Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 19th of August, covering the latest developments.
U.S. President Donald Trump has paused a planned 50% tariff increase on Canadian goods for three days, saying Washington and Ottawa had reached a preliminary agreement. The announcement followed a phone call with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, just hours before the tariffs were due to take effect. Trump said the two countries had “a deal”, but acknowledged that the documents still needed to be finalised.
Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz slowed on Tuesday as shipowners remain cautious over the waterways' reopening following the Iran war. Kpler data showed six commodity vessels crossed the Strait on Tuesday, down from nine the previous day and below the 10-day average of 11. U.S. President Donald Trump said no talks were taking place with Iran and insisted the Strait was open, contradicting Tehran's claim that it remained closed to shipping.
South Korea and the U.S. are scaling back their annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises following President Donald Trump's order to substantially reduce American participation. The drills will now end on 21 August instead of 27 August. Some field manoeuvres will be reduced, while live-training activities will be cancelled or replaced by computer simulations. The changes come as Trump seeks to revive diplomacy with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, while Pyongyang continues to condemn the exercises as preparations for an invasion.
An Israeli airstrike killed at least six Palestinians and wounded 14 others at a café in western Gaza City, according to Gaza health officials. Israel said the strike targeted Hamas commanders and other militants, including one it said who took part in the 7 October, 2023 attack, but provided no evidence. The strike came a day after U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoy Jared Kushner left the region without a breakthrough in efforts to advance Washington’s Gaza peace plan.
At least nine people, including a child, were killed in a hotel fire in Kolkata, India, on Wednesday. Around 30 people were safely evacuated from the building, while at least six others were reportedly receiving hospital treatment for injuries. Police said an electrical short circuit may have triggered the blaze, but the exact cause remains under investigation.
At least six Palestinians have been killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, according to Palestinian health officials, as efforts by U.S. Pres...
Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has slowed, according to the latest data, as uncertainty over the waterway’s reopening kept most s...
Georgia’s newly elected Catholicos-Patriarch Shio III is set to visit Istanbul, with the upcoming trip discussed during a meeting with M...
U.S. President Donald Trump says Washington is not seeking an extension of its memorandum of understanding with Iran, claiming the U.S. already controls the Strait of Hormuz through its naval blockade.
Iran has said the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until the U.S. fulfils the terms of an interim deal, including lifting the maritime blockade and sanctions and releasing Iran’s frozen assets.
Ukraine has targeted at least 20 Wildberries warehouses across Russia since 18 July, disrupting a major logistics network. Kyiv says the strikes aim to disrupt alleged military-linked supplies, while the attacks have caused billions of dollars in losses and wider economic pressure.
South Korea's presidential Blue House said on Monday it was reviewing U.S. President Donald Trump's comments on scaling back joint military drills. It added that it hoped a favourable relationship between Washington and Pyongyang could lead to meaningful talks.
Russia said its air defences downed 180 drones over the Moscow region overnight, with 620 drones reportedly targeting the area, according to Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin.
South Korea and the United States are scaling back their annual joint military exercises following an order from U.S. President Donald Trump to substantially reduce American participation.
The United States is pushing to establish a formal deconfliction mechanism between Israel, Türkiye and Syria after Israeli airstrikes on a Syrian airbase raised concerns about the risk of a wider regional confrontation.
U.S. President Donald Trump has paused a planned 50 per cent tariff increase on Canadian goods for three days, saying Washington and Ottawa had reached a preliminary agreement.
A federal judge has allowed the Trump administration to move forward with ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for thousands of Ethiopian nationals living in the United States, removing one of the last major legal obstacles to a broader effort to roll back humanitarian immigration protections.
With governments focused on conflicts in the Gulf and Ukraine, China is pressing ahead with a more assertive military and strategic posture across the Pacific, particularly around its immediate neighbourhood.
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