• 7:05 AM CST

News Briefing - August 11, 2026

Today's top stories from 14 sources via RSS

Key Points:

• 7.4-magnitude earthquake kills more than 130 in western Colombia, hundreds feared missing (Al Jazeera)
• Syrian court sentences ousted president Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia for war crimes (BBC)
• DR Congo Ebola death toll passes 2,000 in fastest-growing outbreak on record (Al Jazeera)
• Drone incidents across Europe raise fears of Russian operations amid Ukraine war (Al Jazeera)
• Brent crude briefly touches $90 as Iran resists talks over the Strait of Hormuz (Quartz)
• Intel upsizes stock offering to $20 billion to fund AI chip manufacturing (Quartz)
• Anthropic strikes $9.1 billion computing deal with bitcoin miner Riot Platforms (Quartz)
• Turkey's parliament backs law on reintegrating Kurdish PKK militants (France 24)
📰 14 Sources Referenced
  • BBC
  • Al Jazeera
  • Guardian
  • New York Times
  • DW
  • France 24
  • NPR
  • Bloomberg
  • CNBC
  • Quartz
  • SCMP
  • MarketWatch
  • CoinDesk
  • Seeking Alpha

Americas

7.4 earthquake devastates western Colombia. A 7.4-magnitude quake killed 132 people, destroyed buildings and left hundreds missing across western Colombia, the strongest recorded in the country in a decade. Cities near the epicenter sustained major damage while the capital was largely spared. A baby was among those rescued.

Middle East

Assad sentenced to death in absentia. A Syrian court convicted ousted president Bashar al-Assad of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the civil war and sentenced him to death. It is the first verdict since he fled to Russia in 2024.

Netanyahu hedges on Gaza roadmap. Attacks in Gaza slowed sharply over the week even as Netanyahu publicly rejected Trump’s 15-point peace plan.

UNIFIL phase-out leaves southern Lebanon peacekeeping uncertain. Future peacekeeping missions may shrink significantly, risking security gaps as political solutions remain elusive.

East Libya intelligence chief killed by car bomb. The prime minister of the Eastern Libyan government condemned the killing of Major-General Fawzi al-Mansouri.

Europe and Ukraine

Drone incidents rattle Europe. After a drone crashed in Germany, fears of suspected Russian operations rose across Europe. A separate Ukrainian decoy drone exploded in Bulgaria near the Romanian border, exposing gaps in Bulgaria’s defenses.

Russian civilian deaths rising as Ukraine expands its air war. A higher tempo of Ukrainian strikes has fueled discontent among Russians, though it is unclear whether it will change the Kremlin’s calculus.

Turkey backs PKK reintegration law. Turkish lawmakers voted through a bill offering limited amnesty for Kurdish PKK militants, a key step in the peace process to end decades of violence.

Extreme heat and drought across Europe. England faces an extreme heat warning with temperatures possibly reaching 38C on Thursday, while 95 percent of mainland France recorded drought conditions in July.

Meta glasses banned from courts in England and Wales.

Africa

DR Congo Ebola outbreak passes 2,000 deaths. A total of 4,381 cases across five provinces have been confirmed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the fastest-growing outbreak on record.

United States

National Guard’s first year in DC. One year on from the deployment to the nation’s capital, NPR marks what has changed since.

Primaries in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Progressive and establishment-backed Democrats are set to clash in the state primaries.

South Carolina votes to replace Lindsey Graham. A special election will pick a Republican challenger for the midterm Senate race reshaped by Graham’s death.

Hegseth’s Pentagon picks draw scrutiny. Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon appointments raise questions over Trump family business ties.

Business and Markets

Oil briefly touches $90 as Iran resists talks. Brent crude briefly reached $90 a barrel as Iran resisted direct talks with the US over the Strait of Hormuz, keeping markets on edge ahead of key inflation data. S&P 500 futures were little changed as investors weighed Hormuz deal prospects against doubts of a broader resolution.

Intel upsizes offering to $20 billion. The chipmaker priced 210 million shares at $95 each to fund its AI chip manufacturing push, up from a $15 billion offering announced the day before.

Anthropic’s $9.1 billion compute deal with Riot. Anthropic struck a 20-year lease covering 191 megawatts of computing capacity at bitcoin miner Riot Platforms’ Rockdale, Texas campus, running through June 2048.

Fed signals wait-and-see on rates. Nuveen’s Laura Cooper discussed the rise in real yields and the case for Fed policy on Bloomberg.

China says US sought to buy Chinese superconductor magnet. A US Department of Energy laboratory that once dominated superconducting magnets is now hoping to buy Chinese technology used in a leading particle accelerator, official Chinese media reported.

Australian watchdog suspends Cryptolink. The regulator forced 96 crypto ATMs offline.

Asia-Pacific

Philippine VP Sara Duterte charged over Marcos threat. Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio was hit with a “grave threats” criminal charge over an alleged death threat against the president, part of the case against her at her Senate impeachment trial.

Compiled from RSS feeds across 14 sources. Every item links to its original reporting for verification.

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