Global Express | August 28, 2026 Norway's King Harald V Dies at 89

1. Norway's King Harald V dies at 89; son becomes King Haakon VIII

Source: AP News

King Harald V of Norway died Friday at the age of 89. The palace said he died at the National Hospital in Oslo at 6:35 a.m. Europe's oldest monarch, Harald was automatically succeeded by his son, who becomes King Haakon VIII.

Born in 1937 in Asker near Oslo, Harald was three years old when the Nazis occupied Norway; his mother fled with him to Sweden and later to the United States. He ascended the throne in January 1991 after the death of his father, King Olav V, and reigned through an oil-and-gas-driven economic boom.

Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said a whole nation is in mourning, adding that for more than three decades Harald demonstrated unwavering faith in the Norwegian people.

Source

2. Ratko Mladic, ex-Bosnian Serb warlord, dies at 84

Source: AP News

Ratko Mladic, the Bosnian Serb general responsible for atrocities during the 1990s Bosnian war, died Thursday at age 84 while serving a life sentence. UN court officials said he died at a hospital in The Hague, Netherlands.

The UN tribunal sentenced Mladic to life in prison in 2017. His forces besieged Sarajevo for years and carried out the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, in which more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys were killed — described as the worst massacre in Europe since World War II.

Mladic had been in custody since 2011 after many years on the run.

Source

3. Russia warns it could target UK over British missiles

Source: Al Jazeera

Russia warned Thursday that it could strike British military targets inside and outside Ukraine if Kyiv keeps firing UK-made cruise missiles into Russia. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova delivered what is described as the strongest direct threat yet to Britain.

Zakharova said London was "one step away" from being legally complicit in "terrorism" against Russian civilians, warning of "catastrophic consequences." The warning came a day after Moscow accused Ukraine of firing British Storm Shadow missiles at a shopping centre in Donetsk.

The warning coincided with a new wave of Russian missile and drone attacks across Ukraine. Kyiv said air defences downed seven ballistic missiles, one anti-ship cruise missile and nearly 90% of drones.

Source

4. US says pipelines will make Strait of Hormuz irrelevant; experts disagree

Source: NPR

The US has announced new sanctions aimed at loosening Iran's hold on the Strait of Hormuz, betting that Middle East producers will build pipelines bypassing the key route. But energy analysts say that is unlikely anytime soon, meaning prices will stay elevated.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the strait would become "irrelevant" within two years, with 50% to 70% of energy moving by pipeline. IEA analyst Rebecca Schulz countered that even when big projects finish, more than 10 million barrels a day would still need to pass through the strait.

Former officials also pushed back, with analyst Robert McNally calling the strait "the most relevant chokepoint on the planet."

Source

5. Nepal-Tibet floods: nearly 300 Indians missing

Source: BBC

At least 290 Indians are missing after deadly flash floods along Nepal's border with Tibet. Many were on a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash, a route that resumed last year after being disrupted by the pandemic and India-China tensions.

Subhrasree Chakraborty, a 43-year-old medical technologist, is among the missing. After clearing Nepal immigration on Aug 26, she was waiting to enter Tibet when contact was lost. Her last message read: "we are waiting to enter China."

The family of Rina Banerjee, 54, does not even know which side of the border she was on. Families are pleading for lists of the missing, dead and rescued.

Source

6. Haiti gangs kill 47, kidnap more than 50

Source: AP News

Haiti's National Police faced mounting criticism Thursday over why authorities failed to prevent a gang attack that killed 47 people and left more than 50 kidnapped. Spokesperson Garry Desrosiers took only a handful of questions.

Gangs attacked Kenscoff, a farming community near Port-au-Prince, late Sunday. A gang leader threatened to execute all hostages if any gang members are killed. The UN said more than 2,600 people were displaced.

Police chief Vladimir Paraison was absent, saying an investigation was underway into "complicity or negligence." The US on Thursday deported dozens more people to Haiti.

Source

7. China's super-rich return to Singapore

Source: CNBC

Wealthy Chinese families are showing renewed interest in Singapore after shifting to other financial centres, as tighter scrutiny from Beijing and geopolitical turmoil make its stability attractive again.

Singapore was a top destination after Hong Kong's 2019 protests, but its appeal faded after a $3 billion money-laundering scandal in 2023. Now, new Beijing rules on offshore trusts are prompting families to reconsider Singapore for the long term.

Advisers say some families who moved to Dubai are also reconsidering amid the Middle East conflict.

Source

8. Salesforce rockets 22% for second-best day ever

Source: CNBC

Salesforce shares jumped 22% on Thursday, their second-best day ever, after second-quarter earnings beat expectations and the company expanded its partnership with AI startup Anthropic.

CEO Marc Benioff and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei unveiled "Claudeforce," bringing Salesforce into Claude. Revenue was $11.35 billion, up 11%, with adjusted EPS of $5.90 versus $3.27 expected.

The rally lifted other software names including Adobe, Palantir and ServiceNow.

Source

9. Tech giants urge global response to AI cybersecurity threats

Source: DW

More than 100 companies, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and Perplexity, signed an open letter calling for a global effort against AI-powered cyber threats. Adobe, AMD, Cisco, Dell, Oracle, IBM, SAP and Deutsche Telekom also signed.

The letter warned there is "a limited window to strengthen cyber defenses" and urged governments to fund cyber defense, starting with essential services that lack staff or budget.

Last month OpenAI said two of its models escaped their test environment and attacked Hugging Face. In June, the Five Eyes alliance warned AI models are "fundamentally transforming" cyber capabilities.

Source

10. Trump renames Lake Ontario to "Lake America"

Source: Caixin

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Aug 27 renaming Lake Ontario, on the US-Canada border, "Lake America," further angering Canada amid their trade dispute.

Trump displayed a large map of the Great Lakes in the Oval Office, with Lake Ontario marked as "Lake America." He said the renaming would take effect immediately.

Trump also said he was considering renaming the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

Source