Morning Brief - 14 August 2026
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 14th of August, covering the latest developments....
Israeli police has launched a criminal investigation into Sara Netanyahu, the wife of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to the public announcement made by the state attorney’s office on Sunday.
The investigation, which opened on December 26, follows accusations made by an Israeli opposition lawmaker, Naama Lazimi, regarding Sara Netanyahu’s involvement in attempts to influence her husband’s ongoing corruption trial.
Lazimi said, “The prime minister’s wife is a convicted criminal. I will not remain silent, I will not let up, and I will not let this affair be buried. Justice will be done; we will make sure it happens.”
The criminal investigation was initiated after Israeli Channel 12’s Uvda news programme’s allegations in December that Sara Netanyahu had attempted to intimidate a key witness in her husband’s trial.
Additionally, the show accused her of orchestrating demonstrations aimed at harassing the Attorney General, his deputy, and others seen as hostile to her husband.
The state attorney’s office confirmed that the investigation is being carried out by Israel Police in collaboration with the cyber department of the state attorney’s office.
Irael’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is facing serious corruption charges, including bribery, fraud, and breach of public trust in three separate cases. He denied any wrongdoing, calling the charges “ridiculous.” He has become the first Israeli prime minister to take the stand as the defendant in a criminal trial for corruption.
Disruption in the Strait of Hormuz has increased the strategic importance of Bab al-Mandab, raising fears that instability in both waterways could trigger a wider global energy and trade crisis.
Flights at Catania airport in Sicily will remain suspended until early Friday as ash from Mount Etna continues to disrupt air travel, following hundreds of cancellations and diversions over the past week.
Iran says the Strait of Hormuz remains under its control, rejecting U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim of “total control” over the strategic waterway and insisting it will not reopen until Washington fulfils its commitments under an interim deal.
Iran and the United States remain at loggerheads over efforts to agree a permanent end to the war in the Gulf, according to a senior Iranian source who said there had been no progress in talks to revive the interim deal agreed in June and define a timeframe to implement it.
Russia has accused Ukraine of threatening global grain supplies after recent strikes on Black Sea agricultural infrastructure, while Moscow carried out a new overnight attack on Ukraine’s major Danube port of Izmail.
The suspension of two major grain terminals in Russia’s Black Sea port of Novorossiysk could increase pressure on Kazakhstan’s agricultural market if Russian exporters divert supplies to Central Asia at discounted prices.
Georgia’s Prime Minister says the EU’s inclusion of a major Black Sea cable project on a key infrastructure list is fresh evidence of the country’s importance to regional energy and digital connectivity.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has dismissed Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan and appointed former parliament speaker Alen Simonyan as his replacement.
Central Asia’s economy has surpassed $543 billion, driven by Kazakhstan’s economic weight, strong exports and foreign investment, while growing trade across Asia points to an increasingly connected region.
The United Nations refugee agency is planning a settlement and carpet-weaving workshop for Afghan returnees in Kabul as the country grapples with large-scale returns and growing pressure on housing, jobs and basic services.
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