New maritime attacks by both Yemen's Houthi rebels and the United States military have hit critical global shipping lanes, coinciding with a fresh diplomatic impasse in the monthslong U.S.-Iran war. The death toll from the devastating 7.4-magnitude earthquake in western Colombia has reached at least 254 people. A Damascus court has sentenced former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia. At least 14 illegal artisanal miners were killed and eight others injured when a disused mine dump site collapsed near near Rustenburg, South Africa. Ecuadorian prosecutors formally charged seven individuals, including former Interior Minister José Serrano and Los Lobos gang leader Wilmer "Pipo" Chavarría, as indirect masterminds in the 2023 assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio. The Brazilian Supreme Court has authorized the Federal Police to track foreign assets and funds linked to former banker Daniel Vorcaro and other key targets in the massive Banco Master fraud case. Indonesia is currently battling a severe surge in nationwide wildfires, which have burned more than 107,000 hectares (264,000 acres) of land. Typhoon Dolphin, the strongest storm to strike China this year, has caused catastrophic inundation across eastern and central provinces. Western Europe is currently facing its fifth severe heatwave of the summer, bringing scorching temperatures, record-breaking droughts, and uncontrollable wildfires across Spain and France. Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez married in a private, intimate civil ceremony on August 11, 2026, in the coastal resort town of Cascais, Portugal. At least 18 people, predominantly child laborers, were killed on Tuesday, August 11, 2026, when two overcrowded pickup trucks carrying agricultural day workers collided in northern Egypt. At least 15 people have died, 27 remain missing, and 77 survivors have been rescued after an overloaded ferry capsized. The cross-border passenger rail link between Finland and Sweden officially resumed on August 10, 2026, after a 38-year suspension. On Wednesday, August 12, 2026, a highly anticipated total solar eclipse will sweep across Europe. Prominent cryptocurrency investor Harry Chun Tak Yeh was found dead on August 7, 2026 in Asunción, Paraguay.