🌐World News Station
ISSUE №28・Aug 11–13, 2026

This week: EU orders Google to open Android to AI assistants, Anthropic forms data center venture, Aug 12 sky show

Starting this issue we've added four new categories — Finance, Sports, Esports, Motorsports — bringing the total to eight: Tech, Business, Finance, Natural Disasters, Sports, Esports, Motorsports, Fun. Finance coverage states market figures and events only, never investment advice. Disaster coverage uses only official or authoritative observatory data — no casualty speculation. Every other item includes a source link; when we can't verify something, we write "unconfirmed" rather than guess.

Published: Coverage:Aug 11 – Aug 13 Items:13
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💻

Tech

3 items

EU orders Google to open Android to Claude/ChatGPT integration by August 2027

The EU has issued an order to Google under the Digital Markets Act (DMA) requiring it to open Android by August 2027 so third-party AI assistants — Anthropic's Claude, OpenAI's ChatGPT among them — can integrate at the system level rather than existing only as regular apps. It's the latest instance of the EU using the DMA to constrain large tech platforms' gatekeeper position.

Verification note: Compiled from tech news roundups; check the European Commission and Google's official statements for the formal legal text and Google's response.

Anthropic forms Theseus data center venture with Macquarie and GIC

Anthropic announced a strategic partnership with Macquarie Asset Management and Singapore's GIC to form "Theseus Infrastructure," a platform through which Macquarie and GIC will fund and own data centers, leased to Anthropic under long-term agreements, initially focused on the US. Anthropic has committed to covering grid-upgrade costs and any consumer electricity-rate increases tied to the facilities' power demand — consistent with its previously announced plan to spend $50 billion on US data centers.

Verification note: Compiled from Macquarie's official release and financial media coverage; total venture size and individual site details are not yet fully disclosed — check both companies' official announcements for updates.

August 12 sky show: dawn planet parade, daytime annular eclipse, Perseids after dark

Some astronomy outlets called August 12 one of the best skywatching days of the year: a planet parade visible before sunrise, an annular solar eclipse crossing parts of the Arctic (far northern Russia, Greenland, Iceland) and the Iberian peninsula (northern Spain, a small part of Portugal, the Balearic Islands) during the day, followed by the Perseid meteor shower after dark — three astronomical events in a single day.

Verification note: Timing and visibility compiled from astronomy media; actual observing conditions vary by local weather and time zone — check your local astronomical authority for precise times.
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📈

Business

2 items

UAE banks post record Q2 profits across the board; ADCB hits 20 straight quarters of growth

Major UAE banks reported record Q2/H1 earnings across the board: Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) posted Q2 pre-tax profit up 26% year-on-year to AED 3.83 billion, its 20th consecutive quarter of profit growth; First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) posted H1 pre-tax profit up 3% to AED 13.2 billion; Emirates NBD posted H1 pre-tax profit up 5% to AED 16.2 billion; Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) posted pre-tax profit up 9% to AED 4.3 billion. Banks attributed the growth to UAE economic momentum and gains in both lending and fee income.

Verification note: Figures compiled from financial media coverage and public earnings reports; check each bank's official investor relations pages for exact figures.

Brent crude tops $92/barrel as Middle East tensions raise supply concerns

Brent crude prices have risen recently, touching $92.54 a barrel on August 11 — up nearly $5 from the prior day and about $25 above year-ago levels; the price is up roughly 5.3% over the past month and more than 31% year-on-year. Markets are watching developments around the Strait of Hormuz, while US Strategic Petroleum Reserve inventories have fallen to their lowest level since 1983 — supply concerns that continue to support prices and feed into broader inflation outlooks.

Verification note: Price is a market snapshot at time of reporting and moves intraday — check a financial data platform for real-time quotes. For developments on the ground, check major wire services for updates; this site states events as reported without taking a position.
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💰

Finance

3 items

S&P 500 closes at 7,757.64, its 26th record close of 2026

The S&P 500 rose 0.6% Friday to close at 7,757.64, its 26th all-time closing record of 2026; the Dow Jones Industrial Average also topped 54,000 over the same period. The recent rally has been driven by better-than-expected corporate earnings, a rebound in tech shares, and market hopes for an easing of tensions around the Strait of Hormuz.

Verification note: Index level is a snapshot at time of reporting and will keep moving — check a financial data platform for real-time quotes; this site states market figures and events as reported, not investment advice.

Bitcoin trades around $64,940, down more than 50% from October's cycle high

Bitcoin was priced around $64,940 on August 7, trading in a 24-hour range of roughly $64,100 to $65,300. Its market cap stands at about $1.3 trillion — around 57% of the total crypto market, still the largest cryptocurrency by far. The current level is down more than 50% from the cycle high of $126,209 set in October 2025.

Verification note: Price is a market snapshot at time of reporting; crypto prices are highly volatile — check an exchange for real-time quotes. This site states market figures only, not investment advice or price predictions.

Gold tops $4,400/oz, a two-month high but still below January's record

Gold climbed above $4,400 an ounce on August 11, its highest level in nearly two months, driven by a weaker-than-expected July jobs report that boosted expectations for US rate cuts — typically supportive for non-yielding assets like gold. The current level remains below the all-time high of $5,542.40 an ounce set on January 29, 2026.

Verification note: Price is a market snapshot at time of reporting and moves intraday — check a precious-metals trading platform for real-time quotes; this site states market figures only, not investment advice.
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⚠️

Natural Disasters

1 item
Our disaster-reporting principle: we use only USGS and national weather/seismic authority data, never speculate on casualties; when official figures aren't out yet, we write "not yet released," never cite unverified social-media claims.

No M6.0+ significant earthquakes recorded worldwide this week

Per USGS observation data, no magnitude 6.0+ significant earthquakes occurred worldwide within this issue's review window (Aug 11–13) — a comparatively quiet week, with only scattered sub-M4 activity and nothing rising to the level of a major event worth flagging.

✓ Observatory data Verification note: This is a snapshot at time of compilation — seismic activity is ongoing, check USGS's official earthquake reports for the latest.
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🦦

Fun

1 item

Raccoon with mayo jar stuck on its head rescued after days on the loose in Dallas

Animal services in Dallas, Texas recently rescued a raccoon that had been seen wandering a neighborhood for several days with a mayonnaise jar stuck over its head. Workers successfully freed the animal and confirmed it was unharmed.

Verification note: Compiled from an international odd-news roundup; check the source for follow-up on the animal's release/placement.
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🏆

Sports

1 item

NBA legend Don Nelson dies at 85 — 5 championships, second-most wins in league history

Don Nelson, the second-winningest coach in NBA history, has died at age 85. As a player, Nelson won five championships with the Boston Celtics; after retiring he moved into coaching, amassing the second-most career wins in NBA history — a towering figure in basketball.

Verification note: Compiled from sports media coverage; check official NBA records for exact career statistics.
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🎮

Esports

1 item

Esports World Cup Week 5 wraps: OpTic Gaming go back-to-back, TEKKEN 8 sweep in the final

Week 5 of the 2026 Esports World Cup in Paris crowned three champions: in the TEKKEN 8 grand final, Khawaja "M. Zubair" swept South Korea's Yoon "LowHigh" Sun-woong 5-0; in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, OpTic Gaming beat Team Heretics 5-3 to claim back-to-back EWC titles; and in Honor of Kings, Kuaishou Gaming and AG.AL went the distance in a seven-game series.

Verification note: Compiled from the event organizer's official announcements; check the Esports World Cup website for full results and prize breakdowns.
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🏎️

Motorsports

1 item

F1 Dutch Grand Prix set for August 23 — Zandvoort's last race on the current calendar

Round 12 of the 2026 F1 season, the Dutch Grand Prix, takes place August 23 at Circuit Zandvoort — the final scheduled appearance for this track under the current calendar, closing out the orange grandstands and the narrow, elevation-heavy layout that made it a modern F1 favorite. Pre-race storylines center on Ferrari's SF-26 outperforming expectations this season, with teams bringing upgrades at different paces.

Verification note: Schedule per F1's official announcement; team-performance commentary compiled from racing media — check official post-race results for confirmed outcomes.
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