison on disputed charges, according to a group advocating for him and US officials.
US President Donald Trump and the State Department both said the release was on "humanitarian grounds" and that it was not part of an exchange or prisoner swap with Russia.
The 32-year-old former service member had been working as a teacher in Russia when he was first detained in 2022, accused of assaulting a police officer after being ejected from a train for causing a disturbance.
He was later accused of other violent offenses while incarcerated and was given a longer jail sentences, ultimately reaching a total of roughly 10 years.
Advocacy group Global Reach had warned of Gilman's deteriorating health condition in detention. His mother was in Russia trying to secure his release as the news developed.
RUS/SHIPPING – Putin says Russia will start seizing EU vessels if bloc goes after Russian ships.
"We can see that the authorities of certain countries, in violation of international maritime law, are attempting to restrict the movement of our economic operators’ vessels..., and have recently gone so far as to consider the possibility of seizing our vessels and selling off the property they have plundered from us," said Putin.
"Naturally, this is nothing less than piracy and robbery. And if this begins to be put into practice, we shall be forced to respond in kind. And not necessarily in those waters where raids on our ships and vessels are planned, but wherever we ourselves deem it necessary and appropriate."
Viktor Liina, commander of Russia's Pacific Fleet, told Putin that what he described as hostile countries like Britain and France also transported goods on vessels flying flags of convenience which - if the EU and Britain's own language was used - could also be described as a "shadow fleet."
"Western states are actively using vessels flying the flags of third countries to transport cargo in their own interests. In essence, this constitutes their shadow fleet," Liina told Putin.