Global Express | August 23, 2026 Russian drone strike on Zelensky's hometown mall kills 16, injures 130

1. Russian drone strike on Zelensky's hometown mall kills 16, injures 130

Source: BBC

Rescuers in Ukraine are continuing their search for survivors in the wreckage of a large shopping centre hit by Russia in Kryvyi Rih, President Volodymyr Zelensky's hometown. According to Dnipropetrovsk regional head Oleksandr Hanzha, two drones hit the busy centre in quick succession on Friday, killing 16 people and injuring 130, with four people still missing. The search and rescue operation could last another two days.

Zelensky condemned the "cynical and despicable" attack, noting the second drone targeted emergency workers. In an update on Saturday, Hanzha said 52 injured people, including 14 children, remained in hospital. A fire covering about 9,000 square metres has been extinguished, and a day of mourning is being observed across the region.

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2. Israel strikes Syria as US envoy suggests earlier base attack aimed at "baiting" Turkiye

Source: Al Jazeera

An Israeli drone struck a civilian vehicle near the town of Beit Jinn in the Damascus countryside on Saturday, wounding a man. Syria's foreign ministry condemned "in the strongest terms" the targeting of a "civilian vehicle", calling it a flagrant violation of Syrian sovereignty. Israel's military confirmed the strike, saying it had targeted "a terrorist who advanced terror attacks in their final stages of preparation".

US special envoy for Syria and Iraq Tom Barrack, who is also ambassador to Turkiye, had earlier condemned Israel's strike on the Abu al-Duhur airbase as an "unnecessary escalation", and on Friday said it may have been intended to provoke a conflict with Turkiye ahead of upcoming Israeli elections. Defence Minister Israel Katz hit back on Saturday, calling the remarks "full of inaccuracies". Qatar also condemned the Israeli attack on Saturday.

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3. Iran warns neighbours against joining US "economic war"

Source: ifeng (The Paper)

Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, warned neighbouring countries overnight on Aug 22 not to take part in the "economic war" the United States has launched against Iran, or be treated as enemies. Rezaei said Iran is not seeking to expand the conflict, but that if neighbours cooperate with the US economic war, Iran would "harm the interests of these countries".

Rezaei's remarks came after US President Donald Trump escalated economic threats, saying on Aug 19 he would launch a "devastating economic action" against Iran, with Treasury Secretary Bessent set to hold a news conference on Aug 24 to detail the measures. President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Aug 21 that it was time to end the months-long Middle East war with the US.

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4. Pakistan army chief to visit Iran on Aug 24

Source: Xinhua

Iran's foreign ministry spokesman announced on Aug 23 that Pakistan's army chief, General Munir, will visit Iran at the head of a delegation on Aug 24. The spokesman said the visit aims to strengthen bilateral cooperation between Iran and Pakistan and to continue working to maintain regional peace and security.

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5. Alibaba plans over $10 billion Hong Kong share placement to fund AI

Source: Reuters

Alibaba said on Sunday it plans to sell HK$80 billion ($10.2 billion) in a share placement to fund artificial intelligence-related development. If completed, the deal would mark the largest-ever primary follow-on offering by a Hong Kong-listed company and the world's third-largest primary follow-on share sale this year, after offerings from Alphabet and Intel.

Alibaba said it will use 100% of the net proceeds to invest in its "full stack" AI capabilities, a category that includes chips, infrastructure and the development and deployment of AI models. A term sheet reviewed by Reuters showed the company planned to sell 710 million ordinary shares at HK$112.70 apiece, a 3.6% discount to its most recent close. Morgan Stanley, HSBC, UBS and CICC are serving as joint bookrunners.

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6. Canada to impose retaliatory tariffs on US goods from Sept 8

Source: Al Jazeera

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced in Ottawa on Saturday that Canada will impose retaliatory tariffs on the United States starting Sept 8, in response to Washington's 50% levy on $20 billion worth of Canadian goods. Carney said the new Canadian tariffs would target US steel, dairy and electronics industries, among others, vowing Canada would "match Washington's new tariffs dollar for dollar".

The announcement came after days of intense negotiations broke down late on Friday. Trump responded on Truth Social, saying "Canada wants the benefits of being a State, without being one!!!" A Leger poll last week found 56% of Canadians favoured a hard line and making no more concessions. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said no new talks are planned with Canada.

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7. Magnitude 5.9 quake in eastern Japan injures 37, no tsunami risk

Source: AP

A magnitude 5.9 earthquake rattled eastern Japan, including the Tokyo area, early Sunday, injuring at least 37 people, most of them lightly, with no tsunami danger, officials said. According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, the epicentre was in southern Ibaraki prefecture at a depth of 70 kilometres; the US Geological Survey recorded a magnitude of 5.8.

The 37 injured were spread across five prefectures: 15 in Tokyo, nine in Saitama, eight in Kanagawa, four in Chiba and one in Ibaraki. The quake caused delays to express trains serving Tokyo and Narita Airport, but Shinkansen bullet trains ran normally; an underground water pipe ruptured in Tokyo's Koto ward and has since been repaired. The agency urged residents to stay alert for about a week.

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8. 22 crew missing after cargo ship sinks off India

Source: DW

A search-and-rescue operation continued on Sunday after a cargo ship sank off India's eastern coast. The Panama-flagged vessel Ocean Winner had 24 crew on board when it sank on Friday; two Chinese nationals were rescued on Saturday, with 22 people still unaccounted for. The Indian Coast Guard said the missing include 18 Chinese nationals, three Myanmar nationals and one Bangladeshi.

The two rescued Chinese seafarers said the vessel developed a list on Friday and sank within eight minutes, forcing the crew to abandon ship. According to ship-tracking app MarineTraffic, the Ocean Winner was carrying iron ore from Paradip port in Odisha to Singapore. The cause was not immediately known.

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9. 2nd World Humanoid Robot Games open in Beijing

Source: Global Times

The 2nd World Humanoid Robot Games opened on Saturday at Beijing's National Speed Skating Oval, known as the "Ice Ribbon". A humanoid robot riding a robotic horse drew a bow and loosed an arrow that lit the "Zhixin", or intelligence chip — this competition's equivalent of the Olympic flame. In the 100-metre sprint, a humanoid robot clocked 9.39 seconds, faster than Usain Bolt's men's world record of 9.58 seconds.

A total of 666 teams and 2,056 robots from 16 countries across six continents are competing, with the number of teams up 138% from the first edition and the number of robots quadrupling. Competition events doubled from 26 to 51, adding more spectator-friendly events such as martial arts and dance, along with stricter autonomy requirements for the robots.

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10. Hong Kong to run over 200 AI training activities in two years

Source: Bauhinia

Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan said in a blog post on Aug 23 that a HK$50 million "AI training for all" programme launched in this year's budget aims to hold more than 200 activities over the next two years, benefiting about 50,000 participants, offering AI training for working people, students and the public.

Chan noted a multinational tech firm's study found nearly 70% of surveyed Hong Kong residents already use AI proficiently, with about 20% being "super users". The report estimated that if small and medium enterprises reach large firms' AI adoption rate by 2035, it could unlock up to HK$65 billion in economic benefits. The Transport Department will launch an AI-assisted licence renewal tool by year-end, cutting approval time to one working day.

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