Europe sees rare total eclipse
Europe’s rare total solar eclipse on 12 August 2026 will sweep over Greenland, Iceland, northern Spain and the northeast corner of Portugal. Spain will offer some of the best views, while most of the rest of Europe will see only a partial eclipse.
Storm-1175 deploys StormEncryptor ransomware
Microsoft says China-linked Storm-1175 has deployed StormEncryptor, a new C++ ransomware strain, in active campaigns against enterprise systems. The malware adds a .encrypted extension and drops !!!README_FIRST!!!.txt notes. Investigators link initial access to CVE-2026-18577 in N-able N-central, a patch bypass for CVE-2026-18556.
Russia frees Robert Gilman
Pakistan, China expand CPEC business ties
Duduzane Zuma rises in MK party
Witkoff Meets Released American Gilman
Steve Witkoff said in Washington that he is meeting Robert Gilman, the American convicted in Russia and later released on health grounds. The report from TASS was published from Washington on August 12.
Aoun says Israel-Lebanon talks progress
President Aoun said talks between Israel and Lebanon are moving forward amid wider Middle East tensions. The Jerusalem Post article appears to focus on diplomacy involving Lebanon and Israel, but no further details were available from the provided result.
Taiwan condemns China naval drill plan
South Africa learns from China
Russia kills civilians in Ukraine
Ukraine blames Russia for deadly strike
Ukraine says Russian strikes on Zaporizhzhia killed 7 people, including workers at the Zaporizhstal steel plant, amid claims that Moscow used North Korean missiles and other weapons in the overnight assault. The attack also left 24 wounded, while Ukrainian officials linked the barrage to widening air defense gaps and escalating battlefield cooperation between Russia and Pyongyang.
JD.com directly imports Korean goods
JD.com has established a business entity in South Korea and is directly buying Korean consumer goods for the Chinese market. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources, KOTRA, and JD.com held a briefing for about 200 Korean companies, and some signed deals totaling $1.5 million. JD.com expects rising demand for K-beauty and K-food in China.
India warns border incidents affect China ties
JAL and ANA cut fuel surcharges
US official hails Israel-Lebanon talks
Trump and Modi to resolve tariff dispute
White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will resolve the dispute over U.S. tariffs tied to India’s purchases of Russian oil. He said the issue has already been resolved and pointed to the leaders’ working relationship.
CBS News previews solar eclipse visibility
CBS News says the only total solar eclipse of 2026 will cross parts of Greenland, Iceland and northern Spain on Wednesday, Aug. 12. In the United States, more than 20 states can see a partial eclipse, with the best U.S. views in Fairbanks, Alaska, at 37% totality.
Seoul shares rise on tech gains
Korean shares opened 1.47% higher Wednesday, with the KOSPI rising 92.97 points to 6,438.50 as Samsung Electronics, SK hynix and other tech names led gains. The rally came despite overnight losses on Wall Street and renewed pessimism over a U.S.-Iran peace deal after Iran said the Strait of Hormuz would stay closed unless Washington changed its behavior.
States schedule same-day executions
Tennessee, Alabama and Oklahoma are set to carry out executions on Thursday, the first time in almost 16 years that three people will be executed on the same day in the United States. The last such day was January 7, 2010, when Louisiana, Ohio and Texas all executed inmates.