Journal Of Occurrences

World News

You are here: Home / Archives for North America

North America

World Brief: August 26, 2026

World Brief: August 26, 2026

A Himalayan flood is still unfolding this morning, Hormuz diplomacy is stuck in the same ditch, and a CIA director’s secret Moscow stop was followed by drones. Ten stories as of Wednesday, August 26.

1. Nepal–Tibet border. A wall of mud and rock collapsed into a Himalayan river on Wednesday, sending a flash flood down the Bhote Koshi that has killed at least 95 people in Nepal and left hundreds missing, including foreign tourists. Helicopters could not land in Rasuwa district settlements such as Timure and Syapru Besi; roads, bridges, and hydropower plants were torn out. Across the line in Gyirong, Chinese officials reported people missing after a mudslide hit the border crossing, and Xi Jinping ordered an all-out search. Researchers said an ice-rock avalanche likely dammed a tributary and then released; they also warned a second surge is possible.

2. Strait of Hormuz / Tehran. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said Wednesday that Tehran and Oman had agreed how to share the strait and its revenues, but a senior Iranian source told Reuters the accord is not finished and talks on the details continue. President Trump, in a brief morning call with Al Jazeera, said he is “not in a hurry” to resume negotiations and has “no time schedule.” The Guards added the waterway will not reopen unless Washington meets Tehran’s conditions, including an end to the U.S. blockade. Oman’s foreign minister, after Tuesday talks in Tehran, said he hoped a temporary corridor would be announced soon.

3. Moscow and Ukraine. Overnight into Wednesday, Ukraine resumed drone attacks toward Moscow hours after CIA Director John Ratcliffe left the Russian capital, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said. Kyiv had agreed to a U.S. request not to strike Moscow during the unannounced Tuesday visit. The Kremlin confirmed Ratcliffe met Russian intelligence counterparts and did not see Vladimir Putin, who was briefed; spokesman Dmitry Peskov still called U.S.–Russia ties a “profound crisis.” Russia claimed to have intercepted hundreds of Ukrainian drones; Ukraine said Russia launched more than 160 drones at it, with civilian deaths reported in Chernihiv.

4. Islamabad, Pakistan. A fire in the nursery at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences killed 14 of 15 newborns Wednesday morning. Hospital officials said an air-conditioning unit ignited and oxygen connections accelerated the blaze on the third floor of the maternal ward. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif suspended federal health secretary Aslam Ghauri; a fact-finding committee has 24 hours to report on the cause, fire safety, and the emergency response. Families gathered outside; a doctor rescued the one surviving infant.

5. Occupied East Jerusalem. Israeli security forces seized UNRWA’s Qalandia Training Centre, the last of the agency’s facilities still operating in occupied East Jerusalem. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he ordered the evacuation, repeating accusations that UNRWA staff took part in the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack, which the agency denies. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the raid as a violation of U.N. premises. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir joined the operation and filmed himself in the director’s chair.

6. Caribbean Sea. The U.S. military struck a boat in the Caribbean on Tuesday that it said was being used to smuggle drugs, killing four people. U.S. Southern Command did not release evidence the vessel was carrying narcotics. The campaign, now nearly a year old, has killed at least 227 people in 68 strikes, according to tallies drawn from U.S. statements. Tuesday’s attack came two days after a strike in the eastern Pacific that killed two.

7. South Africa. In Cape Town’s National Assembly, President Cyril Ramaphosa vowed that perpetrators of anti-foreigner violence will be arrested and prosecuted, answering EFF leader Julius Malema, who said the lack of arrests looked like state-sanctioned xenophobia. Ramaphosa said South Africa had not been isolated by other African leaders and called for a special African Union summit on migration’s root causes. Ghana has asked that xenophobic violence in South Africa be put on the next ordinary AU summit agenda.

8. Kiribati. Kiribati’s parliament is due to vote on a constitutional amendment that would limit diplomatic relations to U.N. member states or permanent observers — a move that would lock in recognition of Beijing over Taipei. The Pacific island nation switched from Taiwan to China in 2019; President Taneti Maamau backs the bill, which does not name either government. A similar attempt fell short of a two-thirds majority in April. Taiwan still has a dozen formal diplomatic allies, including three in the Pacific.

9. Iceland. A Maskína poll published Wednesday found 51.3 percent of Icelanders support restarting EU membership talks, with 48.7 percent opposed, ahead of Saturday’s referendum in Reykjavik. The ballot is not a vote on joining; any accession deal would need a second referendum. Talks were shelved in 2013. Cost of living, the war in Ukraine, and Trump’s threats involving Greenland have all been cited as reasons interest has revived.

10. Chile–Argentina (Magellan roundup). Overnight we covered Chile’s protest after Argentine Air Force chief Gustavo Valverde treated the Strait of Magellan and Drake Passage as a sovereignty issue. Buenos Aires moved Tuesday to cool it: the foreign ministry said the 1881 and 1984 treaties remain fully in force and “definitive,” and reaffirmed cooperation with Santiago, including the joint Antarctic naval patrol. Chilean officials had called sovereignty over the entire strait “indisputable.”

U.S. Asylum Visa Revocations: August 25, 2026

The Trump administration is preparing what would be the largest single mass visa revocation in U.S. history: pulling the business and tourist visas of foreigners who entered the country as short-term visitors and then applied for asylum. Associated Press reporting, based on State Department documents and two U.S. officials, puts the potential tally at up to 200,000 people. The State Department would not confirm that figure. Spokesman Tommy Pigott said the count will stay “dynamic” because the revocations are meant to roll out over time, not in one sweep.

The target is B-1 and B-2 visas issued between 2016 and 2026 whose holders have sought asylum or are seeking it now. Those visas are for business trips, tourism, family visits, and medical care. Applicants already have to say they intend to go home and, more recently, that they will not apply for asylum. Pigott’s line is blunt: coming in as a visitor and then filing for asylum is, in the department’s view, fraud, and fraud is grounds to cancel a visa. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau made the same argument on social media Monday, calling asylum a “loophole” when it is used this way.

Revoking the visa is not the same as putting someone on a plane. Officials told AP that most people with pending asylum cases would be recategorized and lose their status as business or tourist travelers, but would not necessarily be deported on the spot. Immigration lawyers CNN spoke with said those people would, at a minimum, still be entitled to a hearing before an immigration judge. Their legal footing would rest entirely on the asylum claim. If that claim later fails, there would be no visitor visa left to fall back on.

The State Department is expected to announce the move in the coming weeks unless a court or a policy change gets in the way. It will work with the Department of Homeland Security to match visa records against asylum filings from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. That data-matching job is large, and legal challenges are widely expected. Unlike more than 175,000 visa cancellations the department has already logged since Trump returned to office — a tally it publicized earlier this month — this round is aimed at people who have not been accused of a crime.

It fits a second-term pattern: tighter screening at consulates, bonds, country-based visa pauses (one of which a federal judge struck down last week), and a long fight over birthright citizenship that the Supreme Court has already undercut. For governments whose citizens use B visas to reach the United States, the practical question is who gets caught in the net. The department has not published a nationality breakdown. Analysts note that many recent asylum claims come through the border, not through tourist stamps, so the people hit hardest may not match the overall asylum caseload.

World Brief, Evening: August 25, 2026

World Brief, Evening: August 25, 2026

1. Iran/Oman — A Hormuz corridor inches forward, while the sanctions fight gets louder. Iranian and Omani foreign ministers discussed a temporary joint navigation corridor and mine-clearing work in the Strait of Hormuz, though Tehran says the strait is not fully reopening. Iran also vowed to resist expanded U.S. sanctions, while Washington stopped short of immediately targeting the biggest foreign banks tied to Iranian trade.

2. Ukraine — Kyiv says a short peace proposal is ready for Moscow. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine, the United States and European partners have drafted a one-page set of ideas that includes a ceasefire and a proposed third-party-administered free economic zone in the Donbas. He described the period through next summer as the main window for U.S. mediation before the 2027 presidential campaign complicates diplomacy.

3. Russia — Putin opens the door to state takeovers after Ukrainian drone strikes. A new decree allows the government to temporarily take control of critical infrastructure when private owners fail to protect or repair it. Ukraine said it struck the Afipsky and Novoshakhtinsk oil refineries overnight, the latest pressure on Russia’s energy network.

4. Gaza — New strikes hit civilians and aid supplies as news organizations renew an accountability demand. Local medical sources said Israeli strikes killed at least seven Palestinians, while Medical Aid for Palestinians said an overnight attack destroyed a warehouse holding nutrition supplies for children and mothers. Separately, AP and Reuters again called for a full Israeli explanation one year after the double strike on Nasser Hospital killed 22 Palestinians, including journalists and rescue workers.

5. Haiti — The scale of the Kenscoff gang attack grew clearer. The United Nations said at least 47 people were killed and more than 50 kidnapped in the raid outside Port-au-Prince; 22 victims were reportedly executed in a church compound where they had sought shelter. Residents are demanding stronger protection after one of Haiti’s largest mass kidnappings in recent years.

6. Canada/United States — Ottawa answered Washington’s tariff escalation. Canada announced retaliatory duties on about $20 billion in U.S. goods, including steel, dairy products, appliances and farm equipment, after the United States imposed 50% tariffs on Canadian goods over the weekend. The new Canadian tariffs are due to take effect September 8, with trade talks still broken down.

7. Syria/United States — Washington formally ended Syria’s terrorism-list designation. The United States removed Syria from the state-sponsors-of-terrorism list after 47 years, lifting a major barrier to investment and wider economic reintegration. It is a consequential opening for President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s government, but Syria remains politically fragile and caught between competing regional powers.

8. South China Sea — Satellite images point to another step in China’s military buildup. New installations have appeared on Yagong Island near Antelope Reef in the disputed Paracel Islands, according to imagery reviewed by Reuters. Analysts said the work may be an early-warning radar or observation post linked to what they believe could become China’s largest base in the area, though Beijing describes nearby construction in civilian terms.

9. Global oceans — Sea-surface temperatures set an unusual August record. The EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service said the global average reached 21.1 degrees Celsius on Friday and Saturday, edging past the March 2024 record. The timing is especially worrying because ocean temperatures normally peak in March or April, with an intensifying El Niño now adding to long-term human-driven warming.

10. Zambia — Court closures clouded the deadline for challenging the presidential election. Courts in Lusaka and elsewhere were sealed for what authorities called security reasons on the final day opposition candidate Brian Mundubile could challenge President Hakainde Hichilema’s reelection. The Law Association of Zambia raised concerns about access to justice, while Mundubile alleged irregularities in the vote.

Canada-US Tariff War: August 25, 2026

Canada on Tuesday laid out a dollar-for-dollar counterstrike in its trade fight with the United States, announcing tariffs of up to 50 percent on billions of dollars of American goods after talks collapsed last week.

Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne, joined by other cabinet ministers in Ottawa, said the measures would cover about C$28 billion worth of U.S. imports, or roughly $20 billion, and take effect September 8. Officials described the list as matching, product by product, the duties Washington imposed after Friday night’s breakdown. Steel and aluminum tariffs already in place will rise from 25 to 50 percent. Other U.S. goods, including furniture, clothing, honey, makeup, paper and smartphones, face 50 percent. Appliances, seafood and cheese are among items at 25 percent. A shorter list, including air conditioners and some machinery, is at 15 percent. Energy and potash were left off. Ottawa also announced a C$7.5 billion package of supports for workers and firms, including temporary employment-insurance changes.

The U.S. tariffs, imposed under a Depression-era statute after negotiators failed to close a deal, hit a range of Canadian exports at 50 percent. Prime Minister Mark Carney had already promised a reciprocal response. Champagne said the American terms were “uneconomic, unfair, and ultimately unacceptable,” and that they would have “real consequences for Canadian workers, businesses and communities.” “Canada must respond,” he said.

The White House said the United States had been prepared to offer Canada “the most preferential market access of any country on Earth,” and accused Ottawa of unreasonable demands. Trump, posting on Truth Social, called Canada “the most difficult and unreasonable” country he deals with and floated renaming Lake Ontario “Lake America.” He has also threatened to raise U.S. tariffs on Canadian automobiles to 50 percent as of January 1. Carney has accused Trump of trying to destroy Canadian auto, steel and aluminum industries.

The fight puts more strain on the North American trade pact among Canada, the United States and Mexico. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum sent her economy secretary to Washington after the Canada talks fell apart. Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who called Trump a “loser” on Monday, told CNN on Tuesday that things “got a little heated” but that he still wants a deal. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre asked Carney to recall Parliament and release the rejected draft. Business groups warned that both the tariffs and the support programs will be messy for companies to navigate.

Supreme Court Backs Trump on Mail-In Voting: August 24, 2026

The Supreme Court Mail-In Voting Order

The Supreme Court on Monday cleared the way for the Trump administration to start carrying out an executive order that restricts mail-in voting ahead of the November midterms.

In an unsigned opinion in Trump v. California, the Court paused an injunction from a federal judge in Boston that had blocked the order in 23 states and Washington, D.C. The majority said the states sued too early. Because the order itself had not yet been put into effect, the Court said the states had not been injured in a way that lets the lawsuit go forward.

The March executive order tells the Department of Homeland Security to compile lists of adult U.S. citizens in each state, tells the attorney general to prioritize prosecuting officials who issue federal ballots to ineligible voters, and tells the Postal Service to set rules for which mail ballots it will handle.

Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented. Jackson wrote that the majority had missed “the Government’s actual objective: to secure our imprimatur for its effort to foment chaos ahead of the November elections.” Sotomayor stressed that today’s ruling does not decide whether the president actually has the power to do this.

A separate nationwide injunction, from the same Boston judge in a case brought by voting-rights groups, still bars the U.S. Postal Service from putting its new mail-ballot rule into effect. That order was not lifted on Monday.

The Court said that if the Postal Service’s final rule harms the states, they can challenge the rule itself. Mail-in and absentee voting in some states is expected to start within about a month.

Sources: SCOTUSblog; Supreme Court opinion in Trump v. California, 26A124.