Aug 4, 2026 · 13 stories

Morning Edition · 4 August 2026

A cargo ship is hit by a projectile in the Strait of Hormuz off Oman as Washington and Tehran give conflicting accounts of talks

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said the vessel reported being struck by an unknown projectile at 2am local time, 37km north-east of Al Khasab in Oman; the British security firm Ambrey said the ship was damaged. President Trump said the two sides were resuming talks to wind down the war, while Iran insisted it was speaking only to Oman, and only about the strait. The waterway carried a fifth of the world's oil and gas before the war and has been effectively shut since February.AP, Reuters · Aug 4, 2026

Cargo ships lying at anchor in hazy grey light off a coast in the Strait of Hormuz, with children wading in the shallows and a fisherman in the foreground.

Historical

Literary

Musical / Artistic

Politics

Voters filling in ballots at privacy booths in an American polling place on primary day.

Voters in five states hold primaries on 4 August, with Michigan's Democratic Senate contest the clearest test yet of the party's direction

AP, APAug 4, 2026

A Japanese naval destroyer moored at a floodlit quayside under a deep twilight sky.

Japan's cabinet adopts a 598-page defence white paper calling combat drones essential to 'new ways of warfare'

AP, ReutersAug 4, 2026

Conflict

A blast crater and scattered rubble on the apron outside a long modern distribution warehouse, with a damaged car standing beside torn loading-bay doors.

Ukrainian drones strike warehouses near Moscow, St Petersburg and Tver, killing five and injuring 10, Russian officials say

BBC, ReutersAug 4, 2026

Economy

An offshore oil production platform standing on steel legs in open grey water in the North Sea.

BP's quarterly profit more than doubles to $5.73 billion as the Iran war drives Brent crude above $100 a barrel

Reuters, RTÉAug 4, 2026

The pale granite towers of Exchange Square in Central, Hong Kong, home of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, seen from the street below.

Shein seeks a $30 billion to $40 billion valuation for a Hong Kong listing it could launch in late August

Reuters, MarketScreenerAug 4, 2026

Climate

Burnt-out homes and scorched vehicles on a residential street in Spokane after wildfire swept through the neighbourhood.

A man is arrested on suspicion of arson over the largest of three wildfires around Spokane that have destroyed more than 700 buildings

BBC, APAug 4, 2026

Snow falling on an empty divided road lined with dark trees and suburban houses in Dunedin, New Zealand.

An Antarctic blast brings snow to sea level across New Zealand's South Island, closing roads and schools

Reuters, U.S. NewsAug 4, 2026

Bodies wrapped in brightly patterned cloth laid in a row on carpets outside an Ethiopian Orthodox church while robed clergy and mourners stand around them.

A landslide at an Ethiopian mountain monastery kills 14 worshippers during an overnight prayer service

BBC, APAug 4, 2026

Science

The upper section of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, the component on course to strike the Moon.

NASA says a discarded SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage will strike the Moon on 5 August at about 5,400mph

BBC, Space.comAug 4, 2026

Technology

An aerial view of Apple's circular glass headquarters building set in landscaped grounds in Cupertino, California.

Apple asks a federal judge to bar OpenAI and two former Apple employees from using its trade secrets

Reuters, Yahoo FinanceAug 4, 2026

Culture

Ariana Grande photographed on a red carpet in a pale embellished gown, looking away from the cameras.

Ariana Grande withdraws from a 2027 London staging of 'Sunday in the Park With George' and will step back from public life

AP, BBCAug 4, 2026

A mother and son standing in the burnt-out surroundings of their destroyed home in Le Porge after the Gironde wildfire.

Wildfires in Gironde uncover a cache of about 400 buried World War Two shells in the French village of Le Porge

BBC, France InfoAug 4, 2026