Stories for August 2026

Tuesday, August 11th 2026 - 09:44 UTC
Burnham's Labour edges ahead of Reform UK in a YouGov poll for the first time

The Labour Party of British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has moved ahead of Reform UK, the right-wing party led by Nigel Farage, in a voting intention survey by YouGov published on Tuesday by The Times. It is the first time this has happened in that pollster's series since Reform took the lead in early 2025.
Tuesday, August 11th 2026 - 09:21 UTC
Syrian court sentences Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia for crimes against humanity

A criminal court in Damascus sentenced former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia on Tuesday for premeditated murder, torture, arbitrary detention and crimes against humanity. Assad was ousted in December 2024 and is living in exile in Moscow. It is the first public sentence handed down against the man who governed Syria for more than two decades.
Tuesday, August 11th 2026 - 09:18 UTC
Kast rules out backing bill that ties abortion access to hearing the fetal heartbeat

Chilean President José Antonio Kast said on Monday that his government would not push forward a bill introduced by lawmakers from his own coalition that would condition access to legal abortion on a woman agreeing to hear the fetus's cardiac activity.
Monday, August 10th 2026 - 19:16 UTC
De la Espriella gives the first earthquake toll and entrusts Colombia to Jesus Christ

Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella reported 111 dead and 87 injured on Monday from the magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck the west and center of the country, in an address containing extensive religious references. “I entrust our country to the Lord Jesus Christ,” he said after chairing a meeting of the unified command post set up at the National Disaster Risk Management Unit.
Monday, August 10th 2026 - 14:29 UTC
Colombia records its strongest earthquake in a decade, geological service says

A magnitude 7.4 earthquake shook western and central Colombia on Monday, causing damage in several cities and affecting six airports. It is the strongest earthquake recorded in the country in the past decade, according to the Colombian Geological Service (SGC). No official casualty figures have been released so far.
Monday, August 10th 2026 - 10:55 UTC
Reform UK in talks with El Salvador over sending foreign prisoners to Bukele's jails

Britain's Reform UK party, led by Nigel Farage, has opened contacts with the government of El Salvador to transfer foreign prisoners to jails in that country should it win the next United Kingdom general election, which must be held by 2029 at the latest. The report was published on Monday by the newspaper The Sun and has not been confirmed by San Salvador.
Monday, August 10th 2026 - 09:33 UTC
Bitcoin's Persistent Value as an Inflation Hedge in Mercosur's Stabilizing Economies

Fiscal reforms are reshaping parts of South America right now, and that's forcing a lot of portfolio conversations that wouldn't have made sense two years ago. Digital assets, once treated purely as emergency exits from collapsing currencies, are getting a second look. Not because they've changed. Because the ground underneath them has shifted.
Monday, August 10th 2026 - 08:32 UTC
De la Espriella sets ten armed group leaders as his target for his first 90 days

Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella has pledged to capture or kill ten leaders of illegal armed groups during the first 90 days of his term, which began on Friday in Cali. The commitment, made during his campaign, is the centerpiece of the “shock plan” with which the new president seeks to reverse the negotiation policy of his predecessor, Gustavo Petro.
Sunday, August 9th 2026 - 20:58 UTC
Keiko Fujimori starts her term in Peru with 60% approval, Datum poll finds

Peruvian President Keiko Fujimori has begun her five-year term with a 60% approval rating, against 24% disapproval and 16% who gave no opinion, according to a Datum Internacional survey published on Sunday by the newspaper El Comercio.
Sunday, August 9th 2026 - 20:44 UTC
Bolivia records its first same-sex civil marriage after a court ruling

Bolivia has recorded its first civil marriage between two people of the same sex, held on Friday, August 7, in Santa Cruz, the country's most populous city, following a legal process that lasted three years and ten months.