Lead Story
US strikes Iranian missile launchers on Larak Island; Iran retaliates against bases in Jordan and UAE
The United States struck two Iranian missile launchers on Larak Island near the northern edge of the Strait of Hormuz on August 30, 2026, after American forces observed Iran's Revolutionary Guard preparing to launch rockets and deploy sea mines in the waterway. Iran's Press TV reported that several IRGC personnel and civilians were killed or wounded, and Tehran retaliated within hours, firing ballistic missiles at technical, maintenance and fighter-jet facilities at Jordan's King Hussein and Al-Azraq air bases and launching explosive drones at US troops and helicopters at Al Minhad Air Base in the UAE. Jordanian air defenses intercepted most of the incoming missiles and no impacts were reported there, but the exchange marks the first direct US-Iran escalation in nearly a month.
Read more →Lead Story
US strikes Iranian missile launchers on Larak Island; Iran retaliates against bases in Jordan and UAE
The United States struck two Iranian missile launchers on Larak Island near the northern edge of the Strait of Hormuz on August 30, 2026, after American forces observed Iran's Revolutionary Guard preparing to launch rockets and deploy sea mines in the waterway. Iran's Press TV reported that several IRGC personnel and civilians were killed or wounded, and Tehran retaliated within hours, firing ballistic missiles at technical, maintenance and fighter-jet facilities at Jordan's King Hussein and Al-Azraq air bases and launching explosive drones at US troops and helicopters at Al Minhad Air Base in the UAE. Jordanian air defenses intercepted most of the incoming missiles and no impacts were reported there, but the exchange marks the first direct US-Iran escalation in nearly a month.
Iceland rejects reopening EU accession talks in close-fought referendum
Icelanders voted 52.8% to 47.2% against restarting negotiations to join the European Union in an August 30, 2026 referendum, dealing a setback to Prime Minister Kristrun Frostadottir's government, which had cast the vote as a "now or never" moment for the country's EU debate. The referendum asked only whether Iceland should resume accession talks, not whether to actually join, but the campaign centered on the economy, cost of living and especially fishing rights, with opponents warning that EU membership would threaten Iceland's fishing industry, a pillar of its economy.
Read more →Iceland rejects reopening EU accession talks in close-fought referendum
Icelanders voted 52.8% to 47.2% against restarting negotiations to join the European Union in an August 30, 2026 referendum, dealing a setback to Prime Minister Kristrun Frostadottir's government, which had cast the vote as a "now or never" moment for the country's EU debate. The referendum asked only whether Iceland should resume accession talks, not whether to actually join, but the campaign centered on the economy, cost of living and especially fishing rights, with opponents warning that EU membership would threaten Iceland's fishing industry, a pillar of its economy.
Nepal-Tibet flood death toll nears 800 as mass burials begin
The confirmed death toll from the glacier-collapse flood on the Nepal-Tibet border rose to nearly 800 by August 30, 2026, with Nepal's disaster agency reporting at least 788 dead and roughly 3,000 people still missing across both countries, including more than 900 workers from hydropower projects along the affected river. Officials in Nepal have begun mass burials of nearly 200 unidentified bodies as morgue freezers run low, while rescue crews continue racing to reach flooded hydropower tunnels amid turbulent river currents. The disaster struck the northern Rasuwa district on August 26 when a collapsing glacier unleashed a wall of water, mud and debris down the Himalayas.
Read more →Nepal-Tibet flood death toll nears 800 as mass burials begin
The confirmed death toll from the glacier-collapse flood on the Nepal-Tibet border rose to nearly 800 by August 30, 2026, with Nepal's disaster agency reporting at least 788 dead and roughly 3,000 people still missing across both countries, including more than 900 workers from hydropower projects along the affected river. Officials in Nepal have begun mass burials of nearly 200 unidentified bodies as morgue freezers run low, while rescue crews continue racing to reach flooded hydropower tunnels amid turbulent river currents. The disaster struck the northern Rasuwa district on August 26 when a collapsing glacier unleashed a wall of water, mud and debris down the Himalayas.
Israeli strike kills 3-year-old in Gaza as ceasefire violations continue
An Israeli airstrike near a bakery in Deir al-Balah killed a three-year-old boy, Tayyem Hamdan, and a man, Hussam Nusair, on August 30, 2026, part of a wider pattern of strikes that Gaza's Health Ministry says killed at least four Palestinians and wounded 14 over a single 24-hour period. Israel's military said it targeted and killed a Hamas militant it accused of advancing attacks on troops and civilians. Since the US-backed ceasefire took hold in October 2025, the Israeli military has killed at least 1,318 Palestinians and wounded 4,375 despite the broader halt in major fighting, keeping alive warnings that the fragile truce could unravel.
Read more →Israeli strike kills 3-year-old in Gaza as ceasefire violations continue
An Israeli airstrike near a bakery in Deir al-Balah killed a three-year-old boy, Tayyem Hamdan, and a man, Hussam Nusair, on August 30, 2026, part of a wider pattern of strikes that Gaza's Health Ministry says killed at least four Palestinians and wounded 14 over a single 24-hour period. Israel's military said it targeted and killed a Hamas militant it accused of advancing attacks on troops and civilians. Since the US-backed ceasefire took hold in October 2025, the Israeli military has killed at least 1,318 Palestinians and wounded 4,375 despite the broader halt in major fighting, keeping alive warnings that the fragile truce could unravel.
Fed Chair Warsh's hawkish Jackson Hole speech lifts odds of a September rate hike
Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh told the Jackson Hole symposium on August 28, 2026 that he remains concerned inflation is running above the Fed's 2% target and that the central bank "may have work to do," an unexpectedly hawkish tone that pushed up market expectations for a rate increase at the Fed's September 15-16 meeting. Traders of fed funds futures now see roughly a 60% chance of a quarter-point hike, up from about 56% before the speech, according to the CME FedWatch tool, even as Warsh continued to withhold explicit forward guidance on the bank's next move.
Read more →Fed Chair Warsh's hawkish Jackson Hole speech lifts odds of a September rate hike
Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh told the Jackson Hole symposium on August 28, 2026 that he remains concerned inflation is running above the Fed's 2% target and that the central bank "may have work to do," an unexpectedly hawkish tone that pushed up market expectations for a rate increase at the Fed's September 15-16 meeting. Traders of fed funds futures now see roughly a 60% chance of a quarter-point hike, up from about 56% before the speech, according to the CME FedWatch tool, even as Warsh continued to withhold explicit forward guidance on the bank's next move.