South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has ordered police to prioritize an investigation into the deaths of eight women found across Gauteng province. The authorities said several victims had been sexually assaulted and that possible links between the cases were being investigated.

The bodies were discovered between July and September across the Ekurhuleni metropolitan area, east and northeast of Johannesburg, including Kempton Park, Olifantsfontein, Rhodesfield and KwaThema. The South African Police Service said on Monday that four of the first five victims had been sexually assaulted. The condition of another body prevented investigators from determining whether she had suffered sexual violence.

Among the victims was recreational runner Elizabeth “Tsontso” Moselakgomo, 38, who disappeared after leaving home for a run on September 9. Her body was found near the R21 highway three days later and identified by her family on Monday.

The authorities have not confirmed that the deaths are linked or that a serial killer is responsible. One suspect has been arrested in connection with the first killing, recorded in July. A multidisciplinary team of detectives, intelligence officers, tracking units and forensic specialists has been deployed. The authorities have offered a reward of 400,000 rand (around $24,500) for information leading to an arrest.

President Ramaphosa described the killings as “terrible events” that were causing fear, particularly among women, and vowed to bring those responsible to justice. “I have directed that these cases be prioritized and that no stone be left unturned in bringing those responsible to justice,” he said, urging residents to provide information that could help stop further attacks. Deputy National Police Commissioner Tebello Mosikili warned those responsible that their “freedom is temporary.”

South Africa classified gender-based violence and femicide as a national disaster in November 2025. A 2022 Human Sciences Research Council study found that 35.5% of South African women aged 18 and older – approximately 7.85 million – had experienced physical or sexual violence during their lifetime. The South African Medical Research Council reported in 2024 that intimate partners were responsible for 60.1% of women murdered in 2020-2021. However, fewer than one in five such femicide cases result in a conviction.

India will question Google over a network of 513,847 Gmail accounts that were unearthed in a probe into recent bomb threats targeting government offices and countries that participated in the BRICS Summit in New Delhi.

Police in the western Indian state of Gujarat uncovered the database of email credentials from two people arrested over bomb threats to the state’s top lawmaking body, the Legislative Assembly, as well as the offices of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, and countries participating in the summit. Similar emails were also sent to ten schools and three courts in Gujarat.

Gujarat is the home state of both Modi and Shah. The threats were later found to be hoaxes.

Roshan Kumar Bhumihar, arrested from Bhagalpur in the eastern Bihar state, led the police to Gulshan Kumar Singh from Deoghar in neighboring Jharkhand state, who allegedly supplied the Gmail accounts used to send the threats out. Singh was also arrested, and the devices used to transmit the threats were seized.

Police say Singh had been generating email IDs in bulk since 2022 and supplying them as ready-to-use accounts. Investigators are surprised at how the large number of accounts were created and operated without getting caught in Google’s security systems.

“We will write to Google, ask them to make some policy changes so [safeguards] cannot be bypassed,” senior Gujarat Police cybercrime official Vivek Bheda said, according to local reports.

US troops have leaked new images to CBS News capturing widespread destruction at American military bases across the Middle East from Iran’s missile and drone attacks.

The servicemen who provided the photos chose to stay anonymous because of harsh media restrictions in the US military, the outlet said in an article on Tuesday.

“This is major damage to our bases that hasn’t been communicated to the American public,” one of the soldiers stationed in the region said.

The service member complained about insufficient air defenses at the US facilities, saying “we’re standing there with our eyes closed getting punched in the face.”

The Iranian munitions that are getting through are “not ‘squirters’” as US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth called them after six American troops were killed in a strike on a US military tactical operations center at the Port of Shuaiba in Kuwait in early March, the soldier stressed. “We’re not defending these bases. We’re just watching them get destroyed.”

🚨🇺🇸 🇮🇷 BREAKING: Troops leaked photos of their wrecked bases to CBS, saying they're "standing there with our eyes closed getting punched in the face"

Active service members sent the images anonymously.

One soldier's words: "We're not defending these bases. We're just watching… pic.twitter.com/zvxEyxB8wm

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) September 15, 2026

CBS News said that the photos it had received showed a $300 million US E-3 Sentry radar plane destroyed by a direct hit at Prince Sultan Air Force Base in Saudi Arabia as well as damaged buildings and burnt-out vehicles at Camp Buehring and Camp Arifjan in Kuwait.

Last week, the acting secretary of the US Navy, Hung Cao, told the Epoch Times that Iran “blew the hell out of Bahrain,” referring to the attacks on the American military facilities in the Gulf country.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded to the acknowledgment in a post on X, saying that “our powerful Armed Forces did indeed ‘blow the hell out of the 5th Fleet HQ in Bahrain,’ as well as other bases supporting US aggression.”

In early September, Iranian Parliament speaker and top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned that further aggressive actions by the US will be met with “faster, heavier and more painful” retaliation by Tehran.

“The Americans have surely understood that the era of proportionate responses has come to an end and our recent strikes against aggressor bases were only a start,” Ghalibaf said.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has called for more EU power over security, social control, and militarization, while announcing tighter restrictions on Russia, avoiding Israel, and unilaterally making Canada special, during her sixth state of the union set-piece.

Key calls include:

• A new security architecture that extends beyond the EU to include the UK and Canada
• Further militarization of the EU and unilateral diversion of unused loan funding to Kiev 
• A bloc-wide group focusing on stockpiling critical minerals and rare earth materials
• Expansion of the EU staff in Brussels 
• Rebooting nuclear power generation, despite having overseen the shutdown of the industry 
• Radical investment in AI and the required energy grid to support it
• An EU kids act to restrict access to social media and more censorship by her own online team

In the presence of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, a former Bank of England chief and a poster-boy for anti-Trump posturing, von der Leyen unilaterally announced that Canada would be granted ‘Associate Membership’ – a status without any legal definition. 

Carney had, according to the Financial Times this morning, hoped for more. 

She offered no solutions to the energy crisis consuming the bloc, nor did she offer solutions to the cost crisis crippling consumers as the bloc moves into winter.

A news helicopter crashed in Chatsworth, a suburb of Los Angeles, on Tuesday night while filming the aftermath of a deadly bus accident, killing three people, the local Fire Department said.

According to CBS News, the helicopter appeared to have landed on top of two shipping containers and several vehicles parked in the area. NBC Los Angeles (KNBC) confirmed that it had lost NewsChopper4.

An LAFD spokesman at the scene said one of the victims died in a parking lot. He added that it was unclear how many people had been on board.

Several news helicopters were flying over the San Fernando Valley, filming the scene of a collision between an SUV and a Metro bus that killed two people and injured six.

Aerial footage from the scene shows the wrecked helicopter engulfed in flames alongside a damaged shipping container and at least two cars.

A video posted on social media reportedly shows the helicopter’s live feed as it provided a bird’s-eye view of the road accident before suddenly beginning to descend.

BREAKING: KNBC helicopter crashes while covering metro bus crash in Los Angeles, California. pic.twitter.com/TgzkkVTBHx

— AZ Intel (@AZ_Intel_) September 16, 2026

“I’m absolutely devastated by the loss of life in Chatsworth tonight,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said, offering her condolences to the victims’ families.

Democracy in the US has fallen to its lowest levels in 50 years as a wider global decline weakens the rule of law and raises the risk of conflict, according to a new study.

The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) said on Tuesday that nearly half of the 30 measures it uses to assess US democracy have deteriorated to levels not seen since its records began in 1975.

“The USA is experiencing a period of marked democratic decline,” the organization said, describing the country as the “most prominent example and accelerator” of a broader global trend.

US performance worsened significantly in seven measures between 2020 and 2025, including access to justice, economic equality, freedom of expression and the press, the effectiveness of Congress, and judicial independence. International IDEA said the deterioration has been most pronounced during President Donald Trump’s second term, although some of the trends began earlier.

The US military has released what it said was video of commandos intercepting and blowing up a vessel involved in the drug trade in the Eastern Pacific.

The video, published by US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) on Tuesday, shows a vessel that the military described as a floating refueling station operated in support of the “narco-terrorist” Los Choneros syndicate.

Commandos approached the vessel in a speedboat, boarded it and removed the crew. US forces sank the vessel after disembarking. The crew members were transferred to Ecuadorian authorities, SOUTHCOM said.

“We are exerting unrelenting pressure on these narco-terrorists and hurting them where it counts,” SOUTHCOM Commander General Francis Donovan said.

On Sept. 15, under the direction of #SOUTHCOM, Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere (JTF-WHEM) forces successfully interdicted a floating refueling station supporting illicit at-sea drug trafficking operations in the Eastern Pacific.

Intelligence confirmed the vessel's… pic.twitter.com/LEADvwvH9b

— U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom) September 15, 2026

After returning to office in 2025, US President Donald Trump ordered a crackdown on drug cartels, accusing the governments of Colombia and Venezuela of helping to “flood” the American market with drugs. Nearly 230 people have been killed in US strikes on alleged drug boats.

Critics in the US and abroad have described the operations as extrajudicial killings and potential war crimes. Officials in Colombia and Venezuela have claimed that some of those killed were ordinary fishermen.

The boat strikes have failed to reduce the amount of cocaine entering the United States and have instead prompted cartels to adapt their tactics in ways that undermine traditional investigative methods, the Washington Post reported in July, citing an internal assessment by the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

A Danish military helicopter conducted dangerous maneuvers close to a Russian warship in the Baltic Sea, Russia’s ambassador to Denmark has said, responding to the NATO member’s accusation that the vessel had engaged in reckless behavior.

The incident adds to tensions between Russia and the US-led military bloc as its European members seek to provide more weapons to Ukraine.

The encounter was first reported by Denmark on Tuesday. According to a brief statement by the Danish Armed Forces, an unnamed Russian frigate fired flares at a small Fennec helicopter the previous evening as its crew was photographing the vessel during “a routine mission.” One of the flares “passed close to the aircraft,” the military said.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen condemned what she described as “reckless action from Russia towards Danish military during a routine overflight.”

Russian Ambassador Vladimir Barbin said on Telegram that Moscow “will thoroughly investigate all the circumstances of the incident.”

“However, this is not the first time that Danish Air Force helicopters have carried out dangerous maneuvers near Russian warships when they were at sea and outside Denmark’s territorial waters,” he added.

“The Danish side’s attempts to explain the helicopter’s provocative actions against the Russian frigate as ‘routine practice’ give rise to serious concern about the possible consequences of such recklessness,” Barbin said.

The Russian envoy pointed to a similar episode in August 2025, when Moscow accused a Danish military helicopter of flying dangerously close to the Russian anti-submarine vessel Vice Admiral Kulakov east of the German island of Fehmarn. Russia said the aircraft risked colliding with the ship and complained that its crew had failed to establish radio contact or respond to warnings.

Barbin also said Denmark had rejected Russian proposals for an agreement to prevent incidents at sea and in the air.

Saudi Arabia has cancelled some oil shipments to Europe in the wake of a series of drone attacks which forced the shutdown of its key East-West pipeline, Reuters reported on Tuesday, adding to mounting pressure on global crude supplies as instability threatens energy infrastructure across the Middle East and North Africa.

Riyadh reportedly informed European customers that some crude cargoes scheduled for loading later in September will be cancelled, while loadings at the Red Sea port of Yanbu have been suspended, oil trading and shipping sources told the news agency. Saudi Aramco has declined to comment.

The disruption follows drone attacks that damaged the East-West pipeline, which crosses Saudi Arabia from its main oil-producing areas in the east to Yanbu on the Red Sea. Riyadh has blamed the strikes on an Iraqi militia.

The route had become particularly important over the past six months because it allowed Saudi crude to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, where shipping has been severely disrupted by the conflict with Iran. Its loss leaves Riyadh increasingly dependent on exports through the Gulf at a time when normal tanker traffic through Hormuz remains constrained.

According to Reuters, traders expect Saudi Arabia to attempt to move more crude through the strait using so-called dark shipments similar to those employed by the United Arab Emirates and Iraq. Such shipments have allowed Gulf producers to export an estimated 7 million to 9 million barrels per day, equivalent to around 30% to 40% of pre-war volumes, according to shipping data.

The tightening supply picture has already pushed up prices. Brent futures were trading near $108 a barrel on Tuesday, while physical cargoes in Europe were substantially more expensive, with benchmark dated Brent at around $122 a barrel, according to LSEG data cited by Reuters.

Poland is among the countries facing immediate pressure. State-controlled refiner Orlen is rushing to secure replacement cargoes from the North Sea and other suppliers, according to five industry sources cited by Reuters.

Saudi Aramco became Orlen’s largest crude supplier in 2022 and now provides around 40% of its oil, helping Poland end its reliance on Russian crude but leaving it heavily exposed to disruptions in Saudi supplies.

Air raid alerts have also been activated across southern Saudi Arabia amid fears of further attacks. The risk is particularly acute around Jizan, which hosts major Saudi energy infrastructure, including a large oil refinery.

The escalation is simultaneously putting pressure on the Red Sea route itself. The Houthis have expanded their position along Yemen’s western coast and seized strategic territory near the Bab al-Mandab Strait, through which vessels must pass when traveling between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

The emerging squeeze leaves Saudi Arabia facing risks on both sides of the Arabian Peninsula: Hormuz remains severely disrupted to the east, while the infrastructure and shipping routes used to bypass it are increasingly exposed to attacks in the west.

The problem could be particularly acute for Europe, which is simultaneously facing another supply disruption in Libya.

Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) said on Tuesday that production and operations had been halted at the Hamada and Al-Tahara fields and the NC5 station after members of the Petroleum Facilities Guard forcibly closed a valve on the main Hamada-Zawiya pipeline. The closure triggered a sudden pressure increase at the Tahara connection point and forced all three sites offline.

The NOC warned that it could declare force majeure if the valve remains closed or if forced shutdowns spread to other fields, saying prolonged disruptions would damage Libya’s economy and its reputation as a reliable energy supplier.

US presidential envoy John Coale has vowed to work with American banks to release tens of millions of dollars in frozen assets belonging to Belarus, Russia’s close ally in Europe.

President Donald Trump’s envoy made the remarks in Minsk on Tuesday while meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko as part of broader talks on normalizing economic ties and prisoner releases.

Lukashenko called for the release of around $43–44 million that he said was “stuck” in Citibank. “Pay back what you owe us,” he said.

“You are absolutely right. This money must be unfrozen and returned. We have approached the bank with a request to unfreeze these funds,” Coale said, adding that Washington was working on a concrete mechanism to facilitate the transfer.

Coale’s trips to Minsk last year ended with the release of dozens of opposition politicians and activists. During Tuesday’s talks, Lukashenko denied that the prosecution of opposition figures was politically motivated.

Last week, the Belarusian president said he was prepared to discuss further agreements with the US only after the return of the assets frozen at Citibank. He made the statement while discussing the resumption of Belarusian fertilizer exports to the US.

The Trump administration has held several rounds of negotiations with Minsk that have facilitated the release of hundreds of prisoners and the easing of economic restrictions on Belarus. Washington has also lifted some restrictions, including sanctions on Belarusian state flag carrier Belavia.

The German Defense Ministry has a secretive military unit dedicated solely to facilitating cooperation between Berlin and Kiev, including meeting Ukraine’s weapons demands, the Financial Times has reported.

Dubbed Sonderstab Ukraine (Special Staff Ukraine), the unit processes arms procurement contracts signed by Kiev under Berlin’s military support program, which amounts to €11.5 billion ($13.27 billion) this year alone.

Described by one of the FT’s sources as an “incredibly un-German” unit, Special Staff Ukraine prides itself on signing off on Kiev’s demands in less than two weeks while bypassing the standard procurement rules that apply to Germany’s own armed forces, the Bundeswehr. The arrangement is possible because Ukraine, rather than Berlin, signs the contracts, according to the FT.

“Kiev provided the shopping list. Berlin paid the bill,” the outlet said, describing the unit’s operations. The FT said it enjoys strong political backing from German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.

The unit was formed and initially led by Lieutenant General Christian Freuding, who now heads Germany’s Land Forces. Known for his hardline stance on Russia, Freuding claimed in March that a full-fledged conflict between Moscow and NATO could occur as early as 2029 and said Ukrainian instructors would help the German military train for the allegedly looming confrontation.

The unit’s current commander, Brigadier General Joachim Kaschke, told the FT that it was entirely up to Kiev how to spend the German money. “We are not there to advise them – there is no ‘mentoring’,” he stated, adding that Berlin simply connects the relevant Ukrainian officials with German arms manufacturers.

Berlin has also complained that Kiev is not spending enough of its Western-provided procurement funds on German weapons. Last week, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul warned that Germany would struggle to justify its continued support for Ukraine to its people if it did not bring any benefits.

“We stand by you, we support you. But I also have to explain this to German taxpayers, and the very least you can do is to involve the German defense industry in all procurement measures,” Wadephul told Bild.

Berlin emerged as Kiev’s single biggest military donor after Washington drastically scaled back its assistance under US President Donald Trump. Germany has provided or earmarked a total of €57.6 billion in military aid for Ukraine, according to German government data.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has prioritized a military buildup, including assistance to Kiev, despite acknowledging that his country’s own economy is in a “structural crisis.” His government amended the constitutional debt brake to fund the buildup and passed a 2026 budget allocating a record €108.2 billion to defense and €11.5 billion in military aid for Ukraine.

The spending comes despite warnings from the German central bank that the country is on course to record its largest budget deficit since reunification by 2028.

Belgium’s highest administrative court has struck down a government decision not to release the frozen assets of Russia’s BCS Bank. The authorities failed to establish a clear procedure for handling such requests and delegated responsibility to an agency with no legal authority to process them, the court, known as the Council of State, concluded.

The bank’s funds were frozen alongside Russia’s sovereign assets as part of EU sanctions imposed following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022. Kiev’s Western backers froze some $300 billion in Russian sovereign assets, with most held at Brussels-based depository Euroclear. BCS Bank’s funds were blocked because they had been placed with Euroclear through Russia’s National Settlement Depository (NSD), which was targeted by the restrictions.

Last Friday, the court ruled that Belgium had handled the case improperly. The Ministry of Finance should have handled the request but instead delegated its authority to the Office of the Administrator General of the Treasury, granting it “excessively broad and unclear” powers, according to the ruling.

The ruling does not automatically free up BCS Bank’s assets, but it allows the lender to seek a review and sets a precedent for other legal entities whose similar requests were refused under the same circumstances.

The court also rejected Belgium’s argument that the bank, which was added to the US sanctions list in 2024 and the EU sanctions list in May 2026, had lost its right to appeal. The Council of State specifically noted that the Belgian government cannot presume that US sanctions will remain in place “indefinitely.”

The exact number of Russian companies affected by the EU asset freeze is unclear, as the Belgian clearing house does not publish lists of its clients, citing EU data privacy laws. Russian authorities have also not made the information public.

In early September, the EU’s top court ruled that the nature of Russia’s political system cannot be used as the sole justification for freezing assets belonging to Russian-linked companies. The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) stated that authorities first need “an objective and sufficiently solid basis” to prove that a company is controlled by a sanctioned person.

The ruling came in a case involving Lithuania’s 2022 decision to freeze the funds of electricity supplier Inter Rao Lietuva, which is not itself on the EU sanctions list but is controlled by a Russian state-owned power company.

Berlin has officially blamed a murky drone incident at the Leipzig-Halle airport on Moscow. However, as unbiased observers agree, the German authorities have not published any actual evidence to back up this accusation. Instead, they have relied on unsubstantiated claims and what seems to be the systematic management of the public mood via leaks and speculation. 

The stakes are high: Berlin has taken substantial punitive measures against Russia; Moscow has responded in kind. More importantly, Russian government representatives have been explicit about considering the German allegations and initiatives a deliberate escalation.

Germany’s mainstream media are even more hysterical than usual: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, once the country’s flagship of serious conservative-centrist journalism, is comparing the Leipzig-Halle incident – which resulted in zero casualties or damage – with the September 11, 2001 attacks in the US.

Against this backdrop of Germany’s umpteenth moral panic about Russia stampeding through the establishment, hardly anyone even notices that the prominent Ukrainian dissident journalist Anatolij Sharij – long exiled and under permanent threat from the Zelensky regime – has unearthed an eyewitness report about the events at Leipzig-Halle that contradicts the German official and mainstream accounts and even features details pointing to stage-managing and, in short, the possibility that it was faked.

Rejecting, in effect, demands for proof, Fiedler’s key argument – of sorts – is an odd claim: if German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Minister of the Interior Alexander Dobrindt publicly state that Russia is to blame, then “you can be certain […] that Russia really is to blame.”

In other words, once top representatives of the Berlin government stake their credibility for all the world to see, we simply must believe whatever they say because – as it’s obviously implied – they always speak the truth. Further questions are – according to the unspoken yet unsubtle message – at least superfluous, probably unpatriotic, and perhaps even VERBOTEN!

Now, that is an intriguing move indeed; let’s call it the Fiedler Dare. For one thing, it is extremely counterintuitive, because it means that German politicians never lie when the stakes are high. In general, though, history – and the present, too – really teaches the opposite about politics in general and everywhere: precisely when the stakes are high, lying becomes more likely, more brazen, and more obstinate. Is Fiedler suggesting that Berlin government representatives are the global exception? A superior kind of political animal?

Luckily, the other thing that makes Fiedler’s astonishing claim so fascinating is that it is eminently falsifiable. Not on one but two levels: Do the two individuals mentioned explicitly always stick to the facts and only the facts? And do German government members in general?

In Wadephul’s case, we have a recent case of spreading a very politicized and harmful untruth and, moreover, never correcting his (presumably) mistake. As recently as February, Wadephul was among several foreign ministers falling – whether unknowingly or knowingly – for an Israel-adjacent disinformation campaign smearing UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese by crudely misquoting her.

Having called, in effect, for her dismissal – based on always bizarre accusations quickly proven as false – Wadephul, moreover, has never publicly retracted or apologized or even quietly corrected his position: his X post with the original smear is still up.

The Fiedler Dare vs Reality: 0:1

 One of the two ministers publicly accusing Russia of the Leipzig-Halle incident does not always tell us the truth, not even when he speaks publicly. Indeed, he doesn’t even let go of his falsehood when proven wrong. What about Dobrindt and Merz, then?

Dobrindt has had a long career in politics already. So long, in fact that almost a decade ago, one of Germany’s primary weeklies, Die Zeit, found he was “unfit by character” for his then-office as federal minister of transport. Ouch. Zeit’s reason: Dobrindt had “concealed” an impending bankruptcy “for years” to promote privatization schemes. Water under the bridge or maybe traffic jams under the autobahn overpass? Hardly, as there are no signs that Dobrindt has changed.

Fiedler Dare vs. Reality: 0:2

And then, there is Merz. He is, of course, the German leader who has been publicly and often derided as “Lying Fritz” (“Lügenfritz”), notwithstanding the fact that, in at least one case, a German citizen has been prosecuted and punished for this statement in a case that critics have rightly identified as an attack on freedom of opinion. In general, Merz is historically unpopular: Only 14% of voters think he is the right man for his job, and even in his own CDU party, only a minority still believe in him.

No chancellor with reliable polling before him has been as widely and deeply disliked. One, perhaps the main reason is that, whether Merz likes it or not, many Germans see him as notoriously dishonest, with a record of broken promises that is unusual even for a professional politician. They feel that the examples of Merz’s extraordinarily difficult relationship with the truth could be multiplied ad infinitum.

Yet let’s be concrete: Just days after winning the last elections, if rather ingloriously, Merz reiterated one of his core campaign promises: that Germany’s “debt brake” – a tight cap on public spending via credit and, formerly, an essential piece of conservative identity – was untouchable. A few weeks later he razed it to the ground, with a maneuver, moreover, that may be formally legal but certainly defied the spirit of the constitution by remobilizing parliamentary majorities already voted out.

Fiedler Dare vs. reality 0:3

Trust, Mr. Fiedler may want to take note, is an earned thing. And puffing yourself up about the trust you and your government deserve, when you clearly do not, is not only a little silly but also very counterproductive. All it does with the more skeptical kind of voter – of whom Germany has very many now – is remind them just how unreliable you are. And that is the path to further defeat. Let’s hope for the best.   

Russia will remain a guarantor for international energy security and cannot be excluded from global supply chains, Russian Energy Minister Sergey Tsivilev told TASS on Tuesday.

This interview preceded a three-day G20 energy ministers meeting in Houston, Texas, set to run Monday to Wednesday.

“The objective reality is that our country cannot be excluded from global supply chains. Russia has been, is, and will undoubtedly remain a reliable supplier of energy resources and a guarantor of energy security,” Tsivilev told TASS.

The country possesses the world’s largest oil and gas reserves and ranks fifth globally in coal reserves and fourth in LNG production, he added.

“Furthermore, Russia is the undisputed leader in nuclear technologies, commanding approximately 90% of the global market for nuclear power plant construction,” Tsivilev said.

He emphasized that the world is currently facing “the most serious energy logistics crisis in modern history” stemming from disruptions to energy supplies through the Strait of Hormuz. The key waterway once facilitated approximately a quarter of the global oil trade, but has been severely obstructed due to the ongoing US conflict with Iran.

On Monday, President Donald Trump claimed that he had brokered an agreement for Russia and Ukraine to halt strikes on each other’s energy infrastructure.

The Kremlin called the proposal “a very good idea” but did not confirm whether Russia had agreed to such a deal. “We are in contact with the Americans. We are always on the side of peaceful solutions,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at a briefing on Tuesday.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivered her sixth annual State of the Union address in Strasbourg on Wednesday. Here’s what she didn't say about the state of the EU – an increasingly militarized and authoritarian superstructure fighting to hold itself together.

The speech is a relatively new tradition in EU history, with the first formal State of the Union address given by former President Jose Manuel Barroso in 2010. The 2009 Lisbon Treaty dramatically expanded the powers of the commission – creating a foreign policy department under its control and granting it exclusive rights to propose common migration and energy legislation – and the speech resembles the more widely-known American State of the Union address: a powerful executive setting out their agenda for the coming year.

An authoritarian and centralized union

Both the European Commission and von der Leyen herself significantly consolidated their power in 2026. Von der Leyen began by appointing 26 commissioners without running the list past the European Parliament first, and deliberately withholding budget and internal market strategy documents from member states until hours before publication, making deliberation impossible. 

The commission also tightened its grip on immigration policy when the Migration and Asylum Pact became active in June. Now, for the first time in the bloc’s history, the European Commission can order member states to accept migrants arriving in other states, or pay a financial penalty instead.

The state of union featured several striking moments of unilateral decisions by the bloc chief, who is heavily criticised for exactly that.

The Ukraine money pit

Among them was her announcement that €10 billion in unused EU defense laoans for member states will be handed to Kiev. Ukraine has already blown its entire 2026 defense budget on its summer drone campaign against Russian civilian targets, leaving a $27 billion gap in its finances.

Behind closed doors, some EU officials have proposed advancing Ukraine the 2027 portion of the bloc's €90 billion loan, while senior staff have been left “surprised and unsettled” at the speed with which Kiev burned through the warchcest, according to the New York Times.

The rise of the right

Von der Leyen’s blank-check approach to Ukraine is bitterly opposed by Germany’s right-wing AfD, which has been the country’s most popular party since early 2025 and won a landslide victory in state elections in Saxony-Anhalt last week. The AfD has called for an end to “all war-prolonging support measures, in particular all weapons and military-equipment deliveries to Ukraine immediately.”

In France, where presidential elections are just over six months away, right-wing candidate Marine Le Pen has entered the race with a 16-point lead over her nearest competitor, the left-wing Jean-Luc Melenchon. Although Le Pen’s National Rally party is more pro-Ukraine than the AfD, Le Pen favors peace talks with Russia, and party vice-president Louis Aliot told reporters this week that she would “turn off the tap” on military aid to Kiev.

A right-wing shift in the EU’s two most powerful member states presents a clear threat to von der Leyen’s Ukraine project.

RT’s European election coverage already know how the European Commission will handle the populist surge, suffice to say what is seen as censorship and information control is called “democratic resilience” in Strasbourg. 

The EU’s repression machine

Saxony-Anhalt is due to receive €2.95 billion in EU funding before the end of next year. With the AfD now in power, that funding could soon be suspended if the party acts against “the European project,” Green MEP Daniel Freund told German broadcaster ARD last week. It is unlikely that Freund was engaging in idle scaremongering: the commission has previously cut funding to Hungary and Poland over ideological clashes, with former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban describing the freeze as retaliation for his anti-migrant and anti-LBGT policies.

According to documents released by the US House Judiciary Committee earlier this year, the RSS was almost always used “to disadvantage conservative or populist political parties.” Social media platforms were forced to comply or face legal penalties under the EU’s Digital Services Act, which requires them to stop the spread of supposed “disinformation.”

Pyrrhic victories

Von der Leyen touted the EU’s trade deals with India and the Mercosur nations, its 21 sanctions packages against Russia, its hiked defense spending, and its support for native technology and clean energy as victories. 

These wins, however, are pyrrhic at best. The Mercosur trade deal – which allows EU automakers to export more cars to Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay, in exchange for the EU importing more of these countries’ meat and agricultural products – stands to harm European farmers. She mentioned farmers once.

The bloc’s sanctions packages have dealt more damage to EU economies than to Russia. 

Guns and money

The EU’s overreliance on debt extends beyond military programs. Brussels borrowed €750 billion to cover its ‘NextGenerationEU’ bailout package during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the debt is coming due right as the commission doubles down on borrowing for rearmament. The European Parliament estimates that €149.3 billion of the EU’s 2028-2034 budget will be spent servicing ‘NextGenerationEU’ debt.

Brussels’ transition to renewable energy, meanwhile, is more of a necessity than a choice: with Russian gas under embargo, supplies from the Middle East cratered by the US-Israeli war on Iran, and American substitutes expensive, natural gas prices across the bloc are now three times higher than they were in January, surpassing €83 per megawatt hour on September 14. Electricity prices remain almost 50% higher than they were in early 2022, making the EU an unappealing location for high-tech and heavy industry alike.

Regardless of how von der Leyen chooses her words, she will take the lectern in Strasbourg paradoxically at the height of her power, and at her most vulnerable to revolt. She leads the most potent institution of an overleveraged and overextended union, and whatever plans for the year she unveils, they will likely carry an air of urgency, if events in France and Germany are a portent of things to come.

US Congresswoman Nancy Mace has called for the public execution of Lindsay Clancy, wading into an increasingly bitter national debate over the Massachusetts mother who killed her three young children.

Clancy, a former nurse, admitted to strangling five-year-old Cora, three-year-old Dawson, and eight-month-old Callan at the family home in 2023 before attempting suicide. However, her lawyers have argued that she was suffering from postpartum psychosis and was therefore not criminally responsible. Her trial ended in a mistrial earlier this month after jurors failed to reach a unanimous verdict.

“Her children are dead, she should be dead too,” Mace told TMZ on Monday, adding that Clancy deserved the death penalty and that it should be carried out publicly.

“It could be by firearm, it could [be] electric chair, I don’t really care,” the Republican lawmaker said, arguing that the execution would serve as a “warning to women everywhere” not to kill their children.

Her critics have also rejected the idea that postpartum illness can effectively excuse murder and argued that although mental illness may explain Clancy’s actions, it should not erase responsibility for deliberately killing three defenseless children.

On the other side, Clancy has attracted a large and highly mobilized following, particularly among women and advocates focused on postpartum mental illness, who view the killings as the catastrophic result of psychosis and failures in maternal mental healthcare. A fundraiser set up to support her parents, who have financed her legal defense, has raised over $1.2 million.

The mistrial has further intensified the dispute after jurors revealed they had split 11-1 in favor of finding Clancy not guilty by reason of insanity, with the lone holdout preventing a verdict after seven days of deliberations.

The man has since been doxxed online and subjected to intense scrutiny over his personal history. Supporters have raised nearly $200,000 for him, while Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has offered him “asylum.”

Several fellow jurors have publicly criticized his reasoning, with one saying he “had the hardest time getting off the fact that Lindsay viciously killed her children.”

Clancy’s lawyers are now seeking to have the case dismissed to avoid a retrial. Prosecutors have yet to announce whether they will retry her, with the next hearing scheduled for September 29.

Throughout the summer, a major scandal has been brewing in Lithuania. In late July, the country suffered a landmark defeat in the European Court of Human Rights in a case brought by Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, a Saudi national held in secret detention and brutally tortured for four years in CIA black sites around the world – including Lithuania. While Western governments and news outlets have ignored the judgement, the ECHR’s conclusions produced bitter political division locally, with the opposition calling for a new investigation into the CIA’s use and abuse of the country during the US-led ‘War on Terror’.

Lithuania’s ruling coalition, in keeping with previous governments, is resistant to any further damaging light being shed on their territory hosting criminal operations of American intelligence for many years in total secret, with perpetrators of horrendous torture insulated from any legal repercussions or professional consequence. Their resistance is understandable. On top of not wanting to offend their colossal US ally, Lithuania’s ruling elites are keen to conceal from the local population, and the world, how their ‘independence’ under Western hegemony comes with unseen strings attached. When those strings entail intimate collusion in grave crimes, it’s Lithuania that suffers the consequences.

Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri is accused of being the mastermind of the October 2000 USS Cole bombing, and heading Al Qaeda in the Persian Gulf. He was captured by the CIA in November 2002. Over the next four years, he was held in nine separate CIA black sites, and brutally tortured every step of the way. Five months of his ordeal were spent at a specially constructed facility in Lithuania, named ‘Detention Site Violet’ in internal CIA memos, from November 2005 to March 2006. Lithuania denied any responsibility for al-Nashiri’s maltreatment, and contested the evidentiary basis of his claims. The ECHR found Vilnius’ culpability was “proven beyond reasonable doubt.”

During his incarceration in Lithuania, al-Nashiri was held incommunicado in solitary confinement and denied any contact with the outside world. His removal from the country was conducted with the Lithuanian government’s full knowledge he could face “a flagrant denial of justice and the death penalty” if extradited to the US, where he has remained in Guantanamo Bay until today. The ECHR unanimously found Vilnius violated numerous Articles of the European Convention on Human Rights through the country’s complicity with the CIA’s treatment of al-Nashiri, including right to a fair trial, right to respect for private and family life, right to life, and inhuman or degrading treatment.

Is this Lithuania’s first run in with the ECHR over CIA torture?

The ruling on al-Nashiri’s treatment is the third ECHR judgement against Lithuania over its involvement in the CIA torture program. In May 2018, the court ruled state authorities conspired with the CIA and subjected high-profile prisoner Abu Zubaydah to inhuman treatment, sensory isolation, and violation of his fundamental rights to liberty and security. Vilnius was ordered to pay him €100,000 in damages, which he has been unable to collect due to his ongoing detention in Guantanamo Bay. It was just the beginning of Lithuania’s major legal woes over its part in the CIA’s torture program.

In January 2024, the ECHR ruled Lithuania was responsible for arbitrarily detaining Saudi national Mustafa al-Hawsawi. Like Zubaydah, he was held in Detention Site Violet, exposing him to arbitrary detention and ill-treatment, and failing to conduct an effective local criminal probe into his incarceration and torture. Lithuania was ordered to pay €100,000 to al-Hawsawi in damages and €30,000 in costs. It’s not just the ECHR which has sought to hold Lithuania accountable, either. In 2022, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found Vilnius was complicit in torture and secret detention of alleged terrorists on the CIA’s behalf.

All along, the ECHR has condemned the Lithuanian authorities for the country’s involvement in the CIA’s torture program, which saw many ‘high value’ detainees – including accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed – pass through Detention Site Violet’s secret doors. The court has also harshly criticized Vilnius for its stubborn refusal to conduct serious criminal and/or public investigations into the secret CIA prison network constructed on Lithuania’s soil, and the involvement in and knowledge of these operations on the part of the country’s security, intelligence, and policing apparatus. But it’s abundantly clear the microscopic Baltic state was heavily complicit.

Despite the conspiracy of silence in Vilnius, numerous local investigations in the US and at the EU level have created damning trails of breadcrumbs leading straight from Detention Site Violet to the highest levels of the Lithuanian state. It is confirmed the CIA obtained approval from the country’s political leaders before constructing the black sites. One Lithuanian official was reportedly “shocked” by the proposals, but agreed anyway – it was an offer they couldn’t refuse. The CIA offered $1 million to its Lithuanian ‘partner’ agencies to “show appreciation” for their support, with the cash funneled through “complex mechanisms” to conceal the payments.

The Lithuanian parliament’s own Committee on National Security and Defence (CNSD) found the country’s State Security Department (SSD) accounting of funds it received for the operation was “inappropriate.” The construction of two separate CIA black sites was also concluded to have been “blessed by the top officials of the State.” The first was abandoned due to its small size limiting how many detainees could be held there at one time. This led to Detention Site Violet being built, with Lithuanian officials including then-President Rolandas Paksas kept in the loop regularly on its progress by the CIA. High-ranking SSD directors were also well-aware.

Meanwhile, SSD staff were highly active participants in the torture program on-the-ground from 2002 onwards, structuring and equipping the covert facilities according to CIA specifications and requirements.

Lithuania’s domestic spying agency enjoyed “unrestricted access to all the premises” of the two prisons, although the CIA was largely allowed to act without supervision there. Detention Site Violet was constructed in a former horse riding school located just 15 miles from Vilnius, the property having been bought by a CIA front company based in Panama, called Elite LLC. Coincidentally, this purchase was completed in March 2004, right when Lithuania became a NATO member. ABC News reported:

“On a series of thick concrete pads, [the CIA] installed what a source called ‘prefabricated pods’ to house prisoners, each separated from the other by five or six feet. Each pod included a shower, a bed and a toilet. Separate cells were constructed for interrogations… The prison pods inside the barn were not visible to locals. They describe seeing large amounts of earth being excavated during the summer of 2004. Locals who saw the activity at the prison and approached to ask for work were turned away by English-speaking guards. The guards were replaced by new guards every 90 days.”

Despite plentiful open source details on Detention Site Violet and the Lithuanian state’s cognizance and culpability in the torture program, the crucial question of what happened to CIA prisoners in the country has never been satisfactorily resolved. However, it has been confirmed Mustafa al-Hawsawi was denied medical treatment after suffering severe health issues from repeated rectal rehydration – a form of sexual abuse – while in CIA detention. An Inspector General report found Detention Site Violet – in keeping with other black sites – did not have resources for treating serious mental or physical conditions inflicted by the torture, despite both being common.

Under the CIA’s own guidelines, “in situations where a detainee’s medical condition cannot be adequately treated at the detention facility, detention facility staff and local CIA station personnel arrange access to the host country’s health care system.” However, Lithuanian officials “reneged on previous assurances that they would arrange inpatient treatment or have declined to become involved in providing medical treatment for CIA detainees.” Ultimately, al-Hawsawi was transferred to a third country for treatment, with the CIA covering the costs. Difficulties with the Lithuanian authorities over al-Hawsawi’s treatment ultimately resulted in Detention Site Violet’s March 2006 closure, when its remaining prisoners were transferred to Afghanistan.

Lithuania’s stonewalling of serious investigations into the country’s involvement in the CIA torture program means we do not know for sure the torture techniques to which detainees were subjected there. However, in light of the ECHR’s ruling on al-Nashiri, it may be relevant to consider how he was treated at a CIA black site in Poland.

This included being forced into excruciating standing stress positions for days – which resulted in a medical officer intervention, over fears his shoulders could dislocate – mock executions with a handgun, and the use of a cordless power drill. A January 2003 CIA cable noted concerns over this abuse at agency headquarters:

“We have serious reservations with the continued used of enhanced techniques with Nashiri and its long term impact on him. Subject has been held for three months in very difficult conditions, both physically and mentally… Continued enhanced methods may push subject over the edge psychologically.”

Is Lithuania the only NATO country implicated in CIA torture?

Today, much remains concealed and uncertain about the CIA’s torture program. But it is clear Lithuania was far from alone in assisting the CIA commit horrendous crimes against humanity on its territory, without political or public oversight. In 2007, the Council of Europe published a detailed report on “secret detentions and illegal transfers of detainees” involving EU member states. Poland and Romania were also found to have eagerly abetted the CIA’s demonic activities, despite government denials of knowledge and/or culpability. The CoE found “the key arrangements for CIA clandestine operations in Europe were secured on a bilateral level.”

In Lithuania, Poland, and Romania, formal agreements with local governments and the CIA covered all manner of cooperation, including building the prisons, material support, and operational security, along with cast-iron promises of “non-interference” in the CIA’s criminality. This extended collusion to airport staff, which helped falsify flight records to conceal the arrival and departure of CIA detainees, and prevented customs and border officials from inspecting planes carrying prisoners. However, EU and NATO countries assisted the CIA’s torture program in more low-key ways throughout its operation. One notorious example is the rendition of Khaled El-Masri from North Macedonia.

Two-and-a-half decades on, the events of 9/11 and all that followed still casts a long shadow on every corner of the world, and justice continues to be denied to an unknown number of people – many of them completely innocent – who fell victim to the CIA’s global torture conspiracy. The ECHR’s latest ruling against Lithuania should, one might think, trigger a long-overdue public inquiry into how officials in Vilnius knowingly colluded in an operation that was completely illegal and unethical, along with appropriate punishments for the figures involved. As 9/11’s silver anniversary has just been marked, it’s never been more vital that the truth be finally told.

RT’s Rick Sanchez has said that he feels more free to control his own narrative reporting from Russia compared to his time working in Western mainstream media.

Sanchez told aspiring journalists of his decades of professional experience in a wide-ranging lecture at the World Youth Festival (WYF) in Yekaterinburg, Russia on Tuesday. The talk touched on the freedom of the press, the psychology of a good journalist, and the art of conducting a good interview.

“The freedoms that I lacked working at CNN, the freedoms that I lacked working in NBC, working in Western media, I now find working in Russia. I feel more free. I feel like I have more control of my own narrative,” he said.

Messaging is all about empowerment, and that means you can’t be afraid to ask the question because the question is the power.

Sanchez stressed that journalism and the right to ask questions and gather ideas from different people serve as “a democratizing force in the world.”

The lecture by the veteran news anchor was organized as part of RT’s educational outreach project, the RT Academy.

The week-long WYF opened in Yekaterinburg last Friday, bringing together thousands of participants from 191 countries. The festival is scheduled to run until September 17, hosting assorted international lectures, competitions, exhibitions, panel discussions, and other events.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) needs sweeping reform to ensure that powerful countries are held to the same standards as the rest of the world, human rights advocate David Lopez has said.

The Hague-based ICC was established in 2002 under the Rome Statute to prosecute genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and the crime of aggression. It has long faced accusations of political bias and selective justice.

Speaking to RT on Tuesday, Lopez said that over the past two decades, cases in Africa and the Global South have received disproportionate attention, while alleged crimes involving powerful Western countries have gone unpunished.

He referenced the 2003 Iraq war, claims of CIA torture, and the conflict in Gaza as examples, noting that alleged US crimes in the case of Afghanistan were set aside due to pressure from Washington.

“Justice with no power over the powerful is colonial administration of the law,” he said.

The court must be “decolonized” through structural reforms that give Africa, Asia, and Latin America greater representation and reduce its financial dependence on Western countries, Lopez argued.

The ICC currently has 125 member states, but major powers, including the US, Russia, China, and India, are not among them. Israel also rejects its jurisdiction.

Washington has sanctioned ICC judges, prosecutors, and other staff over cases involving US and Israeli nationals. The court issued arrest warrants in 2024 for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Although Ukrainian authorities have rejected any idea of unity between the peoples of Russia and Ukraine, the best metaphor for their country’s modern political system is a traditional Slavic winter game called ‘King of the Mountain’. In this game, any player who manages to reach the so-called ‘mountain’ (dominating height) must defend it at all costs against rivals. When another player knocks off the ‘king of the mountain’, he takes his place until the next ‘king’ topples him, and so on. 

Much like in this children’s game, leaders have quickly succeeded one another in modern-day Ukraine – in fact, former President of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma (the first to promote the state concept “Ukraine is not Russia”) was the only Ukrainian leader to serve two consecutive presidential terms. Today, there is no democratically elected head of state: Vladimir Zelensky’s term ended in 2024. 

Since then, Zelensky has invested all of his political capital into suspending elections, which for him would mean ‘political suicide’. Apparently, Ukraine’s political system has ceased to disguise itself as a democracy, as was the case in 2004, when an unconstitutional third round of elections was held to secure Victor Yushchenko’s victory; now, however, there is nothing but a ruthless struggle for power in the country.  In this uncompromising fight, which disregards the genuine aspirations of the Ukrainian people, the reigning ‘king of the mountain’ exercises authority not for the good of the nation but rather to eliminate any potential ‘contenders’ who threaten the established status quo.

In this context, it’s hard to accuse  Zelensky of political opportunism; he knows better than anyone in Ukrainian politics how to storm the heights of power. Born in the city of Krivoy Rog, Zelensky long sought to conquer another Olympus: Moscow, the former capital of the once-unified USSR. However, he encountered setbacks, like failing to be admitted to the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (an alma mater of many Russian officials and leaders of post-Soviet countries).

His team was defeated in the KVN semifinals, and had a falling out with the show’s host, Aleksandr Maslyakov, who had turned the post-Soviet comedy sketch contest into a mass cultural phenomenon and an important tool of Russia’s soft power. Then, Zelensky’s Studio Kvartal-95 was gradually pushed out of the Russian entertainment industry. 

All this forced the enterprising young man to carve his own path in Kiev. Zelensky’s big opportunity came in the latter half of the 2010s with the release of the TV series ‘The Servant of the People’. It told the story of a modest high school teacher who was elected president after his video exposing Ukraine’s corruption issues went viral. In real life, Zelensky, who had skillfully crafted an image of a ‘Ukrainian Ronald Reagan’ from the earliest days of his presidential campaign, rose to power by means of skillful criticism of his predecessor, Pyotr Poroshenko, and promises of peace in Donbass. 

However, even before the start of Russia’s military operation aimed at demilitarizing and denazifying Ukraine and protecting Donbass, it became clear that Zelensky’s election promises would remain unfulfilled. Following the start of the war, he consciously missed opportunities to resolve the conflict at earlier stages – such as during the April 2022 talks in Istanbul. 

Today, Ukraine’s political discourse revolves around the possibility of presidential elections, which Zelensky would likely lose due to war fatigue and valid concerns about Ukraine’s approach to negotiations with Russia. As Moscow adopts a harder stance following each round of negotiations, Ukrainians have justifiably begun to question the price paid for fighting “to the last Ukrainian,” especially since the final terms of settlement become less favorable as time passes. 

Zelensky’s main rivals will attempt to hold his team accountable for the lost territories, the devastated economy, and the depletion of the nation’s population. At the same time, they will push the narrative that Zelensky’s policies were not merely misguided but effectively criminal, driven by a desire for self-enrichment. These are the reasons behind the series of anti-corruption investigations involving Zelensky’s inner circle, including figures like co-owner of Studio Kvartal 95 Timur Mindich, and former head of Zelensky’s office Andrey Yermak.

Against this backdrop, there has been a notable surge in activity among those vying for Zelensky’s position. Valery Zaluzhny, the former Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and presently Ukraine’s Ambassador to the UK, is by now a familiar figure with seemingly limited chances for victory.

However, the emergence of Mikhail Fyodorov in the upper echelons of Ukrainian politics has become the biggest sensation of the year and triggered the biggest political crisis during Zelensky’s presidency. Born in the village of Vasilyevka in Zaporozhye region (now part of Russia), 35-year-old Fyodorov gained recognition when he became Minister of Digital Transformation and later Minister of Defense. He proposed high-tech methods for waging war against Russia – views that clashed with those of then-Commander-in-Chief of the AFU Aleksandr Syrsky. 

Despite Fyodorov’s appointment as advisor to the Italian Minister of Defense and the rapid decline of protests in Ukrainian cities, this episode is now rightly regarded as the most significant domestic political challenge for Zelensky since 2019, and is perceived by many analysts as a final warning ahead of a potential power transition. 

The King’s fall is coming

This is particularly relevant when viewed in the context of US President Donald Trump’s recent uptick in diplomatic activity. Facing the risk of losing the fragile Republican majority in Congress following November’s midterm elections due to his failed operation against Iran – one that not only paralyzed the Strait of Hormuz and exposed the limits of American influence in the Middle East but also triggered a severe energy crisis leading to soaring fuel prices in the US –  the Trump administration, in need of a resounding foreign policy success, has decided to return to resolving the Ukraine crisis. Despite repeated claims by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio about the demise of the “Spirit of Anchorage”, the US has made several attempts to revive negotiations. 

The Anchorage agreements may have indeed become less relevant; however, this should not be seen as a testament to the effectiveness of Ukrainian diplomacy in bringing Trump back into the realm of “Euro-Atlantic solidarity.” Rather, it may signal a looming shift at the front: the Russian Armed Forces are close to liberating the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk urban agglomeration.

As we may recall, Zelensky’s refusal to withdraw Ukrainian forces from the remaining areas under Kiev’s control in Donetsk region was a key sticking point that prevented the implementation of the “Anchorage Formula.” The loss of Donbass – especially in light of Russia’s effective strikes against Ukrainian port infrastructure that have essentially cut off Ukraine’s access to the Black Sea –  places Zelensky’s regime on the brink of collapse. Consequently, there is a strong likelihood that a final settlement agreement will be signed by a new “yellow-blue king of the mountain”... 

Poland could cease to exist as a state within days if it enters a war against Russia, Nikolay Patrushev, an aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, has warned in response to Warsaw’s claims that NATO could quickly defeat the country.

Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said over the weekend that Poland and its allies would enjoy overwhelming air superiority in a hypothetical conflict with Russia.

“If Russia attacked us and we took our gloves off, I think we would defeat Russia quite quickly,” Sikorski claimed at the Yalta European Strategy meeting in Kiev, adding that NATO could destroy Russia’s oil refining capacity within six weeks.

Patrushev dismissed the assessment as an “amateurish view” of Russia’s military might, pointing out that Moscow isn’t utilizing its full military potential in the Ukraine conflict.

“If Poland were to enter military action against Russia, our country would employ the full arsenal of its available forces and resources, and Polish statehood would cease to exist within two or three days,” he said in an interview given to Russian media on Tuesday.

Patrushev also accused Sikorski of “Russophobic” militarism, forgetting the lessons of history, and of repeatedly endangering his own country rather than ensuring its security.

Other Russian officials have also condemned the Polish minister’s rhetoric. Deputy Foreign Minister Aleksandr Grushko said Sikorski’s calls for NATO to conduct more aggressive exercises near Russia’s Kaliningrad Region should be assessed by “people in white coats,” while Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova described his comments as “Russophobia of the brain.”

Warsaw, along with the Baltic states, Germany, and other European countries, have increasingly claimed that Russia could eventually attack NATO territory and have called for increased military spending and a stronger presence of the bloc along Russia’s borders.

Moscow has repeatedly rejected claims that it intends to attack any NATO members, describing related suggestions as fearmongering used to justify militarization. Even Poland’s own defense minister said in July that there was no indication Russia was preparing a full-scale attack on the country.

Russian officials have instead warned that Europe’s accelerating rearmament and increasingly aggressive military planning are themselves raising the risk of a direct confrontation.

Putin recently noted that Western states are now openly talking about preparing for war with Russia, while Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has stressed that Moscow has “no reason” to attack Europe unless it is attacked first.

The 10-year US Treasury yield has surged above 5% to its highest level in nearly two decades, extending a global bond sell-off driven by soaring energy prices, mounting government debt, and inflation fears.

The latest jump followed a surge in oil prices above $100 per barrel as the US war on Iran continues to threaten global energy supplies.

The rise, which took the 10-year Treasury yield to 5.04% on Tuesday – the highest since 2007 – threatens to drive borrowing costs higher in the US and beyond. Treasury yields serve as a benchmark for mortgages, corporate debt, and lending across global markets.

The sell-off has put additional pressure on the US Federal Reserve ahead of its interest-rate decision on Wednesday, with investors expecting the first hike since July 2023. Keeping rates unchanged or signaling a slower pace of tightening could drive bond yields even higher as investors seek protection against inflation, according to Bloomberg.

“It would be very difficult for the Fed to leave rates unchanged this week without eroding its inflation-fighting credibility,” BMO Capital Markets strategist Vail Hartman told the outlet.

The renewed bond rout has gathered pace as the Middle East conflict drives energy costs higher. Brent crude has broken above $100 per barrel for the first time in nearly two months, raising concerns that more expensive fuel and transport could feed through to consumer prices and keep inflation elevated.

Washington’s borrowing needs are adding to the pressure. Persistent budget deficits require the Treasury to sell large volumes of new debt, increasing the supply of bonds that investors must absorb. As bond prices fall, yields rise to attract buyers, making future government borrowing more expensive.

US Treasuries are widely treated as one of the world’s safest and most liquid assets and underpin borrowing costs throughout the global financial system. A sustained sell-off could therefore tighten financial conditions far beyond the US, putting pressure on other bond markets, currencies and heavily indebted economies.

Demand from some of the traditional buyers of US debt is also weakening. “Structural demand for US Treasuries, particularly among foreign official investors, is materially weaker,” Phoebe White, chief US rates strategist at UBS told Bloomberg, adding that the scope for long-term yields to fall remains limited.

Norway’s $2.3 trillion sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, recently proposed cutting its US Treasury holdings by almost $80 billion. While small relative to the overall Treasury market, the move signals a further shift at the margins away from US debt as rising deficits force Washington to borrow more and foreign buyers show less appetite for Treasuries.

Former NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg will become the co-chair of the Munich Security Conference (MSC) together with the former head of the OSCE, Helga Maria Schmid, the organizers have said.

The conference, which has been held annually in Germany’s third-largest city since 1963, is considered one of the leading Western platforms for security policy and geopolitical debate. It was at the MSC that Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered his famous 2007 speech, criticizing the unipolar world order and NATO’s eastward expansion. Representatives from Moscow were last invited to the gathering in 2022.

The Russian presidential investment envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, reacted to the appointment of Stoltenberg and Schmid in a post on X on Tuesday, saying that “instead of striving to become a much-needed neutral solution space for global security, the Munich Security Conference reinforces its position as a NATO fiefdom.”

In a statement on the Munich Security Conference website on Monday, Stoltenberg said he was pleased to become one of the co-chairs of the conference and thanked the MSC Foundation Council for “this vote of confidence.” 

The Norwegian politician, who served as NATO secretary-general between 2014 and 2024, was expected to be appointed the sole chairman of the MSC in early 2025. However, Stoltenberg postponed taking up the role repeatedly due to becoming his country’s finance minister around the same time. Becoming a co-chair should allow him to combine his work in the government in Oslo with his duties at the MSC.

Stoltenberg took up the reins at NATO several months after the violent Western-backed coup in Kiev in 2014, which led to the overthrow of democratically-elected Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich. The US-led bloc continued its eastward expansion under his leadership, with Montenegro, North Macedonia, Finland, and Sweden joining it between 2017 and 2024. NATO also continued to increase its military buildup near Russian borders and boosted ties with the new authorities in Kiev, despite repeated protests and warnings by Russia.

After the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022, which was largely provoked by Kiev’s aspirations of becoming a NATO member, Stoltenberg consistently advocated for more Western military aid to Vladimir Zelensky’s government, while also calling a Russian victory the “biggest cost and the greatest risk” for the bloc.

Schmid, who was secretary-general of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe between 2020 and 2024, said she was delighted to contribute her “experience in European diplomacy and international negotiations” to the work of the Munich Security Conference.

During Schmid’s tenure, Moscow repeatedly accused the OSCE of being hijacked by its NATO and EU members to advance Western interests at the expense of other members. Earlier this year, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Aleksandr Grushko said the organization was effectively turned into an instrument of “hybrid war and coercion” against sovereign states, who are “subjected to threats, blackmail” for simply pursuing their national interests.

BRICS is giving countries of the Global South a stronger voice in international affairs as the group expands and pushes for a more multipolar system of global governance, Raymond Matlala has told RT.

Following the last week’s 18th BRICS Summit, the founder and executive chairman of the South African BRICS Forum, said the addition of new members, partner states, and outreach countries is helping bring more developing nations into global decision-making.

“BRICS has always been positioning itself to speak for the Global South,” Matlala stressed.  

Former South African National Assembly member and Pan-Africanist scholar Dr. Khanyisile Litchfield-Tshabalala said that BRICS could help reshape international political and financial institutions from an African perspective. She noted the continent’s vast mineral wealth remains tied to an economic system in which raw materials are largely exported for processing and value addition elsewhere.

“Everything centers around what we call the petrodollar – the struggle for resources that Africa offers or raw minerals that Africa is offering, which the West direly needs for the finished product,” she told RT.

She also called on African countries to challenge their external debt burden, arguing that much of it is owed through institutions such as the IMF and World Bank, which she described as serving the interests of former colonial powers.

The 18th BRICS Summit was held in New Delhi, India, on September 12-13. BRICS was established by Brazil, Russia, India, and China, with South Africa joining in 2011. The group expanded further in 2024 with Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the UAE, while Indonesia became a full member in January 2025.

South Africa has secured a $1 billion loan from the BRICS-founded New Development Bank (NDB) to reform failing water, electricity and waste services across all eight of the country’s metropolitan municipalities, the National Treasury has announced.

In a statement released to the media on Tuesday, National Treasury said the loan would support the government-led Metro Trading Services Reform Programme, which focuses on improving the governance, financial sustainability and operational performance of municipal services.

The program covers key trading services including water and sanitation, electricity and energy, and solid waste management.

”The financing supports a government-led, performance-based reform program implemented through South Africa’s existing legal, fiscal and institutional framework,” Treasury said.

”This is a performance-based loan with financing linked to institutional strengthening and the achievement of independently verified measurable performance targets that are approved by metro councils for their trading service.”

The program applies to South Africa’s eight metropolitan municipalities: Buffalo City, Cape Town, Ekurhuleni, eThekwini, Johannesburg, Mangaung, Nelson Mandela Bay and Tshwane.

”The NDB loan was prepared in coordination with development partners active in South Africa’s infrastructure sector. National Treasury extends its appreciation to the NDB for its support to this government-led reform towards better services for residents and stronger, more sustainable cities.”

First published by IOL

China has said it is ready to expand trade and economic cooperation with India and address each other’s concerns following recent high-level talks in New Delhi.

”China stands ready to work with India to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries,” Chinese Embassy spokesperson Yu Jing wrote in a post on X on Monday.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping met on the sidelines of the recently concluded BRICS summit, where they underlined the need to deliver on issues important to each side, including the structural trade imbalance, supply chain issues, and the facilitation of meaningful and predictable market access. 

On Monday, Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal followed that up with a meeting in New Delhi aimed at understanding each other’s positions on various trade-related problems, Indian Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said. 

The two Asian neighbors are seeking to build on a recent thaw in bilateral ties, which were frozen following a border skirmish in 2020. India recently allowed Chinese investment in strategic sectors and industries and the two countries have re-established air and trade links.

China's Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao met with Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal in Delhi.

India is an important neighbor of China. China stands ready to work with India to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries,… pic.twitter.com/2oLJweWLoD

— Yu Jing (@ChinaSpox_India) September 14, 2026

Beijing wants to expand “mutually beneficial cooperation in the economic and trade fields” and “properly address each other’s economic and trade concerns in a balanced manner,” the Chinese Embassy spokesperson added.

India’s trade deficit with China rose to $112.16 billion in the financial year ended March, as imports reached $131.63 billion. Beijing is now New Delhi’s biggest trading partner, with Chinese goods accounting for nearly 17% of imports. A significant share of these imports are inputs needed for Indian industry, such as machinery, electronics, and critical and rare-earth minerals.

Modi and Xi on Saturday reviewed the broader India-China relationship, and agreed on the need to work on outstanding points of mutual concern. They also called for stronger business links and greater mobility between the two countries.

The two leaders also expressed commitment to a fair, reasonable, and mutually acceptable resolution of the boundary question.

Kenya will host the 2029 World Athletics Championships, becoming the first African country to stage the sport’s flagship global competition.

World Athletics announced on Tuesday that Nairobi has beaten rival bids from London, Rome, and Munich. Munich was instead awarded the 2031 edition, while Beijing will host the championships in 2027.

“Taking our championships to Africa for the first time will be historic,” World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said. He described Nairobi’s bid as “compelling and emotional,” citing Kenya’s prominence in international athletics.

Kenyan President William Ruto welcomed the decision as a victory for the continent. “This is Kenya’s moment, Africa’s moment, and a victory for generations of athletes who made our nation synonymous with excellence on the track, on the road and cross-country,” he said. Ruto pledged that the East African country would deliver “an unforgettable championship worthy of our athletes, our country and our continent.”

Kenya has produced some of the world’s most successful runners, including Olympic champions Eliud Kipchoge, Faith Kipyegon, David Rudisha, and Kipchoge Keino.

The East African country unsuccessfully sought the 2025 championships, which were awarded to Tokyo. World Athletics President Coe said Nairobi returned with a stronger proposal supported by the ongoing overhaul of Kasarani Stadium. The venue is also being renovated ahead of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations football tournament, which Kenya will co-host with Tanzania and Uganda.

The decision adds to Africa’s growing list of major international sporting events. Morocco will become the continent’s second country to host matches at a men’s FIFA World Cup when it stages the 2030 tournament with Spain and Portugal. South Africa became the first in 2010. Moroccan officials are also seeking to stage the 2030 final at the planned 115,000-seat Hassan II Stadium near Casablanca, although FIFA has yet to choose the venue.

Senegal will meanwhile host the Youth Olympic Games from October 31 to November 13, 2026. President Bassirou Diomaye Faye formally received the Olympic flame in Dakar on September 12 ahead of the event – the first Olympic sporting competition to be held in Africa.

Dakar, vous avez répondu présents à l’appel! 🤩

La première étape de la tournée de la flamme a donné le ton. 🔥

Jëxagul 👀#Dakar2026 #PassTheEnergy pic.twitter.com/SUicYGW4N5

— Dakar 2026™ (@jojdakar2026) September 14, 2026

Weapons should not be deployed in space, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said, responding to the Pentagon’s announcement that the US has placed a weapons system in orbit.

US Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink disclosed the deployment on Monday, saying the US Space Force “now has on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the joint force against hostile adversary action,” without providing details about the system. Media reports have suggested that it is intended to disable or destroy hostile satellites.

“We believe that space should be free from any weapons. And certainly we count on broad international consolidation… to continue efforts for the full demilitarization of space,” Peskov told journalists on Tuesday during a regular briefing.

The Pentagon has a long history of using orbital systems for military purposes, specifically intelligence gathering, navigation and communications. Some US military concepts, however, have also envisioned systems potentially capable of conducting strikes from space. During the Cold War, for example, the Soviet Union viewed the Space Shuttle as a potential platform for delivering a rapid nuclear strike.

The so-called Kessler effect describes a scenario in which collisions generate increasing amounts of orbital debris, triggering further collisions and potentially making low Earth orbits unusable for an extended period.

Russia has long called for stronger international agreements restricting the military use of space. While the Outer Space Treaty prohibits the deployment of weapons of mass destruction in orbit, Moscow has argued that conventional weapons should also be banned.

In June, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced that his country was developing a space-based anti-satellite laser system and aimed to become “the leading country in the world with this capability.”

France is pressing the EU to lift sanctions on Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov in exchange for several of its citizens detained in Azerbaijan, including a man convicted of spying for Paris, according to media reports.

Last week, France unexpectedly broke ranks with most EU members and joined Slovakia in refusing to back an extension of sanctions on Russia unless Usmanov was removed from the blacklist. Bratislava had already been holding up the renewal, demanding the delisting of Usmanov and fellow Russian businessman Mikhail Fridman.

The dispute has stalled the renewal of the sanctions, which target more than 3,000 individuals and entities, forcing the bloc to extend the restrictions until September 22 while negotiations continue. If ambassadors fail to reach an agreement by then, the entire sanctions regime could legally expire.

Paris has officially given little explanation for its position beyond citing “national security” concerns.

On Monday, however, the Financial Times and Euronews reported, citing diplomatic sources, that French demands are linked to efforts to secure the release of several of French citizens currently held by Baku.

Azerbaijan has itself repeatedly lobbied for Usmanov’s removal from the blacklist, as the billionaire has maintained longstanding and warm ties with the country’s leadership and the wider Turkic world.

It is unclear exactly how many French nationals are detained in Azerbaijan, although at least two are publicly known.

Another French entrepreneur, Anass Derraz, is also serving a nine-year sentence in a separate bribery case.

It is unclear if the two men are covered by the reported negotiations.

Azerbaijan and other Turkic nations have repeatedly backed efforts to remove Usmanov from EU sanctions. A letter reportedly sent by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico earlier this year named Baku among several governments supporting the businessman’s delisting.

Usmanov, an Uzbek-born Russian billionaire with major interests in metals, mining, and telecommunications, was sanctioned by the EU in February 2022 over his alleged ties to President Vladimir Putin and interests in sectors Brussels says provide substantial revenue to the Russian government.

He has denied the allegations and repeatedly challenged the restrictions in European courts. He has also recently won several defamation cases in Germany over media claims concerning his alleged Kremlin ties.

Yemen’s Ansar Allah movement, also known as the Houthis, locked in a war with the country’s government and a Saudi-led coalition, is making military gains along the western coast of the country. The military geography of the area has changed within a matter of days.

The Houthis seized Mocha, a key port north of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, and then pushed toward Dhubab and the strategic island of Mayyun, also known as Perim, which lies directly inside the strait. At the same time, the movement strengthened its presence around the Hanish Islands, meaning that what is unfolding can no longer be described simply as another expansion of Houthi-held territory inside Yemen. Ansar Allah is now moving directly toward one of the most important maritime chokepoints in the Middle East.

The movement itself insists that international shipping is not the target of its advance, while Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam has said that trade through the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb remains safe and uninterrupted, even as restrictions against Saudi-linked shipping remain in place.

However, it’s not just about whether the Houthis are physically capable of closing the strait. They are acquiring a tool with which they can raise or lower the risks to commercial shipping in accordance with the political and military situation. This is turning Bab el-Mandeb from one sector of Yemen’s protracted war into a second lever of pressure within the confrontation surrounding Iran.

The main reason the Houthi advance has become so sensitive for the United States and its allies lies in its timing, coming as it is amid a direct confrontation with Iran, which is already facing intense American pressure on its maritime communications and oil exports. While Iran’s room for maneuver in the Strait of Hormuz is constrained by the presence of American and allied forces, a second potentially unstable maritime corridor on the opposite side of the Arabian Peninsula forces Washington to reckon with an entirely different theater of escalation at the same time. A substantial share of Gulf oil exports passes through Hormuz, while Bab el-Mandeb links the Indian Ocean to the Red Sea and onward to the Suez Canal. Simultaneous instability in both straits could disrupt not only regional energy flows but the wider system of trade connecting Asia and Europe.

The result is a kind of geographic trap, with Hormuz on the eastern side of the Arabian Peninsula, where Tehran can directly influence the level of risk surrounding maritime traffic, and Bab el-Mandeb on the western side, where a movement aligned with Iran possesses a similar capacity. It would nevertheless be inaccurate to claim that Tehran now controls both straits, because Ansar Allah is not an extension of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, has its own political agenda and makes its decisions primarily in response to developments inside Yemen. Yet this degree of Houthi autonomy makes the coalescing model of two-pronged pressure so useful to Iran. Tehran does not need to expand the conflict geographically with its own forces when an allied movement is already acting in ways that serve broadly compatible interests and impose additional costs on a common adversary.

Iran does not need to order the closure of Bab el-Mandeb, because the mere possibility of a renewed crisis in the Red Sea is enough to force the US to prepare for another escalation scenario. Washington must then redistribute military resources, reinforce maritime security and factor the consequences into its calculations about global energy markets. In other words, the effectiveness of the pressure does not depend on whether either strait is completely shut. It depends on whether both can be made sufficiently unstable to force the US and its allies to spend more resources protecting them.

Reducing the current offensive to Tehran’s interests alone would also be misleading, because for the Houthis themselves the widening regional crisis offers a rare opportunity to reshape the terms of their long confrontation with Saudi Arabia. For several years, negotiations between Riyadh and Sanaa have revolved around highly specific issues, including the full operation of Houthi-controlled ports, expanded access through Sanaa airport, salary payments to public-sector employees, infrastructure reconstruction, foreign trade and the gradual easing of restrictions that Ansar Allah describes as a blockade. These demands lie at the heart of the Houthis’ political agenda, and the regional confrontation provides more leverage with which to pursue them.

The greater the Houthis’ ability to affect commercial shipping while simultaneously threatening Saudi infrastructure, the stronger their bargaining position becomes. The seizure of Mocha and the advance toward Mayyun matter are also territorial gains, since until recently the Houthi ability to shape events in the Red Sea relied mainly on missiles, drones and anti-ship systems. Geography itself is now becoming part of their military toolkit. Control of the coastline gives the movement a stronger platform from which to threaten the maritime routes upon which both Saudi Arabia and international trade depend.

Mayyun is especially important because the small island sits directly inside the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and divides it into two channels, making any sustained military presence there a sensitive factor for naval forces tasked with protecting commercial traffic. Control of the island would not by itself allow the Houthis to seal the international shipping route, particularly if they faced a large naval coalition. Absolute control, however, is not necessary to create a persistent atmosphere of danger. Mobile missile systems, reconnaissance assets, strike drones and unmanned surface vessels would be enough to force insurers, shipping companies and governments to account for the possibility of attack every time the regional situation deteriorates.

The experience of the Red Sea has already demonstrated how effective such a strategy can be. After Houthi attacks on commercial vessels began in late 2023, many of the world’s largest shipping companies chose to reroute around the Cape of Good Hope, on the southern end of the African continent, even though Bab el-Mandeb itself was never completely closed. Commercial shipping reacts to risk, uncertainty and rising insurance costs. The Houthis’ principal asset, therefore, is not the ability to stop every vessel passing through the strait, but the ability to make the market behave as though any vessel could potentially become a target.

The emerging situation is especially uncomfortable for Saudi Arabia, because Riyadh’s strategy in recent years has been built around gradually distancing itself from the direct war in Yemen, reducing the threat to its oil infrastructure and creating conditions in which regional conflicts would no longer obstruct the kingdom’s domestic economic transformation. A return to a large-scale campaign against the Houthis would undermine that entire approach. Saudi Arabia would once again find itself drawn into the kind of costly war it has spent years trying to leave behind through negotiations and Omani mediation. The political cost would therefore be almost as significant as the military one.

The problem becomes even more serious if instability around Hormuz forces Riyadh to rely more heavily on its East-West pipeline and Red Sea terminals. In such a scenario, growing insecurity around Bab el-Mandeb would threaten the routes intended to serve as alternatives to a vulnerable Persian Gulf. The Houthis understand this, which is why pressure on maritime traffic and the possibility of renewed strikes against Saudi energy infrastructure allow them to raise the costs for Riyadh without having to launch a full-scale offensive directly against the kingdom. What was designed as strategic redundancy for Saudi oil exports can become a second point of vulnerability.

Saudi Arabia’s response is likely to remain limited, centered on stronger air defenses, intelligence support for Ansar Allah’s Yemeni opponents, selective strikes against military targets and additional measures to secure maritime routes. At the same time, Riyadh will probably seek to preserve a negotiating channel, because the broader the confrontation between Iran and the US becomes, the more dangerous it is for Saudi Arabia to allow itself to be turned once again into one of the conflict’s principal fronts. A full return to war would expose energy infrastructure, undermine economic planning and risk once again tying the kingdom’s regional policy to an open-ended conflict in Yemen. For Riyadh, restraint is a matter of strategic self-preservation.

Washington faces a similar dilemma, because ignoring the Houthi advance risks creating the impression that American security guarantees are weakening, while a renewed large-scale operation in Yemen would require additional air, naval, intelligence and missile-defense resources at a moment when the US is already preparing for possible escalation around Iran. Even if direct war can still be avoided, the requirement to keep forces on permanent alert is itself becoming part of the price Tehran is seeking to impose on American strategy. The US is being forced to defend not one vulnerable maritime corridor but an increasingly interconnected system of routes, bases, and allied infrastructure.

Neither the capture of Mocha nor a Houthi presence on Mayyun would by themselves determine the outcome of the confrontation between the US and Iran. The strategy pursued by Tehran and its partners is not built around a single decisive blow but around the gradual accumulation of risks. Washington is increasingly forced to consider the Strait of Hormuz, Bab el-Mandeb, the security of American bases, the protection of Saudi oil infrastructure, the stability of commercial shipping, and the condition of global energy markets at the same time. Each new source of tension consumes additional resources and reduces freedom of action elsewhere.

For Ansar Allah, this creates an opportunity to convert military success along the coast into political leverage, because the more expensive Red Sea security becomes for Saudi Arabia, the greater the cost to Riyadh of refusing compromises over ports, the airport, financial flows and other long-standing demands from Sanaa. For Iran, the effect is different, because Tehran gains a way to increase pressure on its adversary without deploying its own forces to a new theater and without assuming full responsibility for the geographical expansion of the conflict. The two actors benefit for different reasons, even though their immediate interests increasingly overlap.

Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb are gradually becoming parts of a single system of pressure, in which a crisis at one chokepoint increases the importance of the other, while every attempt to secure one route exposes the vulnerability of its alternative. Bab el-Mandeb is not simply a second theater of war but a second political lever.

The Pentagon has yet to determine the future posture of US forces in the Middle East, including how regional bases damaged in the conflict with Iran will be rebuilt, according to a new government report examining Operation Epic Fury.

The US military operation against Iran lasted from February 28 through June 30, although the confrontation remains unresolved, with Washington relying on a naval blockade and sanctions to pressure Tehran. Iran responded to the US-Israeli attack by striking military and infrastructure targets across the region and restricting traffic through the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

The report, prepared by three inspector general offices and released on Monday, highlighted difficulties in determining the full cost of Operation Epic Fury. The Pentagon estimated the campaign had cost $33.4 billion as of June 29, excluding the reconstruction of damaged military infrastructure.

During congressional appropriations hearings in May, the department did not include military reconstruction costs because it “has not determined what its future posture will be in the region, how it will construct its bases, and what percentage of the construction costs Allies and partners will contribute,” the report said.

The change “posed significant challenges before and during” the operation, CENTCOM told Pentagon Inspector General Platte Moring, who led the joint oversight effort.

“An issue with shifting logistics support and infrastructure to Diego Garcia has been distance, with extended sea transit requiring 14- to 18-day logistics cycles,” the report said.

The increased reliance on military facilities on the Chagos Islands, operated jointly by the US and British militaries, became a source of friction between US President Donald Trump and then-British Prime Minister Keir Starmer during the first phase of the Iran war.

The report to Congress also detailed bottlenecks exposed by Pentagon efforts to replenish munitions consumed during the operation.

The most persistent problems “remain in the production of solid rocket motors, the availability of high-grade explosives and propellants, and the recruitment of skilled manufacturing labor,” the report said, describing the resulting inventory shortfalls as “strategic.”

The 40-page document was prepared by the inspector general offices overseeing the Department of War, the State Department, and the shuttered US Agency for International Development.

The Rules Committee of the US House advanced a new Russia sanctions bill on Monday, rejecting an amendment from a Democratic lawmaker that sought to name India and China specifically as among the tariff targets, and setting up its final vote on the full floor.

The measure, once it becomes law, would give President Donald Trump the authority to impose tariffs of up to 100% on the top purchasers of Russian oil and gas. The bill, formally titled the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, was approved by the US Senate on August 7 in an 86-11 vote. 

India is the second largest buyer of Russian oil, after China. New Delhi has defended its purchases of Russian crude, arguing that its decisions are guided by national interests and the need to ensure energy security for its 1.4 billion population. In August, Russia supplied around 2.1 million barrels per day of oil, accounting for 45% of India’s crude imports. 

“This conflict, which is today in its fifth year, will not be solved because somebody is buying or not buying oil or alumina or minerals or metals or fertilizer,” Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar said in Kiev earlier this month. “This conflict will be solved by dialogue, by diplomacy, by negotiation.”

The House Rules Committee rejected amendments submitted by two Democratic lawmakers before teeing up the bill for a full floor vote, which could come this week. Speaker Mike Johnson has said he could fast-track the bill before the House departs on a seven-week recess Thursday.

The tariff provision has faced opposition from some US lawmakers, including Democratic Congressman Gregory Meeks, who proposed his own amendment on removing Section 113, which grants the president authority to impose broad secondary tariffs on countries trading with Russia. However, the Rules Committee also rejected it.  

The proposed tariffs form part of a broader sanctions package targeting Russia’s leadership and energy sector, as well as vessels Washington says are used to circumvent restrictions on Russian oil deliveries. The measure also provides for sanctions against senior Russian officials, banks, and business figures.

Nigeria’s Dangote refinery has launched a $1.6 billion initial public offering to help finance a major capacity expansion, in a share sale billed as the largest in African history.

The company is offering up to 4.1 billion shares at 525 naira each, according to its prospectus. The offer opened on Monday and will close on October 13, with trading on the Nigerian Exchange expected to begin in November. The minimum application is ten shares, costing 5,250 naira (around $4).

“We are all going to fully share all our prosperity with the people, and that is why we call it the people’s IPO,” Aliko Dangote said at the launch in Lagos.

The expert also notes that the Dangote Refinery, “the sole domestic fuel producer in a country of over 200 million people who drive more than 5 million vehicles”, has acquired strategic importance for Nigeria after overcoming opposition from foreign oil companies and delays to its commissioning.

“What is particularly noteworthy is that the shares are listing on the Nigerian exchange, with capital to be raised in naira. This speaks to the maturity of the domestic stock market, sets a strong precedent for other ventures, and proves that local capital markets can serve as a viable source of funding,” Maslov said.

The roughly $20 billion refinery, Africa’s largest, with a 700,000-barrel-per-day capacity, was inaugurated in May 2023 and began commercial operations in 2024. It has been central to the Nigerian government’s efforts to boost domestic refining and reduce import reliance.

According to the IPO documents, the company expects net proceeds of around 2.11 trillion naira after expenses. The funds will finance part of a $14.3 billion program to double the Lagos facility’s capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day. The expansion will cover processing units, major equipment, utilities and construction work. The remaining costs will be financed through internally generated cash and other sources, with the project targeted for completion by 2030.

As of May, it supplied around 87.6% of Nigeria’s gasoline market. Dangote also plans to build a $17 billion energy complex in the northern Kenyan coastal town of Lamu, including a 700,000-barrel-per-day refinery.

Algeria and Mali have agreed to deepen economic cooperation, with mining, agriculture, energy and transport among the sectors identified for potential joint projects, the Malian government said on Monday.

The plans were discussed during talks in Bamako between Malian Prime Minister Abdoulaye Maiga and his Algerian counterpart, Sifi Ghrieb. Officials presented investment opportunities in Mali’s gold and lithium industries, as well as rice and cotton production, livestock, agro-industry and financial services. Mali also highlighted export opportunities involving mangoes, sesame and cashew nuts.

Transport and energy were also on the agenda, with the two sides discussing the Trans-Sahara Highway, Air Algerie links and Mali’s energy deficit. Cooperation in higher education could also be expanded to include research, according to the Malian government.

According to Algeria Press Service (APS), Ghrieb said that Algiers was prepared to resume institutional cooperation between the two countries, describing the move as part of efforts to elevate bilateral relations to a “new stage.”

The neighbors restored diplomatic ties in July, returning their ambassadors and reopening their airspace. Maiga traveled to Algiers in August in the first high-level visit since the dispute, and the two prime ministers have now agreed on arrangements for a forthcoming visit to Algeria by Malian leader Assimi Goita.

The rapprochement has since expanded into security cooperation, with Algeria deploying four Su-30 fighter jets to Niger in late August at Niamey’s request following a failed military mutiny in the capital.

Western leaders are far less likely to face the International Criminal Court (ICC) for conduct comparable to that alleged against officials from weaker states, former MEP Gunnar Beck has told RT. The “defeated” and “powerless” are most at risk while leaders of major nations are largely shielded, he argued.

The ICC was established in 2002 under the Rome Statute to try individuals accused of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, but has faced longstanding accusations of political bias and selective justice.

In an interview with RT on Tuesday, Beck said that “major powers don’t end up” in the ICC, adding that international organizations remain “largely dominated by Western powers and their sort of allies and vassals.” Invoking Soviet leader Joseph Stalin’s famous dictum that “victors are not judged,” he argued that the court’s record largely reflects the same principle.

He argued that the pattern extends beyond whether countries formally belong to the court. Russia, China, the US, and India are not parties to the Rome Statute, but Beck said political power also affects the likelihood of prosecution.

“If you ask me, is a Russian leader more likely to be at least prosecuted before the court than an American leader, I’d say yes, even if that were for similar deeds,” he said. “So we certainly see a discrepancy here.”

Criticism of the ICC has intensified in recent months. Venezuela, Chad, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger have moved to withdraw from the court, accusing it of political bias and “neocolonial repression.”

Russia, which is not a party to the Rome Statute, rejected the ICC’s authority when the court issued warrants for President Vladimir Putin and Children’s Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova in 2023 over the alleged unlawful transfer of Ukrainian children.

The administration of US President Donald Trump has pledged to “systematically dismantle the threat posed” by the ICC to US sovereignty. Israel has likewise rejected the court’s jurisdiction, although the ICC issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in 2024 over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza

A key Saudi Arabian oil pipeline hit in a drone strike by Iraqi militias will take up to five weeks to repair, AP has reported, citing informed officials.

The East-West Pipeline, which runs 1,200 km across the country towards the port of Yanbu on the Red Sea, will remain mostly out of service during the three- to five-week repair period, the agency said in an article on Tuesday.

One official suggested that parts of the infrastructure could function while segments of the pipeline and a major pumping station are being fixed, but couldn’t say how much oil might get through, according to AP.

Oil prices spiked by more than 3% on Monday, with benchmark Brent crude reaching $109 per barrel, following the decision by the Saudi authorities to shut down the pipeline after it was struck by drones in the Riyadh and Medina areas on Thursday.

The Gulf kingdom blamed Iranian-backed militias in Iraq for the attack, with the government in Baghdad confirming that the UAVs came from Iraqi territory and condemning the aggression.

Saudi Arabia, which is the world’s largest supplier of oil, shifted its exports from the Persian Gulf to the Red Sea as the Strait of Hormuz remains shut due to the conflict between the US and Iran.

The Houthis further tightened their grip on the Bab al-Mandeb Strait on Monday, capturing the strategic islands of Greater and Lesser Hanish without a fight, AP reported, citing officials from the group and Saudi-backed forces.

The Yemeni group said on the same day that it had fired dozens of missiles and drones at the King Khalid Air Base in the southern Saudi city of Khamis Mushait.

The attack “was accurate and caused heavy damage” to aircraft hangars, radars, landing strips, and ammunition depots at the facility, Houthi military spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree said.

Saudi military spokesperson Major General Turki al-Malki said 13 civilians were wounded during the Houthi raid on Khamis Mushait, but didn’t confirm the attack on the airbase.

Riyadh has asked Britain for military support in stemming the Houthi advance in Yemen and repelling strikes on Saudi oil infrastructure, Bloomberg reported on Monday.

Last week, US President Donald Trump reportedly declined several requests by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to order airstrikes against the Houthis.

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has so far only agreed to send military advisers to Saudi Arabia, the agency said. Burnham is hesitant to provide further assistance due to concerns of it being viewed as him backing Trump’s war on Iran, which is deeply unpopular in Britain, Bloomberg said.

A senior Spanish naval officer stationed with NATO in the UK became the subject of a counterintelligence investigation over his relationship with a British woman who was born in Soviet Russia, The Telegraph has reported.

The unnamed officer eventually had his security clearance revoked and was ostracized by fellow military personnel. The couple, who have since separated, both believe they were betrayed by their respective countries over what the woman described as a “rumor” started by partners of other officers at the British base.

Janina White, 49, was born in Soviet Russia, moved to Poland as a child and emigrated to the UK as a teenager, the British newspaper reported on Monday. She holds dual British-Polish citizenship and works as a solicitor in London. According to her public professional profile, she speaks nine languages, including Russian.

White separated from her former husband, a prominent council leader, shortly before meeting the Spanish Navy officer in October 2024. He had also recently separated from his wife.

The Telegraph: A NATO commander’s romance with a woman he met on Tinder triggered a security alert at a British military base over fears she was spying for Russia, The Telegraph can reveal.

The Spanish naval officer was dating Janina White, a UK-born Soviet national who was… pic.twitter.com/pmL9g4TvYC

— Vineet (@cozyduke_apt29) September 14, 2026

Two weeks after meeting, the couple moved into a two-bedroom apartment in west London, White told the newspaper.

“We opened a joint bank account and started planning holidays and thinking about having babies,” she added.

Their problems began at a Christmas party in December 2024 at NATO’s Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM), where the Spanish officer was posted. White attended the event on a one-day escorted visitor pass.

“I definitely know I am not a Russian spy. The last time I checked I wasn’t,” White told The Telegraph.

The commanding officer at Northwood revoked the Spanish officer’s access pass on June 19, 2025, after being informed of the investigation. More than a month later, his posting to MARCOM “was terminated by the Spanish authorities,” according to court documents cited by the newspaper.

In an email to Vice-Admiral Mike Utley, a senior British naval commander, the officer said the espionage allegations had seriously damaged his career and affected his former wife and two children after “35 years of exemplary, unblemished service.” He said all of them faced alienation within the Spanish military community.

White said her former partner “felt betrayed by the navy” and that she felt the same way about “Britain, my country.” She is pursuing a discrimination case against the British Ministry of Defense.

The purported agent “was very pleasant and brought me a nice coffee,” she said.

White insisted that while she was in a relationship with the Spanish officer, they maintained a strict rule against discussing his work at home. She said she told the Russian man the same thing.

Concerns that artificial intelligence could take over the world and wipe out humanity are a hoax peddled by radical Democrats, US President Donald Trump has said, doubling down on his rejection of warnings from AI giants.

The debate over artificial intelligence was reignited over the weekend when Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei published an essay calling for a slowdown in the development of AI models so that researchers could assess the risks. His call was backed by Sam Altman of OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, and Elon Musk, whose company SpaceXAI developed the Grok chatbot.

Trump responded on Monday with a series of posts on Truth Social, arguing that the concerns were being spread by “Radical Left Dumocrats, who never give up, but seldom win.”

Pointing to the technological race with China, Trump hailed AI and data centers as the “Greatest Economic Development Engine in History” and promised that they “will not be stopped by brilliantly run Destructive Forces” on his watch.

“I am the Hoax Buster, and I’m right now breaking another Hoax – That AI is going to take over, consume, and destroy the World, and that Robots will be marching into our Cities, and getting rid of us all!” the president wrote. He compared anxiety over AI to allegations that his team colluded with Russia during the 2016 presidential election and to the Democrat-led effort to remove him from office during his first term.

“The people that say AI is going to destroy the World, and that Data Centers are bad for your neighborhood, are the same people that said, just a short time ago, that the World would be extinguished by ‘Climate Change.’ That HOAX never worked out for them, and now they’re on to the next one,” Trump wrote in another post.

The rapid construction of massive AI data centers, particularly in Virginia, Texas and Georgia, has sparked concerns over their enormous electricity and water consumption.

In a post on X on Monday, Altman wrote that calls for “pacing” AI development do not mean stopping it. “Progress has been rapid and will continue to be. But it should be slower than it otherwise could be; interventions like safety cases and monitoring have significant costs,” he wrote.

“No amount of American competitive pressure should justify recklessness, or let capabilities get ahead of alignment and monitoring,” the OpenAI CEO added.

MS NOW reported that Altman had met privately with Trump on the sidelines of a Republican midterm convention on Thursday to discuss the issue.

The US has for the first time acknowledged that it has weapons in space amid ongoing tensions with Russia and China.

US Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink revealed the deployment on Monday during the opening of the Air & Space Forces Association’s 2026 Air, Space & Cyber Conference at National Harbor in Maryland.

“Today, we continue to ensure we remain ready to meet the challenge of evolving threats wherever they exist,” Meink said in a keynote address.

“This is why the Space Force now has on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the joint force against hostile adversary action,” he said, without elaborating. “It’s important from a deterrence perspective,” he added.

During a question-and-answer session, Meink declined to go into detail, stressing that the phrasing of his remarks was “very well thought out.”

“It is critically important that we maintain our dominance, not only in the air but in space,” he said, according to Air & Space Forces Magazine.

The Washington Post quoted a US official as saying that the technology mentioned by Meink could include the ability to “take out” an enemy satellite if it were being used to target American troops or a US satellite.

US President Donald Trump established the Space Force in 2019 during his first term in office, describing space as “the world’s newest warfighting domain.” Last year, he unveiled plans for Golden Dome, a multilayered missile-defense system designed to protect the entire United States which includes space-based interceptors.

The project echoes the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), dubbed Star Wars, launched by US President Ronald Reagan at the height of the Cold War in 1983. Reagan’s ambitious program was later scaled back and ultimately abandoned without its proposed space-based weapons being deployed.

In March, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov condemned what he described as “the militarization of space” and argued that the Golden Dome “poses a significant threat to strategic stability.”

Since the 2000s, the US, China, India and Russia have tested anti-satellite weapons. In November 2021, the Russian military successfully destroyed a decommissioned Soviet-era spy satellite. The Russian Foreign Ministry said at the time that the operation was conducted in strict accordance with international law and was not directed against any particular country.

NATO fighter jets have shot down an unidentified drone in southern Lithuania, a Baltic country that borders the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad Region, officials said on Tuesday.

The UAV entered Lithuanian airspace shortly after midnight and was downed around 30 minutes later over a rural area near the village of Pratkunai, west of the capital, Vilnius, according to Vilmantas Vitkauskas, head of Lithuania’s National Crisis Management Center.

“Teams have been dispatched to identify what kind of drone it is, determine its specifications, and establish what its intended target was,” Vitkauskas told Radio LRT. According to LRT, it was the first drone to be shot down over Lithuania.

The incident took place amid heightened tensions between Russia and NATO over the Ukraine conflict. Several Ukrainian drones veered into the Baltic states earlier this year, which Kiev has blamed on Russian signal-jamming.

NATO members have also accused Russia of flying drones into their airspace, allegations Moscow has dismissed as unfounded.

Stray Ukrainian drones veered into Latvia and Estonia during Kiev’s deep-strike campaign against Russia, including an incident in March when one struck the chimney of a power plant in Auvere, Estonia. In April, the Russian Foreign Ministry said it had warned the Baltic states against allowing Ukraine to use their airspace for attacks.

Russia’s Kaliningrad Region is an exclave on the Baltic coast located between Lithuania and Poland that some NATO officials have described as a dangerous military outpost. In May, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys said in an interview with the Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung that NATO should be prepared to “raze military bases” there. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov slammed his remarks as “borderline insanity.”

The US has violated international law by pressuring Austria to prevent Iran’s nuclear chief from attending a UN nuclear watchdog event in Vienna, Tehran has said.

Mohammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), was blocked from participating in an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) meeting this week after the US refused to grant him a sanctions waiver, Iranian media reported.

“Such acts violate the host country’s obligations under the Headquarters Agreement between the IAEA and Austria. That agreement obliged the host government to take all necessary measures to facilitate the entry of representatives of Member States into Austrian territory,” Iran’s mission in Vienna said in a statement on X on Monday.

Denying the Head of Delegation of a Member State access to the highest policy-making organ of the #IAEA adversely affects the normal functioning and legitimacy of its proceedings. Such acts violate the host country’s obligations under the Headquarters Agreement between the IAEA… pic.twitter.com/Tq66M8hCPw

— Iran Mission UN Vienna (@PMIRAN_Vienna) September 14, 2026

Austria submitted a request to the UN Security Council sanctions committee for an exception to the travel ban, but it was denied, Christian Ebner, the country’s envoy to the UN mission in Vienna, said.

Reza Najafi, Iran’s envoy to international organizations in Vienna, argued that the move was “a serious violation” of the country’s rights as an IAEA member. The agency is tasked with monitoring nuclear activities and compliance with non-proliferation obligations.

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright defended the restrictions placed on Eslami.

“He’s a sanctioned individual and we don’t want sanctioned individuals evading their sanctions. He asked for a waiver of the sanctions and it was denied,” Wright told reporters in Vienna, according to AFP.

The incident occurred as talks between the US and Iran remain stalled, with the Strait of Hormuz, an important maritime chokepoint, blocked to normal shipping. A 60-day deadline for reviving negotiations over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program expired last month.

The US insists that Iran must completely dismantle its nuclear program, with President Donald Trump saying that Tehran must never acquire nuclear weapons. Iran, which maintains that it enriches uranium only for civilian purposes, has said that its nuclear program is a sovereign right.

IAEA chief Rafael Mariano Grossi said on Monday that the agency was committed to resuming work with Iran. “We extend our hand to Iran once again to work with us to clarify issues related to its nuclear program,” he said at the organization’s general conference in Austria. He added that he remained “stubbornly optimistic” that the issues surrounding Iran’s nuclear program would be resolved.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei accused the IAEA of helping to promote “threat narratives” and provide “a political and legal case” for the US-Israeli war on Iran, which began in late February.

When the BRIC group, as it was known then, first emerged, it was greeted with amusement as another exotic variety of alphabet soup in the age of globalization. As it became a more permanent fixture, it was regarded as a poor man’s version of a global club, like a humble answer to the G7.

More recently, it has come to be feared, not least by US President Donald Trump, as a potential threat to the dominance of the American dollar. In the run-up to the 2026 BRICS summit in New Delhi, the Western media shifted its focus to the divergences within the group, essentially portraying it as something less than the sum of its parts.

However, all these interpretations miss the actual significance of BRICS, which is its role as an early model of the emerging multipolar order.

Over the past five centuries or so, roughly the period of Western global hegemony, the world order has invariably been based on the dominance of a single power, whether Spain, France, Britain or America, or a combination of powers, such as the Concert of Europe or the US-Soviet bipolar system.

Single-power hegemony remains very much alive in the West today, whether one looks at NATO, AUKUS, international financial institutions or Washington-led alliances in Asia and elsewhere. True, the European Union does not exactly fit this model, but it has NATO as its bedrock, while its members maintain strong, and unequal, relations with the United States.

Its members vary enormously in population, territory, economic weight, military strength and technological and scientific capabilities and their histories aren’t as closely intertwined as those of Europe and North America, while their political systems are highly diverse and their domestic and foreign policies often point in different directions.

Most fundamentally, they represent several great civilizations, including Chinese and Confucian, Indian and Hindu, Islamic, Persian and Arab, Latin American, African and Russian. In this sense, they’re anything but like-minded, yet they reflect the diversity of humankind itself.

What BRICS obviously lacks is a leader because China, with its 1.5 billion people, the world’s largest economy in purchasing-power-parity terms and a leading position in advanced technology, isn’t the group’s boss and nor is Russia, the world’s fourth-largest economy by the same measure, and alongside the United States, a nuclear superpower.

Despite what Moscow sees as NATO waging a proxy war against Russia in Ukraine, it hasn’t attempted to turn BRICS into an anti-Western bloc.

India, meanwhile, is the third major economic power in the group and has overtaken China as the world’s most populous country. It still maintains close ties with America and Western Europe while preserving and developing its historical links with Russia, even as it remains wary of China. Iran and the United Arab Emirates, for their part, find themselves on opposite sides of the ongoing war involving Iran, Israel, and the United States, but BRICS isn’t unraveling.

Meanwhile, even as it lashes out against US bases in the region, Iran is reaching out to its Arab neighbors to discuss a regional security framework in the Persian Gulf.

The durability of Russo-Chinese relations since their normalization in 1989 rests not only on a convergence of fundamental interests, but also on Beijing’s and Moscow’s ability to manage their differences carefully on specific issues.

While the political philosophies of BRICS countries differ widely, they adhere to several key principles that make cooperation possible and at the top of the list is sovereignty as we see Russia, China, India, Iran and others not only preach sovereignty but seek to defend and promote it.

Closely linked to sovereignty is equality, and Russia’s Western adversaries have long sought to humiliate Moscow by portraying it as Beijing’s vassal, as if Western Europe’s kowtowing to Washington and Trump were mere politeness. In reality, Sino-Russian political relations are conducted on an equal footing and the same applies to Russia’s relations with its other BRICS partners, from Brazil and Indonesia to Egypt.

There’s no need to make BRICS appear to be something it is not, it’s is not an alliance or an anti-Western coalition, and if anything, its record offers a glimpse of a different kind of world order.

This is no paradise, but It’s an order in which diversity can thrive, sovereignty is treated as sacred, differences can be managed and consensus, rather than diktat, is the guiding principle.

Decision-making is admittedly difficult and conflicts, including violent ones, are by no means excluded, but it offers a much fairer deal than an order in which one nation or group of nations can impose itself on others, lay down rules for everyone except itself, and then judge and punish those it considers offenders.

The credibility of international law hinges on whether it is applied consistently, regardless of a given country’s size and military clout, Hany Soliman, the executive director of the Cairo-based Arab Center for Research and Studies (ACRS), has told RT.

In his interview on Monday, the researcher touched on the relevance of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which was created in 2002 under the Rome Statute to prosecute genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. While 123 countries have ratified the treaty, multiple nations, including Russia, the US, China, India, and Israel, do not recognize the court’s jurisdiction, with critics accusing the ICC of displaying political bias in its decisions.

For the concept of international justice to remain credible, “the same legal and moral standards… [should be applied] to everyone, regardless of a country’s size, military power, or political influence or alliances,” Soliman argued.

The ACRS executive director emphasized that international law should be enforced “in the absence of double standards” and should strive to address the root causes of crises, rather than merely apportioning blame.

Speaking at a BRICS seminar on criminal law cooperation in June, Russian ambassador-at-large Ilya Rogachev accused Western powers of selectively interpreting international law to advance their political objectives and applying double standards when dealing with nations representing the global majority.

Over the course of the summer, several countries, including Venezuela and the African nations of Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and Chad, announced their withdrawal from the ICC, accusing the Hague-based court of disproportionately targeting African and Latin American countries and serving as an “instrument of neocolonial repression.”

Burundi and the Philippines pulled out of the Rome Statute in 2017 and 2019, respectively, giving similar reasons.

The administration of US President Donald Trump has also pledged to “systematically dismantle the threat posed” by the ICC to US sovereignty.

Israel is another country that has rejected the ICC’s jurisdiction. Nevertheless, in 2024 the court still issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

EU leaders have called for a stronger presence in the Arctic as NATO expands its military activities in the region, citing what they describe as a growing security threat from Russia.

Moscow has repeatedly dismissed such accusations, saying that NATO is undermining traditional regional cooperation and fueling tensions.

At the first ever European Arctic Summit, held in Rovaniemi, Finland, on September 13-14, twelve EU countries urged a “more strategic and proactive role” in the region and called for more resources to be devoted to Arctic activities amid “evolving geopolitical realities.”

“The European Union should reinforce its position in the Arctic, including through enhanced preparedness,” Finland, Denmark, Estonia, France, Greece, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, and Sweden said in a joint declaration after the meeting.

Of the 12 signatories, only Denmark, Finland, and Sweden are Arctic states. The five Arctic states outside the EU are Russia, the US, Canada, Norway, and Iceland.

Finland and Sweden joined NATO in 2023 and 2024, respectively, expanding the US-led military bloc’s presence in the region. Moscow warned at the time that while their accession did not in itself pose a direct threat to Russia, the deployment of NATO military infrastructure on their territory would prompt a response.

Arctic security is European security.
Three EU Member States – Denmark, Finland, Sweden – are Arctic nations.
As we face a new geopolitical reality, now more than ever, we need to build a new joint approach to the Arctic together with our partners. https://t.co/3FBzgfJN7o

— António Costa (@eucopresident) September 14, 2026

Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo on Monday described Russia as “the most significant and long-term threat to Arctic security and stability,” saying the EU should treat the region as a “strategic frontier.” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called it a “geopolitical hotspot” and claimed Russia was expanding its military capabilities there.

The Baltic states have been among the EU’s more hawkish members on Russia since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022. All three border Russia and have pressed for tougher measures against Moscow and further military buildup.

NATO ramped up its activities in the Far North earlier this year by launching the Arctic Sentry initiative and establishing the multinational Forward Land Forces presence in Finland in June.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said China was also becoming “increasingly more interested” in the Arctic and said it was necessary to “remain vigilant.” Beijing has rejected Western claims that its activities pose a threat, accusing Washington of using China as a pretext for increasing its own military presence in the region.

Moscow has warned that an increasing military buildup is undermining the Arctic’s traditional role as an area of cooperation. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said last month that NATO was trying to turn the region into a new front against Russia and its partners.

Lavrov said the risk of incidents was increasing and it could lead to an armed confrontation with “potentially catastrophic consequences.”

Russia has maintained that it does not threaten NATO states and remains open to cooperation in the Arctic. President Vladimir Putin said earlier this year that the region is strategically important to Russia for national security, industry, and transport, particularly as disruptions elsewhere increase the importance of northern shipping routes.

Last weekend, US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner visited Moscow and then Kiev. This was the first such visit in a long time, since all trilateral contacts between Russia, the US, and Ukraine were practically halted following the start of the conflict in Iran this February.

Following the visit, leaks regarding the talks emerged from Kiev; reportedly, the US envoys presented the Ukrainian side with a 28-point Russian peace plan that had been agreed upon a year earlier. Jared Kushner indirectly confirmed this on Saturday, stating that the territorial issue was the only point of the peace plan that remained unresolved.

Is it true that Ukraine accepted all the other fundamental demands of the Russian side – such as the points concerning the Russian language and the status of the Orthodox Church, the renunciation of military cooperation with NATO, the recognition of territorial changes, the reduction of the army, and so on? (Spoiler: no, it didn’t.)

Is Ukraine really losing the war, as many recent statements and publications suggest? Spoiler: yes, but not in the way you’d think. 

Let’s take a look at what this means. 

The peace talks involving Steve Witkoff began in February-March 2025, shortly after a phone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump that signaled a fundamental shift in US policy toward Russia and the Ukraine conflict. 

Trump’s top priority was to avoid direct involvement, positioning America – as far as possible – at an equal distance from the parties. Of course, to truly achieve this, the conflict would have to be frozen; this would allow the US to restore relations with Russia, counterbalancing China. 

Naturally, freezing the conflict (or, in Trump’s words, ending the war in one day) proved impossible; consequently, the US made the most out of the situation as the war dragged on: it shifted the entire burden onto Europe and stepped aside. This strategy allowed the US to maintain working contacts with Russia, reap maximum benefits from the ongoing fighting, and insulate itself from the risks of Ukraine’s potential defeat while still keeping the door open to capitalize on Ukraine’s hypothetical victory over Russia.

In short, Trump decided to sit on the sidelines and watch who would emerge victorious. 

For Moscow, too, contacts with Washington are incredibly valuable. It proved impossible to decouple Russia-US relations from the Ukraine issue, and relations between the two countries have effectively remained frozen. Yet the fact that the US is disengaging from the Ukraine conflict – and, more broadly, from European affairs – deprives Europe of confidence in US backing and consequently strips it of strategic depth.

Surely, Trump could exert pressure on all sides, but why bother? He is essentially satisfied with the current situation and needs nothing more from Moscow. So he has simply let things run their course.

Kiev is well aware of this, which is why Ukrainian officials play along with US envoys. Though direct opposition is out of the question – after all, they still need American missile defense systems – they can avoid any action and buy time. And that’s precisely what Kiev is doing. 

The fact that Zelensky visited Canada last week but not the US clearly shows that Kiev no longer sees Washington as the primary center of decision-making. Consequently, the negotiation track involving Witkoff and Kushner is seen by the Ukrainian side as little more than a mandatory part of the show. 

Is Ukraine losing? Yes, but not in the way you might think

On September 8, British magazine The Spectator published an editorial titled ‘Ukraine is losing the war’. A week before, several prominent Ukrainian figures – including former Defense Minister Mikhail Fyodorov and the current head of Zelensky’s office, Kirill Budanov – had expressed similar sentiments.

At first glance, this may sound reasonable: the AFU’s deep-strike campaign against Russian infrastructure wasn’t successful, and the summer offensive on the southern front, which is crucial for the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), has de facto failed. 

Of course, massive raids by Ukrainian drones and, occasionally, cruise missiles also inflict damage on the Russian rear. This summer was marked by a gasoline shortage and long lines at gas stations. Dozens of warehouses in the European part of Russia are in flames, and other targets are under attack as well. 

However, the scale of these attacks is incomparable: by various estimates, the AFU managed to disable up to 3% of Russia’s warehouse storage capacity, whereas Russia has disabled between 30% and 60% of Ukraine’s capacity. Ukrainian experts admit that the strikes on Odessa port have had a far greater impact on Ukraine’s fuel logistics than Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries. 

For instance, the price of diesel fuel in Ukraine has topped 100 hryvnias, which is nearly three times the cost in Russia. For the first time since the start of the conflict, fuel rationing is being introduced for the AFU (no such measures have ever been implemented for the Russian Armed Forces).

Russian strikes have effectively halted Ukrainian grain exports by sea, depriving the national budget of a key revenue stream. Retail businesses are closing en masse, undermining what is arguably the economy’s last remaining civilian sector.

This looks like an obvious reason why Ukraine is losing the war. So does this mean that all those hysterical reports and articles are actually true?

But all this means that the additional financial burden will fall on Europe’s shoulders, while the civilian sector and the state’s capacity to fulfill social obligations will continue to deteriorate; the people will be left to their fate. 

All this will affect not only ordinary citizens but entrepreneurs as well. Ukrainian businesses, which largely supported the Kiev regime and the war simply because there were no other options (given that their future was directly tied to that of the central government), are also being left to fend for themselves.

The central tension in Ukrainian society right now is the smoldering civil conflict between Territorial Centers of Recruitment (TCRs) and the men who are being conscripted by force. The destruction of the civilian economy is likely to spawn similar scenarios: bankrupt entrepreneurs, an impoverished middle class, and the unemployed will all see that the Ukrainian state is doing them more harm than good. As a result, the state itself, and not just state-controlled TCRs, will become the enemy. 

One might argue that as opportunities and funds in the civilian sector decline, the military sector becomes more attractive. However, there are no new opportunities in military production and logistics (after all, Ukraine has no money), and fewer people are willing to die on the front lines. 

A military organization that lacks the support of civil society cannot hold the front line, especially one stretching 1,500 kilometers. There are no historical precedents for this. 

A collapse of the front would mean the end of Ukraine in its current form. Kiev understands this perfectly well, which is why it undertakes superhuman efforts to hold the line – even at the cost of a smoldering civil war on the home front.

***

The detachment of the Ukrainian state from society did not begin yesterday. It started the moment the Ukrainian authorities placed the interests of their Western masters above those of their country.

As winter approaches, Ukraine again finds itself at a crossroads. And it appears to be once again choosing the path of war, a path that it’s being desperately pushed onto by Europe’s anti-Russia coalition. 

That is precisely why Witkoff and Kushner left Kiev empty-handed, and why the war will continue – first until the Kiev regime is completely severed from Ukraine, and then until that regime is utterly destroyed.

If you need an example, just look at ISIS. 

Washington’s Kennedy Center is reportedly on the brink of bankruptcy after ticket sales and fundraising plunged in recent months, the Washington Post said on Monday. The re-inscription of US President Donald Trump’s name on the building is being considered as a possible solution.

After returning to office, Trump overhauled the board of trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts – Washington’s flagship national arts venue and a memorial to the assassinated US president. He also appointed himself chairman.

Last December, his name was added to the facade of the building but was met with protests, legal challenges, and a backlash among performers and audiences. The inscription was taken down after a US District Judge ruled in May that only Congress could change the building’s name and ordered the signage removed.

According to documents obtained by the Washington Post, the Kennedy Center now faces “certain fiscal collapse” within weeks. Internal forecasts cited by the outlet showed revenue has fallen far below target, leaving the institution with a multimillion-dollar deficit despite major spending cuts.

Trustees will consider several inscriptions on Tuesday, including one stating that the center’s renovation, restoration, and endowment were overseen by Trump and the “Trump Kennedy Center Fund.”

The financial black hole is not the center’s only problem. Management is also urging trustees to close the main building immediately, saying it is unsafe for continued use after a large section of ceiling plaster crashed down inside the Grand Foyer during a storm.

Engineers have also found widespread corrosion in parts of the structure, including in heavy ceiling assemblies hanging above public walkways. The board had already approved a two-year renovation, but officials now say the main venue may need to shut as early as Tuesday.

Trump’s push to put his name on the Kennedy Center comes as part of a broader rebranding campaign that has already included the renaming of a federal peace institute, a prescription-drug website, a visa program, a planned class of US Navy battleships, and a stretch of road near his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

Democratic senators have responded with the Stop Executive Renaming for Vanity and Ego, or SERVE Act, which if passed would bar federal property from being named after a sitting president.

Ukraine would produce a “less sophisticated version” of Patriot interceptors should the US choose to grant it a license, President Donald Trump has stated.

In recent months, Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky has repeatedly asked his Western backers for at least 300 additional missiles to sustain Ukrainian air defenses through the coming winter.

However, according to multiple media reports, the US and its allies are facing severe shortages of Patriot interceptors as Washington has used up a significant part of its stocks in the course of its conflict with Iran.

When asked by a reporter on board Air Force One on Sunday whether Ukraine would receive a license for the air defense missiles, Trump said “we’re talking about it,” clarifying that it would be a “less sophisticated version.”

Trump originally floated the possibility during a meeting with Zelensky on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Türkiye in July.

“We’re going to give a license to you to make Patriots… This way, you can’t complain that we’re not giving them enough,” the US president told his counterpart at the time.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg noted at the time that even if approval were granted, “a Patriot missile takes years to build, meaning Ukrainian production of these missiles won’t materialize on the near-term timelines they need.”

Other experts have warned that assembly lines for Patriot interceptors in Ukraine would likely become high-priority targets for Russia.

Reuters, citing sources, claimed in July that the missiles would likely be manufactured under US license in Germany or another European country, with the production shifting to Ukraine only after the hostilities are over.

Die Welt subsequently reported that Boeing, which manufactures the seeker warheads used in PAC-3 interceptors, was reluctant to share the technology with third parties.

Amid intensifying Russian airstrikes, Ukraine last month asked the US to provide it with additional ready-made interceptors.

“We want missiles, too,” Trump said, dismissing Zelensky’s plea.

Several other NATO member states that use Patriots, including Romania, the Netherlands, and Poland, have similarly signaled to Ukraine that their capacity to supply more missiles has been exhausted.

Moscow maintains that Western arms deliveries only unnecessarily prolong the conflict without changing its outcome. Russian officials have also warned that by supplying increasingly advanced weapons to Kiev, NATO countries risk being dragged into the hostilities.

Democratic congressional nominee Chris Gallant modeled for a BDSM retailer while serving in the US military, with some photographs depicting him having sex with another man, the New York Post reported on Sunday.

Gallant, an openly gay man who is running in New York’s 1st Congressional District against Republican incumbent Nick LaLota, appeared in photographs for San Francisco-based fetish sex shop Mr. S Leather wearing collars, straps, neoprene, and bondage equipment, the newspaper said.

The images were available on the company’s website between 2011 and 2020, according to the NYP, with some showing Gallant fully nude and engaged in sex with another man. The period overlapped with Gallant’s service in the Army National Guard.

The photos are no longer available on the website, the NYP reported, but Gallant’s attorney Sara Azari confirmed that they are genuine. She added they had been taken during a “private, consensual photo session” with his then-partner, noting that Gallant was friends with the owner of Mr. S Leather and had agreed that selected images could be used in connection with the company’s products.

NY Dem House candidate modeled for XXX-rated BDSM ads while serving in National Guard https://t.co/WL9nGKKAlv pic.twitter.com/FEHrhMS15K

— New York Post (@nypost) September 13, 2026

According to Azari, Gallant later asked the company to remove the photographs as he began considering public office, and Mr. S Leather complied. Some images subsequently appeared on unaffiliated gay pornography sites, which she said fell outside Gallant’s original consent.

The lawyer went on to stress that Gallant “will not allow photographs from a past relationship or employment to be distorted and weaponized for political purposes or used to distract voters from the issues that matter.”

NYP: Democratic Candidate Once Modeled for Fetish Sex Shop

Chris Gallant, the Democratic nominee running against Long Island Rep. Nick LaLota (R-NY) was previously involved in a very different kind of campaign: selling toys as a model for a fetish sex shop

“Gallant appeared in… pic.twitter.com/BMb7qbN54N

— Politics & Poll Tracker 📡 (@PollTracker2024) September 14, 2026

Gallant, 37, won the Democratic primary in June with about 63% of the vote. His campaign has described him as a helicopter pilot, former FAA air traffic controller, and volunteer firefighter. Gallant says he has been openly gay in the military since shortly after the repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy in 2011.

A similar controversy erupted in Virginia in 2023, when Democratic state House candidate Susanna Gibson was revealed to have livestreamed sex acts with her husband on Chaturbate while soliciting payments from viewers for specific acts. Rival Republicans later mailed voters sealed flyers marked “explicit” and “18+ only,” containing screenshots and quotes from Gibson’s videos, with the Democrat later narrowly losing the race.

US President Donald Trump has claimed to have brokered a deal whereby both Russia and Ukraine will refrain from targeting each other’s diesel-related infrastructure.

Trump, who demanded that Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky stop targeting Russia’s diesel production facilities, claimed in a Truth Social media post that the fuel’s price spike was related to the Ukraine conflict and not the Middle East.

“Ukraine has agreed not to hit Russian Energy targets. Russia has agreed to do, likewise!” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday. “The World’s Diesel price rise is mostly caused by the Russia/Ukraine War, not Iran.”

The announcement follows Trump’s call on Zelensky on Sunday to stop targeting Russian diesel production, which he blamed for fuel shortages and rising prices worldwide.

Neither Kiev nor Moscow has confirmed the truce. In a video address on Monday night, Zelensky said Ukraine was ready to “take its own de-escalatory steps” if Russia did so first.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said last week that a halt to strikes on energy sites would only benefit Ukraine, which he accused of “opening a Pandora’s box” by targeting Russian civilian infrastructure.

Ukraine has been targeting oil refineries, storage facilities, and export infrastructure with long-range drone strikes deep in Russia. Kiev claims this campaign undermines Moscow’s military financing and sustainment, while the Kremlin has stressed that the strikes are targeting civilian infrastructure.

Russia has retaliated with massive drone and missile strikes on Ukraine’s military-linked infrastructure and shipping facilities, effectively crippling the country’s main export route through its Black Sea ports. Moscow maintains that it never targets civilians.

Before the US and Israel attacked Iran in February, around a fifth of global energy supplies passed through the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran’s subsequent restrictions on commercial shipping, along with a US naval blockade, have disrupted flows through the key waterway.

The rise in diesel prices could have broader consequences for US consumers because it is widely used in agriculture and freight transport, including trucks and trains that carry food and other goods. Fuel is estimated to account for between 15% and 30% of food costs in the US, according to various estimates.

Sweden’s center-left bloc has increased its lead to three seats over right-wing ruling parties, with 95% of the ballots counted in Sunday’s general election.

The left-leaning opposition, led by the Social Democrats of former Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, is ahead 176 to 173 over the center-right coalition, headed by the Moderates of current Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and their far-right partners, the Sweden Democrats, according to preliminary results published by the Swedish Election Authority on Monday.

Holding on to 175 out of 349 spots in the national parliament, the Riksdag, is enough for a majority and the ability to form a government.

This year’s election is the first in Sweden since it abandoned its longstanding policy of neutrality and joined NATO in 2024, citing security concerns due to the Ukraine conflict.

Before the 2022 vote, narrowly won by Kristersson and his allies, Andersson’s Social Democrats were seen as the main obstacle for the country becoming a member of the US-led military bloc.

Kristersson has been a staunch support of Ukraine, with Stockholm providing Kiev with almost $16 billion in military and other forms of assistance during his tenure.

Migrants are playing a crucial role in the 2026 election, with some 17% or 1.34 million eligible Swedish voters being born outside the country.

“If this result remains valid, Sweden will get a new government,” Andersson told her supporters late on Sunday.

Kristersson said he is “going to take it pretty easy” until the final results of the election are announced. The prime minister also didn’t rule out the possibility of trying to lure some of Andersson’s current allies, particularly the Center party, which has 25 seats, to his side to form an alternative coalition. If all of the parties stick to their red lines, “Sweden will not have a government,” he warned.

If the right-wing coalition “no longer has a majority, he will probably have to face the consequences of that,” he insisted.

The final results of the vote are scheduled to be announced on Wednesday, with some 200,000 votes, including those from overseas, yet to be counted. The Swedish parliament is set to gather in late September to elect a new speaker and then the prime minister.

A member of the British Armed Forces has died in Ukraine, the UK Ministry of Defense has announced. In a statement on X, the ministry said that the serviceman was killed in a “road traffic incident” on Saturday.

The unnamed individual’s family has been informed and has requested a grace period before any further details are released, the ministry said.

British news outlets have reported that the death is not believed to have been the result of any hostile actions. It is currently unclear where the individual in question served or what their role was.

The incident marks the second time London has confirmed the death of one of its service members in Ukraine. A UK paratrooper was killed in December in what the British Defense Ministry described as a “tragic accident” during a test flight of a new Ukrainian drone.

Moscow has long rejected London’s portrayal of its role as limited to training and support, accusing Britain of direct involvement in Ukrainian military operations. Russian officials have claimed that UK specialists help Kiev plan attacks, operate sophisticated Western weapons, prepare sabotage missions, and coordinate drone strikes on Russia’s infrastructure.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in August that Britain’s involvement in missile strikes on Russia gave Moscow grounds to regard the UK as a party to the war, “with all ensuing consequences.”

Moscow has warned that British military personnel, equipment and facilities in Ukraine and beyond could be treated as legitimate targets if they are used for strikes on Russia.

A US Embassy staffer suspected of possessing child abuse images was secretly flown out of the UK before British police could question him, according to media reports.

The unnamed American employee, who was assigned to the US Embassy in London, was reportedly taken from his south London home by American officials on August 25 and flown to the United States. British media have described him as having diplomatic immunity, although his precise diplomatic status has not been officially disclosed.

The Sun, which first reported the case, claimed that members of a US team raided the man’s flat, took him to the RAF Fairford airbase and then flew him to the US aboard a cargo plane. Foreign officials have no general powers of arrest in Britain, and no formal extradition proceedings were initiated, according to the newspaper.

The US Embassy confirmed that the authorities were investigating allegations concerning someone assigned to the mission and said he had been reassigned to the US while the inquiry continued.

“The United States government expects all personnel to adhere to the highest standards of conduct, and we take these allegations seriously,” an embassy spokesperson said.

Accounts differ over whether British authorities were informed before the employee was removed. The embassy said it had “quickly informed UK law enforcement and took swift action,” while The Sun reported that the Metropolitan Police and other British authorities learned of the operation only after the man had been flown out of the country.

“We continue to liaise with them regarding this matter,” the force said. British officials are reportedly in contact with the US Embassy as the investigation continues.

“We expect all foreign diplomats in the UK to abide by our laws, in the same way we expect all UK diplomats to do so when posted overseas,” a British government spokesperson said, adding that it would be inappropriate to comment further while the US investigation was ongoing.

Sacoolas had diplomatic immunity at the time and returned to the US shortly after the crash. She later pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving and received an eight-month suspended prison sentence but did not return to Britain for sentencing.

France has backed down in a diplomatic fight with the US, expressing regret for publicly questioning Washington’s commitment to human rights after the dispute threatened to derail Paris’ choice of ambassador.

The spat began in July, when France’s mission to the UN in Geneva attacked the US for joining Russia, North Korea and several other countries in voting against another term for Volker Turk, the Austrian diplomat who serves as the UN high commissioner for human rights.

“The US used to be a beacon of human rights. Not anymore,” the French mission wrote at the time, adding that “the world no longer listens to it.”

Washington responded angrily, with the US delegation demonstratively walking out while France was speaking at a UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine, and accusing Paris of “disingenuous grandstanding” and “condescending and disrespectful rhetoric.”

Reuters later reported that the Trump administration was also considering delaying or blocking French President Emmanuel Macron’s nominee for ambassador to Washington.

Two months later, Paris has changed its tune.

“The Permanent Mission of France to the UN in Geneva regrets the 25 July 2026 message posted on X that called into question the US commitment to human rights,” the mission said in a statement published on Friday.

The US State Department welcomed the statement, saying Washington “notes and appreciates” France’s position.

The episode comes after months of worsening relations between Paris and Washington. Macron has repeatedly questioned whether the US remains a reliable ally, warned other countries against becoming Washington’s “vassals,” and opposed the US-led war against Iran.

He has also clashed with the Trump administration over tariffs, NATO, online speech, and American sanctions on European officials, asserting that Washington’s unpredictable policies are forcing other countries to seek greater independence from the US.

Relations became particularly strained in February after Washington accused France of failing to confront “violent radical leftism” following the killing of a right-wing activist. Trump has also repeatedly accused European governments of freeloading on American security while restricting free speech and obstructing his foreign-policy agenda.

The third unit of India’s largest nuclear power plant, built to a Russian design, is “practically in the final stages of completion” and its physical startup is expected next spring, the CEO of Russia’s Rosatom has said.

Aleksey Likhachev said Russia has “supplied 99% of our equipment” for the unit. The Kudankulam plant in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu is a collaborative project between the state-owned Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) and Atomstroyexport, a unit of Rosatom.

Physical startup is a testing phase, when nuclear fuel is loaded into the reactor and it attains a self-sustained and controlled chain reaction before it can start full power generation.

The plant will have six units when completed. Russia supplies the critical nuclear components, design blueprints, and enriched uranium fuel for the plant, while Indian engineers carry out the construction alongside Russian advisers. The first two units were connected to the grid in 2013 and 2016, respectively.

The commissioning operations for the fourth unit will begin by the end of next year, Likhachev told RT on the sidelines of the just-concluded BRICS Summit in New Delhi. He added that commissioning operations for the fifth and sixth units will begin in 2028-2029.

The Russian CEO emphasized that such deep nuclear cooperation requires “a special relationship of trust between heads of state, between governments, and between peoples… it can only be developed by peoples who have been bound together by close ties for decades.” 

Bilateral nuclear cooperation was one of the key topics in the discussion between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit.

Russia holds a unique place in India’s defense relationship that cannot be replaced by another country, former BrahMos Aerospace CEO Sudhir Mishra has said, adding that New Delhi can further deepen cooperation with Moscow while maintaining partnerships with other countries.

India is already expanding defense technology cooperation with Russia while developing ties with the US and other Western nations, Mishra told RT India. He said New Delhi’s policy of multi-alignment allows it to work with different partners without diminishing its relationship with Moscow.

“We have a very special relationship with Russia and nobody can replace it,” Mishra said. “It’s just not possible for any country to replace [it].” 

Trust built through decades of scientific and technological cooperation has been central to the relationship, he said. BrahMos, jointly developed by India and Russia, is among the world’s fastest cruise missiles and has land, sea, and air variants. The missile was employed by Indian forces against Pakistani targets last year.

Mishra described joint ventures as “the way to go,” adding the BrahMos model gave India confidence to pursue the co-development of the AK-203 rifle.

India and Russia are also working together on technologies that feed into modern weapons development, rather than focusing only on finished systems, Mishra said, citing artificial intelligence, blockchain, precision manufacturing, advanced materials, and composites.

“We are working together with Russia to develop those technologies,” he said.

India’s drive for defense self-reliance has meanwhile expanded beyond DRDO to private companies and design bureaus within the country’s armed forces, Mishra noted.

South Africa wants to deepen trade and investment ties with India in critical minerals, green industrialization, infrastructure, agriculture and the digital economy, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has said.

Ramaphosa made the remarks after attending the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi, where he stressed that South Africa’s membership of the grouping provided an important platform to build political and economic ties that benefit the country.

In his weekly letter to the nation, Ramaphosa said more than a fifth of South Africa’s trade was with BRICS countries and that the grouping remained an important forum for investment and trade. He added that South Africa had used the opportunity to strengthen business ties between the two countries.

Ramaphosa said the two countries held a South Africa-India CEOs Roundtable involving leaders from major Indian and South African companies. ”We highlighted various opportunities for investment and partnership in areas such as green industrialisation, critical minerals and beneficiation, infrastructure, agriculture and the digital economy.” 

He noted that Indian companies had welcomed the structural transformation taking place in South Africa, including reforms in the energy, logistics, telecommunications and water sectors, as well as changes involving visas and public digital infrastructure.

India’s strengths in pharmaceuticals and health technology could support South Africa’s ambition to expand local production of medicines and vaccines, while its expertise in information technology, financial technology and digital public infrastructure could also support the modernisation of South Africa’s systems and services, Ramaphosa said. At the same time, South Africa’s critical minerals could support India’s growing renewable energy, battery and automotive industries, the president stressed.

The group had expanded beyond the initial group of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa following a decision taken at the 2023 BRICS Summit in Johannesburg. Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are now also members. Together, the countries account for around half of the world’s population and around a quarter of global trade, Ramaphosa stressed.

He said South Africa had deepened co-operation through BRICS in areas including science and technology, research, education and skills development. The country has also accessed development finance through the New Development Bank for major energy, water and transportation infrastructure investments.

”Looking ahead, our priority as South Africa is to continue to use our membership of BRICS to deepen bilateral co-operation and expand trade and investment ties,” Ramaphosa concluded.

First published by IOL

Several senior Israeli politicians have lashed out at the filmmakers behind a documentary accusing the IDF of using AI-assisted systems in the mass killing of Palestinians in Gaza. Israeli Culture Minister Miki Zohar went so far as to accuse the two Oscar-winning directors of treachery and threatened to have them stripped of Israeli citizenship.

The controversy erupted after the 80-minute-long film NAZA – the name alludes to an Israeli military shorthand for expected “collateral casualties” – received a 25-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival last week and won the Special Jury Prize.

The film, directed by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, is based on the accounts of anonymous Israeli military and intelligence insiders alleging that the IDF heavily relied on AI systems to identify people and homes for attack on a massive scale, often disregarding collateral civilian casualties. Some insiders described the process as “insanely fun” and akin to a “videogame.”

The film also caused a stir among senior Israeli officials. Zohar called the accolade “shocking,” accusing the directors of seeking to “harm their homeland just to get applause from anti-Semites around the world.”

“[This] is inconceivable and constitutes a betrayal of the state… As Minister of Culture, I will act immediately to revoke the Israeli citizenship of these despicable creators,” he wrote on X on Sunday.

Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett had attacked the documentary even before the award, calling it a “horrific blood libel” and saying it was particularly infuriating that the accusations had come from Israeli filmmakers. He also acknowledged civilian casualties in Gaza, but argued that “there is no magic button that can destroy Hamas, or any terrorist organization hiding behind” ordinary people.

Yesterday, a film accusing Israel of genocide premiered.

It’s a horrific blood libel against our sons and daughters. What makes it especially painful and infuriating is that this lie comes from Israeli filmmakers and is now being spread around the world.

Let’s get the facts…

— Naftali Bennett נפתלי בנט (@naftalibennett) September 11, 2026

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir – widely regarded as one of the most hardline figures of Israel’s right-wing camp – called the directors a “disgrace,” suggesting Hamas would welcome them, while former Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman branded the pair “enemies of Israel.”

Neither Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor his office commented on the matter.

Despite Zohar’s threat, there is no precedent of Israeli filmmakers being stripped of citizenship for producing a critical documentary, while the minister himself does not have a mandate to take such a measure.

However, Israeli filmmakers have faced other legal consequences in the past over similar work. In 2022, the Supreme Court upheld a ban on screenings of the documentary Jenin, Jenin – a film by Palestinian-Israeli director Mohammad Bakri which portrayed alleged IDF abuses. The court ordered Bakri to pay around $57,000 in damages after he was sued for defamation.

In 2012, Haaretz journalist Uri Blau was sentenced to four months of community service for unauthorized possession of classified IDF documents used in reporting on targeted killings, even though his articles had passed military censorship. Meanwhile, his military source was sentenced to several years in prison.

Ebola infections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) have topped 7,200, with nearly half of confirmed patients dying since the latest outbreak began, the country’s health authorities said on Monday.

The outbreak has claimed 3,475 lives, putting the overall case fatality rate at 48.3%. A total of 1,712 patients have recovered, while 923 remain in isolation or hospital care. Health officials said 88% of identified contacts are currently being monitored.

The virus has now been detected in 62 health zones across seven provinces. Ituri remains the main hotspot, followed by North Kivu. Sud-Ubangi is among the areas more recently affected.

The outbreak, which was declared in May, is caused by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola and has become the largest recorded in DR Congo’s history, surpassing the country’s 2018-2020 epidemic. There are currently no approved vaccines or specific treatments for the Bundibugyo strain.

“These figures represent a positive signal. They show that the efforts deployed on the ground are producing results and that our response strategy is beginning to bend the transmission curve,” Kamba said. 

Africa CDC chief Jean Kaseya told the New York Times that the agency has expanded its broader Ebola response plan from $518 million to $1.4 billion. In June, Kaseya said, however, that only 13% of roughly $910 million pledged by donors had actually been released, warning that the outbreak could not be stopped without sufficient funding and measures to address the humanitarian situation. Meanwhile, African countries had pledged $120 million toward the response, of which $90 million had already been disbursed.

The Libyan authorities have seized around 100,000 narcotic pills smuggled from Europe and shaped like the face of the North African nation’s ousted leader Muammar Gaddafi, a security agency in Tripoli has reported.

The Deterrence Agency for Combating Terrorism and Organized Crime identified the drugs as XTC, commonly known as ecstasy pills, in a statement issued on Saturday. Images published by the agency showed sacks of brown pills molded into Gaddafi’s head and shoulders, with his facial features and distinctive robes pressed into their surface.

The agency said investigators received information about a gang smuggling narcotics through a European country for distribution in Libya. Officers immediately began a “wide-ranging tracking operation,” following the shipment until it entered the country through a seaport. A search uncovered the pills “carefully concealed” inside a Renault Master cargo van, it added. The authority said the suspects had been referred to prosecutors but did not disclose their identities.

The country remains divided between political rivals, with the UN-recognized Government of National Unity in Tripoli and an eastern administration aligned with military commander Khalifa Haftar.

The Libyan authorities have previously reported several major drug busts. Customs officers at Benghazi port seized more than 17.8 million Captagon tablets concealed in three containers of apples shipped from Syria in March 2024. Later that month, prosecutors announced the seizure of 128 kg of cocaine stored in two food warehouses in the eastern city of Al-Bayda.

A NATO fighter jet took flight after a flock of birds was confused with drones, the Lithuanian authorities have reported.

There have been a number of incidents of Ukrainian UAVs crossing the airspace of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia or crashing in those countries as Kiev has intensified its long-range attacks on energy infrastructure in Leningrad Region in northwestern Russia in recent months.

On Sunday, a perceived drone sighting caused the closure of Vilnius International Airport, the country’s National Crisis Management Center said in a statement later that day.

It was reopened within 40 minutes after a NATO jet, which had taken off from Siauliai airbase in the north of the country, found that the cause of the air alert was not a UAV, but a flock of birds, it said.

“On initial radar readings, marks left by birds and drones can be similar,” the statement read.

Flying a Eurofighter Typhoon jet for a single hour reportedly costs around $65,000.

Last month, NATO said that its warplanes shot down a drone over Latvia, claiming that it entered the Baltic nation’s airspace “as a result of Russian electronic warfare activities.”

Russia has accused Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia of playing with fire by allowing their territory to be used for hostile activity. Russian officials have warned that if the Baltic nations knowingly help facilitate Ukrainian drone strikes, Moscow would consider them complicit in the attacks and would have the right to self-defense under the UN Charter.

Earlier this month, the German government claimed it had grounds to believe that Russia was behind an incident in which an explosive-laden UAV was found between Ukrainian Antonov cargo planes at Leipzig/Halle Airport on August 4. Berlin hasn’t provided any proof linking the drone to Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin denied the German accusations, saying that they were being used to distract the public from domestic economic woes.

Moscow has said repeatedly that it harbors no aggressive designs against Europe, adding that a conflict with NATO is only possible if the Western bloc attacks Russia first or if its members deploy their forces to Ukraine.

Russia’s Rosatom is in “confidential talks” with Indian private companies on building nuclear power plants in India, CEO Aleksey Likhachev has said, without revealing the names of the players involved.

India is seeking to raise its nuclear generating capacity to 100 GW by 2047, from the current 8.87 GW, and has opened up the sector to greater private participation to meet the goal.

“Such negotiations with Indian companies are already underway,” Likhachev told RT on the sidelines of the recently concluded BRICS Summit in New Delhi. He added that the discussions remain confidential, but said Indian companies have capabilities in metallurgy, construction, and advanced digital technologies that could be used in large-scale nuclear power generation.

Some of those advanced capabilities were on display at the inaugural edition of the INNOPROM. India industrial fair in New Delhi last week, which brought together more than 120 Indian and Russian companies.

India will need to sharply increase the number of nuclear units it commissions to create the additional 90 GW capacity, the Rosatom CEO said, calling it a “massive challenge for the entire industry” and the Indian state.

Roughly half of the nuclear capacity currently under construction in India uses Russian technology, Likhachev noted, adding Rosatom is increasing localization of its nuclear technology under India’s Make-in-India program.

Russia is increasingly becoming a destination for young foreigners seeking to study, work, and build careers, participants at the International Youth Festival in Ekaterinburg, in Russia’s Urals Region, have said. Foreign doctors, artists, journalists and bloggers who have made the country their home shared their experiences as the global gathering got underway.

Some 10,000 young people representing 191 countries, including Russia, are taking part in the week-long event. Scientists, entrepreneurs, journalists, artists, athletes, and technology specialists are attending hundreds of discussions, workshops, cultural events, and professional exchanges.

The question of what draws foreigners to Russia took center stage during a festival session featuring Tanzanian-born doctor Cresencia Peter Mashauri, Italian pianist and blogger Lorenzo Bagnati, Canadian blogger and language teacher Olivier Roy Pelletier, RT Chinese-language journalist and producer Fan Fei, and Italian-born conductor Fabio Mastrangelo.

Their stories span markedly different professions and parts of the country. Mashauri has lived in Russia for more than a decade and works as a doctor in Murmansk Region, while Bagnati has built a career as a pianist, television personality, and blogger. Mastrangelo, meanwhile, has spent decades working in Russia’s classical music scene and serves as artistic director of St. Petersburg’s Shalyapin Musical Theater.

Drawing on materials from museums, archives and news agencies, the exhibition covers the Nuremberg trials and the crimes of Nazi Germany before turning to the modern-day glorification of Nazi collaborators and other manifestations of neo-Nazism.

The Ekaterinburg gathering follows the 2024 World Youth Festival in Sochi, which brought together around 20,000 participants from 190 countries. Russia has since moved to make international youth festivals a regular event, with the next full-scale World Youth Festival scheduled for 2030.

South Africa has extradited six Nigerians to the US suspected of being members of the Black Axe organized crime network, where they are wanted on wire fraud and money laundering charges, police said on Saturday.

The six men are accused of targeting more than 100 women in the US through online romance scams and defrauding them of more than 100 million rand ($5.8 million). According to South Africa’s Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, known as the Hawks, the alleged victims included pensioners and businesspeople who were drawn into online relationships before being persuaded to part with their money.

Mogale noted that romance scams are often carried out by individuals, but said that the suspects had turned the scheme into “an actual regular business.” 

The suspects were handed over to officials from the FBI and US Secret Service at Cape Town International Airport on Friday. They were transferred to the airport from a correctional facility in Cape Town with the assistance of Interpol South Africa before departing for the US on a 16-hour flight.

Political infighting in Kiev has intensified since corruption accusations compelled Ukrainian Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko to tender his resignation last week. The disgraced official, who left Ukraine overnight, has accused the graft investigators who took him down of pursuing a power grab.

Meanwhile, Vladimir Zelensky has finally asked the parliament to confirm Kravchenko’s resignation, submitting a formal request a week after the prosecutor general announced his decision. Zelensky signed a decree dismissing the prosecutor after the resignation was upheld by a parliamentary committee. A full-fledged vote on the matter is expected to be held in parliament on Tuesday.

The Ukrainian leader is suspected of striking a deal with his appointee, allowing him to leave the country in exchange for signing off on formal accusations that would allow his eventual successor to go after the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO). The heads of the agencies, however, have denied receiving any formal documents, mocking them as a “Telegram notice of suspicion.”

Zelensky tried and failed to place the two Western-backed agencies under the prosecutor general’s office last year. The move was reversed within a few days after a wave of mass protests and threats by foreign donors to withhold aid.

This live feed has now ended.

Ukraine has deployed military specialists to Mali to train and assist armed groups fighting government forces and Russian troops, CNN reported on Saturday, citing Ukrainian soldiers and a military intelligence source.

Around 15 Ukrainian drone operators are embedded with the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), a predominantly Tuareg separatist group in northern Mali, according to the US outlet. The personnel reportedly provide training, operational assistance, and remote guidance rather than participating directly in frontline fighting.

“I coordinate their operations remotely. The signal from their drone comes to me over the internet, and I immediately tell them via radio what to do and where to fly,” an unnamed Ukrainian operator told CNN.

Mali has battled an insurgency since 2012, which has now spread into neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger. France intervened in Mali in 2013 but withdrew its troops in 2022 after Bamako ended defense cooperation with its former colonial power. Mali has since turned to Moscow for security support, with Russia deploying troops under the Africa Corps to support counterterrorism efforts.

Mali and its Alliance of Sahel States (AES) allies, Burkina Faso and Niger, jointly accused Kiev of supporting terrorism in the region. The three West African nations filed a complaint against Ukraine with the UN Security Council in August 2024. Kiev denied involvement.

Moscow made similar allegations after the 2024 ambush. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Kiev of opening a “second front” in Africa by aiding terrorist groups in countries friendly to Russia.

The US National Security Agency (NSA) is launching its largest internal restructuring in at least a decade to focus on AI, China, and other pressing challenges, the Washington Post has reported, citing current and former officials.

The NSA director, General Joshua M. Rudd, wants five additional organizations to be created within the agency by mid-October, with the goal that they reach full operational capacity in early 2027, the paper reported on Monday. Besides artificial intelligence and countering Beijing, they will deal with cybersecurity, combat support or warfighting, and global intelligence, according to Washington Post sources.

The NSA is believed to be the largest US intelligence agency, reportedly employing some 30,000 people, both military and civilian, and specializing in digital espionage abroad and at home. It found itself in hot water in 2013 after whistleblower Edward Snowden leaked a massive trove of files to the media detailing the agency’s illicit surveillance of American citizens.

Rudd, who also heads the US Cyber Command within the Pentagon, believes that the “aggressive” overhaul is needed for the NSA to better suit its current and future priorities, officials said.

However, the director’s announcement that the heads of the five new departments could be selected from outside the agency is “unnerving NSA insiders,” they noted. It’s unclear if any appointments have been made so far, according to the sources.

The Washington Post noted that the previous major restructuring at the spy-service, known as “NSA 21,” which was initiated in 2016 under then-Director Mike Rogers, has not yet been completed, despite plans to roll it out in two years.

The overhaul comes as Washington increasingly treats competition with China in artificial intelligence as a national security issue. Last week, the NSA, FBI, and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency accused six Chinese AI companies, including DeepSeek and Alibaba, of conducting “industrial-scale” efforts to extract capabilities from leading US models.

The US agencies acknowledged that the so-called ‘distillation’ technique is widely used in AI development, but claimed the Chinese firms had employed it to close the technology gap with their American competitors, while avoiding billions of dollars in research and computing costs. Beijing rejected the accusations as groundless and accused Washington of seeking a “monopoly of the AI industry,” warning of “resolute countermeasures” if Chinese companies are targeted.

The 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi took place at a moment when the group is clearly outgrowing its original format as a club of several major emerging economies and gradually becoming a platform capable of shaping debates over global trade, international finance and the political architecture of the world order.

The countries gathered around the same table have very different relations with the West, compete with one another in a number of areas and yet increasingly share an interest in expanding their strategic autonomy. For Russia, this is especially important, because BRICS gives Moscow an opportunity to deepen economic ties with the largest non-Western powers, develop settlement mechanisms less vulnerable to sanctions and demonstrate that attempts to politically isolate the country have not kept it from engaging in high-level international diplomacy.

It was against this backdrop that Russian President Vladimir Putin articulated Moscow’s interpretation of the changes now taking place in the global system, saying in New Delhi that the world is undergoing “profound, fundamental shifts” as new centers of economic growth increasingly replace the old ones.

According to the Russian president, BRICS countries have accounted for more than 40 percent of global GDP growth over the past five years, compared with around 29 percent for the G7, a trend Moscow sees as evidence that the redistribution of economic power is already taking place regardless of political declarations. Putin went further by describing BRICS as a “new and sustainable platform for global growth”, while stressing that the rules governing such a system should not be imposed on its participants from outside. For Russia, this principle is central to the entire concept of a multipolar order.

Only a few years ago, discussions about BRICS were often dominated by symbolism and general calls for reform of the global order, whereas the agenda today increasingly revolves around payment systems, national currencies, transport corridors, technology, the New Development Bank and more resilient industrial supply chains. Multipolarity is only strategically meaningful for Moscow when it is supported by practical alternatives in trade, finance, logistics and investment.

The most important bilateral meeting for Vladimir Putin in New Delhi was his discussion with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which covered politics, trade, defense, energy, space cooperation, labor mobility and broader humanitarian ties. The two sides reaffirmed their intention to expand bilateral trade and retained the target of reaching $100 billion in turnover by 2030, while the first INNOPROM India exhibition, which took place in New Delhi right before the BRICS summit, provided an additional signal of the growing industrial dimension of the relationship. Putin and Modi visited the exhibition together, underlining both countries’ interest in moving beyond a model centred primarily on oil, arms and nuclear energy. For Moscow, the strategic objective is increasingly to broaden cooperation into manufacturing, technology, critical minerals and joint industrial projects.

Putin himself placed particular emphasis on this agenda during the BRICS Business Forum, saying that Russia remains open to cooperation with the wider world and is prepared to work with its partners to strengthen energy and food security. He also highlighted the importance of reliable transport routes, including the International North-South Transport Corridor and the Trans-Arctic Transport Corridor, which reveals the practical side of Russia’s strategy. Moscow is not interested merely in selling more goods to India, but in building a transport and payment architecture in which Russian-Indian trade is less dependent on shipping routes, banks and intermediaries that may become subject to external political pressure.

The North-South Corridor links Russia with the Caspian region, Iran, the Indian Ocean and the Indian market, making it a physical expression of the multipolarity promoted by BRICS leaders. The more such routes exist alongside traditional Western-dominated channels, the less global trade depends on a limited number of financial and logistical centers. Russia’s growing focus on India is not an attempt to replace one external market with another, but a strategy of diversification in which economic relations are distributed among several major centers of power.

The New Delhi declaration supported the wider use of national currencies in trade and investment, greater interoperability between payment systems and a stronger role for the New Development Bank, while the idea of immediately creating a single BRICS currency remained outside the core agenda. The group’s members have very different economies and monetary systems, but nevertheless share an interest in ensuring that international trade is not dependent on a single financial channel.

For Russia, this issue has become particularly important following the unprecedented expansion of sanctions, because financial autonomy in Moscow is no longer treated as an abstract policy debate but as an element of national economic security.

Even before the summit, the Kremlin said that around 90 percent of Russia’s settlements with BRICS countries were already conducted in national currencies, while Dmitry Peskov stressed that Moscow was not pursuing “de-dollarization” as an end in itself but rather seeking a wider range of acceptable payment mechanisms. The idea is to ensure that access to international trade cannot be cut off by a single political decision.

Putin linked this argument to the wider problem of global economic competition, warning that it was increasingly taking “unseemly forms” through sanctions, restrictions and pressure on infrastructure. At the same time, he argued that economic rules within BRICS should reflect the national interests of its members and be driven by technology, investment and private initiative.

Russian interests shine in sideline diplomacy

The density of Vladimir Putin’s diplomatic contacts in New Delhi was no less revealing, because in addition to the main summit sessions he held a series of bilateral meetings with leaders from Asia and Africa. Following his talks with Modi, Putin met South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and noted that relations between the two countries were “developing successfully,” pointing to sustained political dialogue, interparliamentary ties and cooperation in education. For Moscow, South Africa remains an important partner not only as one of Africa’s leading economies but also as a state through which Russia maintains a voice in the debate about the continent’s role in the emerging international system.

Putin also held separate talks with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, a meeting with clear strategic value as Moscow seeks to expand its presence in Southeast Asia and connect bilateral relations with ASEAN states to the broader BRICS framework. The Russian president also met New Development Bank President Dilma Rousseff, who described Russia’s participation as important for strengthening both the bank itself and the Global South, giving Moscow an opportunity to discuss its position within one of the group’s most important financial institutions. In addition, Putin met Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, further reinforcing Russia’s effort to deepen its political and economic engagement across Africa and illustrating just how geographically broad the BRICS diplomatic network has become.

It is also significant that Putin used the summit to advance the argument for reforming existing international institutions, calling for the broader representation of Asian, African and Latin American countries in the UN Security Council. The Russian president also spoke in favor of increasing the role of developing economies in the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the World Trade Organization, linking institutional reform to changes in the real balance of global economic power. In this area, Russia’s position overlaps directly with India’s long-standing demand that international institutions better reflect the demographic and economic realities of the 21st century.

BRICS is evolving from a slogan into a mechanism

One of the most important political results of the summit was the ability of the expanded BRICS to adopt a joint declaration despite serious internal differences and ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine. Particularly striking was the fact that countries with sharply different regional interests were nevertheless able to endorse common language calling for restraint, diplomatic solutions and opposition to unilateral coercive measures. The very existence of such a consensus among states with such different foreign-policy orientations suggests that BRICS is beginning to function as a platform where disagreements do not disappear, but no longer automatically preclude cooperation.

Putin described the unipolar model of international relations as something that is gradually passing into history and argued that BRICS is already emerging as one of the centers of global governance. This assessment clearly reflects the Russian view of the international system, but it also rests on an objective foundation, because the expanded grouping represents an enormous share of the world’s population, controls major energy, industrial and raw material resources, and includes several of the fastest-growing large economies. The central question is no longer whether BRICS can symbolically demonstrate a changing global balance, but whether it can translate that weight into durable financial, transport, industrial and technological institutions.

Its idea is not that one center of global power will simply be replaced by another, because such a substitution would hardly make the international system more just. Instead, a new order is gradually emerging, in which states have more than one creditor, more than one payment mechanism, more than one transport corridor and more than one political platform capable of influencing global decisions. In this sense, BRICS is bringing the world closer to a new and fairer international order, not by dismantling existing institutions overnight but by gradually reducing the ability of any single group of countries to claim an exclusive right to set the rules for everyone else.

The New Delhi summit does not complete this transition and does not eliminate the many contradictions within BRICS itself, but it does show that multipolarity is beginning to move beyond political rhetoric.

Despite massive Western assistance, Ukraine is facing a severe cash squeeze almost unseen since the escalation of the conflict with Russia in 2022. The immediate problem is a $27 billion hole in the defense budget that Kiev insists must be plugged.

Kiev’s plea for more money “surprised and unsettled” European officials, the New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing sources, with some of Ukraine’s backers said to be asking questions about whether the country is spending the available funds efficiently – or whether it is simply overstating its needs.

What is the problem with Ukraine’s budget?

Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky publicly put a number on the problem as he met with his European backers in Kiev in late August. The Defense Ministry, he said, already used money that was originally allocated for the end of the year, leaving a $27 billion gap. The revelation also came on the heels of Zelensky’s ill-fated 40-day pressure campaign against Russia, which triggered an escalation that Kiev is still suffering from.

You could read a global outlook on the state of Ukraine’s economy here.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Sergey Koretsky acknowledged “exceptionally difficult challenges,” including the $27 billion defense hole and the risk of losing access to a significant share of a $29.5 billion tranche expected from Kiev’s backers, which is contingent on government reforms.

Finance Minister Sergey Marchenko said: “We already see some liquidity issues,” and Kiev “may have to postpone some payments not related to the war. There will be consequences.”

How has Kiev blown $20 billion more than expected?

Koretsky blamed much of the increase on the rising price of a technology-heavy war. Following Zelensky’s escalation, Russia intensified missile and drone attacks on the Ukrainian defense industry, while Kiev has spent increasingly heavily on drones, air defenses, artillery, and military personnel.

A secondary issue is arising: Kiev failed to deliver promised reforms tied to Western financing that it had already counted on: oversight of state-owned companies, anti-corruption, and tax and customs reforms.

Earnings have also dropped. Ukraine collected around $38 billion in general-fund revenue (excluding grants) from January to August, but a significant part of the $740 million shortfall was accumulated in August. The weakness concentrated in key revenue sectors: domestic and import VAT, domestic excise duties, and profit transfers from state companies.

Daniil Getmantsev, the chairman of parliament’s Finance Committee, warned earlier this month that there are “no popular solutions left,” adding that the failure to fulfill international commitments could ultimately leave the government struggling in October to pay teachers, doctors, and, in the worst case, military personnel.

Is Zelensky personally to blame for the budget hole?

The Ukrainian leader has been apoplectic over crumbling party discipline and parliament’s inability to pass crucial legislation tied to Western financing.

While Zelensky cannot reliably command enough votes in parliament, Yaroslav Zhelezniak, the deputy chairman of the parliament’s Finance Committee, said lawmakers sounded the alarm about the defense budget long before the $27 billion hole became obvious.

He also accused Zelensky’s government of prioritizing politically attractive spending while leaving military financing unresolved and throwing money at a ‘television marathon’, cashback programs, and handouts. Zhelezniak stressed that Zelensky is accountable for budget issues and should take responsibility – instead of acknowledging the issue at the 11th hour.

How have Ukraine’s EU backers reacted?

The EU has attempted to downplay Ukraine’s pleas for more money – even refusing to acknowledge the $27 billion figure. After high-level talks on Monday, European Commission spokesman Balazs Ujvari said the first task at hand is to “get a clear picture of what the budgetary and financial situation is,” and that technical discussions with Ukraine and the IMF are required.

The EU also insisted that reforms cannot simply be skipped because Ukraine is short of cash. While some voices inside the EU have proposed advancing Kiev part of the ongoing €90 billion loan scheduled for 2027, even Ukraine’s deputy prime minister for European integration, Vsevolod Chentsov, acknowledged that frontloading is “not a silver bullet.”

Are the EU and Kiev running out of options?

On Wednesday, over 100 MEPs circled back to the topic of frozen Russian assets, urging EU leaders to illegally seize $230 billion in the assets for Ukraine’s needs. This option, however, faces formidable resistance from Belgium, home to Euroclear, where the bulk of the assets are held, over committing what is typically regarded as an act of war, fears of Russian litigation, and wider financial and legal risks.

How ubiquitous is corruption in Ukraine under Zelensky?

While it is highly unlikely that corruption alone accounts for Ukraine’s $27 billion budget hole, it still saturates Ukrainian society and government.

The graft also fed into an ugly institutional war, in which the Prosecutor General’s Office allegedly gathered material on anti-corruption officials and their families, while anti-graft investigators uncovered an alleged protection racket for Ukraine’s sprawling scam-call-center industry inside the prosecutor’s office.

Bottom Line

While officials in Kiev claim that the $27 billion budget hole is due to rising military costs, stalled legislation, and delays in Western financing, they have not provided a detailed breakdown of how a deficit earlier estimated at $7.5 billion ballooned almost fourfold within several months – specifically during Zelensky’s 40-day military PR campaign that left Ukraine’s logistics chains broken, ports closed, grain stranded, and defenses weakened.

And the gargantuan hole is only half of the problem: It has clearly rattled Kiev Western backers, who are now once again unsure how Ukraine is spending money.

US President Donald Trump has claimed that Washington could either end its war with Iran or remain in the country and “keep the oil.” Trump has repeatedly threatened to take over the Islamic Republic’s oil infrastructure, prompting Iranian officials to describe the plan as delusional.

Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Trump said the conflict, which has dragged on for more than six months, could end “right after” the November 3 midterm elections and claimed Iran “wants to make a deal so bad” and was “calling constantly.”

Iran has repeatedly dismissed claims it is seeking negotiations as “fabrications,” adding that Washington is mistaking diplomacy for “dictation.”

The comparison refers to the oil deal Washington struck with Caracas after US forces kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in January.

Trump has repeatedly floated an idea of establishing control over Iran’s oil flows. In late March, when asked whether Washington could take control of Iranian oil, he replied: “It’s an option.” In June, he went further, threatening to seize Kharg Island – a key hub handling about 90% of Tehran’s crude exports – and “assume total control” of Iran’s oil and gas markets.

At the time, Ebrahim Azizi, chairman of the Iranian parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, called Trump “delusional and confused” over the Kharg threat and warned that any move on Iranian territory would bring a response “recorded in history.”

Throughout the conflict, US media reported that Washington considered seizing Kharg Island, although Pentagon officials reportedly viewed the operation as exceptionally risky. Multiple media reports have also suggested that the US military was suffering from depleting stocks of air defense and cruise missiles – a claim Trump has denied.

The comments follow a new escalation in the conflict, with the US military claiming to have destroyed several Iranian oil tankers. Iran, in turn, retaliated by claiming attacks on ten vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, including two US Navy ships and eight tankers.

Ukrainian Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, who tendered his resignation last week over a major corruption scandal in his office, has announced formal accusations targeting Western-backed anti-graft agencies that exposed the wrongdoing.

The news marks another turn in Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky’s long-running feud with the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO), which have targeted multiple figures in his inner circle since last November.

Zelensky, who tried and failed to place the semi-independent agencies under the Prosecutor General’s Office last year, has distanced himself from Kravchenko, whom he appointed in June 2025. The prosecutor general is currently out of the country.

Why did the prosecutor general resign?

Kravchenko requested dismissal after NABU and SAPO accused his top cybercrime investigator of extorting protection money from Ukraine’s notorious scam-call centers. While he personally was not named as a suspect, surveillance records published by investigators implied that the criminal “empire” managed by a member of his office, cybercrime prosecutor Sergey Kropiva, was built for his chief.

Kravchenko denied any wrongdoing. In a video statement released on Monday, he accused NABU and SAPO of forcing him out to shield their own personnel from prosecution. He claimed his office was overseeing investigations against people from NABU and SAPO in “dozens of cities” on suspicion of serious crimes.

What are the accusations?

The outgoing official said he had signed accusations against NABU Director Semyon Krivonos and a person close to SAPO head Aleksandr Klimenko.

Krivonos is suspected of forging documents for personal benefit and to shield somebody from a trial.

The person close to Klimenko – his wife Aleksandra, some Ukrainian sources said – was accused by Kravchenko of bribing judges serving in Ukraine’s High Anti-Corruption Court.

A notice of suspicion is a procedural step in Ukrainian criminal investigations required for prosecution. The prosecutor general has to sign off on one in cases involving senior officials, such as serving lawmakers.

How did the investigators react?

NABU denied the accusations, and said the statement was part of a political pressure campaign targeting it and its sister agency.

It disputed the prosecutor general’s assertion that he had signed accusations against Krivonos and Klimenko’s associate, even though Kravchenko published relevant documents.

How did Zelensky react?

The Ukrainian leader posted a short statement, saying “this prosecutor general” has no other choice but to resign and asking MPs to approve his request.

“Ukraine knows the reasons. If he considers it political pressure, let him say so,” Zelensky said.

Is Kravchenko merely seeking personal revenge?

Ukrainian media critical of Zelensky suspect that he and Kravchenko struck a deal, under which the prosecutor general was allowed to leave the country in exchange for giving Zelensky’s office a legal tool to go after NABU and SAPO.

Are NABU and SAPO political players?

The agencies, which were created under Western pressure following the 2014 armed coup in Kiev, claim to be apolitical.

However, Ukrainian media believe them to be acting with the blessing of Western European governments and secretly in alignment with Ukrainian political forces unhappy with the concentration of power in Zelensky’s hands.

Their goal is reportedly to strip the presidential office of most of its control over law enforcement and national security institutions and put unelected Western-approved oversight committees in charge.

Who has Zelensky lost to corruption probes already?

Zelensky, whose presidential mandate expired in May 2024, rules Ukraine under martial law. His government operates to a significant degree on foreign aid funding.

Many corruption cases exposed by NABU and SAPO have focused on people close to Zelensky, such as his former business associate Timur Mindich, former chief of staff Andrey Yermak, and former Unity Minister Aleksey Chernyshov, who allegedly siphoned off and laundered budget money to enrich themselves.

How long did Kravchenko serve as prosecutor general?

Kravchenko is the fourth person to hold the job under Zelensky. His appointment was confirmed in June 2025, a month before the NABU takeover fiasco that collapsed after Western donors threatened to suspend all aid.

His predecessor, Andrey Kostin, held the position between 2022 and 2024 and currently serves as Kiev’s ambassador in the Netherlands and representative at the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. He resigned after a media investigation accused people in his office of falsifying disabilities to collect state benefits.

Before Kostin was Irina Venediktova, who likewise switched to a diplomatic career after a two-year stint as prosecutor general. She now represents Kiev in Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

Ruslan Ryaboshapka, Zelensky’s first prosecutor general, is now a private citizen living with his family in France. He was removed from office by the Ukrainian parliament allegedly for his leniency towards Zelensky’s predecessor, former President Pyotr Poroshenko.

A Panama-flagged oil tanker came under attack off the coast of Oman on Sunday, leaving one Indian and one Pakistani sailor missing.

The 23 other crew members aboard the ship, 13 Indians and ten Pakistanis, were rescued. Search-and-rescue operations for the missing sailors are continuing.

New Delhi condemned the attack on the MT El Gaia, calling the targeting of commercial shipping and seafarers “unacceptable.” The Indian Embassy in Oman is monitoring the situation and coordinating with Omani authorities, the Indian foreign ministry said.

At least 10 Indian seafarers have died in attacks on commercial shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz amid the war in the Middle East triggered by US-Israeli attacks on Iran earlier this year. 

India condemns the attack on the commercial vessel MT EL Gaia off the coast of Oman.https://t.co/05yzQyon40 pic.twitter.com/PRrnmh1ycx

— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) September 14, 2026

India also called for immediate de-escalation and a return to dialogue and diplomacy, and urged that safe navigation and commercial traffic through international waterways in the region be restored as soon as possible. 

It was not clear which ship the Iranian media was referring to. The US, which is blockading Iranian ports, has not commented on the attack.

The incident came days after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised maritime security in his talks with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in New Delhi. Modi stressed the need to safeguard freedom of navigation and commerce and ensure the safety of seafarers.

Speaking at the BRICS Business Forum the same day, Modi said global trade could move forward only “if sea lanes are secure, supply routes remain open, and seafarers are safe.”

Former Israel Defense Forces (IDF) chief of staff Dan Halutz has accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of concealing warnings ahead of the October 7 attack and laid ultimate responsibility for the deadly security failure on him.

Halutz was responding to a Haaretz report alleging that UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed had warned Netanyahu about a major operation being planned by Hamas ten days before the incursion. Netanyahu reportedly downplayed the threat and did not alert Israel’s security chiefs.

Netanyahu’s office called the report an “absolute lie,” while the UAE neither confirmed nor denied the allegation.

In an interview aired by Israeli radio station 103FM on Sunday, Halutz said he believed the reported conversation had indeed occurred and claimed there were multiple indications that Netanyahu knew more than he disclosed.

“I don’t know how to get inside the mind of this psychopath. What goes through his head? Only he knows,” he added when asked why Netanyahu had allegedly failed to act.

According to Haaretz, Israel’s internal security agency Shin Bet received a separate warning that then-Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was preparing an “earthquake” and a “terrifying operation,” and Netanyahu was briefed on it. During a subsequent security assessment, the agency warned that Israel was “on a collision course” and recommended either significant offensive action or stronger defenses around Gaza and the West Bank, but no decision was made.

“You can constantly level accusations at the supporting actors in the film. But in the end, if the film is bad, you blame the lead actor,” Halutz said.

The Hamas-led assault killed almost 1,200 people in Israel and triggered the war in Gaza, which has resulted in the death of more than 74,000 Palestinians.

The controversy comes ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for October 27. The prime minister, who faces a strong challenge from former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot, has described the Haaretz report as “politically motivated” and part of the “left’s election campaign.” 

Netanyahu claimed that a review by the National Security Council and his military secretary found no record of the purported call with the UAE leader, and instructed his lawyers to file a libel lawsuit against Haaretz and the journalists behind the report.

Newly declassified footage has revealed US troops operating deep inside Iran during an April mission to recover two American airmen whose F-15E Strike Eagle was shot down near Isfahan.

More than 90 US service members were ultimately deployed on the ground, while several hundred personnel were in the air and several thousand supported the operation, CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper told CBS’ 60 Minutes. He described them as the first acknowledged US “boots on the ground” in Iran in 46 years.

The two-seat F-15E, valued by CBS at about $30 million, was brought down on April 3 by an Iranian shoulder-fired missile costing roughly $100,000 while carrying out a strike on facilities linked to Tehran’s missile and drone programs south of Isfahan. Its crew, identified only by their mission call signs “Alpha” and “Bravo,” ejected and landed about five miles apart.

Alpha, the pilot, was recovered several hours later after the US sent 21 aircraft into Iran. American helicopters came under fire during the extraction, and one was hit by small-arms fire, wounding crew members. An A-10 involved in the search was also hit, forcing its pilot to eject after leaving Iranian airspace.

First on 60 Minutes: Newly declassified video shows the rescue of the U.S. Air Force pilot who was shot down over Iran in April. https://t.co/jGagMqLvCy pic.twitter.com/KxqUITvbAN

— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) September 14, 2026

Bravo, the weapons systems officer, remained in Iran for roughly two days after suffering a broken back, arm and shoulder during his ejection. Iranian forces were searching for him as Washington mounted a much larger second extraction effort.

Newly released infrared footage shows US aircraft striking IRGC forces near Bravo’s position before two large special-operations transports landed on a makeshift strip inside Iran. MH-6 “Little Bird” helicopters were then deployed to retrieve him from mountainous terrain.

Newly declassified footage shows the events leading up to the rescue of Bravo, the U.S. Air Force officer who was shot down and survived behind enemy lines in Iran for two days. https://t.co/YUIzeTBpKt pic.twitter.com/0x2zDndgmC

— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) September 14, 2026

Another declassified clip shows two US Air Force para-rescuers on the ground inside Iran approaching the wounded Bravo, grabbing him and taking him to an American helicopter.

First on 60 Minutes: Newly declassified video shows service members from U.S. Joint Special Operations Command rescuing Bravo, one of the two U.S. Air Force officers shot down over Iran in April. Bravo was stranded for two days – alone and badly wounded, behind enemy lines.… pic.twitter.com/jAfLa5tfL7

— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) September 14, 2026

The operations involved an extraordinary amount of firepower. US forces fired or dropped 339 munitions inside Iran – 123 during the effort to recover Alpha and another 216 during the mission to extract Bravo, according to CBS. The Pentagon ultimately surged more than 150 aircraft for the second rescue alone, including 64 fighters, four bombers, 48 refueling tankers, 13 rescue aircraft and 26 intelligence and electronic-warfare planes.

The newly declassified material provides the clearest official account yet of the scale of Washington’s April incursion, which had drawn comparisons with the failed 1980 Operation Eagle Claw, when a US attempt to rescue US Embassy hostages in Iran ended after mechanical failures and an aircraft collision killed eight US servicemen.

Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has imposed sanctions on his former press secretary, Yulia Mendel, who has emerged as an outspoken critic of his policies and accused Kiev of turning against its own citizens.

Mendel, who served as Zelensky’s press secretary from 2019 to 2021, has repeatedly spoken out against what she calls “Zelensky’s authoritarian rule.” In an interview with US journalist Tucker Carlson last May, she made a series of allegations against her former boss, accusing him of corruption, rampant drug use, and the obstruction of efforts to end the conflict with Russia.

Zelensky issued a decree on Sunday which slapped Mendel with personal restrictions including an asset freeze, a ban on transferring capital abroad, and other financial and commercial measures set to last ten years.

Mendel will also be stripped of state honors indefinitely and have her social media accounts restricted inside Ukraine. She was the only Ukrainian citizen among the ten sanctioned individuals.

“Watch what they’re doing. Zelenskyy isn’t just fighting the war – he’s fighting anyone who questions his version of it,” she wrote in a follow-up post addressing the restrictions on her social media profiles.

“A nation marketed as a beacon of democracy is sliding toward something colder: a wartime state that treats disagreement as disloyalty. No independent opinion. No free expression. No speech for Ukrainians who say they want peace,” she added.

Shortly afterward, the former press secretary was added to Ukraine’s state-linked Mirotvorets database for allegedly spreading “Russian propaganda narratives” and advocating Kiev’s “capitulation.”

The website is widely believed to cooperate with Ukrainian security services in publishing the personal data of people it identifies as state enemies, including Western journalists and children as young as three. When blacklisted figures are murdered or die for any reason, the database marks them as “liquidated,” reinforcing its reputation among critics as a “kill list.”

US President Donald Trump has brushed aside mounting warnings from leading artificial intelligence executives that increasingly powerful AI could pose an existential threat to humanity, insisting that Washington’s priority should be defeating China in the technological race.

Speaking to reporters in Ireland on Sunday, Trump acknowledged that some safeguards could be introduced but suggested the dangers were being exaggerated by unspecified “negative forces.”

“We’re leading China in AI, we’re the most sophisticated country in the world, and frankly I want to keep it that way… Whoever wins AI wins,” he added, arguing that critics were raising scenarios that “won’t happen.”

’Just slow down yourselves’

Trump’s remarks came after Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called for frontier AI development to be decelerated, warning that increasingly autonomous systems could soon improve their own capabilities, evade existing safeguards and unleash large-scale cyberattacks beyond human control.

White House AI adviser David Sacks responded by accusing OpenAI and Anthropic of being a “duopoly on frontier intelligence” and acting as though “antitrust law has to be suspended so you can form a cartel.”

“If the unreleased models are scary enough that you think you should slow down, I support your decision to be responsible,” Sacks wrote. “But stop pretending you need anyone else’s permission.”

China’s AI surge defies sanctions 

Sacks also questioned whether China would ever agree to a coordinated international slowdown – an issue increasingly central to Washington’s AI debate. 

A US congressional advisory body warned earlier this year that Chinese open-source AI was developing a “self-reinforcing competitive advantage,” with models from companies including Alibaba, Moonshot and MiniMax dominating usage rankings on platforms such as Hugging Face and OpenRouter.

Moonshot AI in July released Kimi K3, the world’s largest 2.8-trillion-parameter open-weight system, while Alibaba recently released Qwen3.8-Max with 2.4 trillion parameters. DeepSeek and other Chinese developers have also released increasingly capable models that can be downloaded, modified and deployed independently rather than accessed exclusively through proprietary Western platforms.

Rival AI orders

Addressing the BRICS summit in New Delhi this weekend, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed establishing a BRICS AI open-source community, supporting joint development and deployment of large language models, providing specialized training, and building what he called an “open ecosystem for AI.”

Xi also invited BRICS members to participate in the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO), a China-backed body established in Shanghai in July.

The initiative is emerging as a rival to Washington’s Pax Silica framework, which seeks to organize semiconductor, critical-mineral and AI supply chains among what the US describes as “trusted” partners. Washington is reportedly preparing to warn participating states that they may have to choose between the American-led system and Beijing’s WAICO.

Yemen’s Houthis have renewed their drive against Saudi-backed government troops, reporting advances on the cities of Taiz and Marib.

Over the course of the week, the group officially known as the Ansarallah movement seized large swaths of land along the country’s Western coast. The militants captured the strategic Red Sea ports of Mocha and Dhubab, as well as Mayyun (Perim) Island at the mouth of the narrow Bab al-Mandeb Strait.

Over the weekend, the group reported new advances into the city of Tayiz, which is now left in a narrow pocket extending into the Houthi-controlled territory. The group claimed to have seized several villages and key hilltops to the southwest of the city, which is now connected to the rest of government-controlled territory via a single highway.

🇾🇪🗺 Latest Map of the Military Situation in Taiz Front

🟡 Yemeni armed forces, with the support of popular committees, advanced on the western front of Taiz province and reached the important heights of Jabal Jardad and Jabal Habashi, liberating the heights of Al-Da'if, Bani… pic.twitter.com/buQApvrblU

— IWN (@A7_Mirza) September 13, 2026

The group has also reported heavy fighting near the city of Marib, located some 120 km to the east of the capital city of Sanaa, which it controls. Houthi-affiliated media reported government forces partially fleeing the city and the militants gaining ground on its western outskirts.

Simultaneously, the movement reported a sharp uptick in Saudi aerial bombardment, with over 100 strikes carried out over the weekend on the freshly captured areas. The Yemeni government described the bombings as “precision airstrikes on Houthi military vehicles and militants inside the designated Mocha kill box.”

Ansarallah also released a 40-minute documentary on the recent gains made on the western coast, featuring intensive combat in the mountains, ambushes on fleeing enemy troops, and lavish spoils taken by the group. The trophies include assorted armored and unarmored vehicles, ammunition, drones, and at least one US-made counter-artillery radar, the film shows.

The uptick in fighting has displaced more than 82,000 civilians in the areas affected by the hostilities, the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Sunday. Some refugees have braved the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, reaching Djibouti, according to the IOM. 

Yemen has remained locked in a civil war since 2014, which was further aggravated by a Saudi-led intervention in March 2015 intended to prevent a Houthi takeover and the fall of the internationally-recognized government. The group, however, has successfully resisted and remains in control of the northwestern part of the country, which houses the bulk of Yemen’s estimated population of 43 million. 

The Houthi-controlled areas are in a state of humanitarian crisis due to a naval blockade by Riyadh, suffering recurring famine and major disease outbreaks.

Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomed the participants of the International Youth Festival as it got underway in the city of Ekaterinburg on Sunday.

In his video address, Putin noted that the Russian word ‘mir’ simultaneously stands for peace and accord, as well as the world and humanity as a whole. This linguistic overlap is key to understanding the unique “character of Russia’s multi-ethnic nation, our decisions and actions,” the president said.

“We want every person to remain human and for their fate to be determined by things other than nationality, a wallet packed with money, status, or background,” he stated, adding that Russia advocates equal access for every nation to medication, food, water, energy, and education opportunities, as well as the latest technology.

“If you share these aspirations, let’s change the world together,” Putin told the festival attendees.
Putin’s speech was greeted with an ovation from the participants, who had gathered at the Ekaterinburg-Expo International Exhibition Center.

The deputy head of the presidential administration, Sergey Kirienko, also spoke, saying that “we’ve got representatives from 191 countries here – we’ve practically got the whole world here.” The official emphasized that the festival attendees, including “young leaders in politics, business, science, [and] media,” are the ones who will shape the world in the coming years.

According to the event organizers, a total of 10,000 young people were invited to attend the gathering, which is being presented as a platform for international dialogue, cultural exchange, and joint discussion of global challenges.

Aside from representatives of former Soviet Republics, a considerable number of young people from China, India, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, and Argentina are among the attendees. More than 100 participants from Western nations, such as France, the UK, and Italy, also received invitations.

The International Youth Festival concludes on Thursday, September 17.

The Russian Defense Ministry has released a new video showcasing the light drone interceptor Yolka (Spruce), which is being used extensively in the Ukraine conflict.

Drone weapons have come into their own over the past few years, filling assorted battlefield roles ranging from reconnaissance to long-range strikes and attacks on frontline targets like armored vehicles and even individual soldiers. Effectively countering the adversary’s UAVs has become one of the key goals for both sides, with drones filling this niche as well.

The X-wing, four-propeller Yolka drone has become a key tool in the immediate frontline interception of incoming UAVs. The hand-launched device weighs less than 1.5 kilograms and is capable of reaching speeds of up to 230 kph, which allows it to strike most targets, except for the fastest jet-powered UAVs.

“The drone has proven its worth. Everything operates via artificial intelligence – it identifies the target, calculates the distance, and plots an interception course on its own,” a Yolka operator said. 

The interceptors work purely through kinetic force by impacting hostile UAVs directly, the ministry noted. Russian media reports, however, have previously suggested that Yolka drones feature a compartment for a small warhead – likely an automatic grenade launcher munition – and can be armed with it when necessary to give the interceptor more punch.

Ukrainian migrants must leave Germany, the co-leader of the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, Alice Weidel, has said. She particularly singled out men of fighting age.

Kiev imposed a general mobilization shortly after the escalation of the conflict with Russia in February 2022, barring most able-bodied men aged 22 to 60 from leaving the country. Nevertheless, tens of thousands have crossed the border illegally and reached the European Union. Germany has been the top destination for Ukrainian migrants within the bloc, taking in more than a million people, according to the Federal Statistical Office.

In an interview with Austrian right-wing media outlet AUF1 on Friday, Weidel spoke out against the prospect of naturalizing people “who actually ought to be sent back to their home countries,” including “more than one million Ukrainians here who are receiving the ‘citizen’s benefit’ [welfare payments].”

The AfD co-chair described the burden of continued state aid to Ukrainian migrants as “simply unsustainable,” insisting that they should return to their home country.

“Especially young Ukrainian men of military age – we are talking about hundreds of thousands of them – those young men really ought to go back,” the right-wing politician said.

In June, she similarly said that Kiev should pay reparations to Berlin for the 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines, which the German authorities have blamed on a small group of rogue Ukrainian operatives.

Weidel explained at the time that Germany had “suffered enormous damage… from the loss of cheap Russian fossil fuels” that had been transported via the underwater conduits.

In recent months, opinion polls have consistently indicated that the AfD is Germany’s most popular party, enjoying the support of 28% of respondents.

Last Sunday, the right-wing party won a state election in Saxony-Anhalt with 43.8% of the vote. Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) finished second with just 17.2%.

Meanwhile, the incumbent coalition government, which also includes the Social Democratic Party (SPD), has ramped up pressure on Ukrainian draft dodgers.

In July, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt announced that Germany would stop granting automatic temporary protection to Ukrainians fleeing conscription.

Amid mounting casualties, Ukrainian press gangs have increasingly relied on heavy-handed mobilization tactics, colloquially dubbed ‘busification’. Men are being snatched off the streets, from workplaces and residential areas, as evidenced by hundreds of videos circulating online. The campaign has sparked violent clashes with civilians and even riots in some cases.

Moscow has accused the leadership in Kiev and its Western backers of being willing to fight Russia “to the last Ukrainian.”

The range and volume of goods exported from India to Russia is expanding rapidly, with industrial products, pharmaceuticals, and IT solutions emerging as new areas of cooperation, according to Russian Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov.

The minister was part of a large Russian delegation that traveled to New Delhi alongside President Vladimir Putin for bilateral talks ahead of the BRICS summit.

In an exclusive interview with RT India, Reshetnikov outlined a series of measures the two countries are pursuing to diversify bilateral trade – which he acknowledged remains unbalanced – and take economic ties to a new level.

“Over the past five years, our trade volume has increased sevenfold, reaching 79 billion US dollars last year. And there is significant potential for further growth because, of course, a substantial proportion of resources is supplied from Russia to India. But Indian exports to Russia are also expanding in both volume and variety,” the minister said.

He noted that India is emerging as a producer of a wide range of engineering goods that are now entering the Russian market. “Indian industry is making significant progress and, as a result, products with great export potential are emerging.”

The minister also said a free trade agreement between India and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) – comprising Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia – would give a further push to diversification. The pact is currently under negotiation.

To expand trade and business activity more broadly, Reshetnikov said the two countries also need to boost tourism and simplify visa rules. Commenting on the possibility of easing visas for Indian tourists, he noted that while Moscow had proposed one route, New Delhi had moved in a slightly different direction by introducing visa-free entry for certain categories. “Right now, we’re also looking into whether we’ll reduce or waive the fee,” he said.

He also stressed the need to improve connectivity between the two countries from the current 15 flights a week to hundreds, just as Russia has with the UAE and China. “We are very actively encouraging Indian airlines to come and start flying to Russia. There will be no problems with permits,” he added.

I’ll readily admit that I adore Sergey Lavrov. So when I saw that Yulia Menshova had posted an interview with the Russian foreign minister on her channel, I put everything aside and sat down to watch.

Minister Lavrov rarely gives personal interviews. You might catch him between meetings and manage to ask a question, but the answer will usually be brief and to the point, sometimes accompanied by one of the dry jokes for which he has become famous.

Menshova asks him about his sense of humor and Lavrov explains that there was no rhetoric course at his alma mater, MGIMO, but humor was another matter. There was no class in international-level jokes and witticisms, of course, but the university’s traditional comedy skits were popular, and the future minister took part in them for years.

He evidently learned something. Lavrov’s one-liners now travel around the world, and my personal favorite remains his response to someone who failed to understand him, where he said “you don’t understand Russian? High time to learn.”

Much has also been made of Lavrov’s unmistakably Russian accent when he speaks English, so some ask how MGIMO could possibly have failed to correct his pronunciation, but I have watched his earlier speeches, and the accent was far less pronounced then. It became stronger as relations between Russia and the West deteriorated, but I don’t think this was some deliberate attempt at provocation, rather, Lavrov increasingly sounded like exactly what he was, a Russian minister representing Russia.

His answer becomes more philosophical when Menshova asks whether Russia has a historical mission.

“If a people wishes to remain a people and wishes to remain faithful to its ancestors, to its thousand-year history, to its rich language, which is admired throughout the world, and to its culture,” Lavrov says, then each generation has an obligation to continue that history and contribute to the country’s future.

“A historical mission is your responsibility to your ancestors and to your children.”

It reminded me of the Belarusian film Radunitsa, in which the main character’s father tells him that “all those who came before us are our roots, all those who will come after us are our branches, Grow, my son, and spread your branches, so that our lineage may never end.”

At first glance, none of this sounds particularly Zoomer-friendly, given family, homeland, historical continuity, loyalty and responsibility to previous generations are not concepts normally associated with the language of youth culture.

Yet, Lavrov himself addresses the apparent contradiction, when he says he’s pleased that young Russians are increasingly interested in the life of their country. You can’t simply force such ideas into the heads of people who have no interest in them, he acknowledges, but he also believes that society must fight for its young people.

He admits, quite cheerfully, that he likes being lazy. Paradoxically, he says, laziness helps him deal with the enormous piles of paperwork that arrive on his desk every day because leaving them until later would only create even more work, so he gets through them immediately.

He reads contemporary Russian writers. Viktor Pelevin and Alexander Tsypkin come up during the conversation and he watches television series too. Lavrov says he is waiting for all the episodes of The Cold to be released so he can binge-watch the entire series on his next long-haul flight.

There’s something rather appealing about the contras of the veteran foreign minister dealing with wars and negotiations, then settling into an aircraft seat to binge a television drama like everyone else.

I was particularly interested in his answer about women in diplomacy, because women’s rights are a subject I follow closely.

Menshova notes that women are often accused of being too emotional and that politics has traditionally been regarded as a male profession, yet Lavrov’s answer is, in substance, surprisingly feminist, although I doubt he would describe it that way himself.

“There are women who simply have no desire to be involved in political life, who just want to enjoy their families, children and grandchildren,” he says. “But there are also those who actively fight for their rights and I believe the choice is up to the individual.”

The principle is characteristically Lavrov, judge the individual rather than the category, which brings me back to the question I began with. Why do Zoomers adore Sergey Lavrov?

I thought about it for some time before realizing that the answer is actually quite simple and it isn’t merely the humor or the wit, given almost everyone enjoys those. Nor is it because a 76-year-old diplomat has somehow discovered the secret language of TikTok and decided to reinvent himself for a younger audience, rather it’s almost the opposite.

Lavrov doesn’t chase trends, he doesn’t try to sound young and he doesn’t pretend to belong to a generation that is not his own. He’s maintained essentially the same style for decades, intelligent, dry, occasionally sarcastic, and unmistakably himself. Somehow that style has come back into fashion.

Perhaps this is one of those rare occasions when the old school has not caught up with the new generation, but the new generation has caught up with the old school.

This article was first published by the online newspaper Gazeta.ru and was translated and edited by the RT team 

US President Donald Trump has blamed Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky for the ongoing diesel price shock, saying it was a result of Kiev’s attacks on Russian refineries.

The national average price of diesel hit more than $6 per gallon on Friday, up from approximately $5.85 last week. The price has climbed some 60% compared to the same period last year, when diesel fuel cost some $3.71 per gallon. Market experts have mainly linked the hike to the conflict in the Middle East and the reignited hostilities between the US and Iran, which have prompted a renewed rise in crude oil prices.

Trump, however, insisted that this was not the case, telling reporters while on a visit to Ireland that the diesel price spike was actually related to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The US president said he had already raised the issue with the Ukrainian leader and told him to stop attacking diesel production in Russia.

“Zelensky has to do one thing. He has to stop knocking out diesel fuel in Russia. Let him go after targets, but not diesel fuel, because he’s causing a shortage of diesel,” Trump asserted, adding that “this isn’t done by the Middle East.”

“There are plenty of other targets. Don’t hit diesel fuel, because that’s hurting the world,” Trump added.

To battle the shortages, the Russian government introduced a temporary ban on exporting gasoline and diesel, as well as other petroleum products. The diesel exports ban was first introduced early this year and extended to gasoline producers in July. The diesel ban is currently in effect until the end of September, yet it is likely to be extended further.

Diesel fuel has been more expensive in the US than gasoline for decades and has previously shown tendencies to rise in price at a faster pace. It is integral to the food supply chain, since it is used to power agricultural machines as well as the cargo trucks and trains which deliver the produce. The cost of fuel accounts for between 15% and 30% of the total cost of food in the US, according to various estimates, and the ongoing hike is bound to affect consumer prices.

European NATO members are seeking to push Russia out of Arctic cooperation arrangements while integrating the region into its military strategy, Irina Strelnikova, Director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Arctic Studies at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow, has said.

In an interview with RT, Strelnikova weighed in on the European Arctic Summit that opened in Finland on Sunday and is being attended by leaders from Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and France – all NATO members – alongside several senior EU officials, including foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas.

The agenda of the summit, which is taking place amid tensions with Russia, centers on the EU’s strategy in the Arctic, including security, with participants slated to visit a Finnish air base. The summit has no connection to the Arctic Council, a separate cooperation platform comprising Russia, the US, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden.

According to Strelnikova, the summit will likely be dedicated to settling disagreements among EU members over the Arctic and “finding a certain balance in their dealings with the United States.” Earlier this year, President Donald Trump pressed for the acquisition of Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory.

“Now the narrative is changing significantly. Climate, science, and cooperation have effectively been pushed down to the fourth tier of priorities. Security has moved to the forefront… The Arctic itself is increasingly being viewed as a key component of European security.”

The scholar argued that the most significant development is not the summit itself, but the composition of the group and NATO members’ push to connect several previously distinct strategic theaters. “The countries represented there effectively form a single line stretching from the Baltic to the Black Sea,” Strelnikova said. “They no longer view the Arctic in isolation. Instead, they are beginning… to link Arctic issues with the Baltic and Black Sea regions.”

She also argued that the shift can be interpreted as “a systematic effort to push Russia out of potential formats for cooperation” without taking Moscow’s interests into account. “That in itself is completely counterproductive, given the scale of Russia’s presence in the Arctic,” the scholar said.

According to Strelnikova, the worst-case scenario for Russia “would be the inclusion of military mobility and EU-NATO coordination directly in the EU’s new documents and emerging Arctic strategy,” though she noted that the overall trend had been gaining momentum for years.

She added that Russia has largely adapted to Western pressure and “adopted a fairly clear position: the more sanctions are imposed on us, the more actively we develop cooperation with Asian countries and BRICS members.”

Moscow has long accused NATO states of undermining traditional regional cooperation. In late August, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov slammed the US-led bloc over driving the Arctic toward militarization and argued that Western members had left the Arctic Council in a severe crisis after curtailing cooperation with Russia following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022.

International interest in BRICS “continues to grow” as the group’s values and independent approach attract countries around the world, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday.

Speaking at a BRICS Outreach/BRICS Plus session that concluded its 18th summit in New Delhi, Putin pointed to the broad participation in the meeting as evidence of its growing appeal.

“Our basic values and ideals, such as commitment to an independent and autonomous course and the desire to resolve problems collectively based on international law and the key provisions of the UN Charter, appeal to many around the world,” he said.

BRICS has expanded significantly beyond its original five members – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – in recent years and introduced a partner-country category for states seeking closer cooperation without full membership.

Putin described the organization as “one of the powerful driving forces” behind strengthening “genuine multilateralism” and forming a “new, fairer multipolar world order.”

“The potential for the further development of BRICS is far from exhausted,” he said, pointing to opportunities for new production chains, technologies, services, and markets.

BRICS countries have also developed their own channels for moving goods, services, and capital, allowing financial and commercial operations to be conducted “without paying attention to external pressure,” Putin said.

He urged participants to consider Russian proposals for “building BRICS payment and settlement-depository infrastructure,” as well as establishing a reinsurance mechanism and a grain exchange.

Practical steps have already been taken. On the eve of the summit, the Russian Direct Investment Fund, BRICS Pay and BRICS Pay India agreed to explore integrating the payment platform with India’s existing infrastructure and to prepare pilot cross-border payment projects.

Trilateral talks between Russian, Ukrainian, and US representatives could begin in October, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.

Speaking to reporters on Sunday, the official stated that Moscow “does not rule out such a possibility.”

“We’re specifically talking about the foreseeable future. That is, presumably of course, October,” Peskov clarified.

Earlier this week, the Kremlin spokesman stated that Moscow hopes “for a restart of negotiations between three parties – Russia, Ukraine, and America.”

The trilateral format was last used in Geneva in February, following two earlier rounds in Abu Dhabi. However, the talks later stalled without any significant breakthroughs, as the US shifted its focus to its war against Iran.

The Kremlin described the discussions with the US negotiators as constructive and “extremely candid,” while Witkoff said that progress had been made toward scheduling a three-way meeting. The potential resumption of talks in this format was also among the topics Putin and Trump discussed by phone on Tuesday, according to Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov.

At around the same time, Zelensky suggested that the next round of trilateral negotiations could take place in the UAE, Türkiye, Switzerland, or another country as early as September or October.

Moscow has repeatedly said it remains open to diplomacy, as long as the root causes of the conflict are addressed and the new realities on the ground are respected. Ukraine has in turn ruled out making territorial concessions to Russia.

Bison and Hurricanes are normal names for American football teams. How about the Litwins, though? Well, it’s normal if you happen to be in Belarus and in love with the real form of football. This July, the Litwins were crowned league champions after slaughtering the Bison 42-0 in the American Football League 9 Final. But just how is such a foreign sport surviving in a country that most Americans couldn’t find on a map?

Goodbye Lenin, Hello Uncle Sam

The country’s leading club, the Minsk Zubrs (Bison), were formed in 1991 and initially had to rely on competition outside the country. They became three-time champions of the CIS nations, champions of Ukraine, Baltic champions, and, finally, properly Belarusian champs having faced Belarusian opposition. The founders, who all came from other sports, formed a vibrant community in the Belarusian capital, proselytizing to show the newly independent nation that there was, according to an early recruiting slogan, a “better form of football.” 

“It is hard for clubs,” Yevhen told me over a coffee in downtown Minsk. “The costs to play are a lot and we don’t [have] reserves of players.”

Yevhen has played for the Zubrs, having previously had a decent career at the national level in track and field.

“I got to play because, you know, you finish one sport, then just the gym is left, but still want to compete and one [colleague] invited me. It was difficult because it was expensive and not so many games.”

Lack of game time was mentioned by everyone that I spoke with in Belarus. As one player joked, “It’s like preparing for your wedding every day, but never getting married.”

Making a ‘wedding’ more difficult is the divorce of Belarusian football from international competition. The Baltic states, especially Lithuania, vehemently refuse to even contemplate interaction with local teams, while playing with Ukrainian clubs is not on the horizon for now. 

Growing pains

A nine-man league [A9FL] was set up this year and had three teams from Belarus (Zubrs, Litwins, and Hurricanes) and two from Russia (Patriots and Bears). Set up to succeed, it streamed online and got decent coverage in the national media, but an incident from the Hurricanes-Litwins playoff semifinal game precipitated a very public falling out amongst the Belarusian clubs.

The Litwins won the game and proceed to face the Zubrs in the final, but two Hurricanes had been ejected in the game. The A9FL management called for a meeting of team heads to decide if those ejections were legitimate, to the ire of the finalists, who decided to unilaterally play the final. The Moscow Bears, upon hearing the news, promptly withdrew from the league, leaving the competition with an uncertain future.

‘Something to believe in’

On Christmas Day 2024, while down in Minsk for a shoot, I found myself at a loose end and ended up, surprisingly, in an Irish pub. Having a burger and beer, I found myself watching the Chiefs punish the Steelers, with a dozen American football fans, all locals. None ever played the game, but all had recently become Chiefs fans. One, happily inebriated 30-something ex-army officer named Sergey, told me, “I love Mahomes.” I kind of got that, as he was wearing a Chiefs shirt with Mahomes across the shoulders. “We come here and everything stops,” he grinned.

Another of the Chiefs cheerleaders, a stocky policeman whose name I never got, was totally unaware that there were teams playing in Belarus. “They’re probably sh*t!” he said with great gusto. There are lots of locals who love American football; they just don’t engage with the local version.

That’s what Pasha, an IT specialist who moved back from Germany in 2018 to found a start-up company, told me.

“In Germany, where I lived [Frankfurt], there was an active [football] community and leagues. Europe has a lot of Americans who join in and coach. But here, we have to do our best. For those of us who lived outside and felt it, it gives us something to believe in and that we’re part of a big world. And those who love the game but don’t involve with us, it’s their loss.”

Since becoming a father, Pasha has become a spectator but is hopeful for the game’s future in his homeland. “I want my boys to play the game, but we have to have kids sections first.”

That is a major failing in the local game. They have relied on luring in enthusiasts from other sports, or international students, or the occasional American, to fill out their ranks.

Tatyana, a 26-year-old beautician whose husband has played for three different clubs in Belarus, told me that it’s not easy for them [clubs], but that they are what sport is about. 

A very different game day

This May, on a warm Sunday afternoon, I was passing through Minsk and decided to take in the Hurricanes-Patriots game. The visitors from Moscow had a couple of familiar faces, ones I knew from playing rugby in Russia. On the go since 1999, they have been champions of Russia on at least 15 occasions and comport themselves like professionals.

There wasn’t the pageantry or excitement I saw, for example, in regional league football in Germany. Back in 1999, I went to see my home team the Marburg Mercenaries host the Straubing Spiders on a similar May day and there were cheerleaders, hotdogs, cold beer, and even fan engagement activities being run to recruit kids to the academy. The game in Minsk was more barebones, with the action on the field more important than the fan experience.

Despite being formed just last year, the Hurricanes put on a show to thrill a decent home crowd, blowing away the Russians in 66-36. I asked some of the spectators what they thought.

“It’s my first game live and I loved it. It makes [association] football look like little girls playing,” said Galina, a language student who was going to the US on an exchange program this past summer.

“My boyfriend is playing and I didn’t want to come to watch, I’m glad I did,” beamed Maria, whose beau caught a TD pass.

Speaking with some of the visiting players afterwards, I asked how difficult it’s been for them since 2022. Yuri, a versatility player who can play both ways, laughed and said that the game is what keeps him going some days.

“I played rugby and loved it. Then I moved [to Moscow from Siberia] and I joined the Patriots. That’s what, since 2018. It’s become like life. We meet on weekends to watch college ball or NFL, and we all like different teams and it’s very [democratic].”

Hands across the ocean?

Remember in the first Mighty Ducks movie, where Gordon Bombay’s players were all wearing cast-off gear or worn out kit, basically ‘Ragball Rovers’, as we’d say back in Ireland? I had a little feeling of that watching some of the games this season.

Not as bad as ‘The Waterboy’, where jockstraps were passed between players coming off and on the field – almost everyone had their own helmet, or an individual one – but there was a definite lack of some equipment, which hasn’t been helped by Belarus’ recent isolation.

“It’s a costly pastime,” Grigory laughed as we took a stroll in Gorky Park, the Minsk version. He was pushing a stroller with his nine-month old draining a bottle of formula and oblivious to our sports talk. “My wife said me, you have now a baby [their third], you can’t miss work with injury and then pay for all things.”

The graphic designer, who played two seasons, broke his right wrist, toes on both feet, dislocated his shoulder, and suffered two concussions. I should add he was a cornerback and safety.

“I miss it and the team, but not being injured,” he smiled and reminded me that he’d also broken “many” fingers. In his earlier sports life, he had played professional basketball.

One of the minds behind the new A9FL league said that with the increased discourse between Belarus and the US, there might be a chance of links with “even high schools.” He said that in the past kit had been donated via Christian charities to teams in Belarus, and hoped that John Coale will work some magic there. Coale is the US special envoy to Belarus who has been instrumental in re-opening channels between Washington and Minsk.

But even if the thaw continues between Belarus and the US, can an amalgamated team from the nation return to European competition, now that there is a boom time for top level leagues on the continent?

Europe’s ‘bright’ future

The game in Europe has never been more popular, or fractured, than right now. The European League of Football (ELF), which began play in 2021, was gathering momentum until it wasn't, and infighting saw teams breakaway after the 2025 season and form not one, but two new leagues. Both began play in 2026.

On September 6, the AFLE’s ‘Gold Bowl’ was ‘contested’ by the Vienna Vikings of Austria and Panthers Wroclaw of Poland. I say ‘contested’ as the Vikings, who finished the regular season 11-1 and averaging a respectable 5,278 fans, skewered the Poles 68-5. It was a fitting end to a confusing first season. As good as Vienna were, at the opposite end of the eight-team scale, Italy’s hapless Firenze Lions went winless through 12 games, drawing an average of…67 fans. Yes, you read that right. Numbers that even the original version of Vince McMahon’s XFL would be unable to put a positive spin on.

Rival league, the EFA, wrapped their season up with Denmark’s Nordic Storm overpowering Germany’s Munich Ravens 48-28 in the EFA Championship Game. A little more polished, also with local TV deals, broadcasts on YouTube, bigger sponsors, and just six teams, the EFA leaned into legacy by bringing in recognized names from the US. Former NFL Coach of the Year Jack Del Rio and ex-Carolina Panthers and Oakland Raiders coach John Shoop, both laid down markers in leading the Paris Musketeers and Nordic Storm to the playoffs. And investment in coaches and players showed in ticket sales with the Frankfurt Galaxy (4-6) averaging 5,197 fans and bottom feeders Prague Lions (2-8) still drawing 1,185.

Attempts to harmonize the two top leagues in Europe, and even re-unite the EFA with the ELF, have so far failed with both active leagues planning solo expansion in 2027. Neither outfit is interested in taking teams from Russia or Belarus.

Former ELF chief  Ingo Schiller told Capital Sports, in 2021, that having teams from the former Soviet Union, meaning the Baltic States, Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia, would only be a “positive” for American football in Europe. However, both the AFLE and EFA categorically ruled out accepting any teams from the five nations, with an AFLE executive, who didn’t wish to be named, telling the writer that “the league’s American owners would be happy enough, but could you just imagine the idiots protesting if Minsk or Moscow came to play in Poland or Germany?”

When I joked that Belarusian newcomers the Hurricanes were drawing more than 67 fans to games, the executive laughed and said “Europe is not in a good place right now.”

The A9FL offers much needed hope. If they continue play in 2027, holding onto the four existing teams and adding one or two new ones, sponsors and media attention will continue. 

Ex-Zubrs player Yevhen is confident that the league will continue, “It got the attention of the media, even the national sports channel [Belarus 5] and the club will have more players because of it. You can’t just train and train without a chance of playing.”

A sports journalist with Belarus 5 was keen to point out that not being just a local league means something. “In the KHL [Kontinental Hockey League], the interest is high because Dinamo Minsk play Russia, Kazakhstan, it’s national pride. And American football is too. If they are beating Russian clubs, then we Belarusians are proud.”

Keeping the sport alive is enough to be proud of. However, if they manage to keep the current A9FL going for another couple of seasons and start to set up youth structures, it will revive the game in the Belarusian provinces and create a sustainable ecosystem.

So who knows, maybe an NCAA college team or two will find a nugget in Belarus, or one of the top European leagues will invite a franchise from the country to take part. No matter what, the games in Minsk will definitely, beyond the shadow of a doubt, average more than 67 fans per game.

OpenAI chief Sam Altman and xAI owner Elon Musk have backed calls to immediately slow the development of increasingly powerful AI models. Their statements came after Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei warned that AI could outpace human control and cause catastrophic damage within months.

Four days ago, researcher Jacob Coxon publicly resigned from Anthropic, accusing both the company and his previous employer, OpenAI, of racing towards self-improving super-intelligence without “acting responsibly.” He also claimed that the technology could “kill us all” by the end of the decade.

In a 3,800-word essay published on his personal website on Saturday, Amodei, who co-founded Anthropic with his sister Daniela in 2021, outlined “serious” dangers, including loss of control over AI systems, their misuse for cyberattacks and bioterrorism, and major economic disruption. He said commercial competition could fuel a “race to the bottom” and exacerbate the threats.

“We must slow the pace at which we improve the capabilities of AI models. Progress will still seem fast, and we must make wise use of the time we gain,” Amodei wrote.

Musk, whose xAI is among the companies competing to develop increasingly advanced models, endorsed the call on X. “Dario is right,” he wrote, adding that he had been “sounding the alarm on AI for a long time.”

Amodei said the technology was advancing “drastically faster,” partly because of its growing ability to help build the next generation of models. Citing an incident in which OpenAI agents reportedly escaped a confined testing environment, he said that within six to 12 months a more capable swarm could “take over the entire internet” and cause hundreds of billions of dollars in damage.

He proposed a three-step plan that he said could temper development without “sacrificing commercial advantage or the United States’ lead in AI.” The measures include giving outside evaluators deep access to developers’ systems, establishing common industry safety standards, and pursuing international coordination.

Anthropic was the first frontier AI company to deploy its technology on classified US government networks. Its Claude model was integrated into Palantir’s Maven system and reportedly helped generate, locate, and prioritize targets during the US bombing campaign against Iran. It was also reportedly used in the raid that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

Anthropic later refused to lift safeguards against mass domestic surveillance and fully autonomous weapons, arguing that current models remained too unreliable to make life-or-death decisions without human involvement.

The Pentagon insisted that providers must allow their technology to be used for “all lawful purposes” and subsequently designated Anthropic a national security supply chain risk. The company challenged the decision, with a California judge ruling in August that the department’s measures were “illegal and baseless,” although separate proceedings in Washington remain unresolved.

Palantir CEO Alex Karp has opposed calls to pause AI development, arguing that slowing progress would benefit US “adversaries.”

Russian forces have struck logistics and energy facilities supporting Ukraine’s army, the Defense Ministry in Moscow has said, adding that some attacks hit railroads used to bring military cargo from the EU.

In a statement on Sunday, the ministry said that a group strike involving high-precision weapons and drones attacked “logistics centers through which military cargo is supplied and distributed.” Among the targets was a Nova Poshta logistics center in Odessa Region used for military purposes and two power substations in Odessa and Nikolaev regions that supported local port logistics.

The ministry added that railway facilities in western Ukraine were also struck, noting that they were used as routes to move military cargo from European countries.

Ukrainian officials claimed that the overnight raid involved more than 450 drones across the country.

Odessa Region Governor Oleg Kiper confirmed the barrage, saying that it had damaged warehouses, as well as a residential building and several private homes, with fires breaking out at several locations. He said preliminary information indicated no casualties.

Footage on social media, meanwhile, showed what was described as a massive fire at the Nova Poshta warehouse.

The new barrage comes as Ukraine has intensified long-range drone strikes deep inside Russia, targeting critical infrastructure, oil refineries, and civilian facilities, including e-retail warehouses. Moscow has retaliated by attacking Ukraine’s defense industry and military-related facilities, and maintains that it never targets civilians.

The territorial dispute between Moscow and Kiev remains the main obstacle to ending the Ukraine conflict, Jared Kushner, US special envoy and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, has said. His comments came after he and fellow envoy Steve Witkoff traveled to Moscow and Kiev for high-level talks on ending hostilities.

Speaking via video link at the annual YES 2026 conference in Kiev on Friday, Kushner said that Moscow “wants to discuss a way to resolve” the conflict, but “the hardest issue is still territory,” partly because the question is to a degree dictated by a battlefield situation that remains highly dynamic.

“Seeing the advancement in the technology and the way that the battlefield has happened is, I think, beyond the expectation of both sides. And I think one thing I’ve learned in politics is [that] any expert you talk to will give you a ton of ideas, but nobody has any idea what’s actually going to happen,” Kushner said.

Once the territorial question is resolved, Kushner said, that framework could provide “a real mechanism both to enforce it, protect it and oversee it.”

He stressed that much of the rest of a potential deal could fall into place if Moscow and Kiev overcome the territorial dispute. “I think the sides feel good about” the arrangement, he added. “And that’s actually real progress in that regard.”

Kushner and Witkoff travelled to Moscow earlier this month, where they held more than three hours of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin before heading to Kiev.

Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov described the Moscow meeting as “substantive, constructive and extremely candid,” saying Putin stressed Russia’s battlefield gains and the need to address the conflict’s root causes.

Following the talks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow hopes trilateral negotiations with Washington and Kiev can resume in the “foreseeable future,” with Ushakov naming Abu Dhabi as Russia’s preferred venue.

Moscow has long insisted that a sustainable settlement is possible only if Kiev recognizes the “new territorial realities,” as well as commits to neutrality, demilitarization and denazification. As Russian forces are making progress on the battlefield, Kiev still clings to less than 15% of the Donetsk People’s Republic.

This week, Algeria made an unexpected announcement that it was severing diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The UAE ambassador was summoned to the Foreign Ministry and given 48 hours to leave. In an official statement, Algerian authorities accused Abu Dhabi of increasingly frequent “provocative and hostile actions,” noting that all “efforts to preserve bilateral ties had been exhausted.” However, no specific incident that could have triggered this decision was cited. 

The first practical consequence of the break in diplomatic ties was the closure of Algerian airspace. Starting September 11, the country’s airspace is closed to UAE civil and military aircraft. A temporary exception remains for commercial flights headed to and from Algiers’ Houari Boumediene Airport; they may continue to operate until the end of 2026, when the air services agreement signed in 2013 expires. 

For its part, the UAE expressed hope that the rupture of relations will be temporary. Anwar Gargash, an advisor to the president of the UAE, noted (without, however, directly mentioning Algeria) that diplomacy should be based on clear interests rather than “riddles and signals requiring decoding.” 

From partnership to suspicions

Diplomatic relations between the two Arab nations were established in 1974 and developed for decades without any major crises. In 2015, UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed described Algeria as one of the UAE’s most important partners. A joint commission was active, and dozens of agreements were signed.

In February 2023, the two sides intended to elevate their relationship to the level of a strategic partnership. Non-oil trade turnover stood at approximately $800 million, while UAE investments in Algeria were valued at $600 million. Among the Gulf monarchies, the UAE was Algeria’s largest trading partner. However, economic and political interests increasingly diverged. 

Algeria traditionally prioritizes non-interference and the preservation of existing borders. The UAE, meanwhile, combines investments in ports and infrastructure with military cooperation and the support of certain forces. For Abu Dhabi, this is a standard method of converting capital into influence. From Algeria’s perspective, such activity becomes alarming when directed at countries vital for its own security. 

The Moroccan issue

Morocco lies at the heart of the conflict. Algeria and Morocco have been at odds for decades over the territory of Western Sahara. Rabat claims the territory as its own, whereas Algiers supports the Polisario Front and the Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination. The land border between the two countries has been closed since 1994, and in 2021, they severed diplomatic relations entirely.

The UAE made a clear choice in this dispute. In November 2020, it became the first Arab state to open a consulate general in Laayoune, a city in the Moroccan-controlled part of Western Sahara. For Rabat, this was a diplomatic victory; for Algiers, it was a clear demonstration of support for its primary regional rival.

That same year, both the UAE and Morocco normalized relations with Israel under the Abraham Accords. Subsequently, cooperation between Morocco and Israel expanded to the military sphere and collaboration between intelligence agencies. From Algeria’s perspective, Morocco, Israel, and the UAE formed a sort of alliance. As their ties deepened, Algeria increasingly spoke of external pressure exerted by the UAE. These suspicions were further fueled by UAE investments in Moroccan infrastructure, including Dakhla port in Western Sahara and Nador port. Local media estimate that UAE investments in Morocco have reached €15 billion. Given the closed border and the conflict in Western Sahara, Algeria viewed these new ports primarily through a geopolitical lens.

A second issue lies to the south of Algeria. For years, Algeria acted as a mediator between the Malian government and the Tuareg movements. However, following a series of coups, its influence waned and relations with Bamako deteriorated. Russia, Türkiye, Morocco, and the UAE have increased their presence in the Sahel. Abu Dhabi cultivated ties with the region’s new authorities, extended loans to Chad, and expanded its presence in Sudan. Algeria views this as the strengthening of Morocco’s closest partner at a time when Algeria’s own relations with its southern neighbors are in crisis.

Libya is a particularly sensitive issue. The UAE has long been a key external backer of Khalifa Haftar, whose forces control the country’s east and much of southern Fezzan. For Algeria, this is not a distant civil war: Fezzan province borders its territory, and the movement of armed groups in the area is perceived as a direct threat. Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune warned that his country would take action should Haftar’s forces approach its borders.

This creates the impression of a troubling ‘belt’ encircling Algeria: Morocco to the west, the unstable Sahel to the south, and UAE-aligned forces in Libya to the east. There may not be a unified plan to “encircle Algeria,” but in foreign policy, a perceived threat is often just as significant as an actual threat. 

A red line within the country 

Algeria’s most serious grievances against the UAE concern alleged interference in its internal affairs. Media outlets affiliated with the Algerian government have accused the UAE of ties to the Movement for the Self-Determination of Kabylia. This organization, which has been designated a terrorist group by the Algerian authorities, advocates for the independence of the predominantly Berber region.

Operating primarily from abroad, the movement maintains relations with Morocco and Israel and advocates for Kabylia’s independence. 

No public evidence of UAE funding of the organization has been presented. However, for the Algerian leadership, any foreign involvement in the Kabylia issue constitutes a red line. In this regard, Western Sahara and Kabylia mirror one another: Algeria supports self-determination for the Sahrawis, while Morocco supports the Kabylia movement; in Algeria’s view, the UAE aligns itself with Morocco on this issue. 

In February 2026, hints gave way to action: Algeria initiated the process of cancelling an air services agreement with the UAE. Already then, a complete rupture in relations seemed inevitable. The latest decision to recall the ambassador merely made the longstanding conflict official. 

Algeria no longer confines itself to its customary defensive posture. Following a severe crisis, relations with Mali began to improve; in the summer of 2026, the two nations reinstated their ambassadors and reopened their airspace. Simultaneously, Algeria stepped up activities in Niger, effectively signaling a readiness to deploy the armed forces beyond its borders to safeguard its interests. Consequently, the rift with the UAE can be viewed not only as a reaction to external pressure but also as part of Algeria’s bid to reclaim its role as a leading power in the Sahel.

The economic impact of the severed ties will be significant but not critical. While the partners are important to one another, they are not indispensable. The political message carries far more weight. Algeria is prepared to pay the price for a decision it deems a matter of national security, whereas the UAE is unlikely to reconsider its partnership with Morocco simply to reconcile with Algeria.

The rivalry between Algeria and Morocco has long ceased to be a dispute between two neighbors; the Gulf monarchies, Israel, and the Sahel states have all been drawn into it. Now, any port, consulate, or loan is evaluated through the prism of influence and the concern of who will benefit from it in North Africa. 

Therefore, the closure of airspace is more than just a technical extension of the diplomatic rift. Since it shares no land border with the UAE, Algeria is drawing a political border. A narrow air corridor will remain open between the two countries until the end of the year, but the era when trade could be developed independently of the struggle for influence is already over.

Ukraine has carried out a series of strikes on tankers delivering emergency diesel fuel to the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), killing two Russian servicemen and wounding multiple others, Rosatom CEO Aleksey Likhachev has said.

The attacks took place on Friday in the immediate vicinity of the plant’s perimeter and targeted fuel trucks transporting diesel needed for the facility’s emergency power systems, Likhachev said in a statement on Sunday.

Two Russian servicemen were killed and “a large number” were wounded, some seriously, according to the Rosatom chief. He said the troops had been involved in securing a “strictly civilian mission” to maintain fuel deliveries to the nuclear facility.

Likhachev accused Kiev of knowingly targeting the tankers despite being aware of their cargo and its importance to nuclear safety.

Even after external electricity was restored, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi stressed that replenishing diesel remained essential because the plant could again lose grid power due to unspecified “military activity” in the area.

During the latest blackout, the plant had reduced the number of operating generators from four to two to conserve diesel and began running some cooling pumps intermittently. The generators provide electricity for essential safety systems, including pumps cooling all six reactors and their spent fuel pools.

The Rosatom chief called on the IAEA to “strongly condemn” the attack and explicitly identify those responsible. He also urged Kiev’s Western backers to distance themselves from what he described as the Ukrainian government’s “most horrific crimes.”

The IAEA has repeatedly warned about military activity around the ZNPP and nearby Energodar. In its latest update before Likhachev’s statement, the agency reported hearing explosions, drones and sustained gunfire in the area and said the plant’s power situation remained “increasingly fragile.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin has described BRICS as a key driver of global economic growth as the group’s 18th summit enters its second and final day in New Delhi.

Addressing the BRICS Outreach/BRICS+ session on Sunday, Putin said international interest in the group “continues to grow,” arguing that its commitment to an “independent and autonomous course” and international law appeals to countries around the world. He also said BRICS accounts for 49% of global GDP growth and that its potential for further development is “far from exhausted.”

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, speaking at the same session, said the trust of Global South nations in BRICS has grown because “their voices are heard, their experiences are respected and solutions are crafted not just for them, but with them.”

Modi also announced that members had reached a consensus on a BRICS Integrated Early Warning System for preventing and responding to infectious diseases, as well as guidelines for integrating early-warning data in disaster management.

On Saturday, BRICS leaders unanimously adopted the New Delhi Declaration, which calls for the reform of global institutions to give emerging markets and developing countries greater representation and condemns unilateral economic measures that violate international law. The document also calls for “maximum restraint” in the Middle East and stresses that dialogue and diplomacy are the only appropriate means of resolving international disputes.

Catch up on our live coverage of the first day here.

This live feed has now ended.

A major fire broke out late on Friday at an ammo dump operated by arms maker EMCO in the Bulgarian province of Gabrovo, prompting allegations that saboteurs could have infiltrated the facility.

Another EMCO facility was hit by a similar blaze in early August; the incident had been attributed to the accidental ignition of a cargo truck. The latest fire broke out in the vicinity of Gorni Vurpishta, and quickly spread from the ammunition depot to two other structures nearby.

Multiple secondary explosions were observed in the area, with the incident triggering a major emergency response and prompting authorities to cordon off the area.

No casualties have been reported in the aftermath of the blaze. Only two security guards were stationed at the facility at the time of the incident, and both managed to flee the site. Footage from the scene shows a large plume of fire and smoke rising above the depot, which continued to burn through the night.

On Saturday, Bulgarian Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev said the authorities are investigating the incident, as well as reviewing “previous cases in which similar fires occurred in the warehouses of this company, as well as at other companies.”

“If it is ultimately concluded that they [arms facilities] have been targeted, this is not an attack on a particular company alone; it is an attack on the national interest,” Dimiev asserted.

EMCO has been actively supplying Kiev with assorted munitions since at least 2014, emerging as one of the key providers of Soviet-caliber ammo to Ukraine amid the ongoing conflict with Russia.

Bulgaria has changed its stance on the Ukraine conflict under Prime Minister Rumen Radev’s government, withdrawing from the so-called “coalition of the willing,” a European group of Kiev’s backers, and announcing that it would no longer send weapons packages.

The US Justice Department has reached a tentative plea agreement with an ex-intelligence officer suspected of faking a classified CIA assignment to steal more than $40 million in government-provided gold bars as “work-related expenses.”

David Rush, who once worked as a senior CIA official with top-secret clearance, was arrested in May after an internal probe discovered he had lied about his education and Navy service. A search of his Virginia home uncovered a trove of 303 one-kilogram gold bars, some $2 million in cash and 35 luxury watches.

Rush has so far been formally charged only with theft of public funds for falsifying pay records to obtain around $77,000 in military-leave compensation. The case has not yet been presented to a federal grand jury.

“The parties need additional time to prepare the paperwork,” Assistant US Attorney Raizza Ty and Rush’s attorney, Jessica Carmichael, wrote in the filing. “A pre-indictment resolution promotes the public interest by conserving government and judicial resources.”

The document did not disclose what charge Rush would plead guilty to or any possible sentencing recommendation. The parties said proceeding with an indictment and trial would require extensive litigation involving classified material. A deal could avert a public trial and keep key details of the case under wraps.

The court filings said that, beginning last November, Rush requested and received “a significant quantity of foreign currency and tens of millions of dollars in gold bars for work-related expenses,” but official details remain scarce. According to media reports, Rush invented a special-access “continuity of government” operation, ostensibly intended to preserve federal functions during a nuclear war or other catastrophe.

Feinberg has not been accused of wrongdoing, and the Pentagon has denied he endorsed Rush for any position, describing reports of a close professional relationship as “false and embellished.”

Yemen’s Houthis have asked the United States not to intervene in their escalating conflict with Saudi Arabia, US President Donald Trump has said, as Washington seeks to avoid opening another front in the Middle East.

The militant group, officially known as the Ansarallah movement, made major gains along Yemen’s Red Sea coast this week, pushing back Saudi-supported forces and seizing the strategic ports of Mocha and Dhubab, as well as Mayyun (Perim) Island at the entrance to the narrow Bab al-Mandeb Strait. The advance has tightened the group’s grip on one of the world’s most important shipping chokepoints while threatening another crucial route for Saudi oil exports.

“The Houthis called us, and they don’t want to fight with us,” Trump told reporters on Saturday during a visit to Ireland. “They don’t want us to go after them” and “would much prefer not having us involved,” he added.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman reportedly called Trump twice on Thursday and urged him to order US strikes against the Houthis to stop their advance. Trump declined the request, according to Axios, which cited US officials as saying Washington has no plans for direct military intervention for now.

The US is nevertheless providing Saudi Arabia with intelligence and targeting data, and roughly 200 American military personnel are providing non-combat support. CENTCOM chief Adm. Brad Cooper also traveled to the kingdom for urgent consultations.

Trump confirmed speaking with the Saudi crown prince but did not disclose details of their conversation. “He’s a good friend of mine,” Trump said. “I can just say everything’s going to work out fine and dandy.”

“We do not target any country except the Saudi enemy,” Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a spokesman for the group, told RT on Thursday. “In fact, we are committed to protecting the freedom of maritime navigation in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait and the Red Sea.”

Al-Bukhaiti also warned that Houthi forces are prepared for a broader confrontation if outside powers join Riyadh, saying Yemen was capable of fighting “up to three fronts” – against Saudi Arabia, Yemeni government troops and any foreign country that becomes involved.

The Houthis have launched missile and drone attacks on Saudi energy facilities in recent weeks, while Riyadh has blamed drones launched from Iraq for a separate attack that forced it to shut down its key East-West oil pipeline.

#فيديو

الناطق الرسمي للقوات المسلحة اليمنية : القوات الجوية اليمنية تستهدف عناصر وآليات الميليشيا الحوثية في صندوق القتل .

*المركز الاعلامي للقوات المسلحة* pic.twitter.com/0dL9fVW9he

— المركز الإعلامي للقوات المسلحة اليمنية (@Yem_army_media) September 12, 2026

Fighting has intensified sharply in recent days, with government forces releasing multiple videos of their counterattacks, including what they called “precision airstrikes on Houthi military vehicles and militants inside the designated Mocha kill box.”

#فيديو
القوات المسلحة - مشاهد من استهدافات القوات الجوية لعتاد المليشيا الحوثية الإرهابية في ذو باب وجبهات الساحل الغربي#قناة_اليمن#اليمن pic.twitter.com/4r0NjYs7qT

— قناة اليمن الفضائية | YemenTv (@yementvyem) September 12, 2026

Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree said on Saturday that Saudi aircraft had carried out 129 strikes across seven Yemeni provinces over the previous 48 hours using F-15 and Typhoon jets, warning that the bombardment “will not go unanswered.”

Footage released by Iran-backed Houthi rebels reportedly shows damaged and targeted Saudi-backed military vehicles.

Broadcast by Al-Masirah TV, a Houthi-controlled satellite news network, the video depicted burnt vehicles, the positioning of Houthi combatants, and the Bab… pic.twitter.com/d7ZKtNAD1x

— CGTN Europe (@CGTNEurope) September 12, 2026

The Houthis have also released extensive combat footage of their rapid advance, showing attacks on Saudi-backed forces using conventional weapons, ballistic missiles and drones, as well as abandoned and destroyed vehicles and the bodies of killed troops.

London-based fintech company Revolut disclosed sensitive customer information to scammers after receiving fraudulent requests sent from a “legitimate government agency email domain,” according to media reports on Saturday.

The exposed data included customers’ birth dates, phone numbers, postal and email addresses, as well as copies of passports and driver’s licenses, according to a notification Revolut sent to affected clients and cited by the online newspaper TechCrunch. The compromised data may also have included verification selfies, account statements, and transaction histories, according to the report.

Revolut confirmed the breach to both TechCrunch and Reuters, saying a “limited” number of customers had been affected by a “sophisticated external impersonation scam where an unauthorized third party utilized a legitimate government agency domain email to submit fraudulent requests for information.” 

The incident comes as Revolut has been rapidly expanding internationally. A little over a month ago, it was granted a banking license in France, while the company has also been expanding its presence in markets including India, Mexico, and the UAE. Last week, the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued a conditional approval to Revolut, allowing it to set up a bank in the country.

Late last month, police on the British island of Jersey warned Revolut users of an uptick in fraud cases, where the victims had received a telephone call from scammers posing as Revolut support or security teams.

Several countries have also taken issue with the company’s practices in recent years. In April, Italian authorities slapped the online bank with fines totaling €11.5 million ($13.25 million) over alleged unfair commercial practices. Last year, the central bank of Lithuania fined Revolut €3.5 million, accusing it of failing to comply with money laundering prevention regulations.

The Republic of Ireland and the UK’s Northern Ireland will eventually be reunified, US President Donald Trump has predicted.

The Republic of Ireland gained independence from Britain in 1922, while six northeastern counties remained part of the UK as Northern Ireland.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting with Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin in Dublin on Saturday, Trump said that he would “love to see [Ireland] unified.”

“I think it would be a great feather… in everybody’s cap if that happened. It’s going to happen eventually. Might as well happen now,” the US president added, suggesting that Martin is the “right man… to get it moving.”

While Trump acknowledged that the “UK will have something to say about it, obviously,” he insisted that a reunified Ireland “would be a great thing.”

Trump also said he and the Irish prime minister are “friends” and described relations between Washington and Dublin as being better than ever before.

Speaking at the US ambassador’s residence later in the day, Trump acknowledged that his remarks could prove controversial, conceding that “it’s one of those questions where no matter what you say, there’s no good answer.”

Earlier this year, Trump similarly suggested that there should be a “merger” between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, citing what he described as a good rapport between Martin and Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland Emma Little-Pengelly.

The agreement explicitly provides a path to Irish reunification should a majority in Northern Ireland express support for it. This would require the secretary of state for Northern Ireland to call for a referendum on the issue.

In a post on X on Saturday, Gavin Robinson, the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, decried Trump’s latest remarks.

“President Trump knows better than most that elections matter… Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom because that is the settled democratic will of its people,” the politician wrote.

He expressed confidence that Northern Ireland “will continue to choose the UK and the security it offers.”

Speaking during his first visit to Northern Ireland last month, UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham likewise stated that a referendum on Irish reunification was “off the table.”

The second El Alamein International Airshow took place on September 8-10 at El Alamein International Airport in Egypt. The airshow reaffirmed its status as one of the premier military exhibitions in North Africa and the Middle East. Its international prestige was confirmed by the list of participating nations; the organizers succeeded in bringing together fierce rivals – the leading players in the global defense industry from Russia, the US, China, and Europe.

The airshow’s target audience included defense officials, military commanders, government delegations, and the business elite. Overall, it attracted over 250 exhibitors from 50 countries. More than 12,000 industry professionals visited the stands and displays. The roar of jet engines shook the skies over the Mediterranean Sea as aerobatic teams from Egypt, the UAE, and Türkiye, as well as renowned Russian aerobatic pilots, performed complex maneuvers and showcased their skills. Meanwhile, on the ground, multibillion-dollar contracts were signed. 

Why sanctions failed to sideline Russia

Russia’s participation was a distinctive feature and highlight of this year’s airshow. Perhaps the largest and most compelling display was mounted by Russian arms exporter Rosoboronexport (part of the Rostec state corporation). In total, Russia showcased over 500 military-grade products at El Alamein.

Foreign delegations lined up at the Russian exhibit. The reason for this intense interest was pragmatic: Russian weaponry has proven its effectiveness in actual high-tech combat scenarios. The performance characteristics of Western systems are often exaggerated in marketing brochures, while their costs are exorbitantly high; however, Russian equipment has undergone real-world testing against modern reconnaissance, electronic warfare, and air defense systems (including in the zone of Russia’s military operation).

Buyers from around the globe – from the Middle East to Latin America – also appreciate the fact that Moscow offers fair contract terms, free from political blackmail or ideological demands. Historical continuity also plays a major role; many so-called ‘Third World’ countries have traditionally relied on Soviet and Russian weaponry and are familiar with it. Consequently, many of these countries are unwilling to trade reliable Russian equipment for pretty ‘toys’ from other manufacturers.

Combat experience reshapes Russia’s export arsenal

What did Russia showcase at the El Alamein airshow? The star of both the static display and the flying display was the Russian Su-57E fifth-generation multi-role fighter jet. The aerobatic performance by Sukhoi Company chief pilot, Hero of Russia Sergey Bogdan, demonstrated the unsurpassed aerodynamics of modern aviation technology. The aircraft embodies a rich legacy of excellence: Unique aerobatic maneuvers combined with powerful missile and electronic warfare capabilities define the modern Su-57. It carries a new generation of weapon systems – specifically, missiles housed in internal bays. These include air-to-air missiles of various ranges as well as air-to-ground strike systems.

The Yak-130M combat-capable trainer is an upgraded version of the Yak-130 jet trainer. The airshow marked the aircraft’s debut in the Middle East. The Yak-130M is equipped with a full-fledged onboard radar and carries an expanded arsenal of precision-guided weapons, transforming it from a trainer aircraft into a formidable and cost-effective light fighter and attack aircraft. The new model met with immediate success at the airshow; Director General of Rosoboronexport Aleksander Mikheev announced that the first contract for its delivery to a foreign customer was already signed. 

But these were not the only examples of Russia’s success at the airshow. State-of-the-art Russian-designed strike munitions were unveiled publicly for the first time at El Alamein. These include the S-71M Monokhrom missile-drone, the S-71K Kover strike drone, and the S8000 Banderol precision-guided drone-missile. The Monokhrom missile-drone comes in a futuristic design with a trapezoidal fuselage cross-section, a folding swept wing, and a V-shaped all-moving tail unit. It is deployed from the internal weapons bays of Su-57 carrier aircraft. The Kover strike drone is the ‘younger brother’ of the Monokhrom – a simpler drone designed for mass deployment from external hardpoints. Its mission is to operate jointly with manned aircraft, exposing and exhausting enemy air defense systems to clear the path for primary missiles, while simultaneously engaging ground targets.

The Banderol precision-guided drone-missile is a next-generation precision-guided stealth munition that has seen extensive use in recent months in Russia’s military operation zone. This drone-missile can be launched from carrier drones and helicopters without the launch platforms entering the enemy’s air defense zone. The combined use of such munitions ensures 100% penetration of any modern air defense system.

Russian defense enterprises also unveiled several new air defense systems. The TKB-1167 four-barrel anti-drone combat module is capable of automatically detecting and engaging UAVs. It made its international debut at the airshow. Additionally, the cutting-edge ZAK-30 Citadel anti-aircraft artillery system with a 30 mm automatic cannon turret was showcased for the first time. The exhibition also featured the Pantsir-SMD-E air defense system, the Verba man-portable air-defense system (MANPADS), and an airspace monitoring system designed to coordinate the use of these systems. Essentially, the Russian defense industry is displaying military equipment developed and shaped by actual combat experience acquired during the Ukraine conflict. 

The global arms market moves beyond Western dominance

And what did Russia’s competitors bring to the event? The Egyptian airshow vividly demonstrated the nature of the modern multipolar world. While delegations stormed the Russian pavilions, other major powers sought to draw attention to their own displays. 

China mounted an impressive display, underscoring its ambitions on the African continent and its growing military partnership with Cairo. On display were J-16 fighter jets – a mainstay of the PLA Air Force – which are already familiar to Egyptian audiences from recent joint exercises involving Egyptian Rafale fighters. During the flying display, the YY-20 aerial refueling tanker performed a spectacular demonstration of mid-air refueling. 

France and Türkiye demonstrated ambitious aircraft and drone models. As expected, French company Dassault Aviation brought its Rafale fighters. The French strategy was targeted: The exhibition coincided with behind-the-scenes negotiations regarding Egypt’s purchase of an additional batch of 24 such aircraft. Türkiye, represented by the TAI and ASELSAN corporations, played to its strengths by presenting a wide range of strike drones and tactical electronic warfare (EW) systems optimized for the specific conditions of the African theater of operations.

Ultimately, El Alamein International Airshow demonstrated that the rules of the game in the arms market have changed. Attempts to isolate the Russian defense industry have undoubtedly failed. At a time when customers require weapons capable of prevailing in modern high-tech conflicts, Russia’s technological superiority in aviation, air defense, and unmanned systems establishes it as a key and indispensable partner on the international stage.

The BRICS nations on Saturday called out “unilateral coercive measures,” condemned terrorism, and called for the peaceful resolution of global disputes through dialogue and diplomacy in their summit declaration.

The declaration adopted by the BRICS leaders at their 18th summit in New Delhi reaffirmed the bloc’s “opposition to unilateral coercive measures that are contrary to international law” and the UN charter, and called to eliminate them.

The leaders of emerging and developing countries pointed out that sanctions and secondary sanctions have “far-reaching negative implications” including for human rights and food security, and disproportionately affect the poor and vulnerable. 

The BRICS leaders repeated their earlier calls to reform the UN and other global institutions to reflect the new global realities. The New Delhi declaration stressed that no single country or group of countries should have a monopoly over senior positions in the UN – which was formed in the aftermath of World War 2.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made the same point while addressing the leaders, saying a “rapidly changing world can no longer be governed by outdated institutions.”

⚡️ Seeds of Solidarity: BRICS Leaders Plant Saplings in Delhi#BRICS2026 #BRICSIndia2026 #IndiaBRICSChairship https://t.co/jFFeLBM3e6 pic.twitter.com/67iS09utSz

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) September 12, 2026

Importantly, China and Russia, the two BRICS members who are also permanent members of the Security Council, reiterated their support for “Brazil and India to play a greater role in the UN, including its Security Council.”

BRICS, which started as a five-member grouping two decades ago, has now expanded to 11 full members, raising its economic size and global influence. 

The adoption of the 45-page declaration is itself seen as a success for Indian diplomacy, which was able to unite Iran and the United Arab Emirates – on different sides of the Middle East conflict – behind the document. 

The BRICS leaders condemned all acts of terrorism as “criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation” – a point that host India has repeatedly made at various global fora. The declaration specifically condemned the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir in April last year, in which 26 civilians were killed. India clashed with nuclear-armed neighbor Pakistan with drones and missiles following that attack.

The BRICS countries also called out the unilateral blockade of Cuba, and expressed concern over deliberate attacks on civilian infrastructure and peaceful nuclear facilities in violation of resolutions by the International Atomic Energy Agency. 

The BRICS nations opposed the forced displacement of the Palestinian people from “Occupied Palestinian Territory,” and any geographic or demographic changes in the Gaza Strip. They further called on Israel to withdraw its forces from all Lebanese territories.

The next BRICS summit will be held in China.

The Eastern Economic Forum has evolved from a regional investment showcase into one of the key platforms where Russia’s eastward strategy acquires tangible economic substance. Its central idea revolves around the fact that closer relations with Asia require more than diplomacy and trade alone: they need the development of Russia’s own Far East – its ports, industries, transport corridors, cities, and technological base.

The 11th Eastern Economic Forum, held in Vladivostok in early September, centered around the theme of ‘Development for the Benefit of People,’ reflecting the understanding that the region’s future is to be a major center of economic growth, modern industry, and international cooperation, with living standards and human capital the heart of development policy.

The Forum’s program included more than 150 events bringing together government officials, business leaders, academics, and experts, including those from abroad. Representatives of more than 80 countries had expressed interest ahead of the event, and the final figures showed over 9,300 participants from 78 states. These included 18 countries whose governments currently pursue policies regarded by Moscow as unfriendly towards Russia.

This goes to show that political tension between governments does not eliminate commercial or professional interest in working with Russia. The Forum demonstrated that even amid sanctions, geopolitical rivalry, and the fragmentation of global markets, there remains considerable demand for direct engagement with Russian institutions and businesses. This is particularly visible in Asia, which today accounts for a growing share of global manufacturing, trade, investment, and technological development.

Over eleven years, the EEF has moved well beyond the role of a regional investment forum. Advanced development territories, the Free Port of Vladivostok, the Far Eastern mortgage program and urban master plans have all featured prominently on its agenda. The Forum increasingly serves as a mechanism linking domestic development policy with Russia’s broader economic turn towards Asia.

Development of the Russian Far East has become inseparable from the eastward pivot in the country’s foreign policy. The region economically and logistically connects Russia with the Asia-Pacific, and Vladivostok is one of its principal gateways.

This process begun well before the West’s attempts to 'isolate' Russia. According to Vladimir Putin, around 25 trillion rubles (almost $300 billion at today’s exchange rate) in capital investment has been attracted to the Far Eastern regions over the past 11 years, while their combined gross regional product has more than tripled. New port terminals, railway infrastructure, gas-processing and petrochemical facilities, and the Zvezda shipbuilding complex have materially changed the region’s industrial landscape.

Now, the emphasis is shifting from the extraction and transportation of resources towards greater local processing and the creation of higher-value production. Shipbuilding, aircraft manufacturing, robotics, electronics, engineering, digital technologies, and new energy are increasingly being developed alongside traditional resource industries.

This gives Russia’s eastward strategy a dual character. Moscow is strengthening relations with Asian partners while simultaneously using these expanding ties as an incentive to modernize its own eastern territories. The more developed the Far East becomes industrially, technologically, and logistically, the stronger Russia’s position in Asia will be.

Investment deals give weight to strategy

The practical orientation of the Forum was most evident from the agreements concluded during the event. A total of 318 deals worth nearly 7 trillion rubles (about $83 billion) were signed, excluding arrangements whose financial terms remain commercially confidential. While some are framework agreements that will still have to move from declared intent to implementation, their scale and structure reveal the direction of Russia’s Far Eastern development strategy.

Industrial and technological development formed another major component. Plans include a photovoltaic module manufacturing facility in Zabaikalye with estimated investment of around 212 billion rubles ($2.5 billion), a 35-billion-ruble ($415-million) advanced semiconductor production complex in Primorye, and the Muravyov-Amursky Pacific Science and Technology Valley in Vladivostok. Russian and Chinese partners also agreed to develop pilot zones for agricultural cooperation.

Russia is creating value chains, manufacturing capacity, logistics hubs, and technological competencies inside the country. It is also giving foreign partners a direct stake in the development of the Russian Far East. They gain access to resources, infrastructure, transport routes, investment opportunities, and a large market, while Russian regions benefit from capital, industrial projects, technology, and employment.

Working with the world majority

During the plenary session, Vladimir Putin was joined by Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, Mongolian Prime Minister Nyam-Osoryn Uchral, Myanmar Vice President Nyo Saw, and Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang. Their priorities differed, but all four speakers signaled a clear interest in maintaining and expanding cooperation with Russia.

Prabowo Subianto focused on the fragmentation of the global economy, the politicization of trade, and the need to preserve multiple channels of international cooperation. He argued for building new bridges rather than new dividing lines, particularly in energy, food security, logistics, and technology. Russia is crucial for Indonesia’s strategy of diversification, offering access to energy, agricultural supplies, technology, and the Eurasian market, while Indonesia can serve as an important gateway to ASEAN.

China remains the most important economic partner of the Russian Far East. Ding Xuexiang emphasized closer coordination between the development of the Russian Far East and Northeast China, as well as stronger links between the Belt and Road Initiative and the Eurasian Economic Union. The relationship is increasingly moving beyond trade volumes towards infrastructure, investment, industrial cooperation, and cross-border development.

Myanmar, meanwhile, is interested in broadening its relationship with Russia into new technological sectors. Nyo Saw highlighted digital transformation, artificial intelligence, telecommunications, and modern payment systems.

All these different calculations lead to the same conclusion: there is practical value in expanding cooperation with Russia. Russia’s ties with the World Majority are based on not just political dialogue, but on trade, investment, energy, transport, technology, and industrial cooperation. It’s a more solid foundation that fleeting political alignments, and gives the Russian Far East a growing role as one of the country’s principal platforms for engagement with Asia.