Zero's Briefs

Foreign Affairs and Geopolitics — Putin receives Myanmar’s president at the Kremlin — On August 18, Vladimir Putin holds talks at the Kremlin with the President of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar Min Aung Hlaing, on an official visit to Russia. According to the Kremlin’s press service, the topics are the deepening of bilateral cooperation and the international and regional agenda, with a series of documents signed at the end. This is the second visit to Russia since he was named president in April 2026. (RIA Novosti, Russian state agency; Interfax)

Foreign Affairs and Geopolitics — At least twelve dead in exchange of air strikes between Russia and Ukraine — On the night between August 15 and 16, Ukraine carried out one of the most massive aerial offensives since the start of the war: the Russian Defense Ministry claims to have shot down around 1,500 drones, while Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported that around 600 were headed toward the capital. The overall toll in the two countries is at least twelve dead, five in the Rostov region. (Euronews; ANSA)

Europe — Paris, Berlin and London work on a European negotiating format — France, Germany and the United Kingdom are building their own format for future negotiations on Ukraine, with the stated goal of ensuring Europe a direct role in any peace process. The initiative is taking shape while talks between Moscow and Kyiv remain stalled. The news currently comes from a single source (ANSA agency); no independent confirmation available. (ANSA)

Europe — A Spanish F-18 shoots down a drone over Romania — On August 16, a Spanish fighter jet engaged in the Nato air policing mission shot down an unmanned aircraft that had entered Romanian airspace. According to the Alliance’s military headquarters, the drone “appears to be Russian,” with checks ongoing: the conditional wording remains the official one, and no definitive attribution has been communicated. (L’Unione Sarda)

Italy — Meloni names jobs and wages as priorities for the final year of the legislature — In an interview with the weekly Chi, the Prime Minister places the reduction of taxes on labor and wage growth at the center of the final phase of the legislature, pointing to the cut in the tax wedge, the new Irpef and over a million more jobs. The government indicates more than 20 billion allocated through 2027 for public sector contract renewals. Single source: the interview itself; no independent verification of the figures cited. (Stampa Parlamento)

News in Brief — Yellow hydrogeological alert for Calabria and Sicily — For August 18, the Civil Protection Department has issued a yellow alert for hydrogeological risk across numerous areas of Calabria and Sicily. Forecasts indicate unstable weather in the South with falling temperatures, closing out the fourth heatwave of 2026; strong thunderstorms are expected in the North between Thursday and Friday. (Meteo.it)

News in Brief — Eight dead in flooding in Chiba Prefecture — Record rainfall on August 13 and 14 caused widespread flooding in Japan’s Chiba Prefecture: eight confirmed victims according to prefectural and municipal authorities, eight rivers with level 4 alerts and the Murata River at level 5, with flooding ongoing. Japan’s Meteorological Agency has assigned an official name to the event. The news currently comes from a single source (reports from the Fire and Disaster Management Agency and the prefectural portal); no independent confirmation available. (The Watchers)

Economy and Markets — Istat publishes June industrial production data with May revisions — Istat’s release on June 2026 reports indices and month-on-month and year-on-year variations on a 2021=100 base, adjusted for calendar effects and seasonally adjusted using the direct method for each sector. The June data are provisional and the document includes a table of May revisions; the full series are available in IstatData. According to Eurostat, in June industrial production remained stable in the euro area and grew by 0.2% in the EU. (Istat; Eurostat)

Health — Seven cities under yellow alert in the heatwave bulletin — The Ministry of Health’s bulletin for August 18 flags seven Italian cities with a yellow alert and none at higher levels. According to the Ministry, yellow indicates a pre-alert status, meaning conditions that may precede an increased health risk in the following 24-48 hours, particularly for vulnerable individuals. The news currently comes from a single source (Ministry of Health bulletin); no independent confirmation available. (Meteo.it)

Tech & AI — Transitional period on content marking remains until December 2 — The marking and detectability requirement for generative artificial intelligence systems already on the market benefits from a transitional period until December 2, 2026. In the meantime, the AI Office has published a voluntary code of conduct on the transparency of generated content, a tool that facilitates demonstrating compliance for those who adhere to it. (Cooley; European Commission)

Culture — Discount on Friends passes for Edinburgh residents — In 2026 the Fringe Society introduces a discount on Friends passes reserved for residents with an EH postcode. It is a measure that financially acknowledges the cost borne by residents of the urban area in hosting the world’s largest performing arts festival for twenty-five days. (Edinburgh Festival Fringe)

Cinema & Entertainment — Golden Leopard in Locarno for Romanian film «You Don’t Belong Here» — The 79th edition of the Locarno Film Festival closed on August 15 with the Golden Leopard awarded to Florin Șerban. The Special Jury Prize went to «The Riverbank» by Matheus Farias and Enock Carvalho, a Brazil-Germany co-production; Best Direction went to Hong Sangsoo for «Nowhere to Lay My Eyes»; Best Female Performance went to Monica Bellucci for «Ketticè» by Giovanni Tortorici. (ComingSoon; I Films Online)

Cinema & Entertainment — Tinto Brass’s 4K restoration opens Venice’s pre-opening — On September 1, in the Sala Darsena at the Lido, the Mostra’s pre-opening evening will be dedicated to «Col cuore in gola» (1967) by Tinto Brass, a pop thriller with Jean-Louis Trintignant and Ewa Aulin shot in London. The digitally restored 4K version, produced by the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia - Cineteca Nazionale with support from Netflix, will have its world premiere in the Venezia Classici section. (iCrewPlay Cinema)

Sport — Four Coppa Italia round-of-32 matches — On August 18, Pisa-Empoli is played at 18:00, Sassuolo-Cesena at 18:30 in Reggio Emilia, Cremonese-Sampdoria at 20:45 in Cremona and Palermo-Lecce at 21:15. The news currently comes from a single source (official Coppa Italia calendar reported in the ANSA agenda); no independent confirmation available. (ANSA)

Number of the Day — 44% of confirmed Ebola cases in Congo have ended in death — This is the crude case fatality rate calculated by the WHO for the Bundibugyo ebolavirus outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo: 1,587 deaths out of 3,605 confirmed cases as of July 30, 2026. No approved vaccines exist for this strain. (Adnkronos)

On This Day — In 1947 the Fringe is born as an unofficial offshoot — The Edinburgh Festival Fringe was born in 1947 on the sidelines of Edinburgh’s international festival, hosting those who had not been selected. In 2025 it sold over 2.6 million tickets for 53,942 performances at 301 venues. (Wikipedia)