Morning Briefing — September 1, 2026

World News

Russian air attacks kill 12 in Kyiv on sixth consecutive day of strikes — Russian air attacks killed 12 people and injured several more in Kyiv and its surrounding region early Tuesday, in the sixth straight day of strikes on Ukraine's capital. Newer jet-powered drones have made recent swarms harder to intercept, damaging homes and warehouses across the region. Reuters (via U.S. News)

Russia signals 'massive strikes' on Ukraine's energy grid after warehouse attack — Russia's Defense Ministry announced preparations for large-scale strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, days after a devastating attack on a warehouse west of Kyiv killed 38 people. The move raises fresh fears of a difficult winter for Ukraine as air-defence stocks run low. CNBC

Nepal-China flood death toll tops 1,000 as mass burials begin — The death toll from last week's landslide and flash flooding on the Nepal-China border has topped 1,000, with more than 4,400 people still missing. Authorities have begun burying hundreds of unidentified victims in mass graves as rescue crews continue searching hydropower tunnels where roughly 900 workers are feared trapped. CNN

U.S. strikes Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island — U.S. Central Command confirmed strikes on two Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz, the first publicly acknowledged U.S. military action against Iranian positions in about a month. Iran has vowed to retaliate, and the incident sent oil prices higher. CNBC / U.S. Central Command

Kyiv drones bring empty supermarket shelves as Russia targets warehouses — After five straight days of Russian attacks on logistics hubs around Kyiv, some Ukrainian supermarket shelves are reportedly bare. Officials urged the public not to panic, saying producers and retailers are restructuring supply chains and European partners are ready to help fill any shortfalls. NPR

Trump announces sweeping U.S.-Venezuela oil deal — President Trump unveiled a major oil deal with Venezuela in which a new company would receive rights to 17 Venezuelan oil fields for at least 25 years, covering an estimated 65 billion barrels. The United States would hold a 55 percent stake, though no text of the agreement has yet been released. WORLD News Group

Modi urges Putin to end Ukraine war 'for humanity's sake' — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Russian President Vladimir Putin that the war in Ukraine needed to end for humanity's sake, according to reports. Putin replied that Moscow was 'moving forward along this path' towards a resolution. Reuters (via U.S. News)

Business

Canada's economy grows 3.3% annualized in Q2, avoiding technical recession — Statistics Canada data showed the economy expanded 3.3% annualized in the second quarter, driven by strong exports and business investment. An upward revision of Q1 growth from 0.0% to 0.1% means Canada narrowly avoided a technical recession, easing pressure on policymakers. CBC News

Bank of Canada expected to hold rate at 2.25% on September 2 — The Bank of Canada is widely expected to keep its overnight rate unchanged at 2.25% at Wednesday's decision, even as the trade war with the U.S. escalates. Consumer price inflation rose from 2.8% to 3% in July, giving policymakers little reason to cut. MoneySense

Two big Canadian banks break with consensus, forecast BoC hikes — While 35 economists polled by Reuters expect the Bank of Canada to hold on Wednesday, National Bank and Scotiabank are forecasting a hike to 2.50% in October and 2.75% by December. Bond markets currently price only a 3% chance of a hike on September 2. TechTimes

Wall Street closes August lower as U.S.-Iran clash rattles markets — The S&P 500 fell 0.33% to 7,686.14, the Nasdaq slipped 0.12% to 26,370.89, and the Dow lost 374 points to close at 53,185.90 after the U.S. and Iran traded fire for the first time in a month. The major averages still finished August with gains despite Monday's decline. CNBC

Oil above $85 pushes 10-year Treasury yields to highest level since early 2025 — Escalating tensions in the Middle East drove U.S. crude above $85, with higher energy costs lifting 10-year Treasury yields to the highest level since January 2025. The move trimmed the S&P 500's August advance and rekindled inflation concerns. Bloomberg

China's factory activity contracts for second straight month — China's official manufacturing PMI came in at 49.8 in August, up from 49.2 in July but still below the 50 threshold that separates expansion from contraction. The reading keeps pressure on Beijing to support the economy as second-quarter growth slowed to 4.3%, the weakest pace since late 2022. CNBC

Enbridge signs deal with KKR and Apollo to fund Westcoast pipeline expansion — Canadian pipeline major Enbridge has struck a financing deal with private-equity giants KKR and Apollo to help fund the expansion of its Westcoast natural gas pipeline. The deal is one of the largest infrastructure financings announced in Canada this summer. CBC News

Technology

Big Tech Q2 'other income' from AI stakes tops $160 billion — FT analysis found that valuation gains on holdings in AI companies boosted recent pre-tax results at Alphabet, Amazon, Nvidia and Microsoft by more than $160 billion. Alphabet alone reported $97.98 billion in quarterly 'other income', primarily unrealised equity gains rather than cash returns. Financial Times

Taiwan prosecutors raid Nvidia PCB supplier Unimicron over origin fraud — Taiwanese prosecutors searched facilities of Unimicron, a PCB supplier to Nvidia, and questioned employees over allegations that China-made circuit boards were being labelled as Taiwan-made. The probe underscores rising scrutiny of the AI supply chain amid U.S.-China chip tensions. Nikkei Asia

OpenAI buys tens of thousands of Mac minis to train computer-use agents — OpenAI has quietly acquired tens of thousands of Apple Mac minis to train its next generation of computer-use AI agents, signalling the AI boom is spilling into unusual hardware supply chains. Meanwhile SpaceX is moving to cast turbine blades that gas plants can't produce quickly enough. Tech Startups

Google finishes purge of Manifest V2 Chrome extensions — Beginning August 31, Google is removing remaining Manifest V2 extensions from the Chrome Web Store, ending developers' ability to distribute updates through the store using the legacy framework. Google argues Manifest V3 provides safer and more performant architecture for browser extensions. Tech Startups

Microsoft and HUMAIN expand enterprise AI partnership, unveil new AI PC — Microsoft and Saudi-backed HUMAIN announced an enhanced strategic partnership, introducing new enterprise AI offerings and a jointly branded AI PC. Anthropic separately released a new interface designed to let AI agents operate machines directly. AI Agents Directory

Attackers impersonate OpenAI and Google crawlers to scan for credentials — Cybersecurity researchers say attackers are posing as AI crawlers from companies like OpenAI and Google to scan websites for exposed credentials. The tactic exploits the growing prevalence of AI-driven web crawling and highlights a new attack vector emerging from AI adoption. Help Net Security

NASA launches new flagship telescope on SpaceX Falcon Heavy — NASA sent a new flagship telescope toward deep space aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket over the weekend, a rare piece of good news for the U.S. science community amid tight budgets. The mission is designed to expand infrared observations beyond the range of the James Webb Space Telescope. Tech Startups

Renewable Energy

Wind and solar produced 22% of U.S. electricity in first half of 2026 — According to the EIA's latest Electric Power Monthly, wind and solar (including rooftop) generated more than 22% of U.S. electricity in the first half of 2026. Solar output alone in June exceeded either wind or hydropower, making it the leading renewable source for the month. Environment America

U.S. wind and solar output up 10% despite federal headwinds — Wind and solar generation grew 10% year-over-year in the first half of 2026 and now supplies 20% of U.S. electricity, outpacing both coal and nuclear even after federal incentives were rolled back. Pattern Energy's 3,650 MW SunZia facility in New Mexico became the largest renewable project ever built in the U.S. MarketScale

China releases 15th five-year plan for coal, pledges peak use this decade — China's new five-year plan for coal (2026-2030) pledges to peak use of the fuel during this period but stops short of setting a specific peaking year or a firm production cap. Carbon Brief notes coal remains framed as a 'foundational' energy source vital to China's economy and security. Carbon Brief

China added 30 GW of new coal capacity in first half of 2026 — A new report from CREA and Global Energy Monitor found China brought 30 gigawatts of new coal capacity online in the first half of 2026, even as Beijing continues to expand renewables rapidly. The State Council also approved several additional nuclear reactors last week. Carbon Brief

Plug-in solar panels legal to buy across Great Britain — As of August 27, plug-in solar panels are legal to buy and use across Great Britain, with the government estimating households could save up to £110 a year on their bills. The move brings the UK in line with countries such as Germany that already permit balcony solar setups. Renewables Now

CATL sees sodium-ion battery cost parity with LFP by end-2026 — Chinese battery giant CATL says it expects sodium-ion battery costs to reach parity with lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells by the end of 2026 and continue falling as the supply chain matures. Sodium-ion could reduce reliance on scarce lithium supplies in stationary storage and low-cost EVs. Renewables Now

Deutsche Bank refinances Squadron Energy's 1.5 GW Australian wind portfolio — Deutsche Bank has arranged $115 million in refinancing for Squadron Energy, covering five operating wind farms plus the Uungula project — around 1.5 GW of Australian capacity — with headroom for future battery storage. The deal came amid a busy week of clean energy financings globally. ESG News

Climate Impact X and Carbonplace agree merger to consolidate carbon markets — Singapore-based Climate Impact X and Carbonplace have agreed to merge, combining trading, custody, settlement and multi-registry access into a single carbon-market platform backed by global banks. The tie-up still needs approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore. ESG News

Soil Science

New study: biochar shows promise for remediating microplastic-contaminated soils — A comprehensive review in the SSSA Journal identifies biochar (BC) as a promising, cost-effective and environmentally sustainable strategy to remediate microplastic-contaminated agricultural soils. Authors note knowledge gaps remain on microscopic BC-MP interactions and field-scale application. Soil Science Society of America Journal

SSSA study maps redox chemistry across Texas Brazos River soils — Researchers measured the distribution of iron, manganese, sulfate, nitrate and phosphate down to 15 metres across four contrasting sites along the Brazos River, from upland pasture to coastal salt marsh. The work provides a new benchmark for how deep-soil chemistry varies across landscape positions. Science Societies (SSSA)

Soil aquifer treatment systems clog in three predictable phases, study finds — A new experiment tracked how microbial biofilms clog sand columns used for soil aquifer treatment, showing permeability drops rapidly, rebounds mid-term, then settles at about 4.3% of initial conductivity. Counterintuitively, moderately unsaturated soils supported more microbial growth than fully saturated ones. Vadose Zone Journal (SSSA)

MDPI review: microbial inoculants emerging as key tool for stressed soils — A new 'Exploring the Field' review highlights how microbial inoculants — beneficial microorganisms added to soil — can improve nutrient availability, support plant growth and help crops withstand drought. The piece stresses that 95% of global food production depends on soil, which also stores more carbon than all Earth's vegetation. MDPI Blog

Pilot farms suggest soil carbon stocks are being undercounted — New findings from UK pilot farms suggest current soil carbon measurements may be missing a significant share stored deeper in the soil profile. The results raise questions for carbon accounting, farm subsidy policy and emerging soil carbon markets. Farmers Guardian

Pakistan and FAO expand cooperation on climate-resilient agriculture — Pakistan's food security minister and the FAO's Asia-Pacific deputy regional representative agreed to expand cooperation on climate-resilient agriculture, food safety, GIS tools and livestock support. The FAO also proposed a National Climate Forum to convene government and development partners. Profit by Pakistan Today

Regenerative agriculture: fresh evidence shows soil gains real but variable — A new research review finds that regenerative farming delivers real but highly variable gains in soil carbon and yields, with results differing widely by climate and soil type. Cargill is broadening payments to growers for soil-building practices, and The Nature Conservancy is pushing soil biology as the basis for next-generation farm standards. Regenerative Agriculture Summit

Cover photo by Myznik Egor on Unsplash.