Portal:Current events/2026 August 11

August 11, 2026 (Tuesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Middle Eastern crisis
- 2026 Iran war
  - 2026 Iran war ceasefire
    - Pakistan in the 2026 Iran war
      - Pakistani defence minister Khawaja Asif says that a deal between Iran and the United States is "close", including an arrangement over the Strait of Hormuz. (Bloomberg News) (CNBC)
  - 2026 Strait of Hormuz crisis
    - 2026 United States naval blockade of Iran
      - The Wall Street Journal reports that a U.S. military helicopter has fired at the rudder of the Panama-flagged container ship Vela Nova after crews ignored the naval blockade re-imposed in July, contradicting British maritime management that it was hit by a missile in the Gulf of Oman. (Reuters)
- Red Sea crisis
  - Operation Rough Rider
    - The U.S. Department of Defense reports to Congress that the U.S. military strikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen in 2025 killed 153 civilians and injured another 243. (The Hill)
  - The Yemeni government reports that six people have been killed in strikes on a cargo ship by the Houthis in the Bab-el-Mandeb. (The New York Times)
- Gaza war
  - The Israeli Army Radio reports that the Israel Defense Forces launched a strike targeting a Hamas sniper near the Yellow Line in the Gaza Strip, its first strike on the enclave in 10 days. (AIN) (The Times of Israel) (The Jerusalem Post)
Sudanese Civil Wars
- Sudanese civil war
  - Blue Nile campaign
    - A heavy attack on civilians by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and Sudan People's Liberation Movement–North (SPLM-N) is reported in Geissan in Sudan's Blue Nile state, including on the main market, surrounding farms, and other shops. (Sudan Tribune)
    - The International Organization for Migration reports that 2,300 people in the Blue Nile region has been displaced following recent clashes. (Middle East Monitor)
    - Attacks by the RSF and SPLM-N are also reported in Qaysān on its provincial headquarters and a market. (Sudan Tribune in Arabic)
- Sudanese nomadic conflicts
  - Around 60 people are killed and around 50 others injured in an armed attack during a cattle raid in Tonj North County, Warrap State, South Sudan. (AFP via Arab News) (Radio Tamazuj)

Disasters and accidents

2026 Colombia earthquake
- The casualty toll from the M_w 7.4 earthquake in Colombia yesterday increases to over 240 people killed, 570 injured, and at least 3,000 others still missing. President Abelardo de la Espriella declares a national state of emergency. (The Guardian)
At least 44 people are killed when a ferry sinks on Lake Kariba, Zimbabwe. (AFP via RFI)
Search operations for the landslide from Sunday conclude in Baguio, Philippines, placing the final death toll at ten people. Meanwhile, the national police places the nationwide toll from the tropical cyclones and monsoons at 26. (ABS-CBN News) (Philippine Daily Inquirer)
At least 18 people are killed and around 30 others are injured in a two-vehicle collision in Ismailia Governorate, Egypt. (Al Ahram)
Four people are killed and five others are injured after an old residential building collapses in Cairo, Egypt. (Gulf News)
Three people are killed following a commercial building fire in Giza, Egypt. (Al Ahram)

International relations

Syria and weapons of mass destruction
- The Syrian transitional government confirms their cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency to purge nuclear materials at a hidden facility following a report by Axios on such plan after an agreement between Israel, Syria, and the United States. Conversely, Israel threatens to bombard the site again if the materials remain, and to prevent access to the site. (AA) (Axios) (The Jerusalem Post)

Law and crime

Presidency of Ahmed al-Sharaa, War crimes in the Syrian civil war,‪ Prosecution of Syrian civil war criminals
- The Criminal Court in Damascus, Syria, sentences deposed president Bashar al-Assad and his brother Maher to death in absentia, and former Daraa political security director Atef Najib in person, and issue international arrest warrants for all for premeditated murder and crimes against humanity. (AFP via The Standard) (The National)
Capital punishment in Lebanon
- The Lebanese parliament votes to abolish the death penalty. (BBC News)
A United States Marine Corps soldier is released from Russia after having been detained there since 2022. (Kyiv Independent)

Politics and elections

2026 Hungarian presidential election
- Former Supreme Court president András Baka is elected as Hungarian president through a supermajority and is scheduled to take office on 19 August. He ran uncontested as the Tisza Party's candidate, as neither Fidesz nor its partner KNDP nominated a candidate. (Reuters)

Sports

Thousand Martyrs' Cup, Palestinian sports during the Gaza war
- Palestinian Football Association president Jibril Rajoub announces that all football and sport activities will resume in September following a three-year suspension that began after the outbreak of the Gaza war. (Al Jazeera)