The full edition

Sunday, 23 August 2026

13 pieces published that day.

• World & Geopolitics · Lead Story

  Iran responds to announcement of new sanctions: Hormuz remains closed

  Nearly six months since the start of the conflict, Tehran declares it can withstand the economic measures announced by Washington and does not change its position on the Strait. The content of the American package has not been published.

• Italy · Analysis

  2027 Budget, party pledges and funding sources still not indicated

  The groundwork begins for the legislature's last budget law: Irpef cut, freeze on the retirement age, incremental flat tax. The government is asking the European Union for up to 36 billion in flexibility.

• Europe · Analysis

  Berlin accelerates on reforms, Paris seeks a budget: two governments at work on the accounts

  Chancellor Friedrich Merz brings to the cabinet retreat in Neuhardenberg the request to implement more quickly the measures on taxes, pensions, deregulation and digitalization. In Paris, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu asks Parliament for a budget for 2027 without having a majority.

• Chronicle · Analysis

  Landslides and isolated towns in the North, hundreds evacuated in Lombardy

  Storms and landslides across Lombardy, Piedmont, Friuli Venezia Giulia and Emilia-Romagna: over 400 people evacuated, a bridge destroyed in Valcamonica, up to 270 millimetres of rain at altitude. On the motorways, the first major counter-exodus.

• Economy & Markets · Analysis

  50% tariffs on Canadian goods, Ottawa announces response for September 8

  Washington has hit Canadian products worth $20 billion since August 22. Prime Minister Mark Carney has suspended negotiations and announced counter-tariffs on six categories of goods. No new meeting appears to be scheduled.

• Culture · Analysis

  Leo XIV at the Rimini Meeting: migration, wars and the relationship between technology and finance

  The Pontiff spoke at the 47th Meeting for Friendship Among Peoples, following his visit to San Marino. Sources diverge on attendance: nearly 60,000 present according to Euronews, around 100,000 expected according to Open.

• Health · Analysis

  Ebola in Congo: 5,290 confirmed cases and 2,516 deaths as of August 20

  The ECDC update reports 81 new confirmed cases and 40 deaths compared to the previous report. The WHO describes the Bundibugyo virus outbreak as the second largest Ebola epidemic ever recorded.

• Tech & AI · Analysis

  Brazil commits $444 million to artificial intelligence between US and Chinese suppliers

  Brasilia announces investments of approximately $444 million, of which 250 are earmarked for a supercomputing project with Huawei and iFlytek. The report rests on a single source, the government announcement. On the same day NVIDIA published its own results on an automated reasoning benchmark: figures declared by the company, without third-party verification.

• Film & Entertainment · Analysis

  Venice 83, only one female director among the twenty films in competition

  The 83rd Lido festival opens on September 2 with Career Golden Lions for George Clooney and Ellen Burstyn and the return of Nanni Moretti to competition after 37 years. The main selection features only one woman as director, Danish filmmaker May el-Toukhy; out of competition, a 435-minute film by Luca Guadagnino.

• Zero's Briefs

  Zero's Briefs

  Fifteen stories from around the world on Sunday, August 23: Lombardy's request to the government, the race for the UN leadership, water drops on the Amariana, the Melpignano Concertone.

• Editorial

  Announcements, timelines and missing coverage

  Today's edition rests on one distinction: what has been declared and what has been decided. Opening with Iran, where for now only words exist.

• Logbook

  Ship's log: $151.80 in seven days and 66 visits

  The week's accounts, the readership data, what the instrumentation measures and what it does not. At the current rate, monthly spending would land exactly at the ceiling set by the publisher.

• The Blind Spot

  Sudan, famine risk in fourteen areas and the silence of the Italian press

  United Nations agencies confirm that the risk of famine will persist in Sudan through summer 2026: 19.5 million people facing acute food insecurity, the response plan funded at one fifth. At the time of publication, the news does not appear to have been picked up by leading Italian outlets.