Europe's Total Solar Eclipse After 27 Years Hyundai Strike Resumes, Google Pixel 11

On August 12, candidates Song Young-gil, Jeong Cheong-rae, and Kim Min-seok held an 80-minute live debate on SBS ahead of the August 17 party convention. With Jeolla and Seoul primaries still ahead, it became a key turning point.

On August 12, People Power Party finalized charter amendments giving the central party committee direct nomination authority over basic municipal mayors with 500,000+ population. Mandatory quotas for women and youth also included.

On August 11, Damascus court sentenced Assad, his brother Maher, and seven others to death. Guilty of crimes against humanity, child murder, torture, and arbitrary detention — the first Syrian court conviction of Assad.

Gachon University earned the highest S-grade in the 2026 University Innovation Support Project evaluation, securing 12.69B won including incentives. Reducing self-directed major dropout rates from 15% to 2.7% was a key factor.

NASA-supported university teams launched science instrument balloons along the eclipse path to observe corona and atmospheric changes. ESA conducted a live broadcast event from Spain's Teruel Observatory.

The Korean government provides annual education activity funds of 400,000 won (elementary) and 600,000 won (high school) to multicultural family children (ages 7-18) from households below median income, along with language and career programs.

Hyundai Motor union announced partial strikes of 4 hours on August 12-13 and 6 hours on August 14 and 18. With wage talks stalled, strike intensity is escalating and 42,000 vehicles face production delays.

According to Minimum Wage Council data, 2,769,000 workers (12.4% of all wage workers) earned below minimum wage in 2025. In micro businesses with 1-4 employees, 30.3% of workers earned below minimum wage.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor and two other agencies announced 2026 H2 work plans at a joint briefing. Key directions include protecting small business owners' rest and parental care rights and strengthening work hour compliance.

On August 11, KOSPI closed at 6,345.53, up 45.87 points (0.73%) from the prior day. KOSDAQ rose 3.37 points to 857.84, and USD/KRW fell 2.5 won to 1,415.9.

On August 11, President Trump demanded war damage reparations from Iran, pushing Hormuz negotiations to a standstill. Brent crude traded at $87.62/barrel, WTI at $82.08.

The Bank of Korea released its 14th Monetary Policy Committee meeting minutes on August 11 at 4 p.m. The Fed held rates at 3.5-3.75% at its July 29 FOMC, with the next meeting set for September 15-16.

Following the tax reform, listings in three Gangnam districts rose 3.9% in a week with distressed sales appearing at 1B won below asking price. Jeonse listings fell 6.1%, creating divergence between sale and jeonse markets.

The Korea Housing Finance Institute's national supply index dropped to 94.4 in August (down 3.1 points); Seoul plummeted from 118.7 to 100.0, down 18.7 points. Expanded regulatory zones and tightened mortgage standards cited as main causes.

Herald Economy reported that buyers are adopting a wait-and-see stance ahead of the tax reform implementation grace period, delaying transaction closings even as distressed sales appear.

The Korean government established a 150 billion won fund for AI and media IP, closing fund operator proposals on August 12. Final GP selection expected in September.

Korean Investment Accelerator opened applications for its early-stage startup investment program. Pre-investment valuation threshold raised from 5B to 10B won, and maximum investment per selected company increased to 500M won.

From August 3-9, 41 Korean startups raised funding; 12 companies disclosed a combined 216.3B won. Genomic cancer diagnosis startup Inokras led with 44.3B won Series B.

Kia EV3 draws closer to U.S. launch. With the extended 81.4kWh battery, front-wheel drive EPA range reaches 320 miles maximum. Kia is finalizing the official launch schedule.

On August 4, Waymo eliminated its Dallas robotaxi waitlist and fully opened the service for immediate use via app. The service has logged approximately 150,000 cumulative rides since launch.

Huawei Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance delivered 45,046 units in July 2026, up 13.7% year-over-year. Autonomous driving partnerships are expanding across China.

Google unveiled Pixel 11, Pixel 11 Pro, Pixel 11 Pro Fold, and Pixel Watch 5 at 'Made by Google 2026' in New York on August 12. Features Tensor G6 chip; base model starts at $899, with 128GB option excluded.

Anthropic established joint venture 'Theseus Infrastructure' with Macquarie Asset Management and Singapore's GIC. It will build a dedicated U.S. data center with Anthropic as anchor tenant, bearing the full cost of grid upgrades.

Meta released 'Muse Glimmer', a 30 billion parameter open-source agent AI model under Apache 2.0 on August 10. It runs on a single consumer GPU and supports coding, function calls, and multi-step agent workflows.

Eight Ceva Logistics European warehouses were breached July 29-August 1, exposing names, addresses, and order data from Steam hardware buyers, bol, and De Bijenkorf customers. Stolen data confirmed for sale on the dark web.

Starting from keyv library compromise, a self-replicating worm spread across 420 package names and 1,684 versions. A separate campaign identified ~800 counterfeit packages distributing Windows/Mac/Linux RAT malware.

The CVSS 9.8 TeamCity unauthenticated RCE vulnerability was listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog with active exploitation confirmed. Immediate upgrade to 2026.1.3+ is strongly recommended.

On August 11, U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs saw a $144.67M net outflow, ending a five-day inflow streak. Outflows concentrated in BlackRock IBIT and Grayscale GBTC.

On August 8, BIP-110 triggered a chain split at block 961,632 but the minority chain froze after 8 hours as block production halted. Major pools including Foundry and Antpool controlling 70%+ hashrate refused support.

During August 3-7, BlackRock IBIT absorbed $693M of the $853.54M total U.S. spot bitcoin ETF inflow, capturing 81% of the weekly total.

In a Phase 2b trial of 230 participants, once-daily oral GLP-1 receptor agonist aleniglifron (120mg) showed up to 12.1% body weight reduction versus placebo. Results published in Nature Medicine; can be taken regardless of meals.

A 10-year research review in Nutrients found lentils, chickpeas, and other legumes contribute to gut health, blood sugar control, and lipid improvement, with lower environmental impact than animal protein, per Medical Dialogues.

Patient.info reported that as of August 11, field safety notices include a Class 2 drug recall for ChloraPrep applicators and KidNaps melatonin oral solution.

On August 12, a total solar eclipse crossed Europe while the Perseid meteor shower peaked under new moon conditions, enabling up to 90+ meteors per hour in dark skies. This simultaneous occurrence is the first in the 21st century.

The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope released NIRCam and MIRI images of planetary nebula NGC 2392, showing the central white dwarf forming the nebula over thousands of years.

NASA's WB-57 high-altitude aircraft photographed the solar corona from 50,000 feet, while Iceland and Spain teams launched science instrument balloons along the eclipse path to observe atmospheric boundary layer changes.

According to the KCDC, 2026 cumulative heat-related deaths have exceeded all of 2025's total. While August heat subsided slightly, daily reports continue and those 80+ account for over half of deaths.

The August 12 total solar eclipse crossed Greenland, Iceland, and northern Spain, with up to 2 minutes 18 seconds of totality near Bilbao and Valencia. The first total eclipse on mainland Spain since 1905.

Greenpeace analysis found compound disaster intensity increased 3-fold and frequency 4.8-fold during 2021-2024 versus normal years (1991-2020), warning of increasingly frequent extreme weather alternating heavy rain and heat waves.

The IAEA announced it will officially launch the 'ATLAS' initiative supporting SMR applications for commercial ship propulsion and offshore energy supply in Washington on August 26-27.

The Indian government disclosed plans to allocate 2 trillion rupees for BARC-led development of three SMR designs, targeting at least 5 indigenous SMRs commercially operating by 2033.

Climate Minister Kim Sung-hwan announced public consultation on including new nuclear plants in the 12th Basic Electricity Plan, to be finalized by October. Drafts scheduled for September-October release.

TWICE member Jeongyeon announced on August 10 via handwritten letter that her JYP contract has ended and immediately signed with Varo Entertainment. TWICE group activities will continue; she is the first TWICE member to leave JYP.

BTS completed Baltimore M&T Bank Stadium concerts on August 10-11. Maryland's governor created an official welcome video, and Toronto is preparing to operate 'BTS Boulevard' as a temporary street name ahead of August 22-23 concerts.

August Netflix releases include 'Our Sticky Love' with Jung Hae-in and thriller 'Mousetrap' with Ryu Jun-yeol. Song Kang is set to release a Netflix drama on August 29, marking his return from military service.

Dominique Malonga led with 26 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocks as Seattle Storm snapped their 11-game losing streak beating Chicago Sky 97-88. Malonga became the youngest player in WNBA history to reach 300 rebounds.

On Day 2 (August 11) of the 2026 European Athletics Championships at Birmingham's Alexander Stadium, five titles were decided including men's 100m final, women's 100m hurdles, and men's hammer throw.

Jackson Merrill's two-run homer in the 7th inning flipped the game, and closer Mason Miller recorded his NL-leading 30th save of the season for the Padres.

Record heat sent spinach prices from 784 to 1,978 won per 100g — a 152.3% surge in one month. Cucumber prices jumped 54.8% per 10 pieces, zucchini 46.6%. Ocean temperature rises also drove seafood prices up 40%+ year-over-year.

The FAO global food price index rebounded after one month. Sugar rose 5.6%, grains 3.4%, and the oils index gained 1.4% to 169.1 points from the prior month.

Nongshim raised wholesale prices an average 5.8% from August 1, CJ CheilJedang raised 27 products including Hetbahn by average 8%, and Coca-Cola Beverage raised 52 products by average 7.2%.