Lead Story
Ukraine strikes Russia's last Black Sea Fleet stronghold at Novorossiysk
On the night of August 11-12, 2026, Ukraine's Defense Forces carried out a major strike on Russia's naval base at Novorossiysk, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, using Neptune cruise missiles, Palianytsia missile-drones and naval unmanned systems against what is now Russia's principal remaining Black Sea Fleet base after earlier Ukrainian strikes forced the fleet out of Sevastopol in occupied Crimea. Zelensky said forces confirmed hits on air defense positions, piers and port infrastructure; Ukraine's military said it struck the frigates Admiral Essen and Admiral Makarov, a Buyan-M-class missile ship and a Vasil Bykov-class patrol vessel, while two grain terminals with a combined 15.6 million metric tons of annual capacity were forced to halt operations. Krasnodar region governor Veniamin Kondratyev said a "massive" wave of Ukrainian attacks on the area killed at least two people, including an 8-year-old child. The strike, more than 300 kilometers from the front line, demonstrated Kyiv's ability to reach deep into Russian military infrastructure even after the fleet relocated specifically to escape Ukraine's earlier campaign of attacks.
Read more →Lead Story
Ukraine strikes Russia's last Black Sea Fleet stronghold at Novorossiysk
On the night of August 11-12, 2026, Ukraine's Defense Forces carried out a major strike on Russia's naval base at Novorossiysk, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, using Neptune cruise missiles, Palianytsia missile-drones and naval unmanned systems against what is now Russia's principal remaining Black Sea Fleet base after earlier Ukrainian strikes forced the fleet out of Sevastopol in occupied Crimea. Zelensky said forces confirmed hits on air defense positions, piers and port infrastructure; Ukraine's military said it struck the frigates Admiral Essen and Admiral Makarov, a Buyan-M-class missile ship and a Vasil Bykov-class patrol vessel, while two grain terminals with a combined 15.6 million metric tons of annual capacity were forced to halt operations. Krasnodar region governor Veniamin Kondratyev said a "massive" wave of Ukrainian attacks on the area killed at least two people, including an 8-year-old child. The strike, more than 300 kilometers from the front line, demonstrated Kyiv's ability to reach deep into Russian military infrastructure even after the fleet relocated specifically to escape Ukraine's earlier campaign of attacks.
Colombia's earthquake response strains new government as rescuers dig through third day
Colombian officials said August 12, 2026 that the magnitude 7.4 earthquake which struck the country's coffee-growing region on August 10 had killed at least 181 people and injured 2,595, with 195 people officially listed as missing, though civilian-run databases put that number closer to 4,000. Rescue teams continued picking through rubble overnight in the hardest-hit cities of Cali, Pereira, Manizales and Quibdo, racing against the 48-to-72-hour window aid agencies consider crucial for finding survivors alive. The disaster response has been complicated in many areas by deep poverty and the decades of civil conflict-driven displacement that already strained local infrastructure, testing newly inaugurated President Abelardo de la Espriella's government just months into office as it scrambles to coordinate aid alongside civil society groups reaching the most vulnerable communities.
Read more →Colombia's earthquake response strains new government as rescuers dig through third day
Colombian officials said August 12, 2026 that the magnitude 7.4 earthquake which struck the country's coffee-growing region on August 10 had killed at least 181 people and injured 2,595, with 195 people officially listed as missing, though civilian-run databases put that number closer to 4,000. Rescue teams continued picking through rubble overnight in the hardest-hit cities of Cali, Pereira, Manizales and Quibdo, racing against the 48-to-72-hour window aid agencies consider crucial for finding survivors alive. The disaster response has been complicated in many areas by deep poverty and the decades of civil conflict-driven displacement that already strained local infrastructure, testing newly inaugurated President Abelardo de la Espriella's government just months into office as it scrambles to coordinate aid alongside civil society groups reaching the most vulnerable communities.
US Navy disables third Iran-bound cargo ship with Hellfire missiles this month
US Central Command said that on August 11-12, 2026 a Navy MH-60 helicopter fired two AGM-114 Hellfire missiles into the engine room of the Panama-flagged cargo vessel Vela Nova after its civilian crew repeatedly ignored warnings to change course, disabling the ship's propulsion and preventing it from reaching Iranian ports in violation of the US naval blockade. The Vela Nova was the 12th vessel targeted since the blockade of Iranian ports was announced in April, and the third since the blockade was reimposed on July 14 following the collapse of the previous US-Iran ceasefire. No casualties were reported among the crew. The strike came as Iran and Oman separately reported progress toward a deal on managing shipping through the nearby Strait of Hormuz, though Tehran says Washington must also lift sanctions and withdraw forces from the region before normal traffic can resume.
Read more →US Navy disables third Iran-bound cargo ship with Hellfire missiles this month
US Central Command said that on August 11-12, 2026 a Navy MH-60 helicopter fired two AGM-114 Hellfire missiles into the engine room of the Panama-flagged cargo vessel Vela Nova after its civilian crew repeatedly ignored warnings to change course, disabling the ship's propulsion and preventing it from reaching Iranian ports in violation of the US naval blockade. The Vela Nova was the 12th vessel targeted since the blockade of Iranian ports was announced in April, and the third since the blockade was reimposed on July 14 following the collapse of the previous US-Iran ceasefire. No casualties were reported among the crew. The strike came as Iran and Oman separately reported progress toward a deal on managing shipping through the nearby Strait of Hormuz, though Tehran says Washington must also lift sanctions and withdraw forces from the region before normal traffic can resume.
US Marine veteran freed from Russian prison after more than four years
Robert Gilman, a 32-year-old Massachusetts teacher and former US Marine held in Russia since 2022, was released and returned to the United States around August 11-12, 2026, after President Trump said he had spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin about a release on "humanitarian" grounds, with Russia "asking for no one in return." Gilman had originally been handed a three-and-a-half-year sentence after being convicted of beating a police officer following a disturbance on a train, a charge his family and US officials called wrongful; his detention, repeatedly extended, stretched to nearly 1,666 days and allegedly involved abusive treatment. Gilman arrived at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, where representatives of the Trump administration welcomed him home.
Read more →US Marine veteran freed from Russian prison after more than four years
Robert Gilman, a 32-year-old Massachusetts teacher and former US Marine held in Russia since 2022, was released and returned to the United States around August 11-12, 2026, after President Trump said he had spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin about a release on "humanitarian" grounds, with Russia "asking for no one in return." Gilman had originally been handed a three-and-a-half-year sentence after being convicted of beating a police officer following a disturbance on a train, a charge his family and US officials called wrongful; his detention, repeatedly extended, stretched to nearly 1,666 days and allegedly involved abusive treatment. Gilman arrived at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, where representatives of the Trump administration welcomed him home.
2.4 million Afghan girls now shut out of secondary school, UNESCO says
UNESCO said on August 11, 2026 that an estimated 2.4 million girls in Afghanistan remain excluded from secondary education five years after the Taliban's takeover, an increase of roughly 200,000 since last year's count, with the figure projected to approach four million by 2030 if the restrictions persist. Afghanistan remains the only country in the world to formally bar girls and women from education beyond primary level; nearly half the country's schools lack water, sanitation or heating, natural disasters have forced roughly a thousand schools to close over the past five years, and more than two million children are out of class at the primary level alone. UNESCO called for the "full restoration" of the right to education for Afghan girls and women, noting the ban has reversed two decades of progress that had seen nearly a million girls enrolled in secondary education by 2021.
Read more →2.4 million Afghan girls now shut out of secondary school, UNESCO says
UNESCO said on August 11, 2026 that an estimated 2.4 million girls in Afghanistan remain excluded from secondary education five years after the Taliban's takeover, an increase of roughly 200,000 since last year's count, with the figure projected to approach four million by 2030 if the restrictions persist. Afghanistan remains the only country in the world to formally bar girls and women from education beyond primary level; nearly half the country's schools lack water, sanitation or heating, natural disasters have forced roughly a thousand schools to close over the past five years, and more than two million children are out of class at the primary level alone. UNESCO called for the "full restoration" of the right to education for Afghan girls and women, noting the ban has reversed two decades of progress that had seen nearly a million girls enrolled in secondary education by 2021.