TikTok is preparing a new payment feature that could allow users to send money to one another through direct messages. TechCrunch, citing Bloomberg, reported that evidence of the feature was found through an analysis of code in the latest iPhone version of the TikTok app. The feature has not been officially launched, and TikTok has not provided a timeline for its wider release.

Under the proposed system, recipients could accept a transfer by pressing a designated button. Users may also be able to attach short messages to payments. The service could use TikTok’s own payment system, which is already used for TikTok Shop purchases in several Southeast Asian countries.

TikTok has previously shown interest in financial services. A Reuters report in March said the company had sought permission to operate as a financial technology company in Brazil to offer lending and money-transfer services. The payment feature remains in experimental development, leaving its global rollout and initial availability by country uncertain.

Climate change is increasingly an economic crisis as well as an environmental one, with heatwaves, floods, droughts, cyclones, wildfires and rising seas damaging agriculture, industry, infrastructure, health and jobs. The source says poorer and developing countries that emit comparatively less carbon are often more exposed to these losses. World Bank data show that, between 2021 and 2024, 69% of people in low-income countries hit by disasters or extreme weather reported income losses, while 72% reported lost or damaged assets.

Agriculture-dependent economies, small island states, outdoor workers and marginalised groups face particular risks. The World Bank says climate change could push up to 130 million people into extreme poverty by 2030 without effective action. IPCC findings cited in the report say extreme-weather losses can be especially large relative to GDP in small island states, placing pressure on budgets and growth.

Bangladesh is highlighted as a warning case, with cyclones causing average annual economic losses of about $1 billion. By 2050, climate impacts could threaten up to one-third of agricultural GDP and displace more than 13 million people internally. The report calls for climate-resilient infrastructure, early-warning systems, agricultural adaptation, renewable energy and social protection.

Commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has fallen to about 20 percent of its average level in the seven days before the war, according to a report by the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations. The report, published on August 22, 2026, cited Iranian military activity and continuing maritime security risks as factors behind the sharp decline.

UKMTO research said the number of ships passing through the strait each day remains in single digits. Over the past week, 103 vessels entered the strategically important waterway and 89 left it, for a total of 192 movements. Tankers accounted for 45 percent of all ship traffic in the strait.

The agency said harassment of vessels by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has continued, including drone overflights, VHF radio messages to ships and concerns about navigation through areas at risk from active mines. The route south of the strait through Omani waters remains the highest-risk corridor. Sixteen of 18 recorded missile or other projectile incidents since July 6 occurred along the southern Omani route, UKMTO said.

China’s decision to draw on its strategic oil reserves has helped limit pressure on global oil markets after the Strait of Hormuz was closed, according to the report published on August 21, 2026. Six months after the closure, an estimated 10 to 14 percent of global oil supplies still cannot reach the market, yet oil-market volatility has remained lower than in several previous Middle East crises.

Before the war, about 20 million barrels of oil a day passed through the strait, roughly one-fifth of global daily consumption. International oil prices have risen about 50 percent in the current crisis, with Brent crude increasing from around $60 a barrel at the start of the year to a stable range of about $85 to $90.

The report contrasts the situation with the 1973 Arab oil embargo, when a 7 percent supply disruption was followed by a near fourfold price increase. Supply disruptions of 6 to 7 percent during the 1979 Iranian Revolution and Iraq’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait also drove prices to more than double. China has avoided buying large additional volumes of crude, preventing extra demand from adding market pressure.

China has called on the United States and Iran to engage in dialogue as Washington threatens to impose new sanctions. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian made the appeal in a statement posted on X on Friday, according to Al Jazeera. The report was published on August 21, 2026.

Lin said China opposes unilateral sanctions that lack a basis in international law and authorization from the United Nations Security Council. He said the use of military force and pressure tactics would only heighten tensions and would not serve anyone’s interests.

The Chinese spokesperson urged all relevant parties to act responsibly and said disputes should be resolved through dialogue and negotiations. The source did not provide details about the proposed sanctions, any planned talks between Washington and Tehran, or responses from the United States and Iran.

An Al Jazeera opinion article published by Amar Desh on August 21, 2026 alleges that Israel, under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is seeking to fuel Islamophobia in Western countries to repair its international image. It says Israel is strengthening ties with right-wing political forces in the United States and Europe while portraying itself as a Western shield against what it calls “radical Islam.”

The article cites increased anti-Muslim rhetoric and political campaigning in the United States, including initiatives such as the “Sharia-Free America Caucus,” as well as attacks on mosques. It contrasts the current political climate with former President George W. Bush’s message after the September 11, 2001 attacks that Islam is a religion of peace. It also notes that representatives of European far-right parties attended an Israeli-organized anti-Semitism conference in Jerusalem in January.

According to the analysis, Israel’s public-relations and hasbara campaigns seek to generate fear around Islam and Muslim immigrants, including through alleged influence efforts in Canada. The article says Israel’s image was damaged by the Gaza war and questions whether Islamophobia can restore Western backing, citing growing political participation by Muslim and other minority communities.

Ivonne Baki, an Ecuadorian diplomat running for United Nations secretary-general, called for reform of the Security Council’s current structure during an informal General Assembly discussion on Thursday. She said the council had failed to adapt to major global population changes since the Second World War, contributing to frequent deadlock. Tonga formally submitted Baki’s nomination to the General Assembly on Tuesday.

Baki said some continents retain permanent seats despite their declining share of the global population, while rapidly growing Africa has no permanent seat. In her view, this imbalance has created stagnation in the council’s work. The 75-year-old former Ecuadorian minister has served as ambassador to France, Qatar and the United States, and has previously acknowledged her friendship with US President Donald Trump.

Baki pledged that, if elected, she would work directly in areas affected by war and conflict rather than only carrying out administrative work from New York. She also stressed the need for greater participation by women in efforts to resolve conflicts, including the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. Eight candidates are now in the race, and the selected secretary-general will take office on January 1, 2027.

The United States has reportedly arranged a secret southern shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz for oil tankers, Axios reported, citing US officials. The report, republished by Amar Desh Online on August 20, 2026, said 15 to 20 tankers have crossed the route each night in recent weeks. Officials said about 10 million barrels of crude oil are leaving the Gulf region daily, roughly half of pre-war normal exports.

US forces are reportedly assisting both loaded tankers leaving the Gulf and empty tankers travelling from the Arabian Sea to ports in Gulf countries. Ships are being moved in large convoys through the southern route on a fixed nightly schedule. The US Air Force is said to be protecting the vessels from Iranian drone and cruise missile attacks.

US officials said recent military operations had weakened Iran’s radar and maritime surveillance systems, enabling the corridor’s operation. They claimed US forces shot down eight Iranian drones and two cruise missiles this week. President Donald Trump said large volumes of oil were still passing through Hormuz and that no talks with Iran were underway.

A report published by Amar Desh Online on August 20, 2026 examines the United States’ long record of attempts to influence or change governments abroad, focusing on Iran and interventions in the Middle East and Latin America. It says US-CIA and British action removed Iran’s elected prime minister Mohammad Mosaddegh in 1953 and restored Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, following conflict over oil-industry nationalisation.

The report says the Shah’s authoritarian rule later fuelled public anger and Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, turning Iran from a close US ally into a principal rival. It also cites tensions involving the Iran-Iraq war, sanctions, Iran’s nuclear programme and Iran-backed armed groups. The United States left the 2015 nuclear agreement in 2018 and reimposed sanctions, while Iran later began enriching uranium beyond the deal’s limits.

It describes mixed outcomes in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya, and cites allegations of US-backed interventions in Guatemala, Brazil and Chile during the Cold War. Analysts say removing a government can be easier than controlling the political consequences, urging Washington to distinguish between addressing military or nuclear capabilities and seeking to alter a country’s political system.

US President Donald Trump warned that countries providing assistance to Iran or conducting trade with it would face “severe economic consequences.” He issued the warning in a Truth Social post on Wednesday, according to the report published on August 20, 2026. Trump said he was launching the “most stringent economic measures” against Iran, without detailing the measures or naming any countries.

Trump said banks, businesses, airports and government entities in any country that offer Iran financial or commercial support would face strict US penalties. The announcement came as the US war with Iran has approached six months, with no immediate diplomatic solution in sight. Shipping through the strategically important Strait of Hormuz has also been heavily disrupted.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had previously said Washington would take tougher action to economically isolate Iran. The report says Russia is accused of providing Iran military assistance and drone technology, while China has continued buying Iranian oil and maintaining trade ties. Trump claimed Iran’s navy and air force had been extensively destroyed, but said talks could resume if Iran is prevented from developing nuclear weapons.

The International Criminal Court condemned the Trump administration’s sanctions against ICC President Tomoko Akane and senior trial lawyer Abdoulaye Sey as a public attack on the court’s independence. In a statement issued Wednesday, the court said the measures directly target an impartial judicial institution and undermine the rule of law by targeting judges, prosecutors and staff. Akane, a Japanese judge, has served as ICC president since her election in March 2024, while Sey is a Senegalese national and senior court lawyer.

Washington described the ICC as corrupt and severely politicized. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the sanctioned individuals were directly involved in ICC efforts to investigate, arrest, detain or try officials of countries that have not accepted the court’s jurisdiction, without giving specific examples. The latest measures follow earlier US sanctions against ICC officials connected to the court’s investigation and actions involving Israel.

Japan and the European Union opposed the sanctions. Tokyo said it supports the ICC’s work to ensure accountability for the most serious crimes and uphold the rule of law. EU leaders Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa said ICC officials must be able to work independently without external pressure. The sanctions bar the designated individuals from entering the United States and using its financial system.

Iran is considering attacks on US military installations in Europe if its ongoing war with the United States expands further, the Financial Times reported, citing two Iranian government sources. Potential targets mentioned include US military facilities in Bulgaria and Cyprus. The report was published on August 19, 2026, as efforts to halt the war appeared to have broken down.

US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Washington was not currently holding talks with Tehran and had no plan to begin new negotiations. The United Arab Emirates said Wednesday it would suspend all trade, commercial exchanges and financial transactions with Iran until further notice. Trump has also used harsh language toward long-standing US allies accused of not supporting Middle East military operations.

Tensions are centered on the Strait of Hormuz, where Trump says shipping is operating normally under US control, while the source says vessel traffic remains very limited. One person was killed this week in an attack on a cargo vessel transiting the strait. Analysts cited in the report warned that a prolonged disruption could raise global oil prices.

Meta has changed how Facebook calculates content reach, prioritizing original, high-quality posts while reducing distribution for low-quality or mass-produced AI-driven material. The policy, reported on August 19, 2026, does not ban AI-generated content outright, but posts lacking meaningful human creative input or editing will appear less often in News Feed and Reels.

Meta assesses originality by looking for a creator’s contribution, including an original idea, editing, commentary or distinctive presentation. Downloading and reposting others’ videos, adding logos or subtitles, or changing playback speed will not qualify as original content. A Meta newsroom announcement in March said original creators would receive greater reach and earning opportunities, while unoriginal material would be deprioritized.

AI-generated images, audio and realistic videos must carry a “Made with AI” label. The label has appeared on regular posts since May and has been automatically added to advertisements since July. Meta said AI use alone will not remove monetization eligibility, but monetization will be stopped for unoriginal, mass-produced or reposted content. Analysts say Facebook increasingly recommends content from pages users do not follow, while artificial engagement is receiving less reach.

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters has sharply criticised FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s leadership and plans to sell ownership stakes or partnerships in FIFA competitions, including the World Cup. In an interview with the BBC reported on August 19, 2026, Masters described the proposal as “self-destructive” and said FIFA should not have considered selling shares in the World Cup.

Masters said FIFA had created the problem itself and would have to find a solution. He argued that, as a non-profit body, FIFA should stage its competitions as a custodian for the long-term interests of world football rather than pursue the proposed arrangement. He called the idea a bad plan.

The report said criticism of Infantino has also come from other football bodies. UEFA has criticised his actions, while the English and Scottish football associations have withdrawn support for him. La Liga president Javier Tebas has called for Infantino to resign. Infantino is preparing to seek re-election as FIFA president next year, and Masters said a potential unity candidate should pursue FIFA reform and structural changes concerning the president’s role and powers.

A Kaspersky survey of 7,200 people across several countries found that many Gen Z users treat artificial intelligence as more than a tool for information and work. Published on August 19, 2026, the findings show that 27% of Gen Z respondents speak with AI as if talking to a friend, while 28% seek advice on personal matters they do not easily share with other people.

AI use is also more common among Gen Z than among other generations, according to the research. Some 47% of surveyed young people said they use AI daily or regularly. The most common uses were searching for information, cited by 56%, studying at 49%, generating new ideas at 47%, and workplace tasks at 39%.

The survey also pointed to security concerns. Only 42% of Gen Z AI users regularly take protective measures, including verifying AI-generated information through reliable sources and avoiding sharing personal or confidential data. Another 52% do so occasionally, while 6% take no precautions. Kaspersky AI Technology Research Center group manager Vladislav Tushkanov said personal AI interactions should not be considered fully private or reliable conversations.