Rubuo said in Washington that talks among the United States, Iran, and Oman on reopening the Strait of Hormuz and Iran's denuclearization have made some progress, but no final outcome has been reached yet.
Japan's Ministry of Defense released its 2026 Defense White Paper, designating China as the greatest strategic challenge facing Japan and emphasizing the Japan-U.S. alliance as the core of its national security.
The House Select Committee on the CCP released a report stating that US subsidiaries of China Telecom, China Mobile, and China Unicom remain embedded in US internet infrastructure and are linked to nearly 109,000 suspicious routing anomaly events.
The Cyberspace Administration of China has announced a batch of enforcement actions against malicious hype of company-related information, involving accounts that published false information about Li Auto, hyped negative information about companies, and maliciously attacked corporate executives.
A fire broke out during the loading and unloading of yellow phosphorus at Yunnan Kunming Haoming Fine Phosphorus Chemical Co., Ltd., lasting more than ten hours and producing a large plume of white smoke, triggering throat discomfort and evacuations among nearby residents and halting the company's production.
Villagers in Xiaoyi Town, Hengzhou, Guangxi, affected by floods, rejected the official designation of the disaster as a natural disaster and the low compensation of several hundred yuan, publishing an article to defend their rights and accusing reservoir management of severe inaction and uncontrolled flood discharge that caused the flood to destroy the village.
On August 4, a flash flood suddenly struck the Three Gorges Scenic Area in Yichang, Hubei, with mud and sand pouring down. The water conditions in the Three Gorges Reservoir area are severe, with multiple roads flooded and vehicles swept away.
U.S. Republican Representative Michael McCaul has arrived in Taiwan, where he will meet with Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te and deliver a speech on Indo-Pacific security, demonstrating the firm bipartisan U.S. support for Taiwan.
McCaul stated at the Ketagalan Forum in Taipei that he is confident Trump will soon submit a $14 billion arms sale package for Taiwan to Congress.
US Treasury Secretary Bessent said that the United States and Iran have a chance to reach a deal that day or the next to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and restore more normal passage.
Ukrainian officials reported that Russian attacks on Kramatorsk, Sumy, Mykolaiv, and Kharkiv left at least 5 civilians dead and 22 others injured.
Jean Kaseya, Director of the Africa CDC, visited the Democratic Republic of the Congo, stating that they will work with the World Health Organization to trace cases and contacts, protect medical personnel, and strengthen community testing and care.
Trump told reporters in Los Angeles that negotiations between the US and Iran regarding the Strait of Hormuz are progressing smoothly, and the next 48 hours are critical.
During an interview, Trump warned that if Iran withdraws from negotiations again, it will face very severe strikes, and reiterated that the Strait of Hormuz must be reopened.
Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae visited earthquake-hit areas in Kumamoto Prefecture, saying the government is doing its utmost to maintain water supply and thanking international aid, including from the United States, China, and Taiwan.
Lai Ching-te met with Michael McCaul at the Presidential Office in Taiwan and presented him with a medal in recognition of his efforts in promoting U.S.-Taiwan relations and maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.
Interior ministers of EU member states held a video conference to discuss the large-scale migration crossing incident in Ceuta and endorsed the response measures taken by the Spanish government.
The scale of the search and arrest operation has further expanded, with dozens of buses forming a convoy to transport personnel, and large numbers of police and civilians carrying sticks conducting inspections along the roads.
Affected villagers posted stating that the flood was a man-made accident, and all residents of Liulan Village refused to sign, demanding an explanation from higher authorities.
HIMA issued a statement saying it had monitored more than 56,000 pieces of information related to Zhuzhiliao, with 171 actual complaints and 144 items taken down by the platform, sparking further public attention and a surge in traffic.
In his program on August 4, 2026, Hu Liren predicted that the intra-Party struggle within the Chinese Communist Party has reached a white-hot stage, and that Xi Jinping may be forced from power around the end of August.
An attack-type drone carrying explosives was found near Leipzig Airport in Germany, suspected to target a Ukrainian transport aircraft. The German military then intervened and launched an investigation, confirming the drone was dispatched by Russia. This incident has led to highly tense Germany-Russia relations.
On August 4, 2026, the Handan Intermediate People's Court in Hebei announced that an audio recording of improper remarks circulating online was authentic. Guo Hongbo, director of the enforcement bureau of the Congtai District Court, was suspended and placed under a special investigation for soliciting bribes from a female party to the case and verbally harassing her.
On August 4, 2026, a yellow phosphorus leak and subsequent fire occurred at Yunnan Haoming Fine Phosphorus Chemical Co., Ltd. in Erjie Town, Jinning District, Kunming, Yunnan Province, producing a wide spread of irritating white fog that drifted tens of kilometers away, with nearby residents experiencing stinging eyes and coughing.
On August 4, 2026, Reuters reported that the US government plans to introduce new rules through the Federal Communications Commission to bar new high-speed data center optical transceiver modules made in China from entering the US market, with a focus on Chinese companies such as Innolight.
On August 4, 2026, the State Post Bureau issued an official notice stating that, because a series of production safety accidents had occurred at franchise-operated enterprises and safety hazards repeatedly persisted, the headquarters of STO Express was formally placed under investigation for failing to implement unified safety responsibilities.
On August 4, Japan released the 2026 Defense White Paper, emphasizing that it faces the most severe security environment since the postwar period, explicitly identifying China as the greatest strategic challenge, and planning to achieve the target of defense spending reaching 2% of GDP ahead of schedule.
On August 4, 2026, the comment section of Jieyang Broadcasting's official Douyin account in Guangdong was flooded by more than 10,000 netizens, who showed support by posting dense strings of question marks and animal emojis, demanding a thorough investigation into the truth of the Jieyang dog abuse case.
On the evening of August 4, 2026, Huawei's HarmonyOS Smart Mobility issued an official announcement denying the complete removal of the Bamboo Cicada toy from e-commerce platforms, and disclosed that it had monitored more than 56,000 pieces of related online information across the internet and filed complaints over 171 pieces of infringing content.
On August 4, 2026, the official authorities of Hengzhou, Nanning, Guangxi announced that administrative penalties had been imposed on 18 netizens who posted information about local floods on the grounds of spreading disaster-related rumors, prompting netizens to satirize in the comments section that the truth about the flood was being covered up.
On August 4, 2026, exceptionally heavy rain suddenly hit Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, causing severe urban flooding. Water on several main roads reached chest height, shops along the streets and underground facilities were submerged, and residents queued to wade through the water to evacuate.
On August 4, 2026, a female employee in Wuhan, Hubei, posted under her real name to report that while working at a state-owned enterprise, a leader harassed her at a hotel during a business trip and demanded that she sleep with him. After she reported the matter to the company's discipline inspection authorities, the leader involved received only a perfunctory circulatory criticism as punishment.
On August 4, 2026, the official platform of the National Administration of State Secrets Protection altered the details of an old classified case already closed in 2019 and reissued it as a typical espionage case, prompting public doubts about the authorities deliberately manufacturing anxiety about enemy activity.
On August 4, 2026, while students at the Development Zone Campus of Qinhuangdao Normal University of Science and Technology in Hebei Province were forced to stay on campus during the summer for centralized classes and internships, a student suddenly went into shock and fell into a coma in the dormitory and was carried away for emergency treatment by paramedics.
On August 4, Zhangjiajie in Hunan was hit by heavy rainfall. Roads in the urban area were severely flooded in many places, shops and plazas were inundated, many cars were completely submerged, and traffic was severely disrupted.
On August 4, a netizen in Tianjin distributed flyers related to the Wangwang case in public places such as malls and subways, calling on citizens to pay attention to animal protection issues and participate in a petition.
On August 4, CCTV.com Quick View posted a notice stating that behaviors such as doing food delivery or watching videos during working hours can, in serious cases, lead to lawful dismissal by the employer, sparking strong discussion among netizens about overtime pay and the enforcement of unpaid wages.
On August 4, students reported that Linfen No. 1 High School in Yaodu District, Linfen City, Shanxi Province, had illegally organized students to return to school and start classes early during the summer vacation.
On August 4, a yellow phosphorus leak accident occurred at Haoming Fine Phosphorus Chemical Co., Ltd. in Jinning District, Kunming, Yunnan, producing large-scale irritating dense smoke. Residents in many surrounding areas reported severe discomfort in their eyes and throats.
On August 4, 2026, residents in Tianjin distributed flyers related to the abuse of Wangwang, a small dog in Jieyang, Guangdong, in public places such as shopping malls and subways, calling on citizens to pay attention to animal protection issues and participate in a legislative petition.
On August 4, 2026, rights defense petitioners in Jiangsu Province found that when logging into the official online complaint platform of the Jiangsu Provincial Letters and Calls Bureau, the system repeatedly prompted that the phone number did not exist or the verification code was invalid, accused of setting up technical barriers to obstruct petition appeals.
On August 4, 2026, at a high-rise exterior wall construction site in Shandong Province, a high-altitude worker used paint to write the three large characters "Too Hot" on the wall to protest working in extreme heat, resonating widely with netizens.
On August 4, 2026, when the South China Morning Post introduced the progress of mBridge's development, it still listed the Saudi Central Bank, which had already withdrawn in 2025, as a participant in mBridge.