Briefly 2026-08-26    

RUSSIA

1 killed in fire at gas chemical complex

One person was killed and more than 100 others were injured in a fire at a gas chemical complex under construction in Russia's Far Eastern Amur region, said the facility in a statement on Tuesday. According to the Ministry of Health, 19 people were hospitalized with moderate or severe injuries. Preliminary findings indicated that the fire originated in an auxiliary technological section of the pyrolysis installation. The fire has been contained so far.

UNITED STATES

Top court backs Trump order on mail-in ballots

The Supreme Court sided with the Donald Trump administration on Monday in a case over the president's executive order restricting mail-in voting, though it remains unclear how much can be implemented before the fast-approaching midterm elections. The decision leaves room for additional court challenges that could further slow Trump's order, and other similar cases have already been filed. The US Postal Service laid out how it would implement the order last week, but time is running short to impose major changes with some states beginning to send mail ballots to voters in just a few weeks. The Supreme Court's conservative majority didn't decide the legality of Trump's order, instead ruling that states that sued did not have the legal right to challenge it.

XINHUA-AGENCIES