Breaking News! Code: Bonkers! El Nino continues to spike towards an all-time record high anomaly, with the Nino 3.4 sea surface temperature more than 2.6°C above the 1991-2020 baseline as of August 4th, and more than 1.0C° above the previous August 4th record set in 1997.

'Senators demand crackdown on wildfire “prediction markets”. Fire experts warn…could incentivize arson. Several US senators have written… inquiring about agency’s “plans to crack down on prediction markets” that offer “contracts for individuals to bet on wildfires”' arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...

Senators demand crackdown on wildfire "prediction market" bets

Fire experts warn such markets could incentivize arson.

arstechnica.com

'Oracle’s risk of default has soared to its highest level in history… The Co’s 5-yr credit default swap (CDS) spread—a key measure of the cost of insuring its debt against default—has climbed to a record high, signaling growing investor concerns over credit risk.' seekingalpha.com/news/4624308...

Oracle's default risk hits record high, tops 2008 financial crisis peak (ORCL:NYSE)

Oracle’s CDS spread hit a record high as AI infrastructure spending and debt rise, pressuring ORCL stock.

seekingalpha.com

'Google has burned through $200 bn to bet on the biggest gamble of the 21st century…RSI Real RSI means an AI model can completely independently redesign its own underlying architecture, even build a brand-new generation of model from scratch, without any intervention' eu.36kr.com/en/p/3925011...

AI Bubble Surpasses Apollo Moon Landing Program Scale: Google's $200 Billion Burn Marks 21st Century's Biggest High-Stakes Gamble

Even when pushing computational infrastructure to its absolute performance limits—utilizing every available computing resource to its full potential—we remain fully committed to investing all strategi...

eu.36kr.com

'Illegal miners take advantage of the agency’s lack of oversight & name small areas as origins of tons of gold that have actually been taken from protected areas. …sharp decrease in gold laundering in Brazil, but illegal metal is now being smuggled out of country.' news.mongabay.com/2026/08/braz...

Brazil's mining agency under fire over corruption and omission probes

Criminal groups use small-scale mining permits as a front for gold laundering while federal oversight fails.

news.mongabay.com

'Footage shows some of the more than 200 Bolivian police and military officers patrolling its border with Brazil. A wave of violence linked to clashes between Brazilian criminal groups fighting to control drug routes has left at least nine dead.' www.aljazeera.com/video/newsfe...

Bolivia sends troops to stop Brazilian gang violence along border

Footage shows some of the more than 200 Bolivian police and military officers patrolling its border with Brazil.

aljazeera.com

'Trump urges Latin America to use military against cartels… Trump on Sat laid into Mexican Pres Claudia Sheinbaum, saying she had rebuffed his suggestion to let US eradicate cartels operating there. “The cartels are running Mexico,” he said. “We can’t have that”' www.batimes.com.ar/news/latin-a...

Trump urges Latin America to use military against cartels

Trump tells a group of Latin American leaders at security summit in Miami that Washington "will not tolerate the lawlessness in our hemisphere any longer."

batimes.com.ar

'‘They are murder victims’: The US military’s strikes on alleged drug boats have likely illegally killed “individuals who are not involved in narcotrafficking,” Sen. Tim Kaine told WH on Mon, following “a careful review” of classified information he has seen so far' edition.cnn.com/2026/08/03/p...

‘They are murder victims’: Senator suggests US strikes have killed people who weren’t involved in drug trafficking | CNN Politics

The US military’s strikes on alleged drug boats have likely illegally killed “individuals who are not involved in narcotrafficking,” Sen. Tim Kaine told the White House on Monday, following “a careful...

edition.cnn.com

'The United States has increased its spying capabilities in Cuba, from growing its network of covert agents to sending more surveillance flights around the island, as it seeks to pressure the current regime to surrender or fall, according to a report.' www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...

Trump has increased the number of spies in Cuba as US mulls military invasion: report

For months, reports have circulated insinuating the Trump administration is preparing to militarily infiltrate Cuba unless Cuban authorities give in to Trump’s demands

independent.co.uk

'Hundreds in Morocco gather near Ceuta border in anxious wait for missing loved ones. At least 88 people have died in Ceuta, while dozens of others remain missing. “I have just one son,” said Hadijja, who had been waiting at the border since Saturday' www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...

Hundreds in Morocco gather near Ceuta border in anxious wait for missing loved ones

People hope to see friends or relatives among those still returning as death toll from mass crossing nears 100

theguardian.com

'Kidnappings have become a major source of income for armed groups in Nigeria, including jihadists in the northeast and criminal gangs known locally as “bandits.” Zamfara is one of the hardest hit states in the northwest.' www.euronews.com/2026/08/03/g...

Gunmen kidnap at least 52 people in northwest Nigeria, sources say

Kidnappings have become a major source of income for armed groups in Nigeria, including jihadists in the northeast and criminal gangs known locally as "bandits."

euronews.com

'Sudan’s army chief vows to crush paramilitary RSF by yr-end. Sudanese Armed Forces Chief of Staff Yasser al-Atta has said that the army was advancing on all fronts with the aim of eliminating the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) before the end of the yr.' www.trtafrika.com/english/arti...

TRT Afrika - Sudan’s army chief vows to crush paramilitary RSF by year-end

"We are implementing the theory of advancing in all directions, with all fronts moving simultaneously, as happened during the recapture of Khartoum state," says Yasser al-Atta.

trtafrika.com

'Hundreds flee fighting in N Ethiopia as fears rise of return to civil war. In one of the most serious confrontations since the end of the civil war in the area four years ago, intense clashes broke out on Saturday morning in Shererina, near the border with Sudan…' www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Ethiopia-Tigray: Hundreds flee fighting in northern Ethiopia as fears rise of return to civil war

There are concerns of a full-scale conflict once again as a peace deal has not been fully implemented.

bbc.co.uk

'India’s Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal condemned the “unprovoked attack” and said steps would be taken to ensure the safety of seafarers in the region. It is not clear who struck the ship. It is the latest in a spate of attacks on vessels in the Red Sea…' www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Projectile sinks Indian-flagged ship off Yemen coast

All 14 people on board the Indian-flagged vessel were safely rescued, India's ministry of external affairs says.

bbc.co.uk

'Yemen’s Houthis say they hit Saudi target at Najran airport… There was no immediate confirmation from Saudi. The Houthis said strike was in response to what they described as Saudi drone incursions into the airspace over the Saada & Hajjah governorates in NW Yemen' www.reuters.com/world/middle...

Yemen's Houthis say they hit Saudi target at Najran airport

Yemen's Iran-aligned ​Houthis said on Telegram on ‌Tuesday that they hit a target at Saudi Arabia's Najran Airport.

reuters.com

'Jordan is convening an emergency meeting of foreign ministers from the Arab and Islamic world over what it says is an “imminent” threat of an Israeli takeover of the most important Muslim site in Jerusalem, with the potential to “trigger a religious conflict”.' www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...

Jerusalem’s most important Muslim religious site facing ‘imminent’ threat of Israeli takeover, says Jordan

Country convenes emergency meeting of ministers from Arab and Islamic world, fearing such a move could ‘trigger a religious conflict’

theguardian.com

'‘Nobody cares’: the Turkish farmers bearing the burden of UK’s plastic waste problem. Britain exported 139,000 tonnes of rubbish to Turkey last year, leaving smallholders and poor districts of Adana to cope with the debris, microplastics and toxic smoke.' www.theguardian.com/environment/...

‘Nobody cares’: the Turkish farmers bearing the burden of UK’s plastic waste problem

Britain exported 139,000 tonnes of rubbish to Turkey last year, leaving smallholders and poor districts of Adana to cope with the debris, microplastics and toxic smoke

theguardian.com

'Syria says will restore Iraq oil pipeline link within three years… The prospect of a pipeline link to the Med via Syria has gained new urgency with the closure of the SoH — a vital maritime route for Gulf oil and gas exports — as a result of the Middle East war.' www.newarab.com/news/syria-w...

Syria will restore Iraq oil pipeline link within three years

Syria and Iraq are finalising a deal to restore the Haditha-Banias oil pipeline, with work expected to take up to three years.

newarab.com

'Oil Minister Tariq Sulaiman Al-Roumi told Japan’s Kyodo news agency that one proposed route would connect Kuwait through Saudi Arabia to the Red Sea or Oman, while another would link the country to the UAE’s Fujairah port.' www.middleeastmonitor.com/20260803-kuw...

Kuwait discusses oil pipeline with Arab neighbors to bypass Strait of Hormuz: Minister

Kuwait is holding talks with Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries to build a new crude oil export pipeline that would bypass the Strait of Hormuz, the Kuwaiti oil minister said, Anadolu reports. O…

middleeastmonitor.com

'How long can Iran weaponise Hormuz? Longer than the world hopes, according to our Hormuz dependency dashboard… Third, even if the fees Iran can charge diminish over time, its strategic leverage will not necessarily fade in step.' www.economist.com/middle-east-...

How long can Iran weaponise Hormuz?

Longer than the world hopes, according to our Hormuz dependency dashboard

economist.com

'The scale is hard to fathom. Some 17.4 mn people – over a third of the population – require urgent food assistance. The UN has warned that 4.7 mn Afghans are on the brink of famine, while nearly 5 mn mothers & children are suffering from acute malnutrition.' www.telegraph.co.uk/global-healt...

'What began as demonstrations over the soaring cost of living in the part of Kashmir that Pakistan controls has evolved into a political movement, the Joint Awami Action Committee, a coalition of traders, civil society activists and local politicians.' www.nytimes.com/2026/08/04/w...

Pakistan’s Kashmir Problem

A wave of protests is posing the most significant challenge in years to Islamabad’s authority in the region.

nytimes.com

'How Taiwan is preparing for a PLA sea blockade in its biggest war games. Taiwan will begin its annual war games on Wed, testing for the first time its ability to counter a People’s Liberation Army maritime blockade in the western Pacific during the 10-day exercise.' www.scmp.com/news/china/m...

How Taiwan is preparing for a PLA sea blockade in its biggest war games

Taipei to move weapons production, prepare for internet outages and adopt US ‘back briefs’ during Han Kuang drills.

scmp.com

'“We hope that this year’s defense white paper will deepen the public’s understanding of Japan’s defense and security, and serve as an opportunity for people to reflect on how security is linked to the future of each and every citizen,” Def Min Shinjiro Koizumi' www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/08...

Japan defense report says China challenge must be met with ‘overall national strength’

Tokyo’s annual defense white paper says that cooperation with allies and like-minded nations is crucial to Japan’s own security.

japantimes.co.jp

'North Korea’s Kim Yo Jong issues military threat over Japan missile test. Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of NK leader Kim Jong Un, has warned that Pyongyang would adopt “additional military options” after Japan test-fired a US-made Tomahawk cruise missile.' www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/8/...

North Korea’s Kim Yo Jong issues military threat over Japan missile test

The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has accused Japan of moving beyond a defensive posture.

aljazeera.com

'Black Sea now the ‘most dangerous commercial shipping environment in the world’. The Black Sea conflict has entered a more dangerous phase for commercial shipping, …escalating strikes on merchant vessels, tankers and port infrastructure' www.lloydslist.com/LL1158109/Bl...

Black Sea now the ‘most dangerous commercial shipping environment in the world’

The Black Sea conflict has entered a more dangerous phase for commercial shipping, as escalating strikes on merchant vessels, tankers and port infrastructure drive seafarer casualties to their highest levels of the war

lloydslist.com

'Kyiv is taking the war deep into Russia… That means that Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, and every one of his military staff are comfortable with killing civilians – even by accident – because the innocent will be seen as collateral damage by his allies.' www.independent.co.uk/news/world/e...

The real worry for Ukraine’s allies as beach strike on civilians marks shift in war

Kyiv has not yet acknowledged killing Russian civilians on a Black Sea beach, but as it strikes deeper at Moscow, these tragedies will multiply – and that’s not the only worry, explains world affairs ...

independent.co.uk

'Ukrainian drones hit Wildberries warehouses… Senior 🇺🇦 officials told the FT that the strikes on Russia’s version of Amazon are also a direct response to Moscow’s attacks on dozens of facilities belonging to Nova Poshta, the largest Ukrainian private postal service.' www.ft.com/content/4d9d...

Ukrainian drones hit Wildberries warehouses in overnight strikes

Russian retailer has become key target for Kyiv as it aims to bring Putin’s war closer to home

ft.com

'Russian missile attack kills 14, injures 27 in Ukraine’s Kyiv region. Kyiv’s military administration said seven sites had come under attack in the assault that began after midnight. Air raid alerts for Kyiv remained in place for more than an hour.' www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/8/...

Russian missile attack kills 14, injures 27 in Ukraine’s Kyiv region

The latest attack comes after at least 27 people were killed in both Russia and Ukraine earlier this week.

aljazeera.com