“Britain’s Prince Harry, singer Elton John and other high-profile claimants face paying millions of dollars out of their own pockets to cover the legal costs of the Daily Mail’s publisher after a judge ruled their failed privacy lawsuits were conducted in an unreasonable way. Judge Matthew Nicklin’s judgment on costs, which was published on Friday, ordered an interim payment from the claimants of £9.54 million, due by August 28, towards the legal costs of Associated Newspapers. … Last month, Nicklin comprehensively rejected the case brought by King Charles’ younger son, John and five other figures, rejecting allegations that the Mail titles had engaged in widespread unlawful activities, such as phone hacking.” (08/21/26)
“With the two largest reservoirs in the nation struggling with record-low water levels and the Colorado River, which feeds them, facing years of drought amplified by climate change, the federal government had hoped that the seven states that draw water from the river could reach an agreement on how to divvy up the shrinking supply. After they failed to do so, the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) stepped in. On Friday, the agency ordered steep cuts to the amount of Colorado River water that will be delivered to California, Nevada and Arizona. … The agency didn’t mandate reductions to the Upper Basin states, including Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico, as it doesn’t have the same legal authority over the upper part of the Colorado River. But it is asking those states to agree to operate the Flaming Gorge, Navajo and Aspinall reservoirs in order to send water down and protect Glen Canyon Dam.” (08/21/26)
“A Chinese humanoid robot on Saturday ran a 100-meter sprint in 9.32 seconds, surpassing the world record set by Jamaican legend Usain Bolt. The robot, named Lightning and produced by robotics company Honor, reached a peak speed of 14.5 meters per second during a test run. Lightning is one of 2,000 robots participating in the second World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing. The robot’s sprint on Saturday was .26 seconds faster than Bolt’s world record of 9.58 seconds, set 17 years ago at Berlin’s World Athletics Championships. Another robot cleared 2.88 meters at the standing high jump, higher than the 2.45-meter world record set by Cuban athlete Javier Sotomayor in 1993.” (08/22/26)
“Dozens of coordinated arson and incendiary attacks across Thailand’s south left at least three people wounded and government property burned, the military has said. Multiple local government offices and several vehicles were damaged or destroyed in the 51 attacks late on Saturday, according to the military’s Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC). … Since 2004, a low-level conflict has simmered in the southernmost provinces of Buddhist-majority Thailand, killing more than 7,000 people, as rebels in the Muslim-majority region battle for greater autonomy. No group has claimed responsibility for Saturday’s attacks.” (08/23/26)
“Fourteen people were killed in military air strikes at a monastery in Myanmar early on Friday, opposition fighters and a local rescue worker have said. All of those killed were elderly and a number of monks were also injured, the rescue worker told BBC Burmese, adding that the site was struck twice. … Civilians had reportedly gathered at the site for a meditation retreat to mark Buddhist Lent. Myanmar’s military has not commented.” (08/22/26)
“President Donald Trump has urged a federal judge to reject the BBC’s request for the court’s help in securing testimony and documents from three family members in response to his $10 billion [frivolous] defamation lawsuit against the British broadcaster. The BBC is trying to gain ‘politically-driven leverage’ over Trump by serving subpoenas on daughter Ivanka Trump, son-in-law Jared Kushner and son Donald Trump Jr., personal lawyers for the Republican president argued in a court filing Friday. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Kuntz in Miami did not immediately rule on the dispute.” (08/22/26)
“Gov. Gavin Newsom signed California’s controversial ‘Stop Nick Shirley Act’ into law on Saturday, just days after a radical [sic] left-wing [sic] operative [sic] crashed the journalist’s Capitol interview and launched a crude personal attack on him. Assembly Bill 2624 expands California’s Safe at Home program to employees of nonprofits that serve people navigating the immigration system. Critics have blasted the measure as a way to intimidate people ‘trying to shine light on bad behavior.’ The law takes effect Oct. 1, 2027. … Shirley, an independent journalist and YouTuber, has made videos following immigrant workers and accusing them of fraud. … On Wednesday, Shirley was conducting a sidewalk interview outside the California State Capitol in Sacramento when Terry Schanz, chief of staff to Democratic Assemblywoman Tina McKinnor, allegedly barged into the encounter. … He held up a printed flyer and asked: ‘Did you guys hear that Nick Shirley has a small penis allegedly?'” (08/22/26)
“Somali pirates hijacked an oil products tanker off Yemen, a Somali maritime security official said, the latest in a resurgence of piracy that has seen six commercial vessels seized since April across the Gulf of Aden and western Indian Ocean. Six armed pirates hijacked the Eritrean-flagged M.T. Sibu 1 on Thursday about 136 nautical miles (252 kilometers) east of al-Mukalla, Yemen, and took it toward Somalia’s Puntland coast, the official, who has knowledge of the incident, told The Associated Press on Friday. He spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not allowed to discuss the matter publicly. The Sibu 1, managed by the UAE-based Qatrat Alnada Almasi Ship Management, was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department last year for allegedly belonging to an Iranian ‘shadow fleet’ used to transport petroleum products seeking to evade U.S. sanctions.” (08/22/26)
“The Democratic Republic of Congo government and the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group have agreed a roadmap for peace talks. In a joint statement after five days of talks in Switzerland, they said they had pledged to ‘pursue negotiations towards comprehensive peace and conflict resolution’ and set up a mechanism to monitor the ceasefire. The roadmap sets out a timeline for talks under a US-brokered peace framework which they signed in 2025 – only for fighting to then continue in eastern DR Congo, which has been engulfed in conflict for decades. But disagreements remain over issues including sanctions against M23, the release of detainees and the timing of political reforms.” (08/23/26)
“A federal appeals court handed conservative activist James O’Keefe a significant legal victory Friday, tossing out a $130,000 judgment a Democratic consultant won against him over an undercover video sting tied to the 2016 presidential election. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals said that award, which followed a 2022 jury trial, violated the First Amendment by muddling together the consequences of legal activity by O’Keefe and his group, Project Veritas, with unlawful aspects of its infiltration of the consulting firm, Democracy Partners. The video, which Project Veritas released weeks before the 2016 general election, contended that Democracy Partners and its founder, Robert Creamer, were seeking to foment violence at Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s rallies. … Creamer and his firm sued Project Veritas and O’Keefe, claiming illegal wiretapping, trespass, breach of fiduciary duty and fraud.” (08/21/26)
