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....
M23 rebels, backed by Rwanda, have entered Bukavu, the second-largest city in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. This marks a significant advance in their ongoing conflict with government forces in the region.
Rwandan-backed M23 rebels made significant advances in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Friday, capturing the Kavumu airport and entering Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province.
The rebels have been moving southward since seizing Goma, the largest city in the region, at the end of January. Their capture of Bukavu would represent a major expansion of their territory.
A spokesperson for the M23 confirmed that they were in control of the airport and surrounding areas, while reports from the ground indicated gunfire in Bukavu’s northern districts. The rebels were seen marching toward the city’s Bagira area, with local civil society leaders confirming their advance toward the city center.
The M23, supported by approximately 4,000 troops from neighboring Rwanda, is one of over 100 armed groups competing for control of eastern DRC’s mineral-rich region. Despite international calls for a ceasefire and renewed peace talks, the rebels have continued their offensive, taking key positions and displacing more than 350,000 people in the process.
The situation in Bukavu remains volatile, with the capture of the city potentially signaling a new phase in the ongoing insurgency.
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.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 14th of August, covering the latest developments.
Hundreds of flights have been cancelled or rerouted at Catania Airport over the past week as ash from Mount Etna’s ongoing eruption continues to disrupt air travel in Sicily.
Record rainfall in Japan’s Chiba Prefecture has killed four people and left thousands stranded overnight at Tokyo’s Narita Airport, as torrential rain disrupted rail, bus and texi services across the prefracture and left more than 20,000 households without power.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) Ebola outbreak has spread to a sixth province. A man died of the virus in Bas-Uélé in the north, the African Union’s health agency said.
At least 437 civilians were killed and 2,610 injured in Ukraine last month, according to UN investigators, marking the highest monthly civilian casualty toll since March 2022.
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