SBS News

Missiles in Hormuz and Red Sea Darken Prospects for U.S.-Iran Negotiations Although both countries are formally leaving room for dialogue mediated by neighboring nations, the prospects for an end-of-war agreement are growing increasingly dim as they continue a hard-line standoff with no common ground in sight. SBS Aug 12, 2026 1:12 PM

Following New York, Chicago Pushes for Data Center Moratorium In a statement on the 11th local time, the city of Chicago announced, "Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order calling for stricter regulatory reviews on data centers and a temporary moratorium on data center construction." The temporary moratorium requires approval from the City Council. SBS Aug 12, 2026 1:09 PM

Meta's USD 2 Billion Acquisition of Manus Canceled Amid Chinese Regulatory Obstacles tech giant Meta has ultimately fallen through due to intervention by Chinese authorities. SBS Aug 12, 2026 1:04 PM

Is This the Coolest Summer We Have Left? A Warning of Severe Crisis This past July was recorded as the hottest month in history for the United States. SBS Aug 12, 2026 12:51 PM

Japan Introduces Forced Facial Recognition to Unlock Smartphones in Investigations Amid Overreach Concerns This measure is designed to counter new evidence-destruction methods, such as remote data deletion, but concerns are rising that forcing individuals to expose their biometric information goes too far. SBS Aug 12, 2026 12:47 PM

Pilot of Air India Flight That Plunged 91 Meters Tests Positive for Cannabis According to Reuters, Bloomberg, and other outlets on the 12th , an Air India Airbus A320 passenger aircraft flying from Phuket, Thailand, to New Delhi, India, suddenly nosedived from an altitude of 91 meters shortly after takeoff on the 4th. SBS Aug 12, 2026 11:58 AM

US and Iran Locked in Another Chicken Game: Trump Faces Political Blowback vs. Iran's Economic Collapse President Donald Trump While the U.S. Donald Trump administration is using heavy sanctions and a naval blockade to pressure Iran into submission, the Iranian leadership has shifted the national economy into a "survival mode" to prepare for a protracted conflict, The Wall Street Journal reported on the 11th . SBS Aug 12, 2026 11:58 AM

Lebanon Becomes First in Middle East to Officially Abolish Death Penalty: "A Major Milestone" During a plenary session on the 11th , the Lebanese Parliament passed a bill abolishing capital punishment with a majority vote, excluding lawmakers from the armed political faction Hezbollah out of the 128 total members, replacing the sentence with life imprisonment accompanied by aggravated forced labor. SBS Aug 12, 2026 11:13 AM

Trump Secretly Switched to Military Plane in Israel After Receiving 'Assassination Intelligence' President Donald Trump departs for home after the NATO summit. U.S. President Donald Trump secretly switched to a military aircraft after receiving "assassination intelligence" from Israel when leaving Turkey following the NATO summit last month, the Wall Street Journal reported on the 11th . SBS Aug 12, 2026 11:05 AM

Massive Earthquake Strikes Days After Taking Office... Colombia's New President Faces Major Test Foreign Policy and other foreign policy publications analyzed on the 11th that newly sworn-in Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella faces his first major test through the handling of this earthquake disaster. SBS Aug 12, 2026 11:04 AM