Briefing

UNESCO says 2.4 million Afghan girls remain excluded from secondary education five years after the Taliban returned to power. It calls Afghanistan the only country formally banning girls and women from education beyond primary school and urges the immediate, unconditional restoration of their educational rights. The restrictions also affect women’s work and public life.

AfghanistanTalibangirls' educationUNESCO

FFox News★★★★☆2026-08-11 23:01Original

New EU packaging rules take effect on Wednesday, setting bloc-wide limits on PFAS, known as “forever chemicals,” in food-contact packaging. They also establish targets to reduce waste, particularly plastics derived from oil.

European Unionpackaging rulesPFASplastic reduction

RReuters★★★★☆2026-08-11 16:50Original

A federal investigators’ report says firefighters responding to a fire at a Maine lumber mill used tactics that inadvertently helped trigger a deadly explosion.

Mainelumber millexplosionfirefighting

TThe Associated Press★★★☆☆2026-08-11 23:00Original

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Donald Trump essentially did not seek his opinion before nominating him to lead the State Department. Rubio said Trump called to tell him he would be secretary of state rather than presenting the job as an option, adding that he was happy and honored to accept it.

US politicsMarco RubioDonald Trump

TTASS★★★☆☆2026-08-11 23:58Original

Japan’s Fair Trade Commission recommended action against Kawai Musical Instruments in June for violating the freelance law. It was the first recommendation based on “price squeezing.” The company was found to have failed to disclose transaction terms to 100 freelancers, failed to pay 98 by the deadline, and kept trial-lesson fees for 28 instructors at the low level of 500 yen per 30 minutes. It is the music-school industry’s third such recommendation after Shimamura Gakki and Sheer.

Kawai Musical Instrumentsfreelance lawmusic instructorsprice squeezing

TToyo Keizai★★★☆☆2026-08-11 20:50Original

President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine has evidence from internal Russian documents that Moscow plans to mobilize several hundred thousand more people after next month’s parliamentary elections, beginning by year’s end and continuing the following year. Russian forces also struck Zaporizhzhia and Kyiv with North Korean ballistic missiles and Zircon cruise missiles, killing seven steel plant workers and injuring 24 in Zaporizhzhia.

Russia-Ukraine warRussian mobilizationmissile strikes

TThe Kyiv Independent★★★★★2026-08-11 17:56Original

The Washington Post reports that a secret plane swap took place as President Trump left the NATO summit in Turkey last month, reportedly in response to a possible Iranian threat. The discussion also looks ahead to the midterms and the Democrats’ emerging figures and political direction.

Donald Trumpplane swapIran threatUS politics

BBBC News★★★☆☆2026-08-11 23:00

Drone attacks were reported overnight in Russia’s Black Sea port of Novorossiysk and across Russian-occupied Crimea. Residents heard repeated explosions in Novorossiysk, while Russian state media said debris hit residential and commercial buildings and a construction site, causing casualties. Explosions were also reported near Sevastopol and the Crimean Bridge, though the reports could not be verified.

drone attacksNovorossiyskCrimeaexplosions

TThe Kyiv Independent★★★★☆2026-08-11 23:54Original

The European Union has yet to settle the details of its approved €90 billion loan to Ukraine and apparently does not know how much member states will have to guarantee, German MEP and BSW co-chair Fabio De Masi said. He called Berlin’s approval irresponsible for failing to assess the risks and consequences. The funds will be raised through EU borrowing and serviced by member states.

European UnionUkraine loanGerman politicsmilitary financing

TTASS★★★★☆2026-08-11 10:01Original

At least 2,000 people have died in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ebola outbreak, which is growing faster than any previously recorded outbreak. Rebel conflict, poor roads and work stoppages over unpaid wages are hampering health authorities’ efforts to reach remote areas.

Democratic Republic of the CongoEbolaoutbreakpublic health

FFrance 24★★★★☆2026-08-11 11:47Original

The Wall Street Journal estimates that Iran has caused the United States up to $13 billion in damage to equipment and facilities. Since the US-Israeli military operation against Tehran began, Iran has carried out more than 2,000 air, missile and drone strikes across the Middle East, damaging at least 20 sites used by the US military in eight countries and more than 42 US military aircraft, mostly large drones but also fighter jets.

IranUnited Statesmilitary operationairstrikes

TTASS★★★★★2026-08-11 08:03Original

Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes slowed again in July, with record prices and mortgage rates at their highest level in more than a year proving too difficult for many prospective buyers to overcome.

U.S. housinghome salesmortgage rates

TThe Associated Press★★★☆☆2026-08-11 15:45Original

A year after Donald Trump sent National Guard troops to Washington, DC, residents, politicians and experts remain divided over the mission. Critics question its legality and say it has had little effect on violent crime, while some residents say the patrols make them feel safer.

Washington, DCDonald TrumpNational Guardcrime

AAl Jazeera★★★☆☆2026-08-11 15:07Original

France has prohibited unsolicited sales calls by businesses across all sectors, except when they concern an existing contract or the recipient has given prior marketing consent. Consumer group Que Choisir Ensemble called the measure a “small revolution,” while business representatives and Moroccan officials warned of added paperwork and potentially significant job losses.

Francetelemarketingconsumer rights

BBBC News★★★☆☆2026-08-11 14:19Original

Somali referee Omar Artan missed the World Cup after being refused entry to the United States. UEFA has since appointed him to referee the Super Cup between Paris Saint-Germain and Aston Villa. A US official said Artan was associated with suspected terrorist organisation members, an allegation he rejected.

footballUEFAOmar Artan

AAl Jazeera★★★☆☆2026-08-11 13:09Original

Russia has approved the Chinese Academy of Sciences as a participant in an international center for synchrotron, neutron and laser research based on the PIK high-flux reactor. Developed in Gatchina, the reactor supports studies of neutrons, neutron radiation and microscopic structures, among other fundamental and applied fields.

RussiaChinese Academy of SciencesPIK reactorresearch cooperation

TTASS★★★☆☆2026-08-11 11:36Original

Typhoon Dolphin has moved deeper inland into China’s central Hubei province, flooding streets, closing tourist sites and stopping construction projects. Forecasters warned of extreme rainfall across a wide area, while Beijing was placed on high alert.

Typhoon DolphinfloodingChina weather

RReuters★★★★☆2026-08-11 09:30

Donald Trump reportedly left Turkey on a secret military flight after the NATO summit in July, amid a credible Iranian assassination threat. Trump has rejected Iran’s demands for concessions and reparations, while talks on a truce and reopening the Strait of Hormuz appear stalled. Oil prices initially surged before stabilizing.

Donald TrumpIranTurkeyStrait of Hormuz

DDW★★★★☆2026-08-11 06:05Original

Australia’s Independent Commission Against Corruption heard that former lobbying company Beckington used a fictitious administrative assistant named “Jessica” while investigating allegations involving the Christian Liberal Reformers faction. Consultant Jeremy Greenwood said Christian Ellis invented the name and acknowledged a $12,000 payment to Jean-Claude Perrottet, which counsel suggested was for recruitment work.

Australian politicsanti-corruption inquirylobbyingLiberal Party

TThe Guardian★★★☆☆2026-08-11 05:28Original

A modified Long March-7A rocket carrying the Zhongxing-4B communications satellite launched from Hainan’s Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site on Monday but encountered an in-flight anomaly, causing the mission to fail. The cause is under investigation.

China spacesatellite launchZhongxing-4B

CChina News Service★★★☆☆2026-08-11 00:50Original

Meta Platforms introduced a downloadable AI model that runs on a personal computer, intensifying a US debate over whether increasingly powerful technology should remain freely available or face tighter controls.

Metaartificial intelligenceAI modeltechnology policy

BBloomberg News★★★☆☆2026-08-11 00:30Original

The U.S. government sold two sanctioned oil tankers for scrap after seizing them in the days following Washington’s raid on Venezuela, Lloyd’s List reported Monday.

United StatesVenezuelaoil tankerssanctions

RReuters★★★☆☆2026-08-11 00:10Original

Short, regular and moderate sun exposure can support vitamin D production and may benefit sleep, mood and other health measures, but excessive exposure raises the risks of sunburn, skin cancer, cataracts and premature ageing. Experts recommend tailoring protection to skin type and UV intensity, avoiding prolonged unprotected exposure and sunbeds.

Sun exposureVitamin DSkin cancer

BBBC Chinese★★★☆☆2026-08-11 00:02Original

Eyewitness footage showed firefighters working to contain a huge fire at an oil refinery in Zawiya, Libya. Libya’s oil ministry said a series of drone attacks had targeted oil facilities, with no group immediately claiming responsibility.

LibyaZawiyaoil refinerydrone attacks

RReuters★★★☆☆2026-08-11 07:31

Eyewitness footage captured panic at Pereira’s Matecaña International Airport when a powerful earthquake struck Colombia. Content creator José Gallego filmed from beneath a table, screaming and taking cover as the terminal shook.

ColombiaearthquakePereiraairport

RReuters★★★☆☆2026-08-11 05:44