外媒每日新闻 Economic D-Day & Debt Milestone Edition

North Korea launched a barrage of about 10 short-range ballistic missiles toward the sea on Thursday, South Korea's military said, a day after the North shrugged off a U.S. decision to scale back military drills with South Korea in an apparent bid to resume diplomacy. The missiles flew about 300 kilometers (185 miles) each toward North Korea's eastern waters. Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of leader Kim Jong Un, dismissed Trump's overture, saying "the provocative, aggressive nature of the drills won't change even though their duration and size were reduced." She denied Trump's claim that Kim had responded to his request for a conversation but said personal relations between her brother and Trump are "still excellent." Trump had ordered the Pentagon to "substantially reduce" the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises, citing his good relationship with Kim and South Korea's refusal to support him over the Iran war. When asked if he would meet Kim this year, Trump said "Yeah, I will be."^[1]

President Donald Trump announced what he called "the MOST CRUSHING ECONOMIC OPERATION EVER TAKEN AGAINST ANY COUNTRY" against Iran on August 19, declaring an "Economic D-Day" and warning that any nation offering financial or commercial lifelines to Tehran faces severe consequences. The pledge extends Operation Economic Fury, the administration's pressure campaign since April, targeting oil smuggling, swap lines, cash transfers, exchange houses, ship registries and front companies. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described it as "economic warfare and isolation on an unprecedented scale," adding that other countries "are either with us or against us." The United Arab Emirates, previously one of Iran's largest commercial partners, suspended all trade and financial dealings with Tehran after accusing it of firing two ballistic missiles toward UAE territory on August 18. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi dismissed the move as a diversion from U.S. domestic problems. A 60-day ceasefire signed in June expired this week. With the Strait of Hormuz essentially closed to Gulf oil transport, Brent crude held above $90 a barrel.^[2]

Kyiv residents surveyed damage and sheltered in subway stations after a massive overnight Russian missile and drone attack that lasted nearly nine hours, carrying pets past bodies and damaged buildings. The attack killed at least 13 people and injured 40 in the Kyiv region, striking residential areas, food warehouses and Red Cross facilities in Boryspil. Russia attacked with 44 ballistic missiles and 168 drones overnight; Ukraine's air defense neutralized 39 missiles and 145 drones. Mayor Vitali Klitschko declared August 21 a Day of Mourning, with flags at half-mast and entertainment events banned. An injured parking security guard stood by his booth, his pants torn from the blast. A woman was comforted as the body of her relative was removed. Kyiv's air defenses intercepted most of the incoming fire, but debris and missed strikes caused extensive damage to residential buildings. The attack came as Ukraine continues pressing Western partners for more Patriot air defense interceptors.^[3]

The Asia-based USS George Washington aircraft carrier strike group is now operating in the Middle East, the U.S. military announced Thursday, relieving the long-deployed USS Abraham Lincoln after reports that sailors were facing mental health challenges and supply shortages while supporting the Iran war. The Lincoln's deployment included a record-setting uninterrupted time at sea. Democratic lawmakers are pressing for accountability from the Pentagon over conditions aboard the carrier. "The George Washington Carrier Strike Group is operating in the Middle East during a scheduled deployment after arriving in the CENTCOM theater yesterday," Central Command said in a post on X. The swap comes as the Pentagon disclosed that more than 757 U.S. troops have been wounded during operations against Iran since the war began at the end of February, with more than 580 being Army soldiers. The Pentagon and U.S. Central Command have offered almost no details on how the injuries occurred or the amount of damage sustained by U.S. bases. Meanwhile, Trump's "Economic D-Day" announcement has shifted the conflict's recent phase from military strikes to economic warfare.^[4]

The United States' national debt surpassed a record $40 trillion on Wednesday, a staggering milestone recorded just five months after hitting $39 trillion in March — and only 10 months after crossing $38 trillion in October 2025. The Treasury Department confirmed the figure as defense costs from the Iran war, social safety-net programs and interest on the burgeoning deficit make up an enormous share of federal spending. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the federal budget deficit for the fiscal year ending September 30 will reach approximately $2.1 trillion, or more than 6% of GDP. The debt has now more than doubled in less than a decade. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent made a surprise move the same day, announcing the department will at least double the size of its planned purchases of longer-term Treasurys from September 9 through November 4 to provide temporary relief to the bond market. The milestone drew fresh warnings that a fiscal crisis is brewing as ballooning costs far outstrip revenues held back by tax cuts.^[5]

The relief that swept the bond market just a day earlier disappeared on Thursday as oil prices, worries about high inflation and the U.S. government's debt kept rising, knocking U.S. stocks to their worst day in three weeks. The S&P 500 fell 0.9% for its fourth loss in five days since setting its all-time high last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 703 points, or 1.3%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 1%. The bond market remains the center of the action after yields charged higher through the summer. The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 4.70% from 4.65%. Brent crude climbed 2.4% to $93.78 as uncertainty continues about when the war with Iran will allow oil tankers to freely exit the Persian Gulf. Trump threatened Iran with "the MOST CRUSHING ECONOMIC OPERATION EVER TAKEN AGAINST ANY COUNTRY" late Wednesday but provided few details. South Korea's Kospi soared 5.9% as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix jumped. Analysts cautioned that the Treasury's bond purchase move may be short-lived given how small the purchases are relative to the overall Treasury market.^[6]

Walmart was the heaviest weight on the S&P 500 on Thursday, falling 9.2% for its worst loss in four years — even though it reported stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Investors focused instead on an important underlying measure of revenue growth, which slowed again, and its forecast for profit in the current quarter fell short of expectations. Given its massive size, Walmart offers a look at how shoppers are doing across the United States. A surprisingly weak update on sales at U.S. retailers overall last month raised worries that shoppers may be succumbing to pressure from high inflation and a job market that may be looking less solid. Advance Auto Parts tumbled 24.5% after CEO Shane O'Kelly said "tighter household budgets constrained spending more than we anticipated." Norwegian Cruise Line fell 3.4%, United Airlines sank 3.5% as travel companies face a double-whammy of fewer bookings and higher fuel costs. Spending by U.S. consumers is the main engine of the economy, and a pullback could exacerbate what's already a slowdown in growth.^[7]

A woman was killed and at least two others injured after severe overnight storms caused extensive damage across parts of Germany, while in the Balkans, firefighters continued battling wildfires that have ravaged Europe all summer. In Waldorf, Rhineland-Palatinate, a 58-year-old woman died after a tree was uprooted and fell on a covered seating area where she and a 47-year-old woman had taken shelter. A tornado struck the town of Furstenwalde, 78 kilometers southeast of Berlin, ripping off roofs and damaging cars. In Hor-Grenzhausen, storms ripped walls off buildings and a gust of wind flipped a truck on the A61 highway. About 3,500 attendees at a festival in Kronach, Bavaria, had to evacuate the outdoor area. In Wetzlar, Hesse, the storm damaged about 60 houses, with roof fragments flying up to 100 meters. Meanwhile in Serbia, a Russian Il-76 firefighting plane joined efforts to combat wildfires in the Deliblatska Pescara nature reserve. Croatian firefighters from Dubrovnik crossed into Bosnia to prevent a blaze from reaching the UNESCO-protected medieval walled city. The extreme heat and dry summer has fueled wildfires across Europe from Belgium to Greece.^[8]

Tens of thousands of people in northwest Indiana remain without power more than a week after deadly storms leveled trees and knocked down power lines across the region. Northern Indiana Public Service Co. said 75,000 customers still lacked electricity, mostly in Lake County next to the Illinois border, including more than 20,000 in Gary. Full restoration is not expected there until August 25. Roughly 300 poles and 44 power transmission poles need to be repaired or replaced in Gary after a storm that carried winds of 99 mph (159 kph). Seven people have died since the storms began August 11. Jeremy Spurrier, 51, said his generator costs about $75 a day in gas, and he drives to Illinois to get ice for his insulin. "If I run out of ice, that's several hundred dollars of insulin just ruined," he said. Gary, a majority-Black city, has been especially hard hit, with some residents voicing frustration that they're being ignored. The utility denied that low-income residents were being overlooked. "These are systems that are being rebuilt, not simple repairs," said an executive.^[9]

Around 2,000 students and teachers across Indonesia have fallen ill with food poisoning over three days linked to the government's free school meals programme — a multibillion-dollar scheme that is one of President Prabowo Subianto's signature policies. In the latest case, 777 people became unwell after consuming food at a high school in Rembang, Central Java. Previously, 752 students and 25 teachers at a school in Lasem experienced poisoning symptoms including diarrhea, with the school sending nearly 1,200 pupils and 95 staff home. On Tuesday, 730 people fell ill at an Islamic boarding school in Sidoarjo, East Java. Parents described slimy chicken and food that appeared undercooked with a fishy odour. The head of Indonesia's National Nutrition Agency said: "If it is identified that there was negligence and there are criminal elements, I apologise, we cannot help." The programme, known as Makan Bergizi Gratis (MBG), aims to improve nutrition for schoolchildren but has been dogged by allegations of corruption and criticism of its Rp 240 trillion ($13.6 billion) cost. Local authorities are investigating with food samples being tested for contamination.^[10]

Israel's military announced its first criminal investigations into troop conduct in Gaza, focusing on the deaths of 5-year-old Hind Rajab and her family, along with 15 Palestinian paramedics killed in Tel al-Sultan. The announcement came after the military completed reviews of 150 incidents overall. The killing of the Rajab family drew widespread global attention because of a lengthy recorded phone call between Hind and a rescue dispatcher before she was killed. However, the military said it will not investigate three other attacks that killed aid workers from World Central Kitchen and Doctors Without Borders. The decision not to pursue criminal proceedings over the killing of Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom and her World Central Kitchen colleagues drew outrage from Australia, with Foreign Minister Penny Wong saying the government was "outraged" and calling in the Israeli ambassador. The limited scope of the investigations — five cases out of 150 reviewed — has drawn criticism from human rights groups who say accountability remains woefully inadequate after nearly two years of war in Gaza.^[11]

China successfully completed its first land-based recovery of a reusable rocket. The Zhuque-3 Y2 carrier rocket lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China, and after reaching orbit, the rocket's first stage was recovered at a site in landlocked Gansu province. The Zhuque-3 is a new-generation, reusable liquid oxygen-methane carrier rocket independently developed by Beijing commercial space launch provider LandSpace Technology. Reusable rocketry is at the forefront of space development because it cuts launch costs and increases launch frequency. Reusable rockets are considered crucial to the deployment of AI satellite networks, enabling rapid constellation deployment for Earth observation, communications, and compute infrastructure. The milestone places China's commercial space sector in closer competition with SpaceX, which has pioneered reusable rocket technology with its Falcon 9. Multiple Chinese companies including LandSpace, iSpace, and Galactic Energy are racing to develop reusable launch vehicles as China pushes to build a commercial space ecosystem rivaling the U.S.^[12]

Satellite builder Muon Space Inc. revealed it has raised $250 million in a Series C round at a valuation of $1.5 billion, as the company moves to dramatically scale up satellite production. Founded in 2021, Muon sells what it calls a Mission Foundry — taking on mission design, manufacturing, payloads, flight software, launch and on-orbit operations under a single contract. The pitch is speed: constellations delivered in months instead of the multiyear cycles that defined the industry. Muon opened an advanced manufacturing plant in San Jose in June, designed to turn out up to 500 satellites a year by 2027 — roughly 10 times its previous ceiling. The company has more than 50 satellites in development and 13 booked for launch over the next 12 months. Two customer constellations enter service this year: Vindler 2.0 for Sierra Nevada Corp. delivers radio-frequency data, and FireSat, the wildfire-detection constellation developed with Google.org, was named one of TIME's Best Inventions of 2025. Eclipse Capital led the round, with Google, Salesforce Ventures and others joining. Total raised now exceeds $386 million.^[13]

Trump's Truth Social post declaring "the MOST CRUSHING ECONOMIC OPERATION EVER TAKEN AGAINST ANY COUNTRY" against Iran — calling it "Economic D-Day" — trended worldwide on Wednesday and Thursday. The hashtag #EconomicDDay gained over 50,000 posts, with #IranSanctions and #Hormuz also trending. Trump's full post read: "This will be an ECONOMIC D-DAY, and we need all of our Allies to stand with the United States of America to isolate, and defeat, the Iran threat." Treasury Secretary Bessent's "either with us or against us" language drew comparisons to post-9/11 rhetoric. Critics noted the irony: the UAE, one of Iran's largest trading partners, had already suspended all trade with Tehran independently — suggesting market forces, not presidential posts, drive isolation. Others pointed out that a 60-day ceasefire had expired with no deal, and Iran's Foreign Minister Araghchi dismissed the threat as "a diversion from domestic problems." A viral thread documented how previous "maximum pressure" campaigns cut Iranian oil exports only temporarily before workarounds emerged. The hashtag #PetroYuan trended in China-related circles amid speculation about whether Beijing would comply with U.S. secondary sanctions.^[14]

The news that federal agents seized electronic devices from former Rep. Eric Swalwell and searched his Washington home trended across X/Twitter on Thursday. The hashtag #Swalwell gained over 30,000 posts, with #FBIRaid also trending. Swalwell's devices were seized at San Francisco airport on Saturday, and agents executed a search warrant at his home a day later. Swalwell, once one of Trump's top Democratic antagonists in Congress who served as a prosecutor in Trump's second impeachment, resigned in April following allegations of sexual assault and misconduct from multiple women. The irony was not lost on users: Swalwell was removed from the Intelligence Committee in 2023 over his contact with suspected Chinese spy Christine Fang. A viral post read: "The guy who was supposed to be investigating national security threats was apparently one himself — on multiple fronts." Others noted that Swalwell had been a leading California gubernatorial candidate before the allegations. California lawmaker Aisha Wahab secured victory Thursday in a special election to serve the rest of Swalwell's House term. The Manhattan DA's office confirmed it is investigating Swalwell after a former staffer said he raped her in 2024.^[15]

The hashtag #KyivUnderAttack trended worldwide Thursday as photos emerged of Kyiv residents clutching pets and walking past bodies after a massive overnight Russian missile and drone attack that killed at least 13 and injured 40. The hashtag #DayOfMourning also trended after Mayor Klitschko declared August 21 a day of mourning. AP photographer Francisco Seco's images — a woman comforted as her relative's body was removed, a parking guard smoking by his damaged booth, residents sheltering in metro stations — went viral, with some posts comparing them to World War II photography. Russia launched 44 ballistic missiles and 168 drones overnight; Ukraine's air defense neutralized 39 missiles and 145 drones, but debris caused extensive damage. A viral thread by a Ukrainian military analyst detailed how Russia used Oniks, Zircon, Iskander-M and S-400 missiles in a single coordinated attack. Posts highlighted that Red Cross facilities and food warehouses in Boryspil were struck. Others noted the timing: the attack came as the U.S. remains distracted by the Iran war, raising fears that Russia is exploiting the reduced Western attention. Calls for more Patriot interceptors dominated Ukrainian-language posts.^[16]