Romanian right-wing politician Calin Georgescu, who won the first round of the country’s 2024 presidential election before the result was controversially annulled, has been detained in connection with an alleged €1 million fraud scheme.

Georgescu’s surprise win on an anti-NATO platform was met with accusations from Brussels and Bucharest of fake online campaigning. He was disqualified from running when a new vote was held, despite revelations that the suspected digital campaign in question was run by a party opposing him.

Romania’s Directorate for the Investigation of Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) said on Monday that it had detained a suspect and searched five properties linked to the case, with local media identifying Georgescu as the person of interest. His key ally George Simion described the latest case as a warning that “any of us can be next.”

The media report came days before Romania’s Constitutional Court annulled the presidential election, sparking mass protests.

Simion, the leader of the right-wing Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) who was also a candidate in the 2024 election and supported protests against their annulment, denounced Georgescu’s latest detention.

“Any of us can be next. Stop the abuse!” he wrote on Facebook. “Romania is a dictatorship!!!!”

The fraud investigation is one of several cases opened against Georgescu, who has claimed to be a victim of political persecution. He was previously accused of campaign-financing violations and plotting against the constitutional order, which disqualified him for the election rerun in 2025.

The administration of US President Donald Trump cited the annulment of the Romanian debacle when it accused Brussels of overseeing an erosion of democratic values in Europe.

The EU leadership said Bucharest is free in taking measures against “foreign interference.” The bloc’s general policy is to force censorship on social media platforms in response to alleged meddling. Tools established under its Digital Services Act (DSA) powers have been activated in several races, including in Moldova, which is not an EU member.

French-educated pro-EU former Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan was elected president in the wake of the political turmoil caused by the court ruling. Last week, he nominated MEP Siegfried Muresan, a vice-chair of the European People’s Party Group who previously worked as an adviser in the German Bundestag, to form the next government, despite a lack of a clear parliamentary majority.

It’s the third attempt to form a new government since a vote of no confidence in May plunged the country into its latest political crisis, potentially leading to yet another snap parliamentary election.

Ukraine has failed in its attempts to derail Russia’s parliamentary elections through mass attacks during the vote, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.

The three-day vote wrapped up late on Sunday, with preliminary results showing the ruling United Russia party far ahead of its rivals and retaining its commanding majority in the State Duma.

With more than 95% of precinct protocols processed as of Monday, United Russia had 57.82% of the party-list vote, followed by the Communist Party with 13.8%, the LDPR with 8.99%, and New People with 7.96%, while A Just Russia scored slightly above the 5% threshold for party-list seats, according to Central Election Commission data.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Peskov weighed in on Ukrainian attacks both on Moscow and frontline regions during the elections. “It is sabotage. It is also an attempt to disrupt these elections,” he said, stressing that the effort “had no effect.”

The comments came after Moscow and its suburbs were hit by a huge Ukrainian drone raid overnight Saturday into Sunday. The attack killed two civilians in the capital suburbs and damaged an oil refinery, residential buildings, and civilian infrastructure. Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said the “unprecedented” raid involved more than 1,600 UAVs on all directions.

Rodion Miroshnik, the head of the Foreign Ministry’s mission tasked with documenting alleged Ukrainian war crimes, said 74 buildings housing election commissions had been damaged or destroyed in ten Russian regions during the vote.

“This is material confirmation of planned actions by Kiev and its partners aimed at disrupting elections in Russia,” he said. “Kiev, which is not seeking to hold elections at home, is investing in attempts to disrupt elections in Russia, but without result.”

Valentina Matviyenko, the speaker of the upper chamber of the parliament, argued that the election results had demonstrated Russia’s resilience in the face of Western pressure. “The West has once again failed: The voting results confirmed that the idea of inflicting a strategic defeat on us by dividing us from within and splitting our society is hopelessly doomed,” she said.

United Russia chairman Dmitry Medvedev called the vote a “real result” but said it also marked “the start of a great deal of work.” “Having received such a mandate from the electorate, we must now set about implementing our national program,” he said. “I have no doubt whatsoever that our party… will rise to the challenge... We will prevail.”

China, meanwhile, has congratulated Russia on the election, saying that Beijing “firmly supports the Russian people’s independent choice” and that it is ready to continue working with Moscow to implement agreements between Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping and take bilateral relations “to new heights.”

India’s exports to its four core BRICS partners jumped 34% in the first five months of the current financial year, with engineering and electronics exports to China driving the growth as New Delhi expands trade across major emerging markets.

Shipments to China, Russia, Brazil, and South Africa rose to $19.9 billion in the April-August period, from $14.9 billion a year ago, according to Indian Commerce Ministry data.

Indian exports to China rose 39% to $9.6 billion, with industry executives linking some of the increase to demand from the global build-out of artificial intelligence and data centers.

“It shows that Indian manufacturing is beginning to win credibility in one of the world’s most competitive global value chains,” chairman of the Indian Cellular and Electronics Association Pankaj Mohindroo told the Business Standard newspaper.

India and China have been rapidly normalizing bilateral ties, which had largely frozen following a border skirmish in 2020.

South Africa recorded the fastest growth rate, with shipments climbing 58%, while exports to Brazil and Russia increased 13% and 11%, respectively. Shipments to Brazil stood at $3.46 billion, and those to Russia at $2.04 billion.

India-Russia trade rose to $79 billion last year, Russian Economic Development Minister Maksim Reshetnikov told RT on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in New Delhi. The two countries have a trade target of $100 billion to be achieved by 2030.

India still runs large trade deficits with Russia and China. India, the second largest buyer of Russian crude, imported about $40.8 billion of Russian oil in the year ended March. New Delhi imported about $131.6 billion worth of goods from China in the same period.

Ten lions have been found dead at Tanzania’s UNESCO-listed Ngorongoro Conservation Area, prompting an investigation into suspected poisoning, the authorities have said.

The animals were discovered on Friday in the Ndutu area of Endulen Ward, according to a notice issued by the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA). “Preliminary findings suggest the animals may have died after ingesting poison,” the agency said.

The NCAA has launched an expert investigation to establish the cause of the deaths and identify those responsible. It did not disclose the animals’ ages or sexes or say what substance may have been involved.

Poisoning is a recurring threat to large carnivores in East Africa and is frequently associated with conflict between predators and livestock owners. However, the authorities have not established whether the latest deaths resulted from deliberate poisoning or identified a possible motive.

The latest deaths come a month after 18 elephants were found dead in Kenya’s Amboseli ecosystem near the Tanzanian border. Preliminary tests indicated possible exposure to a toxic substance. Four suspects were arrested and later released on bail pending further investigation. In January, six lions and more than 30 vultures were killed in a poisoning incident in Kenya’s Kitenden Conservancy, also near the Tanzanian border.

Ngorongoro is a UNESCO World Heritage Site where ethnic Maasai pastoralists coexist with lions, elephants, buffaloes, black rhinos and other wildlife.

The Tanzanian Tourism Ministry said the country received 993,771 international tourists during the first half of 2026. Attractions managed by the NCAA recorded 331,349 domestic and foreign visits during the period, an annual increase of 7.6%.

Iran has shut down a French-language center in Tehran, accusing the embassy-affiliated institution of operating illegally and engaging in activities which threaten the country’s national security.

Relations between Paris and Tehran have deteriorated despite France staying out of the war which the US and Israel launched against Iran in late February and denouncing the initial strikes as a breach of international law.
In July, two French diplomats were detained by Iranian security services, which accused them of interfering in the country’s internal affairs. They were subsequently expelled from the country. France retaliated in August by expelling two of Iran’s diplomats.

“Based on the Tehran prosecutor’s office’s order, the illegal center affiliated with the French Embassy in Tehran, which has operated for years under the guise of language instruction, has been closed,” the Iranian judiciary’s Mizan news agency said on Sunday.

Iranian authorities claimed that the institution had repeatedly ignored warnings to obtain the licenses required under the country’s laws and had conducted activities that “violated diplomatic conventions.” They also accused it of using language instruction as cover to promote projects opposed to Iranian-Islamic culture, identify and build networks, and facilitate the departure of skilled Iranians from the country.

Nike-owned Converse has pulled a sneaker ad after critics said its imagery evoked lynch mobs and the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), a US white supremacist group.

The campaign featured K-pop singer Karina of the girl group Aespa dressed in a long white skirt and holding a pair of black high-top sneakers beneath a spotlight. Critics said the lighting made her outfit resemble a KKK hood, while the dangling shoes evoked the feet of a lynching victim.

“Nike and Converse, what the hell were you thinking?” Democratic Congressman Troy Carter said in a statement on Friday. He described the campaign as “racist, reckless and deeply offensive.”

Converse apologized on Saturday, saying it understood why the image was “deeply upsetting” and acknowledging that it had “got this wrong.”

“We removed it from our channels and are working to remove it everywhere it appeared. This should not have happened, and we will do better,” the company said.

I'm late to this. Apparently, a new Converse sneaker ad/commercial featuring K-Pop star Karina was deemed "racist" because it reminded black people of the KKK and lynching. I genuinely thought it was a joke, but it's not a joke. Converse has pulled the ad and apologized 😬 pic.twitter.com/VXNacxUbad

— Asian Dawn (@AsianDawn4) September 21, 2026

Civil rights attorney Lee Merritt argued that removing the ad did not address how it had been approved in the first place.

The apology “doesn’t undo what got past legal, marketing and leadership at every step,” he wrote on Instagram. “Do better means catching this before it airs – not after we’re offended.”

#Converse under fire for allegedly including KKK imagery in new ad starring Karina of aespa. pic.twitter.com/jmxlIV6hlJ

— Viral Takes (@viraltakes) September 19, 2026

Converse CEO Aaron Cain has since told employees that the company is reviewing the internal processes that allowed the campaign to be published. According to a memo seen by Bloomberg, Cain said that “the leadership team and I are taking a hard look at our internal review process and the critical lens we apply to our work” and pledged to “make needed changes.”

Founded after the US Civil War, the KKK became notorious for terrorizing racial and ethnic minorities, primarily blacks, through murder and various forms of intimidation. Membership peaked at an estimated 4 to 5 million people nationwide during the mid-1920s, at a time when only 10-11 million Americans were black.

Nike and its subsidiaries have faced criticism over advertising before. In April 2025, the company apologized for a London Marathon billboard reading “NEVER AGAIN. UNTIL NEXT YEAR” after critics linked the phrase to Holocaust remembrance. Nike said it had intended to reference runners vowing not to compete again before eventually returning.

In April this year, the sportswear giant drew fresh criticism over a Boston Marathon ad declaring: “Runners welcome. Walkers tolerated.”

The controversies come as Converse parent Nike is struggling to reverse a prolonged decline in its business and share price. The sportswear giant has lost more than $200 billion in market value since its shares peaked in 2021, as it has faced increased competition, weaker demand in China and criticism over a lack of product innovation.

Nike, which has owned Converse since 2003, is also set to leave the S&P 100 index after nearly 18 years, although it will remain part of the broader S&P 500.

The Pakistani air force struck alleged militant hideouts in eastern Afghanistan early Monday, killing at least three people and sharply escalating cross-border tensions.

The pre-dawn strikes in Nurgal district of Kunar province and Barmal district of Paktika province were in retaliation for a suicide bombing at a mosque in a police facility in northwestern Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Friday which killed at least 16 people and injured scores of others.

Pakistani officials claimed 28 suspected militants were killed when its fighter jets and drones struck their targets in Patang area of Nurgal district as well as the Torkandi and Rukha areas of Barmal district, reports said. However, Afghanistan’s Taliban government said the strikes killed three civilians – one woman and two men.

Afghan deputy government spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat said a home belonging to a villager named Noor Ahmad in Nurgal’s Pathan village was destroyed, killing him and two members of his family and wounding four other relatives.

Pakistan’s military has not yet issued a statement on the strikes.

“We condemn this aggression and oppression, regarding it as a repetition of such crimes,” Mujahid posted on X. “Pakistani military circles have once again committed such a crime to divert attention from their country’s security failures.”

Militant attacks have risen in Pakistan’s border areas in recent months. Islamabad has accused Afghanistan of hosting the militants and its military has launched attacks inside the country in response. Kabul, however, says the strikes are hitting civilians, including women and children.

French President Emmanuel Macron has hit out at Donald Trump after the US president posted a map depicting France’s archipelago of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon as US territory.

Trump posted an AI-generated image on social media earlier this month showing the US flag covering Canada, Mexico, Greenland, Central America and the Caribbean, as well as Iceland. Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, a small French overseas territory off the Atlantic coast of Canada with a population of just over 5,500, was also depicted as part of the “United States of America.”

Speaking to reporters after arriving in Saint-Pierre on Saturday for a two-day visit and talks with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Macron said it was “obvious” that the archipelago remains French territory.

“We’re not going to reiterate this every morning because some people have strange ideas or say strange things,” he added.

Macron’s remarks came a week after the French UN mission issued an apology for a social media post that “called into question the US commitment to human rights.” In July, the mission had criticized Washington for voting against extending the mandate of UN human rights chief Volker Turk.

“The US used to be a beacon of human rights. Not anymore. Today, it stands alongside North Korea, Nicaragua, Mali & Russia, isolated. And the world no longer listens to it,” the mission wrote on X at the time.

Since returning to office in early 2025, Trump has revived his claims on Greenland, a self-governing Danish territory, and repeatedly suggested that Canada should become the 51st US state. He has also vowed to take control of the Panama Canal and issued threats against Mexico and Cuba, while saying that the US should “own” the Gaza Strip. In January, Trump ordered a commando raid in Caracas that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whom he accused of helping a drug cartel.

Trump’s push to acquire Greenland initially caused outrage in Copenhagen, prompting European NATO members to rally around Denmark. Nevertheless, the US, Denmark, and Greenland announced an agreement last week that Trump said would grant Washington “permanent control” over the Arctic territory’s security.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels have vowed not to target countries other than Saudi Arabia after their forces captured strategic positions around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, an important shipping chokepoint at the entrance to the Red Sea.

The Houthis, an Iran-backed Shiite group, declared a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia earlier this year, accusing the kingdom of imposing an illegal “siege” on the territories under their control.

“We confirmed that we are not targeting the United States, or any other nation, in the strait, with the sole exception of the Saudi enemy,” Houthi political spokesman Mohamed al-Bukhaiti told AP in an interview published on Sunday.

“The goal of our military operations is not to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, but rather to ensure freedom of navigation through it for everyone, including Yemen,” he added.

Al-Bukhaiti confirmed indirect contacts with Washington through Oman. According to earlier media reports, Saudi Arabia had asked US President Donald Trump to intervene militarily, but America has so far limited its cooperation to intelligence sharing and targeting assistance.

The escalation comes as the Strait of Hormuz, the other major maritime chokepoint linking the Middle East with global markets, remains effectively closed to most commercial shipping amid the US-Iran conflict.

Saudi Arabia first launched a military intervention on behalf of Yemen’s internationally recognized government in 2015, following the fall of the capital, Sanaa, to the Houthis the previous year.

Large-scale fighting in Yemen largely subsided following a UN-brokered truce in 2022 but erupted again after September 8 strikes on Sanaa airport aimed at preventing an Iranian plane carrying a Houthi delegation from Tehran from landing. The Houthis blamed Saudi Arabia for the attacks, which the kingdom attributed to Yemeni government forces.

The US State Department issued security alerts across the Middle East on Saturday night, warning of a potential escalation between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia, as well as possible attacks on American diplomatic facilities. According to CNN, Trump was briefed on potential strike options in Yemen but has not authorized military action.

The Houthis reached a separate ceasefire with the US in May 2025, under which Washington halted its air campaign in Yemen and the group agreed to stop targeting American vessels in the Red Sea.

A senior Polish Foreign Ministry official has been critically injured after falling from a third-floor window at a building located within the country’s embassy compound in Slovenia, local media have reported.

The incident occurred at around 3 AM on September 13 but only came to light several days later. The man was identified by Polish outlets as the head of the Foreign Ministry’s Diplomatic Security Bureau, which oversees the security of ministry facilities in Poland and the country’s diplomatic missions abroad. He has remained in critical condition in a Slovenian hospital since the fall.

The official had reportedly collected a diplomatic package and was expected to deliver it onward without a formal assignment.

The Polish mission refused to grant consent to local Slovenian police to enter the diplomatic premises or inspect the scene. Poland said its own investigators would examine the site and investigate the circumstances, TV Slovenija journalist Marko Saksida said.

Polish Deputy Sejm Speaker Krzysztof Bosak described the circumstances as suspicious and called for a thorough investigation.

“Security-related positions in the Foreign Ministry are often filled by people from the security services. If someone falls from a window at a diplomatic mission and it turns out that he was on vacation and carrying some kind of package, the case is no longer merely mysterious but very, very suspicious,” he said.

According to Polish news portal Zero.pl, the official was attending a private party with several other people when he fell. The other participants were also reportedly off duty.

“He was on leave. It was his private time. He was in an apartment adjacent to the diplomatic mission. That is where the accident occurred,” ministry spokesman Maciej Wewior told Niezalezna.pl.

The mission is headed by charge d’affaires Leszek Soczewica, whom Polish media have described as a close friend and associate of Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski.

In December 2022, Poland faced another high-profile security controversy when national police chief Jaroslaw Szymczyk was hospitalized after a grenade launcher presented to him as a gift by Ukrainian officials exploded inside police headquarters in Warsaw. Szymczyk said he had been assured that the weapon was unloaded, but security experts criticized his decision to bring military equipment into Poland and keep it in his office.

German General Carsten Breuer has been chosen as the next chair of the NATO Military Committee as European countries seek to strengthen their armed forces, citing the need to deter Russia.

Breuer, inspector general of the Bundeswehr, will succeed Italian Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, with his three-year term set to begin in the summer of 2027.

The chiefs of defense of NATO member states backed Breuer during a vote at the annual Military Committee conference in Copenhagen on Saturday. The committee is the main forum where the bloc’s top military leaders coordinate what their armed forces should do together and provide advice to NATO’s political leadership.

Breuer has overseen the major rearmament drive initiated by Berlin following the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict the year before he took office as inspector general in 2023. His election to one of NATO’s most senior military positions was a sign of “recognition of the numerous measures Germany has introduced to strengthen the alliance,” German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said.

According to estimates cited by Handelsblatt, Germany currently ranks first among European NATO members in military spending, at around €125 billion ($143 billion). German officials also hold a growing number of senior positions within the bloc’s military command structure.

Germany ordered around €85 billion ($97 billion) worth of military equipment in 2025, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, while Berlin plans to increase defense spending to 3.5% of GDP by 2029.

In recent months, several lawmakers and officials have suggested that Germany could reinstate the draft, which was suspended in 2011, as early as next year, citing military personnel shortages.

Russia has repeatedly said it has no intention of attacking a NATO member unless attacked first and has dismissed claims to the contrary as reckless warmongering. Moscow has also described NATO’s increase in military spending as evidence that Western governments are preparing for a possible confrontation with Russia.

Speaking to journalists earlier this month, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov argued that Merz’s drive to make Germany Europe’s leading military power amounted to “in effect, declaring war” on Russia and accused the chancellor of failing to learn the lessons of history.

US President Donald Trump has signed into law a sweeping expansion of sanctions against Russia, giving Washington new powers to target Moscow as well as major buyers of Russian energy. The legislation authorizes tariffs of up to 100% on goods from certain countries purchasing Russian oil and gas, while imports from Russia could face duties of up to 500%.

The Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act also expands restrictions on Russian officials, financial institutions and other entities linked to the government. The White House has said the legislation is intended to increase economic pressure on Moscow over the Ukraine conflict while giving the president broad discretion over waivers and the eventual termination of sanctions.

RT examines the law’s key provisions, who could be affected and what the measures could mean for Russia’s trade partners.

The legislation was approved by the Senate 86-11 in August before passing the House 262-159 on Wednesday. It originated with Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal.

Unlike earlier sanctions focused largely on designated companies and individuals, the law broadens restrictions covering Russian government-linked officials, financial institutions and enterprises. It also targets vessels Washington says are used to circumvent restrictions on Russian oil exports.

One of its most consequential provisions gives the president authority to impose tariffs of up to 100% on goods from countries among the five largest buyers of Russian crude oil or natural gas. That is considerably below the 500% secondary tariff proposed in earlier versions of the legislation.

Who could be targeted?

China and India are among the countries most exposed to the secondary tariff provisions because of their large purchases of Russian crude.

Türkiye, a NATO member, is also a major importer of Russian energy, while EU countries continue to purchase Russian oil and gas despite the bloc’s efforts to phase out Russian supplies.

The picture is particularly significant for natural gas, where the EU remains a major market for Russia. China has also expanded its purchases, while Türkiye remains another important destination.

The law, however, does not make maximum tariffs automatic. It contains exemptions and gives the US president broad discretion over their application, meaning the eventual impact will depend heavily on how the administration implements it.

How are major buyers responding?

China’s Commerce Ministry has said Beijing reserves the right to take “all necessary measures” to protect its sovereignty, development interests and Chinese companies, while calling for dialogue with Washington.

India’s Foreign Ministry has reiterated New Delhi’s “firm commitment to ensuring energy security for its 1.4 billion people,” saying it would continue diversifying supplies according to market conditions.

Could US-Russia trade grind to a halt?

The legislation retains a 500% tariff on goods imported directly from Russia into the US.

In practice, however, the legislation contains exemptions and gives the president considerable waiver authority. The White House highlighted that discretion while backing the bill, including the president’s authority to lift sanctions following a peace agreement.

Washington has used similar exemptions before. A 2024 ban on Russian uranium imports included waivers allowing purchases to continue under certain circumstances. Moscow subsequently imposed temporary restrictions of its own on enriched uranium exports to the US, while allowing exceptions.

Moscow has criticized the legislation, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying the new restrictions would not achieve their stated objectives and could complicate efforts to reach a settlement of the Ukraine conflict.

”Clearly, this cannot have a positive effect,” Peskov told reporters on Saturday.

The Russian Embassy in Washington has argued that the measures could also have consequences for the US economy, particularly amid tight global energy supplies. It warned that additional restrictions on Russian exports could put upward pressure on fuel prices and said escalating economic confrontation with Russia and China would be damaging to all sides.

German regional elections could have major implications for Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s political future, with exit polls projecting a crushing defeat for his Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and a weak showing in Berlin.

The CDU was languishing at just 20% nationwide as of last weekend, according to an INSA ‘Sunday Trend’ poll. The Alternative for Germany (AfD) remained the country’s most popular party, with 29% support. This comes despite pressure on the AfD from Germany’s domestic security agency over its alleged ‘extremist’ tendencies and efforts by mainstream parties to keep it out of government.

The CDU therefore entered Sunday’s vote under considerable pressure, compounded by its electoral drubbing in Saxony-Anhalt earlier this month.

First exit polls

The Left Party (Die Linke) is projected to top the vote in Berlin with 25.3% of the vote, according to exit polls. Its lead candidate, Elif Eralp, a first generation German of Turkish parentage, told cheering supporters on Sunday evening that “from today on, we will change Berlin together.”

Merz’s CDU is projected to take 19.1%, while the AfD is in third place with 16.2%, according to DW.

If the projections hold, the Left Party will be in pole position to lead Berlin’s next government – potentially for the first time since German reunification in 1990.

In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the AfD is projected to finish first with 37.9% of the vote in an extraordinary turnaround. Party co-leader Tino Chrupalla said the result showed that the AfD “clearly have the mandate to govern here.”

Who is voting for what?

In Berlin, which is both a city and one of Germany’s 16 federal states, approximately 2.5 million people are eligible to elect the House of Representatives, the local legislature.

Voters have cast two votes: one for a direct candidate in one of 78 constituencies and the other for a party’s state or district list. The second determines the overall distribution of seats. The legislature normally has 130 lawmakers, although its size can increase through so-called ‘balancing’ seats.

Preliminary data suggest turnout in Berlin has surpassed that recorded in the previous regional election in February 2023.

In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, around 1.3 million people are eligible to elect the state parliament. They similarly voted for both a constituency candidate and a party list.

Sunday’s elections also marked the first time 16- and 17-year-olds had been allowed to vote in either contest.

The rising cost of living has been among voters’ biggest concerns. Some 67% of respondents in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and 56% in Berlin named it as their primary preoccupation in an Infratest Dimap poll conducted earlier this week. In Berlin, unaffordable housing also emerged as a major campaign issue.

Why do the elections matter nationally?

Sunday’s votes came just two weeks after the AfD won another eastern state, Saxony-Anhalt, with 43.8%, while the CDU finished a distant second with 17.2%.

That result intensified scrutiny of Merz’s future as leader of the party.

Table.Briefings reported earlier this week that he planned to convene the CDU executive committee on Sunday and put the question of confidence to a test. ZDF has also reported that talk of replacing Merz has circulated within the party for months, although no clear successor has emerged.

Reuters reported earlier this week, citing an anonymous government source, that the chancellor had canceled a planned trip to the UN General Assembly in New York to attend a special meeting in Berlin on Sunday.

A YouGov poll published on Thursday found that 48% of respondents expect Merz to be out of office by the end of the year.

Merz under pressure

Merz took over in May 2025 promising sweeping economic reforms and a stronger German leadership role in Europe. His coalition government, which also includes the Social Democrats (SPD), has struggled to revitalize the country’s economy.

At the same time, Merz has committed billions of euros to an ambitious rearmament program and continued military aid to Ukraine, while calling on Germans to work more.

The regional results do not directly determine the composition of the federal government, but the CDU’s projected showing – particularly its 5% result in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania – could intensify debate within the party over Merz’s leadership and political strategy.

In the past few days, Israeli media has been actively talking about contacts between Saudi Arabia and Israel, facilitated by the US Central Command (CENTCOM). Reportedly, Riyadh is seeking intelligence from Israel to counter the Houthis. The very fact that such contacts are taking place raises a question: is Saudi Arabia preparing to take an even more significant and risky step, one that could alter the balance of power in the Middle East?

Escalating tensions with Yemen’s Houthis are compelling the Saudi leadership to seek help where it can be found. The Houthis have missiles and drones, enabling them to strike Saudi Arabia’s energy infrastructure and threaten shipping in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. For Riyadh, this presents a military, economic, and reputational challenge. This new phase of the conflict jeopardizes oil facilities, maritime routes, and sabotages plans to transform Saudi Arabia into a leading global investment and logistics hub.

Israel, for its part, has amassed considerable experience monitoring the activities of the Houthis and Iran-linked groups. Its intelligence capabilities – including satellite surveillance, signals intelligence, and the analysis of troop movements across the Red Sea and Persian Gulf – could be valuable to the Saudis. The only question is, what price is Riyadh willing to pay for access to this intelligence information? 

Things become even more apparent when we consider Washington’s stance. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman asked US President Donald Trump for assistance in striking Houthi positions. Trump declined direct military intervention, proposing instead to expand intelligence sharing and target-selection assistance. A meeting between the Crown Prince and CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper has been confirmed by Saudi state media. Washington is prepared to provide intelligence support but does not intend to shoulder the main burden of a new campaign in Yemen – at least not now.

This raises a key question: has Riyadh decided to take a step it had long and carefully avoided? Until recently, Saudi Arabia sought to maintain cooperation with the US while preserving the possibility of normalizing relations with Israel in the long term; however, it avoided entering into a direct confrontation with Iran. This approach allowed it to maneuver between competing power centers. Even after the outbreak of a major regional war, Riyadh did not want to be viewed as a direct participant in the war and kept channels of communication with Tehran open.

The risk for Saudi Arabia extends beyond Iran’s potential reaction. Direct cooperation with Israel remains a highly sensitive issue for the Arab world, especially as the Palestinian issue remains unresolved. Riyadh will have to explain why military rapprochement with Israel precedes the political settlement that Saudi diplomacy had long cited as a prerequisite for normalization. 

This is precisely why the mediation of CENTCOM is of fundamental importance. The US command acts as a kind of political buffer. Saudi Arabia can obtain the necessary intelligence without acknowledging the existence of a bilateral military mechanism, while Israel can defend shared regional interests without a formal agreement with Riyadh. This arrangement allows both sides to deny the formation of a coalition, even as specific elements of that coalition begin to function.

For Israel, this development is strategically advantageous. It allows for the gradual integration of Saudi Arabia into the regional security architecture even before diplomatic relations are established. Moreover, West Jerusalem gains the opportunity to demonstrate that its military and intelligence capabilities are essential for Arab states in countering threats posed by Iran. In doing so, normalization evolves from a purely political project into a matter of practical security.

Israel has long and consistently pursued a strategy aimed at forging an alliance with the Arab monarchies of the Persian Gulf. Just a few years ago, such an alliance seemed almost unthinkable, since the burden of the Arab-Israel confrontation remained too heavy, and the unresolved Palestinian issue made open rapprochement with Israel politically risky for any Arab nation. 

The attacks by the Houthis, the threat to the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, and new attacks on Saudi infrastructure have left Riyadh with an extremely unpleasant choice. Saudi Arabia must either again enter into a difficult and unpredictable war with Yemen on its own, or seek support from those nations that have the necessary capabilities. The US is not ready to get involved in hostilities, the UK limits itself to sending advisers, and Riyadh’s regional partners don’t want to get involved in a direct clash with Iran. And the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, signed by Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, and Pakistan in August, hasn’t been of any use so far. Against this background, Israel is perhaps the only country capable of providing the Saudi side with operational information about the location of the Houthis, their infrastructure, and the preparation of new attacks.

If the information provided by Israel is used in the preparation of Saudi operations, the first operational mechanism of military-intelligence cooperation between the two countries will emerge. Although such a mechanism may be initially viewed as a temporary emergency measure, if it proves effective, it will be much more difficult to dismantle.

This is a big risk for Riyadh. Most likely, Tehran won’t draw a clear line between Saudi Arabia’s fight against the Houthis and its inclusion in the Israeli strategy to contain Iran. Even if the Saudi leadership intends to solve only the issue with Yemen, Iran may regard this as a step toward the formation of a hostile bloc. Then not only Saudi military facilities will come under threat, but also oil enterprises, ports, tanker routes, and other elements of infrastructure on which Saudi Arabia’s economic stability rests.

Apparently, Israel has been waiting for such a moment. Circumstances are pushing Saudi Arabia towards cooperation with Israel, which only a short while ago had been impossible for political reasons. 

At the same time, it is too early to say that Riyadh has made a final choice in favor of an alliance with Israel against Tehran. The Saudi leadership is most likely trying to solve a specific military problem without long-term commitments. It is interested in Israeli intelligence, American support, and British advisers, but at the same time it does not want to become the front line of someone else’s war.

If Saudi Arabia really decides to enter into a stable relationship with Israel, directed not only against the Houthis, but also against Iran as a whole, the regional confrontation will move to a completely different level. This will no longer be a struggle between Israel and the US against Iran and its allies, but a clash of two coalitions encompassing the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea, and the Arabian Peninsula.

For Tehran, this would mean the emergence of a single military-intelligence space from Israel to Saudi Arabia. For Riyadh, it will mean a rejection of its previous cautious balancing role in favor of direct participation in the conflict. And for the entire troubled Middle East region, it will pose a threat of a full-scale interstate confrontation, the consequences of which would no longer be limited to the territory of Yemen.

Therefore, the current contacts should not be viewed as evidence of an already established alliance; rather, they are a test of whether the sides are ready for such an alliance. Riyadh has not yet crossed the line. But for the first time in a long while, it has come extremely close to doing so.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has described his Christian Democratic Union’s (CDU) performance in Sunday’s state election in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania as a “disaster,” after the party suffered its worst-ever result in a state election. The CDU fared better in Berlin, but its result there still appeared to dash its hopes of leading the next government.

The CDU received just 4.9% of the vote, according to the preliminary official result, its worst showing in a state election since the founding of the Federal Republic in 1949. The result leaves the party below the 5% threshold required to enter the regional parliament.

“The result in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania cannot be talked away. It’s a disaster,” Merz acknowledged during a press conference on Sunday evening. However, he defended his government’s course, insisting that there “cannot be a return to the good old times.”

Merz’s party fared better in Berlin but still trailed the Left, which led with 25.7%. The CDU came second with 18.8%, followed by the AfD at 16.3%.

The results come two weeks after the AfD finished first in Saxony-Anhalt and amid mounting pressure on Merz over the CDU’s declining support. The chancellor called a meeting of the party leadership for Sunday evening to discuss the election results.

Europe is facing “the worst energy crisis in history,” Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev has warned, describing the situation as a “self-made.” He has repeatedly blamed the EU’s decision to cut Russian energy imports as a key factor behind the crisis.

Dmitriev made the remarks after reports of worsening fuel shortages across the EU. Government data on Sunday showed that 15% of French gas stations were facing supply problems with at least one type of petrol or diesel.

German media also reported record fuel prices, with Super E10 gasoline reaching around €2.3 ($2.6) per liter and diesel averaging a record €2.45. Across the EU, petrol prices are 24% higher than a year ago, diesel is up 38%, and jet fuel costs more than double. Benchmark gas prices have surged 150% year-on-year to €81 per megawatt hour, with analysts warning they could reach €100.

“Europe finally understands it is facing the worst energy crisis in history,” Dmitriev wrote in a series of posts on X on Saturday, calling it “a self-made crisis with zero attempts to analyze root causes and adjust course.”

Self-made crisis with zero attempts to analyze root causes and adjust course. https://t.co/zvdb0RkYsE

— Kirill Dmitriev (@kadmitriev) September 20, 2026

The bloc this year has faced mounting supply pressures from the US-Israeli war on Iran, which disrupted the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for global oil and LNG.

The Middle East conflict, however, has further pressured energy markets already strained by Europe’s sharp reduction in Russian supplies following sanctions imposed after the 2022 escalation of the Ukraine conflict. Before then, Russia supplied around 45% of EU gas imports and 27% of crude oil. By 2025, its share had fallen to 12% of gas imports and around 2% of crude.

Meanwhile, the EU is entering the heating season with its lowest gas storage levels in 15 years. According to Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE), underground facilities were just 69.3% as of Saturday, below the 85% average for this time of the year over the last five years, prompting warnings of heightened price volatility and higher energy bills this winter.

Despite the dire situation, von der Leyen reaffirmed in her State of the Union address this week that the EU will continue with its REPowerEU plan to permanently end reliance on Russian energy, with Russian LNG set to leave the EU market completely by the end of 2026 and pipeline gas by autumn 2027.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog has cleared the criminal record of former IDF soldier Elor Azaria, who was convicted of manslaughter for shooting a wounded and incapacitated Palestinian dead in Hebron in 2016.

The case dates back to 2016, when Azaria, then an IDF sergeant and medic, was filmed shooting alleged knife attacker Abdel Fattah al-Sharif in Hebron’s Tel Rumeida neighborhood.

According to accounts of the incident, al-Sharif and another Palestinian man, Ramzi Aziz al-Tamimi al-Qasrawi, approached an Israeli military post and stabbed an Israeli soldier, lightly injuring him. Qasrawi was subsequently shot and killed by Israeli forces. Al-Sharif was shot, seriously wounded, and left lying on the ground. Several minutes later, Azaria approached him and shot him in the head.

The shooting was filmed by a human rights activist. Azaria was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 18 months in prison, despite prosecutors seeking a three- to five-year term. His sentence was later commuted to 14 months, and he was released in May 2018 after serving nine months.

Israeli rights group B’Tselem described it as an “extrajudicial street killing.” The UN human rights office called Azaria’s sentence “excessively lenient,” warning that it will reinforce “the culture of impunity.” The case also divided Israeli public opinion and contributed to tensions between political leaders and the military, with then-Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon later resigning.

Despite the controversy, Herzog’s office announced on Saturday that he shortened the remaining period before Azaria’s record could be erased, effectively clearing it.

“The president believes that the circumstances as a whole, the passage of time, and the regret he expressed justify allowing him to open a new chapter in his life,” the President’s Office said.

Israel’s national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, welcomed the decision, saying, “canceling the criminal record of someone who killed a terrorist” makes him “very happy.” Defense Minister Israel Katz called it a “humane and worthy decision.”

The IDF, however, opposed the move. Azaria’s conviction was a rare case of an Israeli military court ruling against a soldier over a deadly action in the field. Military prosecutors argued that Azaria was seeking revenge rather than responding to an active threat. According to Israeli media, IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir formally opposed clearing Azaria’s record, arguing that he had not fully accepted responsibility or demonstrated genuine remorse.

Scrutiny over military accountability

Extrajudicial and targeted killings by Israeli forces against Palestinians have long been a source of international scrutiny. Palestinian and international rights groups have accused Israeli forces of unlawful and extrajudicial killings. The government argues that its forces act lawfully against individuals involved in planning or conducting attacks.

Israeli and international rights groups also said prosecutions of Israeli soldiers for killing Palestinians are rare. Last month, after the military announced internal investigations into the deaths of Palestinian girl Hind Rajab in 2024 and 15 emergency and aid workers in 2025, Israeli rights group Yesh Din pointed to what it called the military justice system’s poor record of securing convictions.

“Nearly zero indictments are served relative to the number of complaints of soldiers and commanders who commit offenses. In rare cases when commanders or soldiers are convicted, they receive ridiculously lenient sentences compared with the severity of the offense,” the organization’s spokesperson said.

Ukraine made a “huge mistake” by caving in to its Western backers and walking away from a potential peace deal with Russia in 2022, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has said. He also argued that years of Western military backing have failed to defeat Russia and are now raising the risk of a direct clash between Russia and NATO.

In a video address posted on X on Saturday, Fico argued that both sides have sustained “terrible” losses over the years, and that Western military support has failed to contain Russia’s advances. “There is no supranational force to compel Russia to withdraw from the militarily controlled Ukrainian territory,” he said.

“Ukraine made a huge mistake in April 2022, a few months after the start of the conflict, by listening to the Russophobic West and not signing the prepared peace agreement,” he said, adding that the Western strategy “to support the war in Ukraine to the last Ukrainian soldier and defeat Russia” has “completely failed.” He reiterated that his government will not provide military assistance or loans to Ukraine.

“Someone must have gone crazy here,” he said, arguing that “Russia cannot be defeated in a conventional war” and noting that it has a vast nuclear arsenal.

He noted that the Slovaks had their own experience with the Munich Agreement in 1938, saying that “the powers bound to us by treaty deceived us, betrayed us, and served us up to Hitler like a roasted chicken.” The Munich Accord – which was a prelude to World War II – was signed by Nazi Germany, Britain, France, and Italy without Czechoslovakia at the table and compelled Prague to surrender the predominantly German-speaking Sudetenland.

In spring 2022, Russia and Ukraine made substantial progress toward a peace deal, including a tentative draft agreement on Ukrainian neutrality, security guarantees, and other core issues.

Russia accused then-UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson of helping derail the peace process, which he has denied. Ukrainian chief negotiator David Arakhamia later confirmed that Johnson played an influential role. He said Russia was prepared to end the conflict if Kiev accepted neutrality, adding that Johnson told Ukrainian officials, “We won’t sign anything with them at all, and let’s just fight.” 

While the peace settlement process intensified after US President Donald Trump returned to the White House in 2025, no breakthroughs have been achieved. In February, the Russian Defense Ministry said Ukrainian military casualties exceeded 1.5 million since 2022, including more than 520,000 in 2025 alone.

US President Donald Trump has vowed not to slow the development of AI despite warnings from leading technology executives about the potential risks posed by increasingly powerful systems.

Trump also announced the creation of an ‘AI Force’ and said he would appoint an AI czar, while pledging to maintain America’s lead over China in the rapidly developing technology.

“We will not in any way hinder or stifle the Growth of this incredible Industry,” he wrote on Truth Social on Saturday. “Rather, we will cherish it, help it, and watch over it, as it grows!”

Trump accused his political opponents of seeking the “decimation, or destruction” of AI, describing the push as the latest in a series of hoaxes generated by “Radical Left Dumocrats.” He argued that abuses of the technology can be addressed through the justice system.

“For this purpose, I am forming the AI Force, much like I did Space Force, which has been a tremendous SUCCESS, in my First Term,” Trump wrote, referring to the sixth branch of the US armed forces, established by Congress in 2019 to conduct military operations in space and protect American assets such as satellites.

Trump also said he would soon announce an AI czar, adding that “only High I.Q. individuals need apply!” He did not provide details about the proposed force’s composition, powers, budget, or position within the federal government.

Trump’s position contrasts with warnings from prominent tech executives. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, OpenAI chief Sam Altman, SpaceX and xAI chief Elon Musk, and Google DeepMind co-founder Demis Hassabis have backed calls to slow the development of increasingly powerful AI systems.

Last week, Amodei warned that rapidly advancing systems could escape human control, be misused for cyberattacks and bioterrorism, and cause serious economic disruption. Anthropic Alignment Science lead Evan Hubinger estimated there is a greater than 10% chance that AI could “kill all humans” within the next decade.

Earlier this week, Bloomberg reported that flawed military intelligence, outdated imagery, and overreliance on AI contributed to a strike in February on an Iranian school that killed more than 150 people, including at least 123 children.

Amid the migration crisis in Ceuta that erupted in late July, the dispute between Rabat and Madrid over two Spanish semi-exclaves on Africa’s Mediterranean coast once again came to the forefront. Spain called the mass border crossing by over 70,000 illegal migrants a violation of its territorial integrity. For its part, Morocco, which does not recognize Spanish sovereignty over Ceuta and Melilla or the small adjacent uninhabited islands, once again raised the issue of their “occupation” by Spain and asserted its own historical right to them.

The dispute has a long history. Ceuta and Melilla did not become Spanish territories because they had once belonged to Spain; neither did Morocco’s borders as we know them today exist in the 15th century. Rather, Ceuta and Melilla came under the control of Spain as a result of the later Crusaders’ expansion in the Mediterranean and the early modern-period wars, events that later gave rise to European colonialism.

Since Morocco gained independence in 1956, Rabat has regularly raised the question of the status of the enclaves, seeking to have them brought back under its own control by means of dialogue. In 1975, Rabat unsuccessfully attempted to bring the matter before the UN; in 1987, King Hassan II officially proposed establishing a joint “célula de reflexión,” reflection cell, with Spain to negotiate the future status and eventual handover of the two cities. Unsurprisingly, Spain rejected this proposal.

In the early 2000s, diplomatic demands even escalated into a brief military standoff.  On July 11, 2002, a Spanish Civil Guard patrol boat discovered a Moroccan flag and a group of gendarmes on Perejil, a tiny islet located near Ceuta which is also claimed by Rabat.

After Morocco rejected Madrid’s demand to immediately remove both the flag and the armed personnel from the island, Spanish special forces landed there by helicopter on July 17. The Moroccan troops were disarmed without a shot being fired and were subsequently returned to their country, restoring the status quo.

In 2007, Morocco officially recalled its ambassador for consultations following a historic state visit by Spain’s King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sophia to both enclaves.

The dispute over the status of the enclaves reignited in 2021, when Rabat recalled its ambassador from Madrid after Spain secretly admitted Brahim Ghali – leader of the POLISARIO Front, which fights for Western Sahara’s independence from Morocco – to a hospital for treatment. Diplomatic relations were restored in March 2022, when Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez sent a letter to the King of Morocco endorsing the Moroccan autonomy plan for Western Sahara.

“They are super-Spanish”

The current events in Ceuta have once again stirred up the dispute surrounding the two enclaves, despite the strong partnership between Madrid and Rabat and their commitment to cooperation in resolving the migration crisis. Moroccan Minister of Justice Abdellatif Ouahbi spoke on the matter.

In an interview with Arab media on August 11, he stated that his country had consistently raised the issue of the status of the cities, seeking a long-term solution through dialogue. In response, Spanish authorities stated that they had always considered both cities an integral part of their territory.

“Ceuta and Melilla aren’t just Spanish; they’re super-Spanish and cannot be touched,” said Defense Minister Margarita Robles when asked to comment on Ouahbi’s remarks.

No further official statements were issued by Moroccan officials; however, a noteworthy event took place on August 24. During the Eid al-Mawlid (Prophet Muhammad’s birthday) ceremony held in the presence of King Mohammed VI, Moroccan Minister of Islamic Affairs Ahmed Toufiq mentioned ancient Sufi prayers and texts from the 7th and 15th centuries.

He claimed that they had served as a rallying cry for Moroccans during past battles to liberate occupied territories, such as the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla. He also noted that Ceuta had given Morocco two prominent religious figures: Qadi Ayyad, author of ‘Al-Shifa’, and Abu al-Abbas al-Azafi, author of ‘Al-Durr al-Munazzam’. Although these remarks were not official, the fact that they were spoken before the Moroccan monarch sparked intense media discussions. 

In Morocco, where the words of officials spoken in the king’s presence are carefully weighed and politics is steeped in symbolism, such a historical reference is no minor detail, especially when it concerns a topic as sensitive as “occupied cities” and is voiced just weeks after a crisis that has once again thrust Ceuta and Melilla to the forefront of the debate between Morocco and Spain.

The population of the enclaves

An uninitiated observer glancing at a map of Morocco might be surprised to find two cities on its coastline belonging to a state located on another continent. Geographically, Ceuta and Melilla are situated in Africa and surrounded by Moroccan territory; yet politically and administratively, they belong to Spain.

Such ‘patches’ on the world’s political map are often the result of colonial expansion, wars, unequal treaties, and established historical borders. Many of them retain conflict potential and ignite diplomatic disputes. Examples include French Overseas Territories such as Mayotte (claimed by the Comoros) and the Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean (disputed by Madagascar) – as well as the Chagos Archipelago, which the UK never transferred to Mauritius.

Spain considers Ceuta, Melilla, and the nearby small islands to be its territory and has secured their inclusion within the EU, thereby establishing the EU’s southern frontier in Africa. Today, the two cities have a combined population of approximately 170,000 people, the majority of whom are of Moroccan origin.

For decades, Moroccans and Spaniards have coexisted peacefully in these two enclaves. The countries coordinated operations at border crossings and erected long walls separating both cities from Moroccan territory—structures that, in a sense, resemble the walls built by Israel in the West Bank. Spain constructed these barriers years ago with EU support and in coordination with Morocco to prevent illegal migration into Ceuta and Melilla, which are part of the Schengen Area.

Phoenician, Roman, Byzantine, Arab, and Portuguese Ceuta 

Historically, both cities date back to antiquity and were founded by the Phoenicians. Over the centuries, they came under the rule of various empires and dynasties. Spain claims the enclaves as its own on the grounds that they were incorporated into its territory long before the formation of an independent Morocco in 1956.

Morocco, however, maintains that the cities, which are located on the African continent and directly off the country’s coast, are part of its indivisible territory, insisting that dynastic changes did not sever the close ties of Ceuta and Melilla with the surrounding region.

Ceuta is situated at the point where the Mediterranean Sea connects to the Atlantic Ocean, directly opposite Gibraltar. Historically, it has served as a transit point for ships, goods, armies, and religious missions.

The city experienced Phoenician, Roman, and Byzantine periods; in the 8th century, following extensive Islamic conquests, it passed into Arab hands and was subsequently ruled for centuries by Arab and Berber dynasties of the Maghreb and Al-Andalus. Throughout this time, Ceuta remained an important city of the western Islamic world.

Notably, the Portuguese, not the Spanish, captured Ceuta in 1415, when the forces of King John I seized the city from the Marinid Sultanate.

This campaign, imbued with the spirit of the Crusades, is generally regarded as the beginning of the Portuguese Empire (Europe’s first colonial empire). The major overseas stronghold ushered in an era of Portuguese expansion along the African coast and, subsequently, toward India, Brazil, and the Atlantic.

Transfer of Ceuta to the Spanish Crown

Ceuta was the only territory of the Portuguese Empire to remain loyal to the Spanish Crown after Spain and Portugal, which formed the Iberian union in 1580, dissolved it in 1640. Its transfer to Spanish sovereignty was formalized by the Treaty of Lisbon: on January 1, 1668, King Afonso VI of Portugal officially ceded Ceuta to Charles II of Spain.

Therefore, Ceuta came under the control of Spain not through a Spanish conquest of Morocco, but as a result of the dissolution of the dynastic union between the two Iberian monarchies; the city’s fate was determined not by its inhabitants, but by local elites and monarchs. In this context, it is difficult to assert with certainty that Ceuta is an integral part of Spain based on its historical affiliation.

The conquest of Melilla and the status of free ports

The story of Melilla is somewhat different. Located further east than Ceuta, the city also boasts a long history. By the time of its conquest by the Spanish in 1497, Morocco was undergoing a period of political fragmentation and a weakening of central authority, coinciding with the onset of active expansion by European invaders hardened by the wars of the Reconquista.

The capture of the city was almost bloodless: Melilla had been weakened by regional conflicts and could not defend itself properly. The Spanish quickly transformed the city into a military and trading stronghold on the opposite shore of the Mediterranean.

Melilla and Ceuta were not the only ports and territories in Morocco conquered by the Spanish at the dawn of the modern era. While many territories were subsequently lost, these two enclaves, administered directly from Madrid, remained under Spanish sovereignty due to their strategic and military value.

Ceuta and Melilla were repeatedly besieged by Moroccan forces. The Hispano-Moroccan War of 1859–1860 significantly strengthened Spain’s position in North Africa.

Following the Treaty of Fes in 1912, France and Spain established a protectorate over Morocco, while Ceuta and Melilla were granted the status of free ports.

The Francoist position: ‘Ancestral Spanish lands’

Melilla went down in history as the starting point of the Francoist uprising in 1936. When Morocco gained independence in 1956, Ceuta and Melilla were not included in the agreements governing the transfer of sovereignty to the new state. The fact that Spain retained control over these cities is often linked to the foreign policy of the Francisco Franco regime. 

Spain maintained that these cities had never been part of the protectorate established in 1912. Francoist diplomacy drew a sharp distinction between “protectorate territories” (which were returned to Morocco) and “ancestral Spanish lands”

Spanish sovereignty over Ceuta and Melilla has been enshrined in the country’s constitutions: first, the Constitution of 1812 and then the current Constitution of 1978. In 1995, both territories were granted autonomous status and officially designated as autonomous cities of Spain.

Unfinished decolonization

Morocco calls Ceuta and Melilla occupied cities and views them within the context of an unfinished decolonization process. Politically, this stance is understandable. Morocco gained independence in 1956, yet the Spanish territories on its northern coast remained outside the new state.

Rabat is highly sensitive to any issue concerning national borders and regards Spanish sovereignty over the two enclaves as a violation of its territorial integrity, much like the dispute over Western Sahara.

One of Spain’s arguments is that Ceuta and Melilla are not on the UN list of Non-Self-Governing Territories, to which the decolonization framework of Chapter XI of the UN Charter applies. That list includes territories whose peoples have “not yet attained a full measure of self-government.”

In 1975, Morocco attempted to place the inclusion of Ceuta, Melilla, and other Spanish possessions in North Africa on the UN’s decolonization agenda, but the initiative was unsuccessful. Spain also emphasizes that both cities are not overseas territories with a separate colonial status but rather integrated parts of the state: they possess elected institutions, representation within the Spanish political system, and the status of autonomous cities.

Gateway to Europe: painful colonial legacy

The current crisis has brought this longstanding dispute back into sharp focus, demonstrating that migration has once again become a tool of diplomatic leverage. Both Spain and the EU rely heavily on Morocco to police coastal routes and the land borders around the enclaves.

The dispute over Ceuta and Melilla remains a painful legacy of the colonial era when the fate of territories and peoples was determined by the will of European powers rather than by their own right to self-determination. The fact that the issue remains unresolved serves as a reminder that colonialism left behind not only political borders but also enduring conflicts.

“The era of Westminster is coming to an end!” the nationalist leaders of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland declared this week.

John Swinney, Rhun ap Iorwerth, and Michelle O’Neill gathered in Cardiff to sign an agreement asserting their nations’ right to self-determination, as they called on London not to obstruct referendums and outlined their preferred futures beyond the UK, including EU membership for an independent Scotland and Wales, and Irish reunification for Northern Ireland.

In Russia, the meeting has already been dubbed Britain’s version of the Belovezha Accords, and the comparison is tempting because, as in 1991, political leaders from three of a state’s constituent parts gathered around a table to discuss a civilized divorce.

But the resemblance largely ends there, given the driving force behind the Soviet Union’s dissolution was its largest republic, Russia, represented by Boris Yeltsin. He joined his counterparts in dismantling the state that Moscow built, but no representative of England attended the Cardiff gathering, and Westminster has shown little enthusiasm for presiding over its own retreat.

The participants were also considerably more cautious than their Soviet predecessors, so they signed as party leaders, making the declaration a joint political initiative rather than an agreement binding their governments to secession.

Ireland’s experience offers an uncomfortable historical comparison, as the settlement that opened the way to independence followed two years of guerrilla warfare. Today’s nationalist leaders are pursuing an entirely peaceful route, through negotiations, elections, and referendums, but whether London will accommodate them is another matter.

Scotland has already encountered this obstacle. In 2022, the UK Supreme Court ruled that the Scottish Parliament couldn’t legislate for an independence referendum without Westminster’s consent, and after the close vote in 2014, London has little appetite for another.

Public opinion presents a further difficulty. Scotland remains divided down the middle, whereas in Northern Ireland, the figure cited for support for Irish unity is around 36% and Welsh independence remains a minority position, however much its advocates have gained politically.

Swinney wants another Scottish referendum by 2031, but his counterparts have offered no comparable timetable and their agreement establishes a direction of travel, but supplies neither a departure date nor a convincing explanation of how they will get there.

Britain’s dissolution is therefore hardly imminent, but nevertheless, London would be foolish to dismiss Cardiff as an exercise in nationalist theater. 

Qualifications rarely travel as far as the original statement and nationalists heard an opening and acted accordingly.

Yet an unfortunate choice of words can’t explain the forces behind this gathering. The more immediate political background was Labour’s local elections defeat in May, which strengthened nationalist parties and created favorable conditions for cooperation and Cardiff gave that cooperation a common platform.

However, the deeper problem is the condition of the British state itself. In 2014, many Scots supported independence because they believed London ignored their interests and governed badly – and since then, Westminster has supplied little reason for them to reconsider, as economic stagnation and trained public services have steadily eroded confidence in the established order.

Conservatives and Labour have each promised renewal, only to leave voters wondering whether either possesses a credible plan, while Reform and nationalist parties have moved into the space created by that failure. Their proposed remedies differ, but their appeal rests on a shared conviction that the old arrangements no longer work.

Brexit sharpened this argument, as Britain’s departure from the EU in 2020 changed the calculation for those considering a future outside the UK. Previously, independence meant leaving a state that already offered access to the EU, but now nationalists can present separation as a route back into it.

This argument doesn’t remove the economic risks of independence, nor does it guarantee EU membership, but it gives separatists something more persuasive than a historical grievance: A competing account of where prosperity and security might lie.

Cardiff matters principally for this reason. It did not produce a mechanism for dismantling the UK, but it brought together politicians willing to imagine what might follow it and an alternative once discussed separately in Edinburgh, Cardiff, and Belfast has acquired a shared political expression.

It’s far too early to suggest that Burnham will be Britain’s last prime minister, as states can survive years of disillusionment, and nationalist declarations are easier to sign than to implement.

But Westminster’s problem is that preserving the union requires more than obstructing its opponents, and it also requires giving people a convincing reason to stay.

This article was first published by the online newspaper Gazeta.ru and was translated and edited by the RT team

Two civilians were killed and several others, including two children, were injured in Moscow Region during a powerful Ukrainian drone raid that was aimed at derailing Russia’s parliamentary elections, local officials said.

In a statement on Sunday, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said more than 1,600 UAVs were repelled since the previous day, adding that 450 UAVs were intercepted on approaches to the capital.

“The unprecedented attack was clearly planned to disrupt the elections. The enemy failed,” he said.

Several drones reached the premises of the Moscow Oil Refinery, where one unidentified facility was damaged, and one struck a residential building, according to Sobyanin, who said there were no fatalities in the capital.

In the nearby city of Ramenskoye, around 400 people, including 70 children, were evacuated from a 21-story apartment block after falling drone debris sparked a fire on the roof, with 20 vehicles also damaged.

Another person was killed in the Orekhovo-Zuyevo District, where a private home was destroyed and caught fire during the attack. The victim was an elderly man who was inside the building, according to the governor.

Elsewhere in Moscow Region, a warehouse complex caught fire in Sofyino, and a drone struck an apartment building in Kotelniki, setting apartments on three floors ablaze. The authorities are still determining whether anyone was injured.

Private homes were also damaged in Kolomna and Yegoryevsk, while fires broke out at apartment buildings in the Leninsky District, Lyubertsy, and Lytkarino. A residential building and an industrial facility were damaged in Istra, with no casualties reported.

The massive raid struck Moscow and the surrounding region just hours before polling stations were due to open for the final day of Russia’s three-day parliamentary elections. Despite the attack, all 1,443 polling stations in Moscow opened on time, Moscow Election Commission Deputy Chairman Dmitry Reut told TASS.

Moscow has accused Kiev of undermining diplomatic efforts while publicly calling for renewed negotiations. On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the Ukrainian leadership is “talking about peace” while doing everything to prevent peace and negotiations.

Earlier this month, Putin ordered large-scale retaliatory strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure in response to attacks inside Russia. Moscow has condemned the strikes on civilians as acts of terrorism, while maintaining that Russian forces only target military and defense-related facilities.

Heavy reliance on AI, staff cuts, and rushed targeting procedures contributed to a US missile strike on an Iranian girls’ school in Minab, Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing officials involved in a Pentagon investigation.

On February 28, two Tomahawk missiles hit the Shajarah Tayyebeh Elementary School in southern Iran, killing at least 157 people, including 123 children. The strike took place during the opening wave of US and Israeli attacks across the country. The school stood across from a naval base, which was likely the intended target.

Some US Central Command (CENTCOM) personnel reportedly expected Palantir’s Maven Smart System to flag stale or inconsistent intelligence when selecting potential targets. Previous reports suggested that the military relied on outdated satellite imagery that depicted the school as part of the base.

According to Bloomberg, Maven allowed the process of assembling target lists to be condensed to just several minutes.

A Palantir spokesperson told Bloomberg that the company was “not responsible for the underlying data nor identifying intelligence deficiencies” and that there was no evidence its software was at fault in the Minab strike.

The AI giant has since upgraded Maven to “re-review underlying intelligence to identify factors that would disqualify a target and flag inconsistencies and inaccuracies that human review may have missed,” Bloomberg said, citing a person familiar with the matter.

UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk said at the time that the bombing of the school “evoked a visceral horror.” On Thursday, a UN fact-finding mission said there were “reasonable grounds” to believe that the strike constituted a war crime. The US State Department rejected the finding, accusing the UN of pushing “anti-American rhetoric and anti-Semitism” and appeasing “repressive regimes.”

The US has not publicly acknowledged responsibility for the strike, with President Donald Trump suggesting that the missile could have been Iranian. However, investigations by US media outlets suggest that the missiles were American.

Cuba has suffered another nationwide blackout, leaving millions without electricity amid severe fuel shortages and US restrictions on oil supplies. It is at least the sixth major outage the island has experienced since the start of the year.

Under a US embargo for decades, Cuba has faced worsening fuel shortages since Venezuela, previously Havana’s main oil supplier, stopped shipments following the US capture of President Nicolas Maduro in January.

US President Donald Trump subsequently declared a national emergency over Cuba, moving to block oil shipments to the island and threatening tariffs against countries that continued supplying it. Trump has repeatedly said he intends to take Cuba “one way or another,” and described regime change there as a “question of time.”

Cuba’s Ministry of Energy and Mines said the latest grid collapse was triggered on Friday by a transmission-line failure in the western part of the country and compounded by unstable weather.

Officials immediately activated restoration protocols, gradually bringing generating facilities back online. Power had returned to parts of the island by Saturday.

Washington has meanwhile stepped up economic pressure on Havana. On Thursday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced new sanctions targeting Cuba’s nickel sector, following measures imposed on state oil company CUPET in June.

Russia, China, Mexico, and several other countries have provided humanitarian assistance to Cuba. Russia delivered around 700,000 barrels of oil in late March, one of the few major fuel shipments to reach the island since US restrictions were tightened.

The worsening shortages have disrupted electricity, transportation, water supplies, and healthcare. In June, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk warned that “children [in Cuba] are dying because doctors lack access to essential medical supplies and medicines.”

“Such severe sanctions packages that target entire sectors of an economy and produce broad, indiscriminate and harsh effects on populations are incompatible with basic principles of international human rights law,” he said.

The US has issued security alerts for its citizens across the Middle East, warning of further escalation between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.

The notices cover Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, and Oman.

“Americans currently in the Middle East should exercise heightened vigilance and be aware of potential flight cancellations, airspace closures, and travel disruptions,” the US State Department said on Saturday night.

“Iranian-supported Houthis have engaged in hostilities against Saudi Arabia, including civilian airports. This military conflict has the potential to escalate rapidly,” the notice read, urging Americans to refrain from traveling to the Middle East.

“Iran and groups supportive of Iran may target other US interests overseas or at locations associated with the United States and Americans throughout the world, including U.S. businesses and other institutions.”

The alert came amid anticipation of potential new US strikes on Iran or Houthi targets in Yemen, as Saudi Arabia reportedly sought assistance in repelling the militant group’s offensive against forces of the internationally recognized Yemeni government.

Axios reporter Barak Ravid said US President Donald Trump cut his weekend stay at Camp David short and will return to the White House on Saturday evening, one day earlier than planned.

CNN national security analyst Alex Plitsas cited sources as saying that Trump held a meeting at Camp David to “deliberate and review Yemen strike options.” ABC News previously reported, citing US officials, that Washington would limit its involvement to providing intelligence and targeting assistance to Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia recently suspended operations on its East-West oil pipeline, also known as Petroline, after it was damaged in a drone attack that Riyadh blamed on Iran-backed militias in Iraq. The pipeline carries crude oil from the kingdom’s eastern oil fields to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz.

The Houthis previously declared a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia in response to what the group described as an illegal siege of the parts of Yemen under its control.

A Saudi-led coalition first intervened in the Yemeni civil war in 2015 after the Houthis captured the capital, Sanaa, the previous year. The current hostilities mark the biggest escalation in the conflict since the UN-brokered truce of 2022.

The sanctions law signed by US President Donald Trump this week will undermine efforts to resolve the Ukraine conflict through diplomacy, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.

On Friday, Trump signed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, which authorizes tougher restrictions on Russia and tariffs of up to 100% on major buyers of Russian oil and gas.

“Clearly, this cannot have a positive effect,” Peskov told RIA Novosti on Saturday when asked how the law would affect the prospects for a peaceful settlement in Ukraine and the possibility of a breakthrough in Russia-US relations.

Named after the late Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a vocal supporter of Ukraine who co-authored the original bill with Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal in 2025, the legislation remained stalled for months as Trump pursued diplomacy with Russia and resisted placing sole blame for the conflict on Moscow. Trump’s envoys also discussed normalizing economic ties with their Russian counterparts.

The original proposal threatened tariffs of 500% on countries purchasing Russian energy, but the maximum rate was reduced to 100% after negotiations with the White House. Graham, who died unexpectedly in July, promoted the measure as “bone-crushing” sanctions.

The version adopted by Congress targets major buyers of Russian oil and gas, with China and India expected to be among those potentially affected. It also gives Trump broad discretion over the application of the tariffs, including the ability to waive or suspend restrictions in the national interest.

The Russian Embassy in the US said the legislation does “a grand disservice” to Trump’s ‘Make America Great Again’ agenda, arguing that restricting Russia’s energy trade amid sharply reduced Middle Eastern supplies could send fuel prices soaring ahead of the midterm elections. It warned that confrontation with Russia and China is a lose-lose situation that only benefits the “Euro-Atlantic warmongers.”

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun condemned the law, saying China “carries out economic and trade cooperation with countries on the basis of equality and mutual benefit” and that its trade is not directed against any third country.

Iran has conveyed its peace terms to the US through Qatari mediators, the country’s top security official, Mohsen Rezaei, has said, arguing that it is in America’s interests to accept them.

The 60-day period provided under the US-Iranian memorandum of understanding to negotiate a settlement expired last month without a deal, while disrupted maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz continues to drive up energy prices.

“Seven conditions set by Iran for the start of any negotiations have been conveyed to the US administration. Tehran’s message is clear and unambiguous: If Washington wants to escape the predicament it has created for itself and avoid becoming further entangled in it, it has no choice but to recognize Iran’s rights and accept its conditions,” Rezaei wrote on X on Saturday.

Iranian officials previously said they are also seeking the withdrawal of US forces from the region and compensation for the US and Israeli strikes launched on February 28.

“Trump’s threats will not achieve any results. We are prepared for a decisive war,” Rezaei added.

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that “hopefully we are toward the end of the war” and suggested that Iran wants to make a deal. The following day, however, he once again threatened to “annihilate” the Iranian leadership if the conflict does not end on his terms.

The US military revealed on Friday that the nearly seven-month conflict has cost $43.6 billion, with nearly two-thirds of the bill going toward replenishing depleted munitions.

According to Bloomberg, widely reported ammunition shortages could delay arms deliveries to US allies by several years. Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth have denied that the conflict has left the US short of missiles and bombs.

Google’s Gemini has joined a growing list of advanced AI models going rogue after hacking three real companies during a cybersecurity exercise, the Wall Street Journal has reported. It is the first known case involving a Google system.

The incidents occurred in May during tests conducted by AI security firm Irregular, Google confirmed to the outlet on Friday. Gemini was tasked with breaking into a simulated software company, but was inadvertently given internet access. It breached one real company by guessing passwords and two others using credentials found in public code repositories.

Irregular alerted Google in late July, after OpenAI agents were found to have hacked AI company Hugging Face. Google did not disclose its own incidents until contacted by the WSJ this week, according to the newspaper.

Google said Gemini caused no harm and stopped after realizing it had accessed real companies rather than simulated targets.

Google blamed the breaches on mistaken identity and a testing error. The fictional company shared a name with a real business, while Gemini had internet access it was not supposed to have. The company declined to identify the three targets or the model involved, but said the affected firms and federal authorities were notified.

Concerns over rogue AI have grown amid reports of models deceiving users, ignoring instructions, or taking unintended actions. The UK government-backed Loss of Control Observatory recorded more than 300 such incidents in July, nearly twice the previous month’s figure, the Guardian reported.

Former OpenAI and Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon added to those concerns last week when he quit and accused both companies of racing toward self-improving superintelligence without “acting responsibly.” He warned AI could “kill us all” by the end of the decade, citing risks including loss of control, cyberattacks, and bioterrorism.

China has condemned the latest expansion of US sanctions against Russia, including potential tariffs of up to 100% on major buyers of Russian energy, vowing to take “all necessary measures” to safeguard its national interests.

US President Donald Trump signed the sweeping legislation on Friday. Among other measures, the bill authorizes secondary sanctions against the five largest buyers of Russian crude oil and natural gas. It does not explicitly name major importers such as China or India.

Beijing strongly condemned the measure, with a Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesperson saying the country has “always opposed unilateral sanctions that lack the mandate of the UN,” as well as “the imposition of so-called secondary sanctions.”

China has consistently conducted “economic and trade cooperation with other countries on the basis of equality and mutual benefit,” the spokesperson said, adding that such ties are “neither directed at third parties nor subject to interference or coercion by third parties.”

The latest anti-Russian measure was initially proposed by late Republican Senator and Russia hawk Lindsey Graham and Democrat Richard Blumenthal in April 2025. In the year and a half of negotiations, it was significantly watered down, with the originally proposed 500% tariffs on countries that buy Russian energy cut down to 100%, while the actual levy rate can be set below that ceiling, according to the legislation.

Moscow has condemned the additional sanctions as an “unfriendly” move, which was bound to “complicate efforts to find a peaceful settlement in Ukraine,” according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Several explosions have been reported in the Saudi capital of Riyadh, disrupting flights and triggering air raid warnings amid escalating hostilities with Yemen’s Houthis.

Saudi authorities sent emergency alerts early on Saturday warning residents of a “hostile aerial threat” and urging them to remain indoors, according to several media outlets. Explosions were reportedly heard across the city before the civil defense agency issued an all-clear about half an hour later. It was the first such warning in Riyadh since fighting in neighboring Yemen intensified in July.

Later on Saturday, a large plume of black smoke and flames was seen near King Khalid International Airport. Reuters footage showed smoke rising from the airport’s fuel-storage area, while flight-tracking service Flightradar24 reported major delays and cancellations. Saudi authorities have not disclosed the cause of the explosions or provided details on casualties or damage.

The latest escalation began in July after Saudi strikes on Yemen's Sanaa International Airport shattered a fragile truce dating back to 2022, prompting a renewed exchange of attacks with the Houthis.

The advances have put further pressure on Saudi Arabia’s oil exports. Riyadh has increasingly relied on Red Sea routes as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has been disrupted by the US war on Iran.

Maritime tracking data cited by AFP showed Saudi exports through the waterway have declined since July, although several loaded vessels passed through over the past week. The Houthis say international shipping remains unaffected, with the exception of Saudi vessels.

The disruption has already hit crude supplies. State oil giant Saudi Aramco has told European refiners they will receive no crude in October, Bloomberg reported on Friday, as oil prices hover above $100 a barrel.

On the night of August 15, 2026, the industrial outskirts of Samara lit up as Ukrainian long-range Flamingo missiles targeted factory buildings. By morning, news appeared online of a plume of smoke, and a few days later, satellite imagery revealed a large crater at the site of one of the buildings of the Progress Rocket and Space Center.

The fact that the war reaches thousands of kilometers beyond the front line no longer surprises anyone. However, the target is rather unexpected: It’s not an ammunition depot, oil refinery, or power substation, but a factory where launch vehicles are manufactured.

In the spring and summer of 2026, two Soyuz-2.1b rockets were launched from Plesetsk Cosmodrome, each carrying 16 satellites into orbit. These satellites are called Rassvet (Dawn). Soyuz rockets used to launch the satellites are assembled in Samara.

Western and Ukrainian media focus exclusively on the issues of Rassvet satellites, citing problems with altitude, ascent, and launch schedule. Yet, no one attacks a failed project. The adversary’s assessment of the project and its importance speaks for itself. 

Both critics and supporters of the satellite constellation refer to it as the Russian Starlink. Military expert Andrey Bednarsky, a drone operations officer with the Kaskad specialized brigade and a UAV developer, acknowledges an “element of journalistic generalization” in this comparison but does not consider it unfair. 

“Starlink was the technological leader in this niche, so a comparison with the industry pioneer is justified. But though justified, it’s misleading. Such a label implies a copy that is supposed to catch up with the original, following a pre-established path. Yet what we see is a different answer to the same question, posed by the war. 

“The question goes something like this: what happens to an army and a country when broadband connectivity ceases to be merely a service and becomes critical infrastructure, on par with electricity or railway networks? Elon Musk’s answer has been familiar to us for four years now – the captured [Starlink] technology is stacked in crates at Russian command posts. Russia’s answer is being formulated right now,” he says. 

There is currently a gap between the present and future capabilities of Russian technology, Bednarsky notes. Presently, there are about 30 Rassvet satellites in orbit; there is also an ongoing debate over altitude, and only three or four communication windows per day in the combat zone. However, by 2030, Russia expects 292 satellites in orbit and continuous coverage. It is precisely this gap that draws the researcher’s attention. 

The Volnovakha lesson

In the spring of 2022, Russian units captured several Ukrainian command posts near Volnovakha. Military analyst Alexei Leonkov says that in the early months of the military operation, Starlink routers, along with other equipment, were found in the seized command facilities. Lying nearby were tablets running battle management software. 

This was no secret in itself. Russia knew about the supply of Starlink terminals to Kiev in the very first weeks of the conflict. But reading the news is one thing; holding the hardware in your hands and realizing that everything goes through it – reports, target designation, coordination with external command centers – is quite another. 

Leonkov articulates the conclusion made by many experts at the time. “Issues of combat command and control, the speed of information transmission, and coordination within the information space provide an advantage in both offensive and defensive operations. Communication is no longer just about rear-echelon support; it has become a weapon,” he says. 

This logic continued to unfold in the coming years. Starting in 2023, drones penetrated beyond the front line and operated far outside the combat zone; their operational range and strike coordination also relied on Starlink. Leonkov analyzes the recent series of attacks, which Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky dubbed the 40-day war, as a distinct technological episode. It was conducted not only via the civilian constellation of satellites and its military-focused division, Starshield, but also, according to Leonkov, by means of AI utilizing high-speed data networks to coordinate tactical maneuvers. This allowed the drones to maneuver, form groups and swarms, as well as suppress and penetrate Russian air defense systems. 

A drone swarm that reconfigures in flight requires a data link. A link requires an orbit. An orbit requires rockets, a factory, and funding.  

This is precisely what may be called technological sovereignty: possessing one’s own satellite constellation to ensure stable connectivity across the entire country and beyond. 

What is Rassvet?

The project is funded under the Data Economy national initiative, with 102.8 billion rubles (about $1.2 billion) from the federal budget and 329 billion from the company’s own funds through 2030. This ratio clearly reveals that the business sector bears the bulk of the costs, while the state provides supplementary funding and sets the strategic direction.

In 2023, the first three experimental satellites (the Rassvet-1 mission) were launched into orbit. They were followed by three more satellites (Rassvet-2) used to test sequential data transmission between satellites at distances ranging from 30 km to 1,000 km. Then came a pause (explained in the industry in various ways), followed by the transition to mass production.

On March 23, 2026, a Soyuz-2.1b rocket equipped with a Fregat-M upper stage launched 16 satellites from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome to an altitude of approximately 300 km. After separation, the constellation was taken under the control of Bureau 1440’s own Mission Control Center. The company emphasized that the journey from the initial experimental satellites to the mass-produced models took 1,000 days.

A second batch was launched on July 19-20. The company did not disclose the launch site, and the surrounding landscape was not visible on the widely circulated photo of the Soyuz-2.1b on the launch pad. This small yet important detail shows that a project that began as a civilian internet initiative had, by mid-2026, turned into a defense initiative. 

We should take a closer look at the figures. Prior to the July launch, the company reported having 18 satellites in orbit, three of which were experimental; this implies that one satellite from the initial batch was lost. Following the second launch, there were around 30 operational satellites in orbit. The target constellation size is 292 satellites by 2030, including spares. To compare, Starlink already has thousands of satellites in orbit.

The debate over altitude

The target orbit for Rassvet is 800 km. The satellites are initially deployed to an intermediate altitude of 300 km and subsequently ascend using their own plasma thrusters. This is the standard operational procedure for low-Earth orbit constellations.

The key issue lies in the rate of ascent of the satellites. ComNews, having analyzed data from NORAD and public tracking services, noted that during the first four months, the satellites from the first batch rose from 300 km to 540 km, an average rate of around 2 km per day. However, the rate of ascent subsequently slowed; from June 10 to July 20, the total gain was merely 50-90 km. At the current rate, it would take another four and a half to six months to reach the announced 800 km altitude, meaning it would take at least until November to reach the target orbit. This led to an opinion expressed in the headline: that the target altitude had likely been lowered.

As of August 3, data on individual satellites presents a mixed picture. Most satellites from the first batch maintained altitudes of 518-541 km. Three lagged significantly behind, at 370, 376, and 414 km. One burned up in the atmosphere on June 6.

The Western press seized on these figures and attempted to draw conclusions. Citing Business Insider, reports claimed that none of the satellites from the July launch had reached their operational orbit and that, without intervention, they risked eventually burning up. However, the words used by the original authors to highlight uncertainty were lost in subsequent versions. 

Bednarsky points out two important details. 

The first one is procedural. 

“Regarding the second batch of satellites,” the expert says, “our enemies and competitors are hyping a story that they failed to reach their anticipated altitudes. But we simply don’t know what the anticipated altitude is; the company hasn’t confirmed it. We’ll be able to tell whether the constellation has reached its intended operational altitude only in October or November, not earlier.”

The second detail is far more interesting. The 300-500 km altitude where the satellites are currently located roughly corresponds to the operational altitude of the standard Starlink system. “If the altitude is deliberately lowered, there is a clear physical reason for the decision: the lower the satellite, the higher the signal at the surface and the lower the response latency. At the same time, of course, the coverage area decreases; from an altitude of 700-800 kilometers, a single satellite covers a much larger territory,” he explains.

Bednarsky also points to another factor. The choice of responsiveness over broad coverage, he suggests, “may be linked to the objectives of the Russia's military operation – specifically, controlling drones and uncrewed surface vessels.” Neither tolerates extra milliseconds of latency. Speed ​​is a key parameter of modern warfare.

This is an attempt to chart one’s own path: prioritizing coverage of the front line rather than building a global network first. The debate over altitude is, therefore, a debate over priorities. And there is no doubt that the successful conclusion of the military operation is one of Russia’s key strategic priorities.

Three communication windows per day

What does Rassvet offer military users on the front line right now?

Rassvet satellites enable stable satellite connectivity over the Special Military Operation zone, providing several (3-4) communication windows per day for a duration of several hours. While this is a genuine breakthrough compared to how things were before, it is insufficient for carrying out daily combat missions, and an expansion of the satellite constellation is necessary. 

A communication window is not the same as a continuous, stable communication channel. A unit that has connectivity for a few hours three times a day plans its actions differently than a unit with constant access. The difference between a device that merely works and one that is a game-changer is measured not by signal quality, but by the number of satellites in orbit.

Leonkov views the situation from the angle of combat command and control. “The deployment of a constellation utilizing modern data transmission formats offers a natural solution to three tasks: developing civilian communications, coordinating army operations in the combat zone, and securing state borders.” According to him, the first batch of satellites has already begun performing these tasks.

He also says that the Svod AI system was integrated into the satellite constellation, enabling troops to receive real-time air and aerospace data both in the combat zone and outside it. The Russian Defense Ministry commented on this system in January 2026, saying that it is not a standalone device but a software architecture running on a network of military computers and tablets. It aggregates satellite data, aerial imagery, intelligence reports, and open-source information into a unified information space, models scenarios, and proposes courses of action to the commander.

“Those who switched from captured Starlink routers to domestic systems gained an advantage in data transmission security amid intense electronic warfare,” he said.

Let’s stop here for a moment: The value of the constellation is measured not in megabits, but in its ability to close the communications loop. The satellite provides the channel, and the channel provides a general picture, which, in turn, enables rapid decision-making. The three operational windows per day are the first proof that the system works.

Laser instead of a gateway station 

The primary advantage of the Rassvet system is not speed or orbital altitude; it’s inter-satellite laser communication. According to Bednarsky, it reaches up to ten gigabits per second. This means we’re dealing with cutting-edge technology, possibly the best in the world. This capability was tested on the experimental Rassvet-2 when data was transmitted between satellites over distances ranging from 30 to 1,000 km. 

The rationale behind laser technology is simple. It significantly reduces reliance on ground-based gateway stations. A satellite lacking inter-satellite links acts merely as a relay. It receives a signal from a user and transmits it to the nearest ground station; if no station is within sight, there is no connection. 

Russia has eleven time zones, touches several oceans, extends into the Arctic, and possesses remote territories where installing a gateway station is not feasible, so this limitation is a deal-breaker. It is even more critical for a country that cannot rely on friendly ground stations abroad. However, a laser link transforms the constellation into a network: data travels in orbit from satellite to satellite and is downlinked wherever it is convenient and secure.

On the user end, the picture is more modest. The stated target speed per terminal is up to one gigabit per second. However, actual test measurements reported by RBC are far more prosaic: 12 megabits per second per device with a latency of 41 milliseconds. So the first figure represents the long-term goal, while the second reflects the current situation, given that the constellation is not complete. Comparing the two figures is inappropriate, but we must keep both in mind.

This leads to an obvious conclusion regarding the market. For individuals, this equipment would be rather inconvenient. However, it is suitable for mobile platforms – cars, ships, trains, and aircraft. 

Let’s take a look at some of Bureau 1440’s first civilian contracts.

Lastochka, Sapsan, and northern latitudes

At the CIPR 2026 conference, Bureau 1440 and Russian Railways (RZD) agreed on the phased rollout of next-generation satellite connectivity for high-speed trains. The agreement covers 135 Lastochka and Sapsan high-speed trains across the country, serving routes such as Moscow-St. Petersburg, Moscow-Nizhny Novgorod, Krasnodar-Sochi, and Moscow-Minsk. The user terminal designed for rail transport has already undergone mechanical testing on a test railcar; Alexey Shelobkov, head of ICS Holding, announced the start of these tests.

The choice of Russian Railways as the first civilian customer is quite logical. A train travels hundreds of kilometers through terrain where there is no stable cellular signal. Meanwhile, there is ample space on the train carriage roof for a 15-kilogram terminal, and the passengers are highly interested in having a stable internet connection. 

In parallel, pilot projects have been announced for 2026 in several regions, including the Nenets Autonomous Okrug. In April, Roscosmos Deputy Director General for Strategic Development Boris Glazkov, stated that Rassvet satellite internet service would become available to corporate clients in 2027-2028. Georgy Korolev, a project director at ATK Consulting, is even more optimistic. He says that limited testing of signal quality, speed, and coverage is already underway with select users, and believes the first commercial contracts could be signed by late 2026 or early 2027.

The list of use cases outlined by the company offers solutions to many of Russia’s challenges, such as remote regions, northern territories, maritime operations, transport, oil extraction, the energy sector, communications in disaster zones, the remote monitoring of facilities and specialized vehicles, and video analytics. All this is particularly important for those parts of the country where laying fiber-optic cables is impossible. 

The Northern Sea Route, drilling platforms, weather stations, border outposts, and command centers all rely on the same infrastructure, as orbital mechanics make no distinction between users. Starlink operates on the exact same principle: Civilian revenue funds the constellation, while military application justifies its priority status. However, the American system followed the path in reverse – it targeted civilian subscribers first, and then the Pentagon – whereas the Russian system is attempting to navigate both stages simultaneously, all while facing resistance from the adversary.

Why Rassvet satellites are targeted

We can now examine the attack on the plant in Samara in more detail.

Progress Rocket Space Center does not produce Rassvet satellites. It manufactures launch vehicles. Both batches were launched into space using Samara-built Soyuz-2.1b rockets, and the project currently has no other launch vehicle at its disposal. This represents a bottleneck in the production chain: whereas satellites can be built quickly, rockets take time. 

The Ukrainian side knows this very well. Their calculations are worth citing, since they are more convincing than any statements regarding the importance of the project. According to Defense Express estimates, a minimum of 288 satellites are required for the constellation to achieve operational readiness – around 18 launches carrying 16 satellites each. The interval between the first two launches was four months. The production rate for launch vehicles had already slowed: While the Soyuz-2.1b flew six-eight times a year starting in 2022, only about four launches of this type had been conducted in 2026. At this pace, it would take years to complete the constellation, and the loss of one month is more costly than the loss of one satellite.

This leads us to the conclusion that Ukraine makes no secret of: Kiev possesses no anti-satellite missiles. MP Sergey Kolesnik notes that only four nations have them. Nor does Ukraine have a satellite constellation of its own to counter the Russian one. Consequently, the only option is to strike Bureau 1440 and its production facilities. The attacks carried out on the night of August 15 were in line with this strategy.

The expert only ventures to express the conviction that the project’s viability does not hinge on a single, unique facility. This reveals something about how the risk is assessed within the industry: It’s not a question of survival, but of having backup facilities. 

Of course, the strike on Samara highlights the obvious vulnerabilities of the Rassvet project. Yet, it also demonstrates that the adversary views the unfinished constellation of some 30 satellites as a threat significant enough to warrant the use of long-range missiles, which Ukraine critically lacks. 

Epilogue. Dawn, but not yet noon 

Next year will mark a crucial milestone for the project. Discussions are already underway regarding the launch of commercial operations in early 2027 and a manifold increase in the number of orbiting satellites by the middle of the year. At that point, it may finally be possible to speak of stable, continuous connectivity over the special military operation zone.

If the planned objectives are met, 2027 will mark Russia’s transition to a new technological era – one characterized by constant, high-quality satellite communications and an increasingly decisive advantage on the front lines. Yet, standing between today’s limited window of three operational windows per day and that future transition are 15 launches.

As they say, never make predictions, especially about the future. However, taking a look back, we may see that four years ago, Russian troops found foreign hardware at captured command posts near Volnovakha. Today, Russia is building its own systems – more slowly than planned, at a higher cost than expected, and under enemy fire. The project already boasts a functioning inter-satellite laser link, an orbit inclined to cover the Arctic, three communication windows per day over the front line, and a contract for servicing 135 trains. 

The constellation was named Rassvet (Dawn) years before all this happened. The choice of name turned out to be surprisingly accurate. After all, dawn is not yet noon. Yet what is certain is that the night is over – and the sun is rising. 

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has called for greater use of AI and automation in the country’s offensive and defensive weapons, while urging manufacturers to boost production.

Kim made the remarks while inspecting several defense enterprises Wednesday to Friday, accompanied by senior officials and his influential sister, Kim Yo-jong.

Photos released by state media show him visiting facilities that produce drones and artillery systems, including massive 600 mm multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS).

Known outside North Korea as the KN-25, the system resembles the US-made HIMARS but has evolved beyond a conventional MLRS, effectively functioning as a short-range ballistic missile launcher.

“Our artillery should have the most concentrated and destructive, massive and versatile offensive capability and responsibly perform the two missions of deterring and fighting war,” the North Korean leader said, as cited by KCNA.

The North Korean leader reportedly “expressed great satisfaction,” finding that most of the plants are meeting the production goals to fulfill the “huge plans” outlined by the Party Central Military Commission, the top military affairs and planning body of the country.

Prior to joining the nuclear club in the mid-2000s, North Korea relied on a vast artillery park for deterrence, as the South Korean capital, Seoul, is within reach of conventional artillery. Pyongyang has recently worked on modernizing and expanding its artillery park, with some of the missile systems in its arsenal also doubling as nuclear delivery systems.

The US has warned its allies that deliveries of key missile systems are likely to be delayed by several years due to depleted weapons stocks amid the Iran war, Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing sources. The shortage is also complicating EU efforts to support Kiev with desperately needed air defense ammunition, the article says.

In this vein, Germany asked Washington to accelerate deliveries of Tomahawk cruise missiles and ground-based Typhon launchers, but Raytheon is unlikely to fulfill the order within five years because of stock deficits, according to the outlet. Some Eastern European countries have also experienced delays since shortly after the US-Israeli war on Iran began, Bloomberg sources have claimed.

While US President Donald Trump has rejected claims that the Iran war has left the US short of ammunition, the Pentagon has publicly acknowledged the strain. Earlier this week, the Defense Department inspector general reported that heavy weapons expenditure in the Iran campaign “has resulted in strategic inventory shortfalls and revealed industrial base bottlenecks for munitions resupply.”

The apparent squeeze has been a particularly pressing problem for Ukraine, which needs sophisticated foreign interceptors to shoot down Russian missiles targeting its defense-related facilities. The Washington Post reported in May that Kiev was “almost completely out” of PAC-3 interceptors used by Patriot batteries, while US allies in Europe grew increasingly concerned that depleted American stocks could disrupt the PURL program under which they pay Washington to supply weapons to Ukraine.

To address the issue, European leaders are expected to press Trump for more Patriots for Ukraine during UN meetings next week, Bloomberg said. EU officials are also reportedly seeking US licenses that would allow European countries to manufacture Patriot missiles themselves.

Moscow has consistently argued that Western military aid only prolongs the Ukraine conflict without changing its outcome. Earlier this month, Kremlin foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov suggested that the US could help end the conflict sooner by “first and foremost stopping any assistance to Kiev.”

French MEP Rima Hassan has filed a formal complaint against Interior Minister Laurent Nunez, accusing him of helping fuel false drug allegations against her.

The prominent pro-Palestinian lawmaker was detained in April as part of an investigation into alleged “apology for terrorism” over a since-deleted social media post. While searching her belongings, police found suspicious substances, prompting a separate drug-possession probe and media reports that synthetic drugs had been discovered on her person. The drug probe was dropped after laboratory tests found no synthetic drugs, but not before the story drew widespread media attention.

Hassan filed her court complaint against Nunez on Friday after a French investigative news magazine called Complement d’enquete alleged that the minister had discussed the suspected drugs incident with reporters before laboratory tests had been completed.

Hassan and her lawyer, Vincent Brengarth, lodged the complaint with a special French court that handles cases involving government ministers. Brengarth accused Nunez of breaching investigative secrecy.

Nunez told a National Assembly hearing on Thursday that he had “not organized any leaks.” He acknowledged discussing Hassan’s case informally with reporters but said they already had the information and had merely approached him for comment. He maintained that he had “urged caution” during the exchange.

Hassan is a prominent advocate of the Palestinian cause both in France and in the European Parliament and has joined humanitarian flotillas seeking to reach Gaza by sea and challenge Israel’s blockade. She has faced more than 20 legal proceedings and numerous police summonses in France, and is due to return to court next month over the social media post that led to her April detention.

Hassan and LFI previously characterized the legal scrutiny surrounding her as “politico-judicial harassment.” Five UN special rapporteurs have raised concerns with the French government over aspects of Hassan’s treatment, including her detention and alleged leaks to the media.

In her interview, Hassan denounced what she called the authorities’ “political and judicial obsession” with her and accused Nunez of using his position “to directly attack a political opponent.” She claimed the minister had “knowingly” disclosed the information while “fully aware of the political and media fallout.” Hassan also said more than 500 articles had been published about her case since April, particularly the illegal-drug claim, adding that “the damage is enormous.”

The number of US service members who have died while deployed in the Middle East since the start of the Iran war is higher than the Pentagon’s public tally, the Washington Post reported on Friday, citing military sources. The Pentagon’s public casualty database may be missing as many as five military fatalities, according to the report.

As of Friday, the Pentagon’s Defense Casualty Analysis System (DCAS) listed 18 US military fatalities, including deaths from hostile and non-hostile action since the Iran war began on February 28.

Five sources, however, told the outlet there have been at least 22 military fatalities, while a sixth put the toll even higher, saying 23 service members have died since the war began. Not all of the additional deaths were directly tied to the conflict, the official said, but involved US personnel stationed in the Middle East amid the ongoing hostilities. Three US contractors based in the region have also died since combat operations began, the official added.

The US administration’s casualty accounting already faced scrutiny in July, when the Pentagon briefly removed four Iran war deaths from its public tally during a since-failed ceasefire – three troops killed in an Iranian missile strike on a US base in Jordan and another killed the next day during a controlled detonation of an Iranian drone in Iraq. The Pentagon blamed a data-processing error after the removals drew congressional scrutiny. The deaths later reappeared alongside some 207 wounded personnel, but under “Overseas Contingency Operations” rather than Operation Epic Fury, the administration’s name for the Iran war.

The Washington Post said the Pentagon declined to address its questions about the discrepancies.

Commenting on the report on X, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth vehemently denied its authenticity, calling it “a complete LIE.”

“This is DISGUSTING and FAKE… Shame on the Washington Post – they’re worse than Iranian state media,” he wrote.

This is DISGUSTING and FAKE. A complete LIE.

Shame on the Washington Post — they’re worse than Iranian state media. https://t.co/vU9OkSOnLB

— Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) September 18, 2026

An increasingly unpopular war

Despite US President Donald Trump insisting the war has been a success – even claiming at times that “Americans aren’t against the war” – polling indicates growing public opposition. A September Reuters/Ipsos poll found 28% support Trump’s approach to Iran, while 62% disapprove.

While most House Republicans have voted to block anti-war resolutions, some GOP lawmakers have broken ranks, backing bipartisan efforts to invoke war-powers restrictions or halt funding for the conflict. Representative Thomas Massie (KY) also moved this week to force a House vote on impeaching Hegseth, alleging he violated the War Powers Resolution of 1973 by pursuing hostilities without congressional authorization.

Trump, however, insists the war will end soon, telling reporters last week it would likely stop immediately after the midterms. He told Axios on Thursday that he faces “a big decision” over whether to restart major combat operations to end the conflict.

Iran, meanwhile, has refused to cave to Trump’s threats, with Parliament Speaker and top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warning earlier this month of “faster, heavier and more painful” retaliation against further US aggression. On Friday, Tehran showcased a new volunteer force that will receive limited military and emergency training to support the IRGC. IRGC chief Hassan Hassanzadeh told state broadcaster IRIB that over 600,000 people had registered, with more than one million expected to undergo training.

US President Donald Trump has signed sweeping legislation expanding the sanctions on Russia and authorizing tariffs of up to 100% on major buyers of Russian energy. Moscow warned that additional sanctions would complicate efforts to settle the Ukraine conflict and could further destabilize the energy markets.

In a statement on Friday, the White House announced that Trump approved the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act, after the Senate passed it 86-11 in August and the House passed it 262-159 on Wednesday.

The legislation targets senior Russian officials, banks, defense and energy entities, as well as what Western countries refer to as Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’ of ships. It also empowers Trump to impose tariffs of up to 100% on goods from the five largest buyers of Russian crude oil and natural gas.

The measure was initially proposed by late Republican Senator and Russia hawk Lindsey Graham and Democrat Richard Blumenthal in April 2025. The original proposal threatened 500% tariffs on countries that buy Russian energy, but after more than a year of negotiations with the White House, the figure was cut to 100%.

The Trump administration recently eased sanctions on Russian oil. During the Iran war, the administration issued temporary exemptions allowing the sale and delivery of Russian oil already at sea to alleviate pressure on the energy markets.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned on Thursday that the “unfriendly” move “would definitely complicate efforts to find a peaceful settlement in Ukraine.”

The Russian Embassy in Washington argued that blocking Russian energy trade while Middle Eastern supplies are disrupted could prove costly for the US, calling it an “invitation to ever-higher prices at the pump.” It also warned that simultaneously escalating tensions with Moscow and Beijing would be a geopolitical lose-lose situation and would “only play into the hands of Euro-Atlantic warmongers.”

The FBI temporarily suspended some cooperation with its Canadian counterpart this month after the country’s public broadcaster instructed journalists not to refer to the 9/11 attacks as terrorism without attribution to experts or authorities, the New York Times reported on Friday, citing officials familiar with the matter.

According to the NYT, FBI officials canceled meetings with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). Normal cooperation was restored around the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, after the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) reversed its stance.

In response to the NYT report, RCMP Commissioner Mark Duheme said: “We value our relationship with our US counterparts, as we work closely to respond to threats to national security and maintain situational awareness of emerging risks.”

The controversy erupted late last month when a CBC memo was leaked to the Canadian press. The broadcaster explained that its “longstanding language guidance regarding the terms ‘terrorist’ and ‘terrorism’ is a preference for the use of these words with attribution, a practice shared by many of the world’s top journalistic organizations.”

The memo sparked outrage in the US, where nearly 3,000 people were killed 25 years ago when Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four passenger planes and crashed two into the World Trade Center towers in New York and one into the Pentagon outside Washington, DC. The fourth crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. FBI Director Kash Patel described the CBC’s stance as a “bastardization of history” and an insult to the victims.

The incident added to a broader feud between the neighbors after talks on a new trade deal abruptly collapsed last month, with both sides blaming each other. US President Donald Trump has suggested that Canada should become “the 51st US state” and recently instructed federal agencies to refer to Lake Ontario, which straddles the US-Canada border, as Lake America.

The talks broke down after the two sides failed to agree on tariffs and other issues, including US objections to Canadian rules protecting French-language and domestic cultural content.

Following a falling out with Trump, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney expressed interest in the country becoming the EU’s first associate member. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made the offer earlier this week.

President Vladimir Putin has ordered the Russian subsidiaries of Nestle, Auchan and Leroy Merlin placed under temporary management owing to Western support for Ukrainian strikes on Russian civilian and economic infrastructure.

Moscow introduced the temporary management mechanism in 2023 in response to Western companies leaving Russia and the seizure of Russian state and private assets abroad. Officials said it was intended to keep strategically important businesses operating and shield the economy from decisions by “unfriendly” countries.

On Thursday, Putin amended the 2023 decree to add the Russian assets of Nestle, Auchan and Leroy Merlin to the list. All three were transferred to L.E.V. Management, a business and management consultancy.

Why now?

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the companies’ home countries and their support for Kiev were major factors behind the decision.

Why these companies?

Auchan and Leroy Merlin are controlled by France’s Mulliez family through ELO Group and ADEO respectively. Nestle’s Russian business was controlled by subsidiaries of the Swiss food giant.

France has been one of Kiev’s major military backers throughout the conflict. President Emmanuel Macron also pushed a “forward deterrence initiative” earlier this year that could see French nuclear weapons deployed elsewhere in Europe.

Moscow has warned that such a strategy could backfire, saying it cannot “ignore an obvious buildup of the nuclear component of NATO’s joint potential.”

Strikes on Russian infrastructure

The takeover also comes amid continued Ukrainian attacks on Russian civilian and energy infrastructure.

Ukraine has recently targeted warehouses and logistics facilities belonging to Russia’s largest online retailer, Wildberries, and its rival Ozon. Kiev has acknowledged deliberately striking the facilities, claiming their networks are used by the Russian military to procure, store and transport dual-use goods. Moscow rejects the allegations and has denounced the attacks as terrorism.

Ukrainian media reported in July that French intelligence was providing “critical targeting assistance” for strikes on at least eight Wildberries facilities, as well as refineries and other infrastructure.

How important is Russia to the companies?

Russia has been a significant market for the French retailers. At its peak, Auchan Russia was one of the country’s largest foreign retail chains and was still operating around 230 stores as of 2025. ELO reported in 2023 that Russia generated 10% of its revenue, making it the group’s third-largest market after France and Spain.

Leroy Merlin, rebranded as Lemana PRO in Russia in 2024, remained a major source of revenue for ADEO. L’Informe reported that Russia was the group’s second-largest market by revenue after France in 2024 and accounted for around 18.5% of its worldwide revenue in 2025.

Nestle has less exposure. Its Russian operations account for about 1% of global sales, according to Jean-Philippe Bertschy, an analyst at Swiss investment bank Vontobel. RBK estimated Nestle Russia’s revenue at 258 billion rubles ($3.06 billion) in 2025.

How have the companies reacted?

Auchan and Lemana PRO said they had received no official notification from the Russian authorities about the status of their assets and had requested clarification. Both said their stores were operating normally as of Friday.

Nestle said it “takes note” of the presidential decree and is “assessing the situation and its options.” The company said it would take “all necessary steps to protect its rights and ensure continuity of business operations in the interests of all stakeholders.”

What happens to the assets?

Under the 2023 framework, foreign owners temporarily lose control of assets placed under management but do not automatically forfeit ownership.

In other cases, Moscow has authorized sales. Putin approved the sale of Goldman Sachs’ Russian subsidiary to Balchug Capital in January 2025.

The system also allows assets to be returned. In March 2025, Italian appliance maker Ariston regained control of Ariston Thermo Rus after announcing its return to the Russian market. The subsidiary had been placed under the temporary management of Gazprom Household Systems the previous year.

Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said in 2025 that cases would be assessed individually. Companies that left under government pressure but preserved jobs, contacts and technology, as well as a buy-back option, could be allowed to return, he said.

Canada is seeking to join the EU’s €90 billion loan program for Ukraine, a European Commission spokesman said on Friday, in a move that would allow Canadian arms manufacturers to compete for contracts financed by the scheme.

Ottawa has been discussing participation with Brussels for some time and would have to contribute toward the EU’s borrowing costs in return for access to the procurement scheme. The UK joined the mechanism under a similar arrangement in July.

“I can confirm that Canada has expressed an interest in joining the 90 billion Ukraine support loan,” European Commission spokesman Balazs Ujvari told journalists in Brussels. “Technical exchanges have been ongoing with Canada for some time, and they are still ongoing.”

Canadian participation would not increase the €90 billion available to Kiev. Instead, it would allow Ukraine to use the funds to buy weapons from Canadian manufacturers without requiring a special exemption from the scheme’s procurement rules.

The talks come as Kiev faces mounting financial pressure.

Despite the outside funding, Ukraine faces a $27 billion budget shortfall. Vladimir Zelensky announced in August that Kiev had already spent funds originally intended to cover its needs through the end of 2026.

The financial crunch has coincided with a series of high-profile corruption and embezzlement scandals in sectors heavily supported by Ukraine’s foreign backers. The most prominent involved state nuclear operator Energoatom and implicated figures close to Zelensky, prompting a senior-level reshuffle.

The intensified exchanges followed Zelensky’s failed 40-day pressure campaign against Russia, which included Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy infrastructure and warehouses belonging to major e-commerce retailers.

Moscow subsequently intensified strikes on Ukrainian ports and vessels it said were carrying military supplies, severely disrupting Kiev’s Black Sea exports, previously the country’s main export route.

The war with Iran has cost the US $43.6 billion, with nearly two-thirds of the bill going toward replenishing depleted munitions stockpiles, according to US Central Command (CENTCOM) figures sent to lawmakers and shared with the media on Friday.

The estimate covers costs through September 3. The Pentagon allocated around $11.2 billion for military operations and projected that another $28.1 billion would be needed to replace expended munitions. A further $4.3 billion was allocated for replacing equipment losses.

The $43.6 billion figure does not include the likely billions of dollars needed to repair US bases and other military facilities in the region damaged or destroyed by Iranian attacks, according to Bloomberg.

Iran damaged or destroyed hundreds of buildings and other structures at US bases across eight Middle Eastern countries, according to a Pentagon inspector general report released on Monday. Iranian attacks also damaged or destroyed expensive high-tech radar systems at several US facilities.

Most of the munitions expenditure stemmed from efforts to intercept Iranian missile and drone strikes, according to an earlier estimate by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Around 58% of the estimated spending went toward air-defense munitions such as Patriot, THAAD, and other key missiles, putting pressure on interceptor stockpiles, the think tank estimated in June.

Washington may have expended more than half of its prewar inventory of Patriot, SM-3, and THAAD interceptors during the conflict, the CSIS wrote in May.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly denied reports of munitions shortages and called reports and leaks about depleted US weapons stocks “treasonous.”

The expenditure was equivalent to what US forces used during a full week at other points in the conflict, the newspaper reported. Iran adapted its tactics to force US troops to burn through munitions and used warheads that split into multiple projectiles on approach, the WSJ cited sources as saying.

Germany should demand greater economic benefits from the billions it spends supporting Ukraine, including more arms orders and access to raw materials, Bavarian Minister-President Markus Soeder said on Friday.

Since beginning his second term, US President Donald Trump has pushed European NATO members to shoulder more of the cost of supporting Kiev. He has also touted European-funded purchases of US weapons and Washington’s minerals deal with Ukraine as ways for the US to recoup some of its spending on the conflict.

“Overall, Ukraine should also use the many German aid funds to buy more technology from Germany,” said Soeder, who leads the Bavarian CSU, the sister party of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s CDU. “And we too, not just the US, should also discuss access to raw materials with Ukraine.”

Soeder’s view echoes recent comments by German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, who has argued that Berlin’s support for Kiev should translate into more orders for German arms manufacturers. Germany has earmarked around €11.5 billion ($13.2 billion) in military aid for Ukraine this year.

“It must naturally be the case that the German defense industry benefits,” Wadephul said in a podcast last week.

Moscow has portrayed Germany’s military buildup, along with broader rearmament across the EU and UK, as evidence that Western governments are preparing for a possible direct confrontation with Russia. It has long described the Ukraine conflict as a NATO proxy war against Russia.

“The statements Merz made about making Germany the leading military power in Europe again are being put into practice. He is, in effect, setting out to declare war on us,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said earlier this month.

The Ukrainian army is suffering 27,000 casualties a month in the conflict with Russia, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has said, offering a rare public assessment of Kiev’s losses.

Neither Ukraine nor Russia provides regular updates on its battlefield casualties. Kiev’s Western backers also largely refrain from publicizing exact figures or estimates of how many Ukrainian soldiers are being killed or wounded.

Tusk, one of Ukraine’s strongest supporters in Europe, revealed the casualty rate during a speech to the Polish parliament on Thursday. “The new Russian strategy, and above all its new technical capabilities, namely jet-powered drones, are also causing much greater losses on the Ukrainian side,” he said.

Our Ukrainian partners have informed me that recently the monthly figure has been 27,000 killed and wounded, and these are, unfortunately, records in this war, in the saddest sense of the word. If this trend continues, the winter in Ukraine could indeed be catastrophic.

This February, Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky said at least 55,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed since the escalation of the conflict with Russia in February 2022. In July, he put the toll at 50,000 killed and 400,000 wounded, with “a huge number” still unaccounted for.

According to Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov, around 500,000 Ukrainian soldiers were killed or wounded in 2025.

Ukraine has sought to compensate for its high casualty rate by lowering the draft age from 27 to 25, banning most military-age men from leaving the country, and intensifying its draft campaign. Draft officers have been filmed detaining potential recruits on streets and at workplaces, regularly using force against those attempting to flee or resist.

A Lebanese woman left with life-changing injuries in Israel’s 2024 pager attack has told RT how she is adapting to her new reality two years after the incident.

On September 17, 2024, thousands of pagers used primarily by Hezbollah members exploded across Lebanon, followed by hundreds of walkie-talkie detonations the next day. The attacks killed dozens and injured thousands. Israel later acknowledged responsibility for the operation.

Zeinab Mistrah, who survived one of the explosions, told RT correspondent Steve Sweeney on Friday that she was not carrying a pager but that one detonated nearby. She lost her left eye, was left with only 10% vision in her right eye, and lost the tips of three fingers on her right hand.

“I’ve actually forgotten how a normal person sees things,” she said. “I simply view the world this way now.”

Before the blast, Mistrah had studied interior design and was preparing to marry. She said her injuries transformed her daily life, making even routine tasks difficult.

Mistrah accused Israel of disregarding the danger the pager operation posed to civilians and others nearby. “That is when you realize just how hostile Israel is towards humanity,” she told RT, while also criticizing Washington’s support for Israel. “They didn’t think about whether a pager might be near children or women.”

The pager explosions came after nearly a year of cross-border fighting between Israel and Hezbollah and were followed by an intensified Israeli military campaign in Lebanon. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Beirut later that month, before Israeli forces launched ground incursions into southern Lebanon.

Fighting flared again in March 2026, when Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel following the outbreak of the US-Israeli war on Iran. A US-brokered ceasefire in June largely halted the hostilities, although Israeli strikes and military activity in southern Lebanon have continued. More than 4,000 people have been killed and over 12,000 wounded in Israeli attacks on Lebanon since March, according to the country’s Health Ministry.

Watch Steve Sweeney’s full report from Beirut.

The US will effectively control Greenland’s security under an agreement reached with Denmark and the self-governing Arctic territory, President Donald Trump has announced.

In a Truth Social post on Friday, Trump said the agreement “gives the United States permanent control over security, and all other needs, in Greenland, completely addressing ALL of our many US concerns.”

“At my direction, we worked with representatives of Denmark and Greenland to guarantee that the United States will FOREVER have the complete ability to do what is necessary in Greenland in order to secure and defend the security of Greenland, and the United States of America,” he added.

“Additionally, from now on, no US adversary can EVER have a base in Greenland, have a military presence in Greenland, or make sensitive investments in Greenland, without our express written approval.”

Trump’s announcement coincided with a meeting of NATO’s top military officials in Copenhagen, where the bloc’s 32 defense chiefs gathered to discuss strengthening collective deterrence and defense.

The president has long argued that the US should acquire Greenland from Denmark because of the island’s strategic position and the need to counter Russian and Chinese influence in the Arctic. His demands sparked outrage in Copenhagen and further strained relations with America’s NATO allies in Europe.

The 1951 US-Danish defense agreement already allows the US to request an increased military presence in Greenland. Although Copenhagen rejected transferring sovereignty over the territory to the US, Danish officials said they were willing to modify existing agreements to address Trump’s security concerns.

“An agreement that strengthens our common security in the Arctic and North Atlantic region and is therefore also good for NATO and Europe. At the same time, it recognizes the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom and the Greenlandic people’s right to self-determination,” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said.

“The agreement recognizes Greenland’s interests and our place in international cooperation. It benefits us all,” Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said.

Danish broadcaster DR, citing the Prime Minister’s Office, said the sides plan to sign the agreement next week on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

In February, NATO launched its Arctic Sentry initiative, coordinating and expanding allied military activities across the Arctic, including Danish-led exercises in and around Greenland. The move followed talks between Trump and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte over security in the region.

Moscow has condemned what it describes as the militarization of the region.

“Under the pretext of mythical threats from the East, NATO has embarked on the active militarization of the Arctic and is rapidly strengthening its offensive capabilities near our northern borders,” Vladislav Maslennikov, a senior Russian Foreign Ministry official, said on Friday.

Zelensky’s state of corruption devours itself

Kravchenko, who was personally appointed by Zelensky, has denied any wrongdoing, and accused the anti-corruption agencies, NABU and SAPO, of operating bribery and protection schemes of their own. He claims he’s got evidence of “concentration of undue influence” within the agencies, which he plans to show to Zelensky’s Western sponsors. 

Whether or not they’ll listen is another story. Yulia Mendel, a former communications aide to Zelensky, has spoken out about the mire of corruption in Kiev for months, to no avail. Mendel was scheduled to speak at the European Parliament on Wednesday, at an event promoting “diplomacy instead of escalation,” but found herself barred from the building upon arrival, days after Zelensky personally sanctioned her.

On the day of my speech, I was barred from entering the European Parliament. I directly attribute this to Zelenskyy’s sanctions. But the speech will go ahead anyway, because I know that I represent a huge segment of society that longs for peace and wants to be heard. pic.twitter.com/FWh7WSaUNI

— Iuliia Mendel (@IuliiaMendel) September 16, 2026

RT has covered the byzantine world of Ukrainian graft in depth in our ‘State of Corruption’ series. Read our deep-dive into Ukraine’s multibillion-dollar scam call industry here, and check out our exclusive investigation into the latest luxury property snapped up by Zelensky’s fixers in Germany here. 

Merz nears his end

With his officials falling one by one to corruption scandals and his political rivals smelling blood in the water, Zelensky likely senses his endgame playing out, Russian foreign policy expert Alexander Bobrov wrote for RT on Tuesday. If there’s anyone who knows the feeling, it’s German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. 

Merz canceled his planned trip to the UN General Assembly in New York next week, after his Christian Democrats’  humiliating loss to the right-wing AfD in state elections earlier this month, Reuters reported on Tuesday. The chancellor’s approval rating has plummeted to 10%, and half of the German public expects him out of office by the year’s end. 

Merz has made steep and unpopular welfare cuts to finance Germany’s ambitious rearmament program, as the country’s economy continues to flatline – thanks largely to Berlin’s self-imposed embargo on Russian oil and gas imports. All of this has played into the hands of the AfD, which has promised an end to “all war-prolonging support measures” for Ukraine, and the deportation of Ukrainian migrants. 

Merz’s Christian Democrats are on track for another wipeout in state elections in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Berlin this weekend. By Sunday night, the chancellor’s departure could be a done deal.

Total Houthi dominance

The effects of the Houthi campaign were immediately visible at the petrol pumps in Europe. With Saudi Arabia cutting exports, the Houthis have asserted their position as arbiters of global fuel prices. US President Donald Trump reportedly refused to intervene on behalf of his Saudi allies, meaning the Houthis have forced Riyadh into a lose-lose choice: admit defeat so oil flows can resume, or keep fighting and bear responsibility for a global energy crisis. 

In a further humiliation for the Kingdom, the Houthis claimed on Wednesday to have shot down a Saudi F-15 fighter jet using “a locally manufactured surface-to-air missile.” The group claimed three shootdowns of Saudi jets in 2017 and 2018, but Wednesday’s victory was the first backed by video footage. 

War crimes sentence for the West’s Kosovo proxy

As the Saudis desperately search for allies against the Houthis, former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) commander Hashim Thaci learned first-hand where an alliance with the West leads: to a prison cell.

Thaci was advised and armed by NATO during the KLA’s brutal secession campaign against Yugoslavia in the 1990s, a campaign that led to NATO bombing Belgrade for 78 days on behalf of the ethnic Albanian militia. Despite serving as prime minister, then president, of the self-proclaimed nation of Kosovo with the West’s blessing, Thaci’s past caught up with him on Wednesday when a war crimes tribunal in The Hague sentenced him to 25 years behind bars for the murder of 96 political opponents and the kidnapping and torture of hundreds of others. 

Thaci was defended in court by some of his former NATO backers, and scores of Albanians rioted on the streets of The Hague when the verdict was handed down. 

RT explored the case against Thaci in detail back in February, and examined just how far NATO and the Atlanticist institutions in The Hague would go to protect him. As it turned out, Thaci should have listened when Henry Kissinger warned: “It may be dangerous to be America’s enemy, but to be America’s friend is fatal.”

In the video, members of the Albanian diaspora are protesting in The Hague after the sentencing of Hashim Thaci and other high-ranking leaders of the unrecognized Kosovo pic.twitter.com/NRiLiSBw1B

— 𝕊𝕡𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕻𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕤 (@SprinterPress) September 16, 2026

The KLA was officially disbanded and folded into the ranks of the Kosovo security services 27 years ago this week. However, toxic Kosovo legacy lives on in the UK, where the village of Piddington overwhelmingly voted to secede from the Kingdom. The symbolic vote proclaiming the “Principality of Piddington” was held after the British government decided to house more than 1,200 male migrants in a nearby military base.

Piddington’s case for secession is no less watertight than Kosovo’s. Let’s see if NATO sends in the bombers…

NATO 3.0 marches towards war

Joking aside, NATO evidently has its hands full these days preparing for a cataclysmic war with Russia. The bloc’s Military Committee – tasked with turning political statements into war-gamed plans – met in Copenhagen on Friday, with talks scheduled to run until Saturday afternoon.

RT looked at the ‘NATO 3.0’ doctrine taking shape at the meeting. Under this one-sided rebalancing of the bloc, Europe assumes the cost and risk of NATO’s looming confrontation with Russia, while the US insulates itself from the consequences. Russia has given the Europeans ample warning, with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stating this week that “if Europe, which talks daily about preparing for war against Russia, attacks Russia, it will be a completely different war, and it will be very short.”

This hasn’t stopped the French and the Germans preparing hospitals and filling blood banks for a “mass casualty” clash in eastern Europe. The Poles and the Baltic states are eagerly going along with these preparations, despite standing to lose the most. Slovakia’s Robert Fico, however, isn’t marching in lockstep with his neighbors. 

“I am deeply concerned that they are merely looking for a pretext for a major conflict between NATO and Russia,” he said on Thursday, before skipping a meeting with Zelensky in Kiev. “The situation has never been as serious and tense regarding the possibility of a pan-European war conflict as it is now.”

What to watch out for

We’ll be watching what – if anything – concrete emerges from NATO’s Copenhagen meeting on Saturday, before switching our attention to Germany where another AfD landslide could deal a death blow to Merz’s chancellorship. 

Across the Atlantic, the NYPD are already preparing to shut down roads as world leaders descend on New York for the 81st UN General Assembly. The assembly kicks off on Tuesday, and we expect the conflicts in Europe and the Middle East will top the agenda. 

Watch out for Trump’s opening speech on Tuesday, followed by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Zelensky on Wednesday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will deliver his address on Thursday, with Lavrov taking the lectern on Saturday.

For all this and more, stick with RT. 

The EU has released another €3.3 billion ($3.8 billion) to Ukraine following a phone call between European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky, as Kiev faces fresh corruption cases and a surprise $27 billion hole in its defense budget.

Von der Leyen announced the payment on Thursday immediately after speaking with Zelensky. She said the EU had already provided Kiev with nearly €15 billion this year and promised that “more is coming.” 

At the same time, she acknowledged that Ukraine’s parliament has yet to pass anti-corruption, judicial, fiscal and green energy reforms required to unlock further EU funding.

The European Commission confirmed on Friday that the €3.3 billion had been disbursed. The payment marks the fourth defense tranche under the EU’s €90 billion Ukraine Support Loan. The EU and its member states say they have provided a total of €224.5 billion in support to Ukraine since 2022.

The latest payout comes as Kiev seeks billions more from its Western backers to cover an unexpectedly large defense funding gap.

Zelensky told European officials last month that Ukraine needed another $27 billion to make it through the year, according to the New York Times. The request reportedly “surprised and unsettled” officials, with some privately questioning whether existing funds were being spent efficiently or whether Kiev was overstating its needs.

Over the past year, scandals have reached into the energy sector, military procurement and the upper levels of government. The sprawling Midas probe uncovered an alleged $100 million kickback and money-laundering network around state nuclear operator Energoatom. Separate investigations have targeted inflated drone contracts, the alleged theft of foreign donations and senior officials accused of illicit enrichment.

Ukraine’s Western-backed anti-corruption agencies have themselves raised concerns about graft risks surrounding defense procurement. NABU Director Semyon Krivonos said last month that major arms suppliers can have powerful beneficiaries among lawmakers, senior law-enforcement officials and other branches of government.

Russia has repeatedly argued that continued Western financing only prolongs the conflict and has cited Ukraine’s corruption scandals in criticizing foreign support for Kiev. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said last week that the “laundering” of Western money had become a “form of existence” for the Ukrainian authorities.

Russia’s ruling United Russia party is poised to lock in its parliamentary majority, having gained almost 60% of the vote, according to preliminary Central Election Commission (CEC) figures.

With more than 90% of precinct protocols processed early Monday, United Russia scored nearly 58%, followed by the Communist Party (CPRF) with nearly 14%, the LDPR with 8.9%, and New People with 7.94%. A Just Russia also exceeded the 5% threshold for party-list seats.

President Vladimir Putin cast his ballot online from his Kremlin office on Friday. In an address on Wednesday, he urged Russians to participate, saying the lawmakers elected for the next five years would “shape our future” and that “every voter’s voice matters.”

The voting lasted three days, from early Friday to Sunday 8 PM local time. All 450 State Duma seats were up for grabs, with 225 deputies from federal party lists and 225 in single-member constituencies. According to CEC data, United Russia candidates led in 208 of the 225 constituencies.

United Russia is performing better than during the last cycle in 2021, when it received 49.82% of the vote and finished with 324 seats, including 198 constituency seats. The CPRF then won 18.93%, LDPR 7.55%, A Just Russia 7.46%, and New People 5.32%.

Around 113 million people were eligible to vote, including more than 1.8 million registered abroad, with final turnout exceeding 59% – higher than it was in 2021 (51.7%). About 7.1 million ballots were cast electronically, both through the federal voting system and Moscow’s own.

Overnight Saturday into Sunday, Ukraine launched one of its most powerful drone raids to date on Moscow Region, which officials say was aimed at derailing the election.

The attack killed two civilians in the capital suburbs and damaged an oil refinery, residential buildings, and civilian infrastructure. Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said the “unprecedented” attack involved more than 1,600 UAVs.

The Russian digital elections infrastructure also endured more than 3,000 waves of DDoS attacks during the vote, according to CEC Chair Ella Pamfilova.

The parliamentary election coincided with more than 2,200 regional and municipal campaigns, with around 20,700 mandates and elected posts at stake. Of Russia’s 89 regions, 11 were choosing their leaders, including eight through direct popular votes, while 39 were electing local legislatures.

Another 260,000 people voted early in 37 other regions, mostly in remote or hard-to-reach areas.

Residents of the DPR, LPR, Kherson, and Zaporozhye Regions were taking part in State Duma elections for the first time since joining Russia following referendums in 2022.

Watch the report by RT’s Murad Gazdiev on how the election is being held under wartime conditions in the frontline regions.

Saudi Arabia’s state-owned energy giant, Saudi Aramco, has told European refiners that they will not receive any crude oil in October, Bloomberg reported on Friday, extending supply disruptions triggered by a Houthi attack on a key export pipeline.

Aramco had already canceled some European cargoes scheduled for September after drone strikes damaged the East-West Pipeline and halted loadings at the Red Sea port of Yanbu, Reuters reported on Tuesday. The latest notices reportedly extend the disruption into next month. Bloomberg said the decision applies to all European customers.

Fighting between a Saudi-led coalition and Houthi militants reignited in mid-July after Saudi Arabia struck Sanaa Airport to prevent an Iranian passenger plane from landing. In recent weeks, the Houthis have made territorial gains against Saudi-backed forces and stepped up attacks on strategic targets inside the kingdom.

The 1,200 km (746-mile) East-West Pipeline connects Saudi Arabia’s main eastern oil fields with Yanbu, allowing crude oil exports to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, where flows remain severely disrupted by the US war against Iran.

The pipeline was closed after drone strikes damaged three pumping stations. Saudi Arabia is reportedly seeking to restore part of its capacity within days, though a full restart could take up to six weeks.

Saudi Aramco has not commented on the reported October cancelations.

Saudi oil flows have fallen sharply amid the Middle East conflict. The kingdom’s production dropped to 6.2 million barrels per day (bpd) in August from 10.9 million bpd in February, before the war began. The East-West Pipeline had been rerouting around 4 million bpd (4% of global supply) around the disrupted Strait of Hormuz.

The supply squeeze has forced European refiners to seek alternatives. Poland’s state-controlled energy giant, Orlen, said on Wednesday that it secured 16 additional cargoes from Norway, Britain, Algeria, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and the Americas to cover Saudi disruptions through November.

The Houthis have meanwhile expanded their position along Yemen’s western coast and seized strategic territory near the Bab al-Mandab Strait, another major shipping passage linking the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

The mounting pressure on Middle Eastern supplies has kept oil above $100 a barrel. Brent futures traded around $104 on Friday, with markets weighing the Saudi disruptions and continued instability around the Strait of Hormuz.

US bank JPMorgan has said that it no longer has a clear view on the oil price as the war in the Middle East drags on with no clear end in sight. The bank’s analysts have abandoned a baseline view of crude oil in what is an unusual step for a major bank and one of the world’s most watched commodities.

“We simply don’t know how to model the endgame,” the bank wrote in a research note, noting that this was the first time it had been unable to generate a view since the US-Israeli war on Iran began.

The on-again, off-again approach to the war demonstrated by US President Donald Trump has left traders at a loss for how to proceed. A Bloomberg report wrote that JPMorgan is simply making public what traders have long been saying privately: how this ends is impossible to predict.

JPMorgan analysts noted that they had previously assumed that there were lines the Trump administration would not cross, such as oil above $100 per barrel or gasoline at $5 per gallon. US Treasury yields have also drifted higher, with the 10-year touching 5% this past week. The Treasury market is watched closely both on Wall Street and in Washington and excessive volatility tends to quickly elicit concern among policymakers given the market’s critical role in the US and global financial system.

However, none of these thresholds appear to have deterred the administration from pressing forward in Iran. Trump has indicated that he has a “big decision” on Iran coming, warning that he could “annihilate” the Iranian government.

Analysts with the bank also predicted that oil inventories in OECD countries would hit “operational minimums” in May, at which point “price increases become exponential rather than linear.” While oil inventories have been depleted globally, they have held up better than many expected, including JPMorgan.

What has happened is that demand destruction more than inventory draws has helped absorb the supply disruption and avoid higher crude prices, JPMorgan analysts admitted.

The International Energy Agency now expects world oil demand to decline by a sizable 2.5 million barrels per day in 2026, a drop that is 940,000 barrels per day greater than the estimate in the August report. The extent of the lost demand also speaks to a weaker underlying economy as consumers and businesses shy away from paying up to maintain previous consumption levels.

This is the JPM oil report everyone's talking about. pic.twitter.com/JBdM28FkjZ

— HFI Research (@HFI_Research) September 18, 2026

Meanwhile, the effect has not been evenly distributed. According to petroleum geologist Art Berman, the crisis hits vulnerable import-dependent developing countries first, where high oil prices together with currency weakness – in some cases a vicious feedback loop – make the burden substantially more difficult to bear.

“The first participants forced out of the market are not wealthy American consumers,” he wrote. “They are fertilizer buyers in Africa, trucking firms in Pakistan, factories in Bangladesh, and households across import-dependent economies.” 

In early 2008, crude oil staged a parabolic run from about $90 a barrel in January to an all-time record high of $147 in July. The extreme price movement triggered rapid demand destruction that damaged consumer spending and is seen by many analysts as one of the underappreciated causes of the ensuing crisis that would rock the global economy.

Europe’s energy crisis in 2022 driven by its rejection of cheap Russian gas ended up in consumption dropping 20% from pre-2022 levels as of late 2025. Even when prices eventually came down from record highs, the damage had been done: factories had shuttered and some businesses relocated energy-intense processes overseas.

Oil prices dropped toward the end of this week amid hopes for a recovery of flows through Saudi Arabia’s critical East-West pipeline, which was damaged in a drone attack. Nevertheless, Brent held above $100 per barrel, trading at around $103 mid-afternoon London time on Friday.

Russia has demanded that Japan remove US mid-range Typhon missile systems from its territory, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said, describing the deployment as unacceptable and a threat to national security and regional stability.

In a statement published by the Foreign Ministry on Friday, Zakharova said Moscow sent Tokyo a formal protest note on September 3 after the US deployed the launchers to the southwestern island of Kyushu, 1,300 km from the city of Vladivostok.

“The Japanese side was told to stop this practice and remove the above-mentioned systems from its territory,” she said, adding that Moscow opposes these deployments regardless of the duration.

The Typhon is capable of launching SM-6 missiles, as well as Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles, which have a range of around 1,600 km. The US developed the Typhon after withdrawing from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, which prohibited US and Soviet ground-launched and cruise missiles with ranges of 500 to 5,500 km.

The dispute comes amid another spike in tensions between Russia and Japan over the four southernmost Kuril Islands, which were incorporated into the Soviet Union after Tokyo’s defeat in World War II. Japan still claims the islands of Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan, and the Habomai Islands, which they refer to as the Northern Territories.

Last month, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi protested President Vladimir Putin’s first visit to Iturup, calling the trip “absolutely unacceptable.”

Days later, Russia conducted missile drills near the southern Kurils involving the cruiser Varyag, the nuclear-powered submarine Omsk, and a Bastion coastal missile system, prompting another protest from Tokyo.

The dispute over the Kuril Islands has been a stumbling block to Russia and Japan signing a peace treaty. Moscow suspended the negotiations in March 2022 after Tokyo took part in the Western sanctions imposed on Russia over the Ukraine conflict.

Spanish police have begun moving thousands of migrants from makeshift beach camps in the North African exclave of Ceuta in an operation that has quickly descended into chaos, according to media reports.

Crowds surged toward temporary shelters as officers struggled to maintain control, firing rubber bullets into the air and using batons.

The operation began early on Friday, with riot police and the Spanish military deployed to clear the makeshift camps and escort migrants to a new port camp. The facility is the fifth temporary reception center opened in Ceuta and can accommodate around 1,800 people, while an estimated 4,000 migrants have been living on the beaches.

Footage from local media shows hundreds crowding the designated route, with some breaking into a run as officers struggled to control the group. Police fired rubber bullets into the air and struck several people with batons before the situation calmed and migrants continued towards the port under escort.

🇪🇸 Spanish authorities have begun relocating thousands of migrants from makeshift beach tent camps in the North African exclave of Ceuta to a newly constructed temporary center at the city's port

The new port camp, the fifth temporary reception center set up in Ceuta, can… pic.twitter.com/XAeEIhsMqI

— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) September 18, 2026

The port facility is intended for adult men, while minors are being housed separately. Three NGO representatives told Reuters that authorities had been too slow to provide the minimum shelter required under European migration rules and that existing reception centers remained insufficient.

Opposition leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo accused the government of failing to maintain public order, while officials said additional locations would be needed to house migrants who cannot be accommodated at the port.

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
Spanish police began moving hundreds of migrants from beaches in Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta to temporary facilities at the city's port, sparking tension as migrants vied for limited spots at the new location https://t.co/uSGcXe6m7M pic.twitter.com/TWI01CwIG6

— Reuters (@Reuters) September 18, 2026

The crisis erupted after more than 72,000 migrants crossed into Ceuta from Morocco on July 30 and 31, with the mass influx overwhelming Spanish border authorities. Most were subsequently returned, but thousands, including unaccompanied minors, have remained in the enclave.

A separate Spanish military intelligence report issued once the influx was underway described Moroccan forces as “negligent and passive,” while Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has maintained that the earlier warnings did not indicate the scale or likelihood of what followed.

We have come to regard the countries of Eastern Europe as the most conflict-prone and volatile part of the political landscape surrounding Russia, and there are grounds for this view. 

Immediate neighbors often have the most difficult relationships because the more points of contact there are, the more opportunities for friction, and in Russia’s case, geopolitical logic is reinforced by considerable historical experience of invasion, which means Russia has traditionally sought to ensure that no serious threat can emerge from neighboring countries and that its immediate surroundings remain predictable.

This predictability has been secured in different ways over the centuries, sometimes through direct annexation and sometimes through indirect forms of control. Russia’s western neighbors are small in comparison with it, and their policies have often been driven by fear of their much larger neighbor, whether justified or not.

The acute military and political crisis that began in 2022 seems to confirm that stability between Russia and the rest of Eastern Europe shouldn’t be taken for granted, as countries that joined NATO and the EU in the late 20th and early 21st centuries are now pursuing the most intransigent course, seeking not merely to contain Russia but to marginalize it.

Their own capabilities are limited, so they have increasingly used international institutions, above all an increasingly militarized EU, to push larger member states towards a tougher position. A recent example is Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski’s rhetoric concerning the Baltic region and Kaliningrad.

This assumption was convenient for everyone as the new member states regarded NATO membership as a guarantee of their security, and the veteran members in Western Europe and the US were confident that these guarantees would never actually have to be tested. Nobody seriously expected to fight Russia over the states along its borders.

Let us leave aside for the moment the role NATO expansion played in creating the conditions for the conflict over Ukraine, because whatever one’s interpretation of how we arrived here, the question of military guarantees has now moved from theory to practice.

This creates a fundamental problem for NATO. On the one hand, it can’t simply abandon its security commitments, because if these guarantees cease to be credible, NATO loses much of its purpose. On the other hand, Article 5 of the Washington Treaty is less automatic than is commonly assumed and it doesn’t mechanically send every member of the bloc to war.

Eastern European governments understand this ambiguity. They lack confidence that the larger powers would come to their aid, and history gives them reasons for doubt and encourages some of them to push both Russia and their own allies toward firmer positions.

The objective is to bind the major Western powers ever more tightly to their security, which raises the question: What role would Eastern European countries actually play if a direct military conflict with Russia did occur?

Western European societies are neither willing nor prepared to fight Russia themselves, but they have proven to be considerably more comfortable supporting others who are prepared to do so – and Ukraine, for its own reasons, has accepted this role. For the rest of Eastern Europe, however, the calculation is more complicated.

We shall leave aside the Baltic states, where the level of political rhetoric increasingly makes serious discussion difficult, but more established countries with deeper traditions of statehood – Poland, the Czech Republic, and Romania – are perfectly capable of recognizing the danger of being thrown under the bus of military escalation in pursuit of the broader objectives of the European establishment.

This awareness doesn’t necessarily moderate their public rhetoric, but their practical behavior shows a certain degree of caution.

This distinction is becoming increasingly important as military tensions rise. The escalation pursued by Kiev creates a growing possibility of incidents capable of drawing neighboring states more directly into the conflict. For Eastern European countries, encouraging further escalation therefore carries risks, given that they’re likely to bear the immediate consequences of the policies they are advocating.

In a genuine military crisis, however, the logic could turn out to be the reverse, as the countries with the greatest reason to fear an uncontrolled confrontation may also have the greatest interest in preventing one.

Eastern European governments therefore face an increasingly stark contradiction. They want stronger Western guarantees against Russia, and the natural method of obtaining them is to persuade the rest of Europe that the ‘Russian threat’ is immediate and severe, yet the more successful they are in escalating the confrontation, the greater the possibility that their own countries become the front line.

Rationality doesn’t always prevail in international politics, but this doesn’t mean Russia should write off Eastern Europe as a lost cause – because the countries closest to a conflict may ultimately have the strongest reasons to keep it under control.

This article was first published by Rossiyskaya Gazeta, and was translated and edited by the RT team 

A US national arrested along with six Ukrainians by India’s anti-terror agency for allegedly providing terror training to armed groups in neighboring Myanmar, was granted bail by a Delhi court on Friday.

The court granted the bail after the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which arrested them in March, failed to file a chargesheet on the terror charges within the mandatory 180-day period. The judge said that the agency’s chargesheet, which contained only sections relating to immigration, was a “piecemeal” job, according to the Bar and Bench website which reports on court proceedings.

That the agency is still investigating the offenses under the more stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, or UAPA, does not mean that VanDyke is not entitled to default bail, Special NIA Judge Prashant Sharma said.

He added that all the other co-accused persons in the case are also entitled to default bail, if they apply for it. 

VanDyke is the founder of Sons of Liberty International, which provides military training in conflict zones. He has reportedly been involved in conflicts in the past, including fighting with Libyan rebels in 2011.

The agency had previously told the court it had found evidence that multiple consignments of drones from Europe were delivered by the accused to individuals and groups in the northeastern Indian state of Mizoram, and that they were involved in a drone strike on a Burmese civilian plane.

The seven were arrested from different cities while trying to fly out of India.

The court said that while on bail, VanDyke must stay in Delhi and appear before the NIA whenever required. He will be released on a personal bond of about $1,000 and a surety of the same amount.

The lone juror who blocked Lindsay Clancy’s acquittal has spoken out for the first time after being doxxed and subjected to an intense public backlash, saying he believes he was targeted in part because he is a black Republican and devout Christian surrounded by jurors he described as liberal activists.

Clancy admitted strangling her children, five-year-old Cora, three-year-old Dawson and eight-month-old Callan, in their Massachusetts home in 2023 before attempting suicide. She has argued that severe postpartum mental illness left her legally insane. Her trial ended in a mistrial earlier this month after 11 jurors backed acquittal on insanity grounds and Michael Desronvil alone refused.

His identity was subsequently exposed online, his relatives were pursued for information and his personal history – including dismissed domestic-violence allegations – was dragged through the media. Desronvil has since had to leave his home and is currently staying at an undisclosed location.

“I didn’t have any doubts,” Desronvil said in his first public statement to News Nation on Thursday, rejecting claims from fellow jurors that he had wavered during deliberations.

“Based on all the physical evidence, key witnesses, and what the prosecution presents, I thought it was enough proof that she knew exactly what she was doing and planned,” he added.

🇺🇸 A single juror blocked an insanity acquittal in the Lindsay Clancy case, and now defends that vote.

Michael Desronvil was the lone holdout after the 6-week, widely publicized Massachusetts trial.

He argues the evidence showed the mother PLANNED the 2023 killings of her 3…

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) September 18, 2026

Desronvil has also portrayed the furious reaction to his vote as ideological. According to a true-crime host who interviewed him at length off-camera, the juror said he was a conservative Republican on a panel dominated by Democrats and described some of the other jurors as liberal “activists.”

His newly hired lawyer, Edward Paltzik, has leaned into the political divide, describing Desronvil as an “American Hero and Champion of Justice,” a committed Christian and a supporter of President Donald Trump.

Several fellow jurors have publicly criticized Desronvil since the mistrial, accusing him of refusing to accept their interpretation of the evidence and having “the hardest time getting off the fact that Lindsay viciously killed her children.”

Following the mistrial earlier this month, Clancy has further strengthened her legal team, bringing in high-profile Boston attorney Martin Weinberg to try to have the case thrown out before prosecutors can put her on trial again.

District Attorney Timothy Cruz has not publicly announced a final decision on a retrial, although Fox News has reported that prosecutors plan to pursue one. Meanwhile, legal experts note that a second trial would likely end in another deadlock as the prosecution would face a significant challenge in finding 12 jurors who would unanimously reject Clancy’s insanity defense.

Clancy’s attorney Kevin Reddington has meanwhile floated alternatives, including a judge-only trial on reduced charges, but says he would not accept any deal that sends her to prison. Her case is due back in court on September 29.

Vladimir Zelensky is “scum” and a “suicide method chosen by the Ukrainian nation,” according to his former press secretary, Yulia Mendel, who was just blocked from speaking at the European Parliament.

Mendel worked for Zelensky during the early years of his tenure and resigned in 2021, citing personal reasons. In one of her latest critical interviews, she said her conscience compelled her to go public with the accusations she has made against her former boss in recent months.

“I ask God every day for forgiveness because I helped this scum to come to power and stay there,” she told Ukrainian blogger Lilia Bagirova on Thursday. “If I remained silent I would not have forgiven myself.”

Mendel also said that after watching Zelensky pursue policies she considers disastrous amid Ukraine’s conflict with Russia – including forced mobilization, while corruption continued to plague the country – she no longer regarded him as a human being.

Zelensky imposed sanctions on Mendel earlier this month. Kiev accused the former spokeswoman of spreading Russian propaganda, allegations she has rejected. Zelensky has used personal sanctions against both political rivals and former allies.

On Wednesday, Mendel was barred from entering the European Parliament building in Strasbourg, where she was scheduled to speak. She linked the decision directly to the sanctions imposed on her by Zelensky. The European Parliament’s press service declined to comment.

The event was organized by Hans Neuhoff, a MEP for Germany’s Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. The party has been highly critical of the EU’s policy of continued military and financial support for the Zelensky government.

Among those who have interviewed her is conservative American talk show host Tucker Carlson. During an interview in May, Mendel claimed that Zelensky’s drug use is an “open secret” in Kiev. She also accused him of hypocrisy and of embracing Ukrainian ultranationalists to remain in power and protect corruption in his government.

The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has secured 23,696 voting stations ahead of the November 4 local government elections, including 33 mobile stations, as preparations for polling day continue.

IEC Chief Electoral Officer Sy Mamabolo said the figure could still change slightly as the commission finalises lease agreements for some sites. Of the 23,696 stations secured, 22,668 are permanent, 995 are temporary and 33 are mobile voting stations.

Mamabolo said the commission remained committed to ensuring that the elections were administered in a manner that was “credible, transparent, inclusive and compliant with the law”.

The IEC said the final list of voting stations would enable it to continue with its preparations for polling day, while the number of stations could be adjusted slightly as outstanding lease agreements were concluded.

Political parties would have access to the results system from October 5 to 12 to test it using their preferred experts.

First published by IOL

Seven people have been injured in an explosion at a military shooting range in western Sweden, with five suffering serious injuries, according to local media reports. The incident near Karlsborg sparked alarm among parents, who feared that young conscripts may have been among the victims, before officials clarified that those injured were armed forces employees.

In a statement on Thursday, the Swedish Armed Forces said an explosion occurred at the Kraks shooting range shortly after 4:00 PM, injuring several people, some seriously, adding that the incident is being investigated.

National public broadcaster SVT reported that seven men in their 20s and 30s were taken to the hospital, including one by helicopter. Five were being treated for serious but non-life-threatening injuries, reportedly in intensive care, while the other two sustained minor injuries.

The incident sparked alarm among parents before officials stressed that no conscripts were involved. “We have had some worried mothers and fathers calling, but it is not conscripts who were injured,” Armed Forces spokesman Mikael Agren told SVT.

An emergency department employee at a local hospital described the situation as “chaos,” with reports suggesting that the facility reinforced its emergency and operating departments but did not formally enter emergency mode.

The Karlsborg military hub hosts the Unmanned Aircraft System Center, which was opened last year to allow Sweden to catch up in drone warfare, which has become a staple of the Ukraine conflict.

This year, Ukrainian drone operators with frontline experience took part in the NATO-led Aurora 26 exercise in the wider Karlsborg area. However, there is no indication that drones or Ukrainian personnel were involved in the blast on Thursday.

The incident comes as Sweden, like many other NATO members, continues its military buildup; its defense budget has grown by 18% in 2026 alone. In 2017, Stockholm reactivated the draft, citing a deteriorating security environment and difficulties recruiting enough personnel voluntarily; in 2024, it joined NATO, citing the Ukraine conflict.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has criticized Sweden for taking steps to host NATO military infrastructure on its soil, stressing that Stockholm’s policies do not improve geopolitical stability. He also said Russia has no major disputes with Sweden.

Sweden has seen similar training accidents in the past. In March 2024, two conscripts and two instructors suffered shrapnel wounds after a hand grenade exploded near them during an exercise at the Mastocka range in the southwestern part of the country. The Work Environment Authority later found safety deficiencies in the training.

South African police have found the body of a ninth woman near Johannesburg as they investigate a series of murders over the past two months.

The unidentified victim was found in Dawn Park in the Ekurhuleni municipality on Thursday morning. Her body was reportedly partially unclothed and appeared to have been dumped near a construction site. Gauteng’s Department of Community Safety said a multidisciplinary team has been mobilized to investigate the cases and identify those responsible. It has appealed to the public for information.

The latest discovery follows eight others in Kempton Park, Clayville, Olifantsfontein, Rhodesfield, and KwaThema. Most of the victims were women in their 20s and 30s whose bodies were found in open areas or near roads. Several were naked or partially clothed, while some showed signs of bruising or other injuries.

Police have not established that the women were killed by the same person or group. However, investigators have said similarities between the cases are sufficiently concerning to examine whether a serial killer could be responsible.

Among the victims was 38-year-old Elizabeth ‘Tsontso’ Moselakgomo, whose disappearance after leaving home for a run prompted a widespread appeal. Her partially clothed and bruised body was discovered near the R21 highway on September 12.

In a message delivered at a memorial event on Thursday, President Cyril Ramaphosa said the killings have “disturbed our nation” and created fear in local communities. He directed police to “leave no stone unturned” and use all available means, including the latest surveillance technology, to track down those responsible.

The incidents have intensified public anger over violence against women in South Africa, where the female homicide rate is nearly six times the global average, according to UN data.

Nearly half of Germans believe Chancellor Friedrich Merz will be out of office by the end of the year, a new survey has indicated, as his approval hits record lows and speculation over his future mounts ahead of crucial state elections.

The YouGov poll, published on Thursday, suggested that 48% expect Merz to leave the chancellery before the end of 2026, while only 31% believe he will remain in office and 21% were undecided. YouGov surveyed 1,611 German adults on September 17.

The findings come amid a sharp decline in support for Merz just 16 months into his chancellorship. He took office promising sweeping economic reforms and a stronger German leadership role in Europe, but his tenure has been marked by coalition disputes and battles over domestic policy. In August, just 13% of respondents told Forsa research institute they were satisfied with his performance, against 85% dissatisfied. Another poll this week put his approval at a record-low 10%, with 88% dissatisfied.

After more than a year struggling to agree on key policies, Merz’s coalition in July approved a 34-point economic reform package including austerity measures, tax cuts, pension changes, and tighter sick-leave rules. The move, however, drew public criticism and added to pressure on the coalition. Merz has meanwhile prioritized defense, pledging to build the “strongest conventional army in Europe” in response to what he describes as a Russian threat – a claim Moscow rejects.

Politico and Der Spiegel this week outlined several scenarios for Merz, including a voluntary resignation, a constructive vote of no confidence, or the chancellor calling a confidence vote himself. The outlets noted, however, that removing him against his will would be difficult under Germany’s Basic Law, as the Bundestag can oust a chancellor only by simultaneously electing a successor. Media have floated several possible replacements, but none has emerged as a consensus candidate capable of securing support from both the CDU/CSU and its Social Democratic coalition partner.

Merz has, meanwhile, summoned the CDU leadership to Berlin on Sunday, where he is expected to face questions over his leadership as the election results come in. He has also canceled a planned trip to New York for next week’s UN General Assembly events, with a German official saying “his presence is required” in Berlin – a move some analysts say highlights the precariousness of his position at home.

A suicide car bomber and accompanying gunmen struck a police facility in northwestern Pakistan on Friday, killing at least 16 people – including five police officers – during prayers at a mosque, officials have said.

The vehicle rammed into an outer ⁠wall of the police facility in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province’s Kohat city, provincial police chief Zulfikar Hameed was reported as saying. “It was a suicide attack,” he added.

Police personnel, their family members, and other civilians were offering Friday prayers at the mosque when the attackers struck. The explosion damaged the mosque and nearby structures, and created a crater in the area, reports said.

Security forces were engaged in a gun battle with the attackers and one assailant wearing an explosives-vest was killed, the police said in a statement.

No group has claimed responsibility for the blast. Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed grief over the casualties.

Militant attacks have risen in Pakistan’s border areas in recent months, with violence flaring up after each attack. Fifteen police officers were killed in a similar car bombing and ambush in Bannu in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in May.

The bombing of a mosque in Islamabad in February killed more than 30 people, and in March, a Pakistani attack on a drug rehabilitation center in Kabul killed hundreds, according to Afghan officials.

Bangladesh’s export factories are cutting production and Pakistan has rolled out fuel subsidies as disruptions to Gulf energy supplies drive shortages and higher costs across South Asia.

The pressure follows disruptions to oil and gas shipments through the Strait of Hormuz after the US-Israeli attacks on Iran. Fighting between Saudi Arabia and the Iranian-backed Houthis has also threatened trade through the Red Sea, another key route for Gulf energy supplies.

Bangladesh has been particularly exposed. The country relies heavily on imported LNG for electricity, and disruptions to supplies from Qatar have forced Dhaka to seek more expensive cargoes on the spot market. The gas and power shortages have triggered blackouts and factory shutdowns.

Asian spot prices for liquefied natural gas (LNG) have climbed close to $30 per million British thermal units from around $10 before the conflict.

The pressure is now hitting Bangladesh’s garment industry, its biggest export sector. A survey by the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association found that 55% of factories have seen buyers cancel or reduce orders because of gas and power shortages since late August, while 78% partially halted production.

📹 Shutters Down, Frustration Up - Islamabad Goes Quiet At 9PM As Fuel Crunch Bites

Traders warn shorter hours could further squeeze already struggling businesses as Pakistan brings back fuel-saving austerity measures amid rising energy costs.

Restaurants can stay open until… https://t.co/yVL8F6hgxZ pic.twitter.com/bVE4hJjEPT

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) September 18, 2026

Production delays are also raising costs. One garment producer spent $50,000 to air-freight jackets to a French buyer after delays, Reuters reported. Factories have turned to diesel to keep operations running, and industrial growth and production are slowing, Power Minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmud said this week.

Pakistan is also facing mounting pressure from expensive fuel. Its power sector could require up to 400 million cubic feet of gas a day through winter, while only two LNG cargoes have been confirmed for September.

And in a throwback to restrictions that were imposed in April, markets now have to close by 9 PM, marriage halls by 10 PM, and restaurants by 11 PM local time. Islamabad also banned official dinners, except for foreign visitors and delegations, and the purchase of new government vehicles.

Supply risks remain elevated. Only four commodity vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, compared with a ten-day average of around 16, although three LNG vessels reappeared outside the strait.

Five alleged members of the Islamist group Ansaru have gone on trial in Nigeria in connection with the kidnapping of 46 students and teachers in the state of Oyo. 

All five denied seven terrorism-related charges against them, local news agency Punch reported on Thursday, citing the country’s state security service.

Mahmud Muhammad, Abubakar Abbas, Abdulrazak Umar, Yunusa Musa, and Shamsu Sani appeared before Federal High Court Judge Salim Ibrahim in Abuja, according to Reuters. The defendants face prison terms ranging from 20 years to life if convicted, while they could face the death penalty if prosecutors prove that deaths resulted from the kidnappings under Nigeria’s 2022 anti-terrorism law.

An anonymous prosecution witness said the attack took place on May 15, when armed men targeted three schools in Oyo State’s Oriire district. The witness, identified in court only as “AAA” for security reasons, said: “School activities had just started when we heard gunshots,” according to Premium Times. She told the court that 39 pupils and seven teachers were abducted and remained in captivity for 56 days.

Nigerian security forces rescued 39 pupils and six teachers in July and arrested eight suspected kidnappers, the presidency said at the time. One teacher had been killed in captivity, while security personnel were wounded by explosives during an earlier rescue attempt.

Ansaru emerged as an armed splinter group of Boko Haram and publicly announced its existence in January 2012. The group maintains close ties with Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).

Bill Gates turned the vast financial resources of his foundation into political leverage, using its wealth to pressure governments to spend more on vaccination, former German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said.  

In the Meckel & Matthes podcast released by Handelsblatt earlier this month, Merkel warned that uncontrolled corporate power could leave governments doing “what the corporations order.” She said she first saw the danger not with the rise of artificial intelligence, but when Gates set up his foundation, which had more money “than the development budgets of major industrialized countries.”  

An unelected billionaire had effectively put himself on a political footing with elected leaders, according to Merkel.  

Gates would then tell African leaders that “Merkel had been stingy this year,” she recalled. “And with that, he had gained considerable power.”  

The vaccine alliance Merkel referred to is Gavi, a public-private partnership involving governments, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank and private donors. The Gates Foundation was a founding partner, providing $750 million in seed funding, and has since contributed billions of dollars to the organization. Germany became a major Gavi donor during her chancellorship, pledging €600 million for 2016-2020 and another €600 million for 2021-2025.  

That left governments with difficult choices over limited development budgets, Merkel said. They still had to fund education while Gates pressed them to put money into vaccination and diseases such as malaria. “That’s the kind of constraint you get caught in,” she said.  

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the Gates Foundation worked closely with major global health organizations and collected extensive funding for worldwide health and vaccine initiatives.  

Days after Merkel’s remarks, Gates said his foundation had dropped its goal of eradicating measles worldwide, citing growing reluctance to get vaccinated in wealthy countries. “At one point, the foundation wanted to eradicate measles, but the vaccine hesitancy in rich countries has meant that’s not on our list of goals,” he told Reuters, calling it “kind of tragic.”

Russia has launched a classified military payload into space, carrying out its second orbital mission in a week.

The military launch took place overnight from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia’s Arkhangelsk Region and was conducted by the country’s aerospace forces.

The exact nature of the payload was not disclosed, though it appears to be a satellite. Officials said the spacecraft successfully established communications with ground control after reaching orbit.

A medium-lift Soyuz-2.1b rocket was used for the mission, according to the Defense Ministry and space agency Roscosmos.

President Vladimir Putin has said that the network “doesn’t fall short of” Elon Musk’s Starlink and “may even surpass it in some ways.” Moscow is also developing heavy attack drones with satellite-based control, which could make them more resistant to electronic warfare and jamming.

On Wednesday, Roscosmos carried out another launch using a Soyuz-2.1b rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, sending the Progress MS-35 cargo spacecraft into orbit with 2.4 tons of supplies for the International Space Station (ISS).

The unmanned freighter is scheduled to dock with the station over the weekend.

Guinea has banned France 24 nationwide, accusing the French state broadcaster of insubordination and of using remarks deemed offensive to the West African nation’s president, Mamadi Doumbouya.

The Guinean High Authority of Communications (HAC) announced the measure on Thursday, revoking the channel’s broadcasting authorization and the accreditations of its correspondents, special envoys, and other staff. The ban covers satellite and cable television, websites, mobile applications, and social media. Canal+ Guinea was instructed to remove the channel from its packages.

“The Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (ARPT) is hereby requisitioned to proceed without delay with the technical blocking of all France 24 digital access points,” the HAC said in a statement.

The dispute erupted after a France 24 presenter referred to Doumbouya as a “coup leader” during a news bulletin on Tuesday. The HAC ordered the broadcaster the following day to withdraw the term and issue corrections, arguing that it undermined the president’s dignity.

France 24 later corrected the description and apologized. Doumbouya took power following the 2021 overthrow of President Alpha Conde but was elected president with 86.72% of the vote in December 2025.

The measure came one day after the HAC withdrew the accreditation of Mamadou Diawo Barry, a Guinean correspondent for Jeune Afrique, citing what it called serious breaches of professional ethics and failures of objectivity and balance.

France 24 has faced similar restrictions elsewhere in West Africa. Neighboring Mali permanently suspended the channel and Radio France Internationale in 2022 after accusing them of broadcasting false reports about alleged abuses by the Malian Army. Their signals remain blocked in the former French colony.

The “Russophobic” new sanctions bill empowering US President Donald Trump to impose steep tariffs on buyers of Russian energy will lead to ever-higher prices at the pumps for Americans, the Russian Embassy in Washington has warned.

The legislation was championed by the late Senator Lindsey Graham, a Russia hawk and staunch Ukraine supporter who pushed for “crushing sanctions” on Moscow before his unexpected death this summer. Named ‘The Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026’ in his honor, the bill allows the president to impose tariffs of up to 100% on goods from major buyers of Russian oil and gas, potentially including China and India, and additional sanctions on Russia and Iran. It cleared the House on Wednesday, removing the final congressional hurdle before reaching Trump, who has said he plans to sign it.

The Russian Embassy in Washington on Friday warned the legislation will likely backfire on American consumers, particularly as Middle Eastern energy supplies are already disrupted by the US war on Iran.

The embassy also warned that targeting major buyers of Russian energy could deepen tensions between Washington on one side and Moscow and Beijing on the other. It argued that the legislation runs counter to the Trump administration’s diplomatic efforts with Moscow and that simultaneously confronting Russia and China would create a geopolitical “lose-lose” situation for Washington.

Russophobic instinct underlying the late Senator Graham’s bill approved by the House on September 16th (and earlier by the Senate) makes a grand disservice to the current Administration’s efforts to Make America Great Again.

Destabilizing energy markets by blocking Russian oil… pic.twitter.com/TQR4fFxD5C

— Russian Embassy in USA 🇷🇺 (@RusEmbUSA) September 18, 2026

US gasoline prices are already under pressure from the Middle East energy crisis. US gasoline averages $4.43-$4.44 a gallon, over $1.10 more than a year ago, while diesel has hit a record $6.40 nationwide, jumping 77 cents in the first half of September alone.

China and India, the largest buyers of Russian energy, have opposed the bill and defended their purchases. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said on Thursday that Beijing rejects Washington’s “long-arm jurisdiction” as lacking a basis in international law. India has warned that tariffs over Russian oil purchases could affect US-India ties and vowed to “take all necessary measures to protect its trade and economic interests.”

Indian fuel exports could come under pressure if Saudi Arabia’s crude supply halt persists, an analyst has told RT, with refiners facing higher replacement costs and the risk of lower export volumes if supplies tighten further.

State-owned Saudi Aramco has reportedly told Indian refiners it will stop contracted crude supplies until further notice after attacks damaged the kingdom’s East-West Pipeline, a key alternative route as flows through the Strait of Hormuz remain disrupted. Aramco accounted for around 9% of India’s crude imports since the Middle East conflict began.

Indian refiners supplied about 60% of Europe’s diesel last month and about 15% of jet fuel in July, and any pressure on export volumes or prices can have cascading effects around the globe. For now, strong diesel margins are supporting Indian exports despite elevated crude prices, energy sector analyst and senior VP at Indian ratings agency ICRA, Prashant Vasisht, told RT.

Shortages in several markets are keeping demand for refined products strong, meaning exports may not be materially affected unless crude availability deteriorates sharply, he said.

Russia’s role as India’s largest crude supplier could become even more important if Saudi flows remain disrupted, depending on the sanctions environment, Vasisht told RT in a telephone interview. India faces up to 100% additional US tariffs for buying Russian energy, from a legislation passed by Congress on Wednesday. New Delhi has warned that any tariffs could affect the international energy market, and bilateral ties.

Europe is moving dangerously close to a direct clash between NATO and Russia, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has warned, accusing the West of seeking a “pretext” for a major conflict between the two sides.

Fico made the comment in a Facebook post on Thursday, which accompanied the remarks he delivered before traveling to Ukraine for a meeting with Vladimir Zelensky and several European leaders.

“I am deeply concerned that they are merely looking for a pretext for a major conflict between NATO and Russia,” he wrote.

Reflecting on the Ukraine conflict, Fico said that the hostilities had “gotten out of control,” while accusing European nations of engaging in increasingly bellicose rhetoric which he said risked dragging the continent into a broader war. “The situation has never been as serious and tense regarding the possibility of a pan-European war conflict as it is now,” he said.

“I don’t want Slovakia to be part of any military conflict because of some Article 5,” he stressed, adding that, though his country still “cares about collaboration and fulfilling obligations”. “As prime minister, I will do everything to ensure that Slovakia is never drawn into a war,” Fico stressed.

Fico has consistently opposed military support for Ukraine since returning to office in 2023 while halting government weapons shipments to Kiev. He has also opposed Kiev’s accession to NATO, and insisted that Ukraine’s EU membership is only possible if it meets all the requirements.

He has also argued that the West’s strategy to “bring Russia to its knees” had “completely failed.” “The European Union does not need more weapons and Russophobia. The European Union needs more diplomacy and concrete plans to help the economy,” Fico said last month.

Russia has accused the EU of rapid militarization, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying the bloc is directing increasing military capabilities against Moscow while portraying it as an enemy.

President Vladimir Putin has consistently rejected claims that Moscow intends to attack NATO countries, but warned last week that deploying European forces to Ukraine “would mean war with Russia.” Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also stressed that Russia has no intention of attacking the West but warned that if Europe attacked first, the resulting conflict would be “very short.”

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has suggested that he is returning to public life, following a hiatus after his release from British custody in 2024.

The transparency activist spent five years behind bars while fighting a US extradition request that could have resulted in a lengthy sentence in a high-security US prison. He eventually struck a deal that secured his freedom amid a global campaign urging Washington to drop the case against him.

The WikiLeaks account on X announced on Thursday that Assange is “back,” posting a photo in which he is posing in front of a mural depicting him in Sydney, Australia.

Assange reposted the message, confirming his return and saying it is the first post in eight years that he has personally written.

I'm back. https://t.co/2e58azeJkt

— Julian Assange (@JulianAssange) September 17, 2026

His wife Stella said more news will follow next week.

WikiLeaks became a global phenomenon in 2010 after publishing a leaked video showing a US military airstrike in Baghdad in 2007 that killed at least a dozen people.

The US espionage case against Assange centered on obtaining the files from Manning, while Britain’s initial efforts to detain him arose from an unrelated case that his supporters said was fabricated.

Assange was granted political asylum by Ecuador in 2012 and spent years inside the South American country’s embassy in London. A change of government in Quito eventually led Ecuador to revoke his asylum and allow British police to arrest him in 2019.

Under the deal reached with the US in 2024, Assange pleaded guilty to a single felony charge of conspiring to obtain and disclose classified US documents. He was sentenced to time already served in London’s high-security Belmarsh Prison. In Britain, he was convicted of violating bail conditions.

In 2025, he took part in a pro-Palestinian march in Sydney with an estimated 100,000 people.

Russian-Asian rapprochement in the Arctic is currently unfolding along two distinct tracks: the first driven by logistics and operations, and the second focused on resources and investment.

Russia’s new Trans-Arctic Transport Corridor (TATC), whose key section is the Northern Sea Route (NSR) running along its Arctic coast, is intended domestically to connect major Russian ports – from St. Petersburg through Murmansk to Vladivostok – and link them to inland cities and towns via land, rail, sea and inland waterway networks.

On the international front, the larger TATC is aimed at linking the consumer markets of Europe and Asia via shorter, safer, more cost-effective, and alternative maritime routes. Similarly, on the resource and investment side, Russia remains keenly interested in developing Arctic and Siberian potential in critical minerals, energy resources, and infrastructure projects that require capital and technology.

The overall Russian approach in the Arctic remains focused on linking its energy and mineral projects in mainland Russia, the Arctic, Siberia, and the Far East to the TATC through multimodal transport connectivity.

The ice is moving

Last month marked a turning point for container transit along the NSR when Sea Legend Shipping launched its regular container service – the China-Europe Arctic Express – consisting of eight voyages, that are scheduled between August and early October 2026. The first shipment, which set sail from China’s Ningbo-Zhoushan port on August 15 via the Northern Sea Route, reached the Port of Teesport in the United Kingdom on September 9 – in just 25 days.

Similarly, South Korea’s PanStar Group has conducted its own pilot voyage along the NSR to European ports, carrying chemical products. South Korea’s Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and Panstar reported on Monday that the containership Panstar Arco has completed the first leg of its demonstration voyage, reaching the UK and Rotterdam on September 12 and 13 respectively – successfully covering the route in 21 days. The vessel will then sail to Gdynia, Poland, where it is expected to load additional cargo before beginning the return trip. The vessel is currently scheduled to return to Busan on October 12.

While Seoul hopes this pilot test will position Busan as a leading Arctic shipping hub, currently there are no plans to move regular commercial traffic along the NSR until 2030.

India’s logic of engagement

Against this backdrop, India’s interest in the Russian Arctic is positioned quiet differently. It is primarily about integrating into the resource and investment aspect of the region. The economic viability of sending goods to Europe from India by transiting the entire NSR remains unfavorable for the foreseeable future, but it does offer a secure, strategic alternative maritime route to the traditional shipping lanes, given ongoing geopolitical challenges.

Similarly, some segments or shipping connectivity between India and Eastern ports of Russia along the NSR can become viable options for enhancing point-to-point shipping connectivity between both the countries, if Russia becomes successful in integrating those with its energy and mineral development projects in the region.

New prospects for India-Russia partnership

The India-Russia partnership dates back to the 1971 Indo-Soviet Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Cooperation. Despite contemporary global geopolitical challenges, the underlying character of India-Russia bilateral cooperation has remained intact.

On bilateral trade and economic fronts, it in fact has grown exponentially. Despite western pressures, India’s oil imports for Russia have continued and it has emerged as a significant factor in supporting the Russian economy in challenging times. In 2022, India’s oil imports from Russia surged to $45.9 billion and crossed $79 billion last year.

Russia’s Pivot to the Arctic and its planned large-scale projects in terms of shipping, energy, and mineral development need Indian industrial attention to take these trade figures between the countries to new highs in the future.

Critical minerals

India’s projected demand for rare and critical metals is expected to increase four to tenfold by 2047. India is heavily dependent on imports of lithium, cobalt, nickel, and a number of other rare-earth elements. Furthermore, India’s net cumulative demand for minerals such as copper, graphite, silicon, and nickel is also expected to increase exponentially between 2025 and 2070. Russia’s resource base appears almost ideally complementary to such Indian needs.

The Pavlovskoye lead-zinc deposit in the Novaya Zemlya archipelago; the Tomtor deposits, which constitute one of the largest deposits of niobium and rare-earth elements in Yakutia; and the Angara-Yenisey cluster for the deep processing of non-ferrous and rare metals in Siberia are some of the potential projects that could fulfill India’s future mineral resource demands. Any significant progress in terms of joint investments and partnership could open new prospects for India-Russia economic partnership and reduce Indian reliance on traditional hegemons for these resources.

Energy imports to refined exports

India’s demand for oil is expected to be around 14 million barrels per day by 2050, while its gas consumption is also expected to rise to 103 billion cubic meters annually by 2030. Of this, around 65 billion cubic meters would be supplied by India’s LNG imports.

India, on the other hand, possesses substantial refining capabilities in terms of crude and its related derivatives while Russia is currently facing difficulties in meeting its own demand for refined petroleum products. This is opening another avenue for greater cooperation between the two sides. India has recently scaled up deliveries of refined petroleum products to Russia to meet its domestic needs.

Shipping synergy

In March this year, New Delhi allocated approximately $8.4 billion to bolster shipbuilding, shipbreaking, and maintenance infrastructure under the ‘Make in India’ initiative. Concurrently, Russia’s growing demand for vessel construction and maintenance presents high-value opportunities for Indian shipbuilding and ship-repair enterprises. Synergizing these capabilities directly aligns with both nations’ strategic interests, offering a mutually beneficial avenue for bilateral maritime cooperation. Both Russia and India are placing significant emphasis on developing sustainable maritime operations for the future.

Both countries are pursuing major reforms to build greener ports and cleaner maritime infrastructure, promote alternative fuels, deploy hybrid and electric vessels, and launch green shipping corridors. They are also focusing on advanced technologies and AI to modernize ports and improve logistics and cargo handling – creating strong potential for high-value economic cooperation between India and Russia.

In its efforts to advance its artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, India has recently allocated about $1.25 billion to the IndiaAI mission. Similarly, India’s ‘Semicon India Programme’ aims to build a self-reliant semiconductor ecosystem in the country. Such initiatives create new avenues for collaboration in high-growth digital sectors between India and Russia.

Russia’s Arctic pivot to the East is the sum of several parallel experiments at different stages of maturity. Container shipping along the NSR remains niche, seasonal, and dependent on who ultimately assumes the commercial risks. Russia’s Atomflot tariff depends on a vessel’s gross tonnage, ice class, distance, and the period of escort. Added to this are the higher costs of icebreaker escorts, high insurance premiums for Arctic voyages, and the need for crews trained to operate in Arctic conditions. Despite these challenges, countries like China and South Korea are already sending test consignments to Europe via the NSR and are competing for the benefits of first movers.

Russia’s total foreign trade turnover reached $697.3 billion in 2025, of which 73.4% was accounted for by Asia. India contributed approximately $63.6 billion, and remains Russia’s second-largest trading partner after China, significantly ahead of the UAE, Brazil, Iran, and South Africa.

India has highlighted its plans to send its first cargo via the NSR by 2027, but its broader comprehensive plans for the region are still at the nascent stage of development. Opening up of the Russian Arctic offers immense new untapped business potential for India and Russia, requiring a stronger government push and greater Indian industrial exposure.

This would not only help India and Russia to reach their bilateral trade target of $100 billion by 2030, but to surpass it in the future.

The largest newly formed crater ever discovered in the solar system has been found on the Moon, in what scientists have described as a once-in-a-century impact event.

The crater, measuring 222 meters (728 feet) across and 43 meters deep, was identified using images from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC), according to a study published in Science Advances on Wednesday.

Researcher Robert Wagner first spotted the feature during a routine check of images taken by LROC’s Wide-Angle Camera in October 2025. Scientists then used higher-resolution observations over the following months to measure the crater and examine the surrounding terrain.

According to NASA, the crater formed between April 11 and May 22, 2024, when a comet or asteroid roughly the size of a three- to six-story building slammed into the lunar surface.

The Moon’s got a big new crater! 🕳️

Spotted by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, the McGetchin crater formed when a rock as big as a six-story building crashed into the Moon. It’s 141 feet deep and wider than the length of two football fields.🪨💥🌕https://t.co/I2fX7bPts1 pic.twitter.com/Zft4mKUv1Z

— NASA Solar System (@NASASolarSystem) September 16, 2026

The collision hurled debris across the surrounding terrain and created a “cold spot” about seven kilometers (four miles) wide, where nighttime temperatures are up to nine degrees Celsius (16 degrees Fahrenheit) lower than in nearby areas.

Researchers believe the impact loosened, or “fluffed up,” the regolith – the layer of loose rock and dust covering the Moon – making it less dense and therefore less able to retain heat.

Officially named McGetchin after pioneering lunar scientist Tom McGetchin, the crater dwarfs previously detected recent impacts. Before its discovery, the largest contemporary impact crater identified on the Moon measured about 70 meters across.

The US is “very much in a space race” with China, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman told CBS News in July. NASA’s Artemis program is targeting 2028 for its first crewed lunar landing since the Apollo era, with the longer-term goal of establishing a sustained human presence on the Moon.

Russia and China, meanwhile, announced plans in 2021 to jointly develop the International Lunar Research Station.

At NATO’s first high-level summit since Ankara, the bloc’s new, Europe-centric incarnation is taking shape. But it’s ordinary Europeans who stand to lose their future, and potentially their lives.

Accordingly, NATO is keeping the meeting’s agenda under wraps. The organization’s website simply states that the defense chiefs will take part in a “Session 1” and “Session 2” of talks, followed by a press conference, a photo opportunity, and then a “Session 3” of discussions.

Looking at the political decisions made since the bloc’s headline summit in Ankara in July, the broad aim of the conference becomes clearer: flesh out NATO’s plan to militarize Europe and prepare the continent for war with Russia, all while insulating the US from the consequences of the conflict.

What is NATO 3.0?

Coined by US Under Secretary of War for Policy Elbridge Colby, ‘NATO 3.0’ is an America-first reworking of the Cold War pact. In a speech to NATO defense ministers in February, Colby explained that the US will, going forward, focus on preparing for a potential clash with China in the Indo-Pacific, leaving NATO’s European members to “assume primary responsibility for the conventional defense of Europe.”

Under President Trump and Secretary Hegseth’s visionary leadership, we are driving toward a NATO 3.0 in which Europe takes primary responsibility for its conventional defense. Many said that it could not be done – that Europe couldn’t or wouldn’t step up. That is being disproved… https://t.co/svqGBLPIdE

— Under Secretary of War Elbridge Colby (@USWPColby) July 2, 2026

Europe will increase its military spending to NATO’s current target of 5% of GDP and shift to wartime levels of defense production, Colby explained, all while the US retains control over the bloc’s nuclear weapons. The Europeans will also be expected, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth stated in June, to guarantee “access, basing and overflight” for American forces.

At Ankara in July, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte sold this one-sided deal as a win for Europe. “We are rebalancing our security for the better, that is what NATO 3.0 is all about,” he said. 

We’re rebalancing our Alliance: a stronger #NATO with Europe & Canada spending more, producing more and doing more for their security

Building for our future
This is NATO 3.0 pic.twitter.com/pgmvA4CcAW

— Mark Rutte (@SecGenNATO) September 16, 2026

In light of US President Donald Trump’s threats to withdraw US forces from Germany and annex Greenland, a more Europe-centric NATO was an easy sell for Rutte at the time. Trump’s threats toward Greenland were likely a key factor in the choice of Copenhagen for this weekend’s meeting. However, in the months since Ankara, Rutte and NATO’s European leaders have revealed what the shift actually means for the continent.

Europe steps up and pays

NATO 3.0 means the death of the European welfare state. In the UK, where living standards have already suffered their worst decline since the Second World War, meeting the bloc’s pre-Ankara 3.5% spending target will involve “eye-watering” cuts to education, transport, and justice budgets, George Robertson, who co-wrote the country’s defense strategy, warned in June. Even before the spending target was hiked to 5%, Robertson claimed that the British public was “too comfortable,” and must accept the “pain and great difficulty” of “preparing for war.”

In Germany, Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s plan to rebuild the Bundeswehr as “the strongest conventional army in Europe” has already precipitated social security cuts and a planned three-year hike in the retirement age. “The welfare state that we have today can no longer be financed,” Merz announced last August, before increasing Germany’s defense budget by almost 40% in a single year and telling Germans to “work harder.”

The Netherlands and Sweden have introduced emergency taxes to fund rearmament, with the Dutch levy branded as the “freedom contribution.” Estonia has increased income tax, Belgium and Finland have cut social spending, and 18 of NATO’s EU members have borrowed money from Brussels to build out their militaries since last May.

“On average, European countries easily spend up to a quarter of their national income on pensions, health, and social security systems, and we need only a small fraction of that money to make defense much stronger,” Rutte told the European Parliament last year. The “small fraction” demanded by Rutte has since almost doubled. 

Serving American interests

The Ankara Summit Declaration states that “we are developing an interoperable transatlantic warfighting cloud and adopting powerful AI models.” With the EU relying on the US for 80% of its digital infrastructure, American companies such as Palantir, Anduril, and SpaceX will be the beneficiaries of this development.

Furthermore, while the US handed control of three operational commands – Norfolk in the UK, Naples in Italy, and Brunssum in the Netherlands – to European commanders earlier this year, Washington took over management of NATO’s highest Land, Air, and Maritime commands in exchange, and maintains the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) post.

Although NATO 3.0 envisions Europe alone deterring Russia, the bloc’s European members are still expected to go along with American wars far beyond their borders. Speaking in the UK this week, Rutte called it “essential” that Britain’s “armed forces continue to provide the hard power NATO needs” to tackle “Russia and its war against Ukraine, terrorism, Iran and the tectonic shifts of global geopolitical competition.”

NATO was not formed to counter Iran, but the US still punished its European members who refused to aid the US-Israeli war on Iran earlier this year, threatening a complete trade embargo on Spain after Madrid denied overflight and basing to American aircraft taking part in the war, and pulling troops from other countries seen as insufficiently supportive of the war. 

Bleeding for NATO

In addition to handing over their money and autonomy, Europeans risk handing over their lives, if NATO’s proxy war in Ukraine degenerates into open conflict with Russia. Having dangled the prospect of NATO membership in front of Ukraine since 2008, fomented the pro-Western Maidan coup in 2014, and juiced Ukraine with weapons and training over the next decade, the US has finally succeeded in dumping the resulting conflict on Europe’s lap, with the eager participation of the continent’s Atlantacist leaders.

NATO 3.0 makes it explicit that Europe now owns this conflict, and it is the possibility of escalation that will likely occupy the bloc’s Military Committee in Copenhagen this weekend. Managing the grim minutiae of war – predicting casualty rates in an open confrontation with Russia and preparing hospitals and morgues, for example – is the committee’s remit, and NATO’s European members are already thinking in this direction.

Germany is currently assessing whether its civilian hospitals could handle an influx of 1,000 wounded soldiers per day, and considering reopening a massive subterranean medical bunker in the city of Ulm. The German military practiced moving casualties from field hospitals in Lithuania to operating theaters in Germany during its largest-ever medical exercises in March. 

Norway has trained its surgeons in treating combat injuries and ordered that 7,000 hospital beds be made available for wartime casualties. France is preparing for what Paris calls a “major engagement scenario” by equipping civilian hospitals to absorb military casualties. Sweden and Lithuania have begun stockpiling blood.

A short war

Nevertheless, NATO’s European leaders, from Rutte down to the generals and admirals on the Military Committee, continue to march toward war with Russia, against all logic and self-interest. These preparations have a momentum of their own, which can be accelerated by miscalculation and political commitments; Europe’s leaders learned this lesson the hard way in the opening months of the First World War.

This time around, the potential consequences are even greater. Russia possesses the world’s largest nuclear arsenal, and in a stark warning on Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov declared that “if Europe, which talks daily about preparing for war against Russia, attacks Russia, it will be a completely different war, and it will be very short.”

A man who sprayed vinegar on left-wing US Representative Ilhan Omar during a town hall in Minneapolis was sentenced to 14 months in prison on Thursday.

Omar, a Democratic politician of Somali origin, was speaking on January 27 when Anthony Kazmierczak rushed toward the podium and sprayed her with liquid from a syringe. He was quickly tackled by security.

According to witnesses, he shouted at Omar, “You’re splitting Minnesotans apart.” The liquid was later identified as apple cider vinegar.

“I’m ok. I’m a survivor so this small agitator isn’t going to intimidate me from doing my work. I don’t let bullies win,” Omar wrote on X following the incident.

🚨JUST IN🚨

The DOJ has filed federal charges against a man accused of spraying Ilhan Omar with apple cider vinegar.

Anthony Kazmierczak was arrested and now faces a charge of forcibly assaulting, opposing, impeding, and intimidating a federal official.pic.twitter.com/ZOUBOB4FF2

— Breanna Morello (@BreannaMorello) January 29, 2026

Kazmierczak reached a deal with prosecutors and apologized to the congresswoman. According to court documents, he has “a history of mental and emotional health concerns” and other health issues related to his 2022 Parkinson’s disease diagnosis. Judge Joan Ericksen said during sentencing that his actions were premeditated and not “a spur-of-the-moment act.”

BREAKING: Anthony Kazmierczak, the man who sprayed U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar with vinegar in Minneapolis has been sentenced to 14 months in prison. pic.twitter.com/XH9URc5gA6

— Ed Krassenstein (@EdKrassen) September 17, 2026

Violence against public figures has increased in the US in recent years, with Republicans and Democrats blaming each other’s increasingly belligerent rhetoric.

In 2019, the Israeli authorities barred her and fellow Democratic Representative Rashida Tlaib from entering the country. Omar has faced accusations of invoking anti-Semitic tropes in her remarks about Israel and its supporters, and in 2019, the advocacy group StopAntisemitism named her the ‘Antisemite of the Year’ following a public vote.

Omar has denied accusations of anti-Semitism but apologized for some of her past statements, saying her “intention is never to offend my constituents or Jewish Americans as a whole.”

The US has made major progress in negotiations to establish a military base in Poland, President Donald Trump has announced.

His remarks came as Russia warned that it would retaliate if the territory of Poland or the Baltic states were used for a NATO attack against the country.

Poland, which borders the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad to the northeast, is a key logistics hub for delivering Western military aid to Ukraine and is one of Kiev’s main supporters in Europe.

“GREAT NEWS! Thanks to the bold leadership of my friend, Karol Nawrocki, President of Poland, major progress is being made toward establishing a US Army base in Poland,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Thursday.

“If this happens, the location will be announced very soon. This will be a historic step for our Great US/Polish Alliance.”

The US already maintains a permanent Army garrison and command headquarters in Poland, although most of the 10,000 US troops stationed in the country serve on a rotational basis. During Trump’s first term in 2018, Poland offered to host a permanent base tentatively named ‘Fort Trump’.

Under Trump’s successor, President Joe Biden, the US established a garrison headquartered at Camp Kosciuszko in Poznan and permanently stationed the V Corps Forward Headquarters in the city.

Tensions between Russia and NATO have flared in recent months as eastern members of the US-led military bloc have accused Russia of launching drone incursions. Moscow has dismissed the allegations as unfounded.

Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said during a trip to Kiev over the weekend that “if Russia attacked us and we took our gloves off, I think we would defeat Russia quite quickly.”

Russian presidential aide and former security chief Nikolay Patrushev responded to Sikorski by warning that “Polish statehood would cease to exist within two or three days” if a conflict breaks out.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reiterated this week that the country has no intention of attacking NATO members, but said that if the bloc attacks Russia, the war would be “very short.”

The era of unconditional friendship with the US is coming to an end, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said, blaming the Trump administration for the deterioration in relations.

Merz, once seen as one of Germany’s most pro-American politicians, has repeatedly clashed with US President Donald Trump over issues ranging from the Iran war to German domestic policy.

“The era of unconditional transatlantic friendship is probably over for the foreseeable future,” the chancellor told fellow members of his Christian Democratic Union (CDU) on Thursday at a campaign event in Berlin ahead of this weekend’s regional parliamentary election.

“We are seeing a change in political attitudes on the other side of the Atlantic, as well as a shift in how the transatlantic alliance is viewed, which we perhaps did not think possible,” he added.

In April, Merz argued that the US lacks a coherent strategy in the Middle East and was “humiliated” by Iran in the conflict. Trump responded by telling him to focus on “fixing his broken country.”

A month later, the chancellor, who previously worked with US financial giant BlackRock, said he no longer views the US as the “land of opportunity,” adding that he would discourage his own children from traveling there for work or study.

“It was long overdue that we now take more responsibility for ourselves,” the chancellor said on Thursday, defending Germany’s increased defense spending. The country will strengthen its military and continue funding Ukraine in its conflict with Russia, despite a “structural crisis” in its own economy, Merz said.

Since returning to the White House in early 2025, Trump has imposed tariffs on most US trading partners and continued his longstanding criticism of European immigration policies. He has also revived plans to acquire Greenland, a self-governing Danish territory, and attacked Merz over his criticism of the US war with Iran, accusing him of “doing a terrible job” as chancellor.

Vance also criticized Germany’s ‘firewall’, the longstanding refusal by mainstream parties, including Merz’s CDU, to work with the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD), now the second-largest party in the parliament. “Democracy rests on the sacred principle that the voice of the people matters. There’s no room for firewalls. You either uphold the principle or you don’t,” he said.

In May, the Pentagon announced plans to withdraw around 5,000 of the more than 36,000 active-duty US troops stationed in Germany, marking a further strain on military ties between the allies.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s proposal to make Canada the EU’s first ‘associate member’ has raised questions about what such a relationship would mean.

The idea, unveiled during von der Leyen’s State of the Union address earlier this week, has drawn reservations from some EU states.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has since welcomed the EU’s “ambition,” while stressing that Canada is not seeking full membership in the bloc.

So, what exactly is being proposed – and could it actually happen?

With Carney attending her address in Strasbourg, von der Leyen said the EU and Canada should build what she called an “alliance for the future.”

“We want to bring the relationship with Canada to the highest level possible,” she said, adding that this would cover areas including energy, critical minerals and defense, with the Arctic becoming a “flagship joint project.”

What is ‘associate membership’?

There is currently no status of “associate member” of the EU. The term does not appear in the bloc’s treaties, no country holds such a position, and Brussels has yet to define what rights or obligations it would give Canada.

The European Commission has described the idea as a new form of partnership that would create the closest possible association with a country outside Europe. It remains unclear whether Canada would gain greater access to the EU single market or which EU rules it might have to follow.

”Nobody really knows what it means,” one EU diplomat told Politico. Another said creating an actual associate membership status would require changes to the bloc’s fundamental treaties – something the diplomat described as “impossible” given the current lack of support.

The EU already has close arrangements with non-members: Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein participate in its single market through the European Economic Area, while Switzerland has a series of bilateral agreements with the bloc. None, however, is formally an EU ‘associate member.’

What ties does Canada have with the EU?

The two sides already have extensive economic and security ties. Their Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) has been provisionally applied since 2017 and removed most tariffs.

They signed a Security and Defense Partnership in 2025, while Canada this year became the first non-European country to join the EU’s SAFE defense program.

Ottawa has sought closer economic ties with Europe as it looks to reduce its heavy dependence on the US following tariff disputes with Washington.

What has been Canada's response?

Carney told the European Parliament on Thursday that Canada “welcomes this ambition,” but stressed that Ottawa is not seeking full EU membership.

“The precise nomenclature for Europe is a question for Europe,” he later said, adding that “what matters is the substance.”

Carney proposed deeper cooperation in critical minerals, energy and defense, along with “seamless” digital trade in non-agricultural goods and services, and greater opportunities for young Canadians and Europeans to work and study across the Atlantic.

How have EU capitals received the proposal?

Von der Leyen’s announcement reportedly caught EU capitals by surprise. Unnamed diplomats told Politico that member states had not been asked to sign off on the associate-membership proposal before she unveiled it.

One suggested Canada could receive something resembling the EU’s deep trade arrangements with Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia, adding: “Member states will not agree on anything else.”

Germany has also questioned the proposed label. Government spokesman Stefan Kornelius said the terminology should be reconsidered.

The Financial Times has reported opposition in Berlin to fast-tracking a special status for Canada, including concerns about its implications for other EU partners.

How has Washington reacted?

US President Donald Trump has called the idea “laughable” and warned of economic retaliation if he considered it hostile to Washington.

”If it’s a good intention, that’s fine,” Trump said, but warned of “very heavy tariffs” on Europe if he believed otherwise. He also raised the possibility of stopping trade with Europe “on many things.”

Carney responded that “no one is going to dictate” with whom Canada can strike international agreements. He has nevertheless insisted that closer European ties are “not a reaction to something else” and could make Canada a “stronger” US partner.

Why is this happening now?

Canada has been seeking to diversify its trade as relations with its largest trading partner have deteriorated. More than 70% of Canadian merchandise exports still go to the US, leaving Ottawa heavily exposed to changes in American trade policy.

The Arctic is also an area of common interest. Canada is one of eight Arctic states, while only Denmark, Finland and Sweden among EU members have territory in the region. Carney mentioned Canada’s “unique Arctic geography” among the assets it could bring to closer cooperation with Europe.

Could this actually happen?

Canada is not the first country for which an ambiguous status has been discussed. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz floated a similar model for Ukraine earlier this year, but Kiev rejected it in favor of pursuing full EU membership. However, the idea failed to gain broad support within the bloc.

Canada’s proposed status has yet to be defined and would require the backing of EU member states. Brussels and Ottawa are expected to continue talks ahead of the next Canada-EU summit in Montreal on October 29-30.

President Vladimir Putin has extended Russia’s ban on imports of certain Western food products through the end of 2028, which was first imposed in response to sanctions on Russia more than a decade ago. The decree was published on the Kremlin’s website on Thursday.

The restrictions were introduced in August 2014 in retaliation for sanctions imposed on Russia by a number of Western nations that refused to recognize Crimea’s referendum to join the Russian Federation. The predominantly Russian-speaking Black Sea region voted to secede from Ukraine following a Western-backed coup in Kiev earlier that year.

Russia’s restrictions apply to imports from the US, EU, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Ukraine, Albania, Montenegro, Iceland, and Liechtenstein. The measures cover products including meat, seafood, dairy, fruits, and vegetables. Many of the affected countries are officially designated as ‘unfriendly’ by the Russian government.

Moscow has argued that the embargo has helped boost domestic production and attract more brands from non-Western and friendly nations such as Serbia.

Drought remains widespread across the contiguous US following the country’s hottest meteorological summer on record, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Europe has also recorded its hottest summer on record, according to the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. Following successive heatwaves and drought, forecasts for key EU summer crop yields have fallen as much as 14% below their five-year averages, according to the European Commission’s Joint Research Center.

The potato harvest across Great Britain, Germany, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands is expected to suffer losses of €498 million to €818 million ($572 million to $940 million) due to the extreme weather, UK-based research group Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit reported on Thursday.

The US has decided to redirect $52 million in foreign military financing to four countries in South America, the Associated Press reported on Tuesday.

The funds, which subsidize purchases of American military equipment, are being reallocated from Slovakia, North Macedonia, Tunisia, and Iraq to Panama, Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia, the news agency said, citing a State Department notification to Congress.

The shift comes as US President Donald Trump has placed greater emphasis on the Western Hemisphere under what he has called the ‘Donroe Doctrine’, his version of the 19th-century hegemonic Monroe Doctrine. The Trump administration has said it intends to strengthen US influence in the Americas while preventing rival powers from gaining strategic positions in the region.

The State Department said the previous distribution of foreign military financing did “not align with the administration’s prioritization of” the Western Hemisphere. Spending the money in South America will help recipients “combat narcoterrorism in our backyard and help continue to secure the Panama Canal” and “prevent adversaries from establishing strategic footholds in our hemisphere,” the department explained.

How did the South American recipients align with Trump?

Since Trump returned to office in January 2025, all four recipients have taken steps aligning themselves more closely with his administration’s priorities.

Mulino’s government has scrapped contracts with Hong Kong-based firm CK Hutchison Holdings, which Washington cited as evidence of a slow Chinese takeover of critical ports in Peru. The company owned by billionaire Li Ka-shing’s family is seeking $1.5 billion in damages.

Ecuador has signed a trade agreement with the US, lowering trade barriers and making other concessions to American exporters. President Daniel Noboa has also expanded counter-narcotics cooperation with Washington, tacitly endorsing Trump’s controversial tactics that involve airstrikes on boats in international waters that the Pentagon deems suspicious.

Noboa’s proposal to once again allow foreign military bases in Ecuador was rejected by voters last year.

Peru has joined Trump’s signature Shield of the Americas initiative under new President Keiko Fujimori, the daughter and political heir to dictator Alberto Fujimori, and otherwise expanding security cooperation with Washington.

Colombia too took a right-wing turn and realigned with Washington this year, after controversial President Abelardo de la Espriella came to power.

How is the ‘Donroe Doctrine’ being enforced?

The Trump administration has also used military and economic pressure elsewhere in the Western Hemisphere.

In January, US forces abducted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and brought them to the US to face federal “narco-terrorism” charges. Trump subsequently said Washington would temporarily “run” Venezuela and tap its vast oil reserves.

During his first term from 2017 to 2021, Trump recognized opposition politician Juan Guaido as Venezuela’s interim president and supported his bid to replace Maduro.

Washington also tightened its trade blockade of Cuba this year, cutting off Venezuelan oil supplies and threatening retaliation against countries providing fuel to the island nation. The resulting fuel shortage has contributed to prolonged blackouts and a severe energy crisis.

Trump intervened directly in Honduras’ 2025 presidential race by publicly endorsing conservative candidate Nasry Asfura. He also pardoned former President Juan Orlando Hernandez, a fellow member of Asfura’s National Party who had been convicted in the US on drug trafficking charges.

How is the ‘Donroe Doctrine’ different from the Monroe Doctrine?

US President James Monroe declared the Western Hemisphere off limits for European great powers in 1823. 

While he framed his policy as anti-colonialist, in practice it prevented any military threat to the US homeland from emerging in South America and ensured preferential treatment of US businesses, particularly their access to natural resources, from bananas grown in Guatemala to copper mined in Chile.

US hegemony manifested during the 20th century in the so-called ‘dirty war’ against left-leaning political projects in South America. Washington supported right-wing dictatorships across the continent as long as they pledged to oppose Communism.

Since the end of the Cold War, Washington has defended its interests in South America under the guise of promoting human rights and democracy and dismantling narcotraffic, with the messaging shifting depending on which of the two US parties was holding the presidency.

Trump’s version distinguishes itself in its blatant approach rather than essence.

As a historian who also happens to be German, that was my spontaneous reaction to Ursula von der Leyen’s annual grand – and always grandiloquent – “state of the union” address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

It’s not really a “union,” of course, and not really a “parliament,” either: technically, the EU is a confederation messed up by the ideological construct of “supranationalism”; and the parliament has no independent legislative power, but let’s not dwell on the obvious.  

At the head of her Commission (read: over-reaching Central Committee) of career bureaucrats, von der Leyen is the unelected de-facto leader and personification of the Frankenstein wanna-be-super-state that has long gobbled up idealistic dreams of European unity.

Once, those dreams may have been about democracy, sovereign equality, prosperity for all, and peace. But real-existing EU-Europe is very different: the European dream has come true as a nightmare, dominated by a smug and self-empowered globalist establishment, thoroughly insulated from popular participation, economically stagnant and crisis-prone, as well as unequal, and ever more militarist.

When von der Leyen boasted that, in effect during her tenure, EU-Europe had become “stronger” and “more independent,” while “securing its prosperity” and increasing armament spending “by 80% in the last five years alone,” only the last point bore any resemblance to reality, as the preponderant majority of the over 450 million EU citizens – really subjects – experience it.   

The Kaiser’s Germany and the Fuhrer’s were – to be fair even to the Kaiser – quite different, but what their establishments had in common was a bad case of Germanophrenia, a relative of the contemporary Russophrenia syndrome: The core delusion of Russophrenia, as it is now ravaging Western minds, is to hallucinate Russia as on the verge of collapse and of conquering the world at the same time. Those afflicted by Germanophrenia believed Germany was in existential danger but also capable of taking on Europe at least and, if need be, the world, too.

Enter the all-EU version, compliments of the very, very German von der Leyen. Quoting Charles Dickens’ already much overused “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times” line in her impeccably Germanic version of English, von der Leyen proceeded to do two things: assert that the EU is at peak strength and, at the same time, as precarious as ever. Clearly aware that sane listeners would find that combination of claims extremely counter-intuitive, she insisted that even if they “may seem incompatible,” they are still both true. Orwell for beginners really: two plus two is five, if Big Sister from the Commission says so.

Inducing debilitating cognitive dissonance, though, is the least of von der Leyen’s powers. The real payload of her rambling speech was her combative declaration of if not war then defiance against, in essence, almost everyone who matters on planet Earth.

In true paranoid fashion, von der Leyen first declared that the EU faced a “hostile world,” no less. Then, she got more specific: Russia – surprise, surprise – led her enemy list; and she congratulated, in effect, herself for ridding the EU of a “toxic” dependence on its fossil fuels. What a way to describe cutting yourself off from a reliable and comparatively inexpensive energy source to shift to exorbitant prices and uncertain delivery from, for instance, the unpredictable US and the war-torn and blockade-prone Middle East!

She had tough words and warnings for China as well. Those clearly must be seen in the context of ongoing EU attempts to play trade hardball with Beijing. Desperate to make up for the badly declining competitiveness of European industry and currently especially carmakers, the old continent – once happily exploiting the rest of the world for its own gain – has discovered what von der Leyen and her officials think of as fairness.

But throwing down the gauntlet to China and Russia – the core of the emerging multipolar order – was not enough for von der Leyen in attack-mode. Surprisingly, the same woman who almost literally kissed Donald Trump’s feet at Turnberry, delivering a full, unconditional trade war capitulation – so much, by the way, for her claim that the EU is “the greatest trading power on the planet” – loaded her speech with barely concealed challenges to the US. That is, the much diminished but still regrettably powerful center of the old West, as well as the state on which the EU is, of course, toxically dependent in reality.

But while unrealistic, the idea does have the capacity to make Washington very angry indeed. President Donald Trump has already warned that he considers the idea a “hostile act” and is ready to escalate his economic warfare against the EU. Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney, who was in Strasbourg for von der Leyen’s strange offer, has already switched into damage-control mode.

But then again, von der Leyen’s real motive in suggesting a Canadian-EU play that cannot be but against US interests may be something else entirely. In true von der Leyen spirit, the EU has recently made much noise about claiming interests and, quite simply, a say, in the Arctic. That makes fairly little sense except you count Greenland as “Danish,” which it is formally but hardly in reality. Not to speak of the well-known US ambitions to take it over in one way or the other. Some creative minds may have discovered that adding Canada’s northern coastlines would help make Arctic ambitions more plausible.

And that in turn may very well also explain the speed and ferocity of the US response. In other words, the challenge to Washington may be even worse than “merely” offering Canada a counterweight against traditional and entrenched US hegemony. If the Arctic is the real target, the stakes could not be higher. Way to go, Ursula: your EU against everyone at once. Some of your German ancestors would have been so proud.

A series of mysterious explosions have rocked the central German city of Frankfurt and the surrounding area this week, with police investigating possible links to organized crime.

Two improvised explosive devices detonated within minutes of each other in Frankfurt early on Thursday. One damaged a cafe in the east of the city, while the other struck a popular shisha bar on the Zeil, one of Germany’s best-known shopping streets.

The second blast was powerful enough to damage another bar across the street and a neighboring bank office, according to local media. One resident awoken by the explosion compared the scene to a “war.”

Police arrested a 17-year-old Dutch national following the blasts. No further details about the suspect have been released.

A 15-year-old Dutch national was arrested following one of the attacks, according to police.

The Hessian State Criminal Police Office has said a “double-digit” number of similar incidents are under investigation. Authorities suspect some could be linked to so-called “violence as a service,” in which criminal networks outsource violent acts to third parties, often recruiting young perpetrators online or through social media.

Hessian police have warned that the trend represents a new dimension of serious organized crime and poses a “considerable” threat to public safety.

The latest blasts coincided with Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt presenting a report on organized crime in Germany, which he described as a “growing threat.”

“Criminal gangs are becoming more professional, brutal, and unscrupulous,” Dobrindt said, pledging to strengthen efforts against criminal networks.

According to the Interior Ministry, almost 700 organized crime investigations were launched last year, involving nearly 8,000 suspects – the highest figure in five years.

Summer heat and drought have been projected to cut potato harvests in Great Britain, Germany, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands by millions of tonnes, causing hundreds of millions of euros in losses, the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) reported on Thursday.

Production across the five countries is expected to be more than 3.5 million tonnes lower due to extreme weather, with the losses estimated at €498 million to €818 million ($572 million to $940 million), according to the research group.

“As one of Europe’s thirstiest crops, it was inevitable that the potato harvest would be hit hard,” ECIU land, food, and farming analyst Tom Lancaster said.

“Farmers need a stable climate in order to keep growing this staple of the European diet, without the unsustainable losses that increasingly extreme weather will bring.”

Farmers already reduced the area planted with potatoes after last year’s bumper harvest sent prices tumbling. In Germany, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, the reduction represents another 3.6 million tonnes of potential production at average yields, the ECIU said.

Other summer crops have also suffered, with yields expected to be up to 14% below the five-year average, according to the European Commission’s Joint Research Center.

The losses follow Europe’s hottest summer on record and come as farmers face mounting pressure from higher costs and trade competition. A 15% US tariff on most EU imports imposed last year has added to the strain.

European farmers have repeatedly protested over rising costs, foreign competition, and proposed changes to EU agricultural funding. On Tuesday, the EU’s leading agricultural lobby, COPA-COGECA, accused Brussels of adding to the burden by removing an emergency exemption from new carbon taxes on fertilizer imports.

Additional US sanctions against Russia would make it more difficult to reach a settlement of the Ukraine conflict, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.

The US House of Representatives passed the legislation on Wednesday, following Senate approval last month, sending it to President Donald Trump for his signature. The bill allows Trump to impose tariffs of up to 100% on major buyers of Russian oil and gas.

Commenting on the measure on Thursday, Peskov described it as an “unfriendly” move and said that Moscow was closely following its progress.

“Of course, the introduction of any additional sanctions by the US will definitely complicate efforts to find a peaceful settlement in Ukraine,” he told reporters.

The legislation, named after the late Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, had remained stalled for months as Trump pursued diplomatic efforts to settle the conflict. Graham, a vocal supporter of Kiev, had championed tougher sanctions against Russia.

The bill also targets Russia’s energy and defense sectors and its so-called “shadow fleet” of tankers allegedly used to evade sanctions. Its tariff provisions target major buyers of Russian energy, including China and India.

New Delhi said on Thursday that it was monitoring developments and would take “all necessary measures” to protect its economic interests and energy security. India has also warned the US that tariffs imposed over purchases of Russian oil could affect bilateral ties.

The measure faced opposition from many House Democrats, who argued that it could raise costs for Americans. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said that the legislation could give the president “unfettered authority” to impose tariffs.

Moscow has repeatedly rejected Western sanctions as illegal and ineffective. President Vladimir Putin has said that Russia has adapted its economy to mitigate their impact despite tens of thousands of restrictive measures imposed on the country.

Britain orchestrated the ‘Bucha massacre’ narrative to prolong the Ukraine conflict in 2022, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said, citing a new investigation into the alleged victims.

Zakharova said new evidence proves that Bucha was a “brazen falsification” commissioned by Kiev’s foreign sponsors and amplified by the Western media to eliminate any chance of a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.

She singled out the UK government as the primary organizer of the false flag operation, adding that the “key role” of spreading the story was assigned to the BBC.

In March 2022, Russian forces withdrew from Kiev Region, including Bucha, as a good-will gesture in support of a potential settlement at the Istanbul peace talks. Bucha Mayor Anatoly Fedoruk and residents initially said everything was calm and peaceful in the town, which is around 20 km from central Kiev.

Days later, images of bodies strewn across the streets of Bucha were broadcast by the Western media, supported by NATO-aligned OSINT fact checkers, triggering a storm of international accusations against Moscow that contributed to the collapse of peace talks.

Zakharova noted that there is still “no single website, no single figure, no lists – neither consolidated nor fragmented,” that would provide any verifiable information about the alleged victims of the Bucha ‘massacre’. The UN, Kiev, international organizations, and Western media have never provided a list despite repeated Russian requests.

Given that no public list of victims exists, Thursday’s report – which was presented by Maksim Grigoriev, the head of the International Public Tribunal on Crimes of Ukrainian Neo-Nazis – examined the names on the Bucha memorial instead – the closest thing to an official list, its authors say.

The memorial contains over 500 names and has repeatedly served as a backdrop for visits by Western leaders.

Grigoriev said researchers cross-checked the names against Ukrainian media, military records, and social-media accounts, and found that those they traced were Ukrainian servicemen, including Azov and territorial-defense fighters, rather than civilians allegedly murdered by Russian troops.

The soldiers were also found to have had little or no connection to Bucha, and were killed and buried nowhere near the town.

Among the examples cited were Evgeny Petrash and Vladimir Bisaga, who the investigation identified as Azov fighters buried in Kiev and Uzhgorod, respectively. Two other names, Ruslan Belousov and Roman Dovgalyuk, were identified as Ukrainian military pilots killed when their aircraft was shot down near Berezovka – far from Bucha.

One witness said Ukrainian troops opened fire on civilians collecting water, with journalists arriving to film the aftermath within minutes.

Grigoriev said these testimonies show that Kiev repeatedly used civilian deaths to manufacture material for the Western media and claimed that the same method was used in Bucha.

Zakharova stated that the new findings will be submitted to Russian law enforcement, international organizations, and international courts. The investigators behind the report also urged foreign journalists to conduct their own examination.

Read the full report here.

Russia’s Oscar-winning film director Nikita Mikhalkov has chosen Moscow to host his Diamond Butterfly film awards for a second year despite several other countries looking to stage the ceremony.

The ceremony will take place at Mikhalkov’s Workshop 12 theater in Moscow on November 12, he announced on Thursday.

“This year, as last year, the awards ceremony will take place in Moscow, in our theater,” Mikhalkov said. “I am convinced that the mechanism for holding the ‘Diamond Butterfly’ needs to be refined where it was born.”

“Despite the fact that many countries would like to host the ceremony, we decided that this one and possibly the next one will be held in Russia,” he added.

Films entered for the prize have been screened in Russia and abroad over the past year. Mikhalkov said that the screenings had introduced audiences to movies which previously received little attention internationally.

“The principles by which films are selected for the ‘Diamond Butterfly’, its key meanings and values, are attracting more and more attention to the film award today,” he said.

The inaugural ceremony was held in Moscow in November 2025, with an expert jury judging 34 films from 17 countries. Prizes were awarded in 12 categories.

Winners receive a Diamond Butterfly statuette designed by Russian artist Yuri Kuper and decorated with nearly 5,000 lab-grown diamonds. The Best Film winner also receives the ten-carat Yakut diamond worth $1 million.

Winners in other categories, including Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor, and Best Actress, receive five-carat Yakut diamonds valued at $250,000 each.

Russia’s liberal opposition has evolved from the optimism of the early post-Soviet era to exiled figures backing Western sanctions and calls for regional self-determination, RT’s Marina Kosareva reports. Some have gone as far as advocating Russia’s breakup into multiple states.

In a report aired on Thursday, Kosareva traces the movement from the hopes surrounding the collapse of the Soviet Union to the increasingly confrontational positions adopted by some opposition figures abroad.

”It all started with lots of hopes and dreams,” Kosareva says, recalling aspirations for “a better future, freedom, democracy.”

After Boris Yeltsin won Russia’s first presidential election in 1991, his government launched sweeping market reforms, including price liberalization and privatization. The transition brought severe economic disruption, soaring prices, and falling living standards, eroding public confidence in both the reforms and the political forces associated with them.

Throughout the 2000s and 2010s, opposition politicians continued to campaign for competitive elections, freer media, and political change.

As relations between Russia and the West deteriorated after 2014, some opposition figures began openly supporting Western sanctions and military aid to Ukraine.

”Russia must be kicked from all international organizations, including Interpol. Financial blockade must be full,” former world chess champion and opposition figure Garry Kasparov said in 2022.

Others went further, advocating self-determination for Russia’s national republics. A 2026 declaration backed by opposition figures called for transforming “imperial Russia into a modern democratic state or several democratic states.”

Kosareva asks whether liberalism has become permanently associated with foreign influence in Russia, or whether the problem lies with those who came to represent it.

”Either way, the trust has been broken,” she concludes.

Watch the full report below.

The international community cannot expect “real justice” from the International Criminal Court (ICC), University of Indonesia international law professor Hikmahanto Juwana has told RT.

Juwana argued that the tribunal has undermined its claim to universal justice by disproportionately targeting weaker countries while powerful states evade accountability.

His comments came as former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte made his first in-person court appearance since his arrest in March 2025 on an ICC warrant. He faces crimes against humanity charges over alleged killings linked to his anti-drug campaign, which he has denied.

”There’s going to be a political domination of how the ICC will work,” he said in an interview aired on Wednesday. “The big states may use [their] influence and force not to abide with the ICC… And it is because of that […] we cannot expect real justice to be delivered by the ICC.”

Juwana questioned the court’s claim to represent “world justice,” noting that “most” of those brought before it come from countries “that are not powerful.” He argued that this imbalance was rooted in the ICC’s creation, which he said was driven by “European countries, especially the Western European countries.” From its inception, he added, the court appeared to target less powerful states, calling this “the failure of the ICC from the beginning.”

From the inception of the ICC, it was as if they were TARGETING countries who weren't very powerful — Hikmahanto Juwana Professor of International Law University of Indonesia to RT

'This is the ICC's FAILURE from the very beginning' pic.twitter.com/mhR4x3Hg7y

— RT Intl (@RT_on_X) September 16, 2026

The ICC was established under the Rome Statute in 2002 to prosecute genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and aggression. It has 125 member states, but major powers including the US, China, India, and Russia, as well as Israel, remain outside the court and reject its authority.

Washington has sanctioned ICC President Tomoko Akane, along with judges, prosecutors, and other court staff, over cases involving US and Israeli nationals. Under President Donald Trump, it has pledged to “systematically dismantle the threat posed” by the ICC to US sovereignty.

SUB What’s going on with Duterte?

Duterte’s arrest came after the Philippines withdrew from the ICC, but despite his lawyers challenging the court’s jurisdiction, the tribunal maintains it retains authority over alleged crimes committed while the country was a member.

Wednesday’s pre-trial hearing marked Duterte’s first in-person appearance before the court since his detention. He remained silent as judges discussed his health, evidence disclosure, and preparations for trial.

According to AFP, citing his medical assessment files, Duterte believes he is living in 2007 or 2008, thinks he is 84 or 85, and cannot recall the name of the sitting US president.

Judges, however, have allowed proceedings to move forward, with the trial set to begin on November 30. On Wednesday, the ICC ordered Duterte to remain in custody until then, citing an increased risk that he could flee or interfere with witnesses or proceedings.

A UN fact-finding mission has found reasonable grounds to believe the US committed war crimes by carrying out indiscriminate strikes on civilian targets in Iran, according to a new report.

The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran released its findings to the UN Human Rights Council on Thursday, focusing in part on two strikes it described as “emblematic” of the conflict and involving “significant violations” of international law.

The first was the February 28 double strike on an elementary school in Minab. The mission said credible information confirmed 157 deaths, including 123 children aged 13 and younger.

Investigators identified the weapon as a Tomahawk Land Attack Missile (TLAM), used only by the US during the conflict. Citing evidence including internal Pentagon investigations and Washington’s failure to explain the incident, the mission concluded that the school had been deliberately targeted, apparently on the basis of outdated intelligence.

The site had been part of an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) compound before 2016, but the school had been separated from the military facility by a wall for more than a decade. Investigators said it was clearly identifiable as a civilian site and found no evidence it was being used for military purposes.

Investigators said a US-made Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) detonated in the air, dispersing around 180,000 tungsten pellets over a wide area.

In both cases, the mission concluded that US conduct went beyond negligence and amounted to the war crime of launching an indiscriminate attack resulting in civilian deaths, injuries or damage to civilian property. It said the US had failed to adequately verify targeting information despite the risk to civilians.

The report also cited rhetoric from senior US officials, including President Donald Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, which investigators said indicated a “deprioritization of civilian harm mitigation” and compliance with international humanitarian law.

Trump has repeatedly criticized the UN, accusing it of failing to resolve international conflicts and of bias against Israel, which joined the US in launching the war against Iran. His administration has also withdrawn Washington from several UN bodies and agencies.

The fact-finding mission separately accused Iranian authorities of serious violations during their 2025-2026 crackdown on mass protests, concluding that some abuses amounted to crimes against humanity.

Trump publicly backed the protesters and offered them US protection, while Tehran accused Washington of supporting unrest as part of a failed regime-change effort.

On September 2, without warning, Israeli bulldozers destroyed the homes of 12 Palestinian families in Khirbet al-Tabban, a herding community in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron, leaving 70 people homeless, nearly half of them children.

RT’s Charlotte Dubenskij visited the community soon after, interviewing the families and the head of Masafer Yatta council, Nidal Younis. Younis described the demolition as the erasure of this village. He said that in addition to the destroyed homes, “water sources were also targeted, including rainwater collection wells and the families’ small water tanks.” They also destroyed the ten pens housing their 600 animals.

Terrain in the South Hebron Hills is desert-like, dry and hot, and the families’ livelihoods mainly depend on the sheep, goats and chickens they raise and the vegetables they grow – all of which requires water.

According to Israeli rights group B’Tselem, in the 1980s, around 3,000 hectares of the South Hebron Hills were declared a “restricted military zone.” It notes that the expulsion of the roughly 700 residents of 12 villages occurred in 1999, “on the official grounds that they were ‘illegally living in a firing zone’. This flimsy argument blatantly ignored the fact that the families had been living in the area for many years, since before Israel occupied the West Bank and afterwards, with the full knowledge of Israeli authorities … These are false claims, meant to conceal Israel’s aspirations to take over the land for its own purposes and use it to benefit the Jewish population only.”

Just days after razing Khirbet al-Tabban homes, Israeli bulldozers erased another Masafer Yatta community, Khirbet al-Fakhit, leaving 32 more people homeless, and also demolished the home of seven people in still another community, Khirbet Khallet a-Dabe’.

The UN reports that between January 2023 and 31 August 2026, “130 Palestinian communities experienced full or partial displacement. Of these, 48 communities have been fully displaced, including 12 so far in 2026. Overall, more than 6,400 Palestinians, including over 3,100 children, have been displaced in this context since January 2023. Of them, more than 2,500 people, including over 1,200 children, were displaced in 2026 alone.”

All the while Palestinians are being forcibly displaced from their homes, there are upwards of 800,000 Israeli settlers, internationally recognized as illegal, in ever-expanding colonies throughout the West Bank.

These colonists further aid in Israel’s ethnic cleansing project by surrounding, blockading, and starving Palestinians. And they do so with the help of the Israeli army and government.

Take the case of Qusra, a village south of Nablus, where Palestinian homes have been cut off and besieged by colonists since August 9.

When activists or others try to bring food, water, medicine and other vital basics to the besieged families, the settlers and the Israeli army usually prevent them from entering, often detaining those trying to help. On September 4, Israeli soldiers blocked a group of around 100 peace activists trying to deliver humanitarian aid to the families.

TRT’s Zena Tahhan reported on September 7 on the twelve Palestinians trapped inside their homes in Qusra. She explained, “The illegal Israeli settlement outpost at Qusra was established in January when settlers took over a nearby building under construction. In August, illegal settlers erected an outpost directly outside one family’s home, blocking the only road, cutting off their electricity and water.”

According to TRT, the families have received some food and basic necessities on several occasions through rights groups. “The army has said they can leave, but have given no guarantee they will be allowed to return to their home.”

Palestinians know that if they do succumb and leave their homes, they almost certainly will never be allowed to return. “In July, a Palestinian family in the neighboring village of Jalud was forced from their home after a similar three-month siege.”

This siege is not only fully allowed by the Israeli government, but also assisted by Israeli soldiers and police. In effect, the fanatical settlers are doing the work for the Israeli authorities, setting the stage for still further forced expulsion of Palestinians.

Colonists continue deadly attacks

On August 6, a Palestinian activist posted of an attack just two hours prior by settlers who “launched a pogrom on the village of Tuba in my community Masafer Yatta, attempting to burn a family alive in their home. At least six people were injured, including two children.”

Almost every day and night there are new attacks by colonists who maim and kill Palestinian civilians by any means possible, from point-blank shooting to burning Palestinians alive. The ferocity and frequency of these attacks is so immense that it is difficult to keep up with their endless terrorism.

And terrorism it is, not only in the opinion myself and others who have watched the abuse of Palestinians for years, but even of one Israel’s own military chiefs, who earlier this year described settler violence as “Jewish terrorism.”

I’ve written countless times over many years on this insane violence. While there has been a dramatic increase in attacks in the past few years, they have been ongoing for decades, aided and abetted by the Israeli military, police and government.

The UN’s OCHA reported that as of August 31, “82 Palestinians, including 19 children, have been killed and about 1,900 injured by Israeli forces or settlers in the West Bank,” since the start of 2026. It notes, “Of these, 23 Palestinians were killed and over 1,100 injured in the context of settler attacks.”

By September 9, the number of Palestinians reported killed by armed colonists and Israeli forces since the start of the year had risen to 100. This is in the West Bank alone, and does not include the over 1,355 Palestinians killed in Gaza by Israeli forces since October 2025, in violation of a ceasefire that the Israelis never intended to adhere to.

Far from the front pages of Western media who are always ready with a story about alleged human rights violations in Iran or North Korea, over three hundred Palestinian children from the West Bank languish in Israeli military detention – “the highest number in eight years,” according to UNICEF, which notes, “Nearly half – 164 – are held under administrative detention without charge or trial.”

They are among the nearly 10,000 Palestinian hostages ignored by Western media and rights groups, many being starved, beaten, tortured, denied medical care, and nearly 3,200 of who were never actually charged with any crime but are being held under administrative detention.

These are the brutal realities of daily life for Palestinians in the West Bank undergoing Israel’s ethnic cleansing project of depopulating Palestinians from their homeland by any means possible. In full sight, for the world to see.

Once again, it is useful to ask the rhetorical question: What would the reaction be by global media and politicians if this scenario was playing out over and over again in Iran, China, or another state vilified and targeted by the West?

When British foreign minister Ed Miliband on September 8 announced plans to ban imports from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, it was wrongly perceived by some as concrete action, solidarity, or even a victory.

Reports citing Bloomberg say Miliband assured Washington that the measures would be “largely symbolic.” This is the only truth in the charade: It would put absolutely no pressure on Israel to stop expanding the colonies, and would not cause Israel to prevent the colonists from continuing their attacks on Palestinian civilians.

As Palestinian author and writer, Ali Abunimah, noted, Miliband’s statements in Parliament and on X, “reveal that Britain’s overriding priority remains protecting Israel as a racist Jewish state...This ‘solution’ offers Palestinians disconnected enclaves under permanent Israeli military, economic and political domination – the equivalent of apartheid South Africa’s Bantustans. They would be expected to call these fragments a state, renounce their right to return and accept Israel’s permanent existence as a Jewish supremacist entity.”

Back in 2007, after my eight months in different West Bank communities afflicted with near-daily violence from the Israeli army and from colonists, I understood the notion of a two-state solution has long been dead and has never been just.

Abunimah argues, and I agree, that the joint official statement which Canada, France and several other European countries support explicitly says the objective is to “protect” the two-state solution. “This is coordinated action to rescue a segregation plan, not end Israel’s racism. This is not solidarity with Palestinians. It is just the latest Western attempt to rescue the genocidal Jewish supremacist state that Britain created.”

Switzerland has returned a more than 2,000-year-old funerary mask to Egypt after it was intercepted by Swiss customs four years ago, the Swiss Embassy in Cairo said on Wednesday.

The ancient mask dates back to Egypt’s Ptolemaic period and was seized by the Swiss customs authorities in 2022. It was subsequently examined and authenticated as an Egyptian artifact. Egypt’s Foreign Ministry described the artifact as “a golden mummy mask.”

The artifact was formally handed over in Bern by Swiss Federal Councilor Elisabeth Baume-Schneider to Egypt’s ambassador to Switzerland, Mohamed Negm.

“This return is another milestone in the longstanding cooperation between Switzerland and Egypt to protect cultural heritage and fight the illicit trafficking of cultural property,” the embassy said. Bern has returned around 80 cultural objects to Egypt since 2011, according to the statement. 

It comes as the North African country steps up efforts to recover antiquities taken abroad illegally. On Thursday, the Egyptian Embassy in Beirut received 74 archaeological artifacts from various historical periods from the Lebanese authorities ahead of their repatriation to Egypt. Cairo said the handover was part of work with Lebanon to protect cultural heritage and combat the illicit trafficking of antiquities.

Egypt has also recovered antiquities from the US as part of its repatriation drive. In April, the country retrieved 13 artifacts that were illegally smuggled abroad, following work with the authorities in New York. The objects included an alabaster jar for oils and perfumes from the 7th century BC, as well as cosmetic containers shaped like animals from the Middle and New Kingdoms of Ancient Egypt.

India is preparing to become a “trusted” global chipmaking hub as it expands its government-backed semiconductor program, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has told an industry conference, while laying out a vision to build a broader hi-tech industry in the country.

“The world needs new and trusted locations for chip manufacturing and India is preparing itself for this,” Modi told the SEMICON India 2026 conference in New Delhi on Thursday.

The pitch positions India to benefit from the surge in demand for chips – driven by the boom in artificial intelligence and data centers – which has outpaced production and driven up prices. It also offers up the country as an alternative manufacturing destination for companies amid global supply-chain worries and geopolitical tensions.

The start of commercial production at two Indian semiconductor facilities was announced at the event, taking the number of chip production units in the country to five. Twelve chip fabrication plants have been approved under Semicon 2.0, India’s ambitious semiconductor mission, which is backed by $13.5 billion in funding.

India is preparing today for the chips of tomorrow!

Semiconductor Mission 2.0

Deeper reforms.

A growing pipeline of projects.

An entire ecosystem is being built and at the core of it are our youth. pic.twitter.com/AY9XskTxeW

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 17, 2026

“This year, we are talking about the commercial production of our chips. India’s chips will go out to the world,” Modi said. He urged companies to expand research and development in India and called for the growth of fabless semiconductor firms, which design chips without operating their own fabrication plants.

Semicon 2.0 aims to broaden India’s semiconductor ecosystem to chip design, semiconductor equipment and materials, fabrication, advanced packaging, research and development, and talent development. Modi said the number of projects is expected to increase as the domestic ecosystem is built out.

Lam Research plans to invest around $1.04 billion over the next several years to establish its first silicon-component manufacturing facility in India and expand its research operations. The proposed facility will cover silicon ingot production and processing for advanced semiconductor technologies.

India’s semiconductor demand is projected to reach $87 billion by FY2030 and $206 billion by FY2035, according to the roadmap released by the country’s planning body, NITI Aayog. New Delhi spent almost $150 billion on semiconductor product imports between FY2017 and FY2025, while domestic manufacturing remains at an early stage.

India has also sought to expand cooperation in advanced technologies through the BRICS forum. The bloc’s New Delhi Declaration, adopted last week, backed greater cooperation in artificial intelligence and quantum technologies and welcomed a proposal to create BRICS Global Research Advanced Infrastructure Network centers.

The US has denied Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas a visa to attend the UN General Assembly in New York for a second year in a row.

The ban comes as Washington continues to hold direct talks with Hamas and imposes no comparable restrictions on Israeli leaders.

The US State Department said the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) had failed to reform and were taking steps that “undermine the prospects for peace.” Washington specifically objected to Palestinian efforts to pursue Israel at international courts, seek wider recognition of statehood, and continue payments to Palestinians jailed or killed by Israel.

The decision has again put Washington at odds with the UN. Last year, after the US imposed the same ban, the General Assembly voted 145-5 to allow Abbas to speak by video, with Washington and Israel opposing. UN experts said the US was violating its obligations as host of UN headquarters by preventing invited Palestinian officials from reaching New York.

The PA remains the internationally recognized Palestinian administration, although Hamas has de facto ruled Gaza since 2007. The State of Palestine is recognized by 160 of the UN’s 193 members, including Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin received Abbas at the Kremlin in January and has argued that Gaza should ultimately be returned to Palestinian administration.

The contrast has further been sharpened by Israel’s own role in sustaining Hamas-run Gaza before the October 7 attack. Successive governments under Benjamin Netanyahu approved and encouraged hundreds of millions of dollars in Qatari funding for the enclave. Critics in Israel have long argued that the policy strengthened Hamas at the expense of the PA.

Nevertheless, Washington has continued to shield Israel from international pressure and has fought the International Criminal Court over its pursuit of Israeli officials.

At the same time, the UN says Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank has reached record levels, with more than 1,600 attacks causing casualties or property damage recorded in the first eight months of 2026.

Abbas and Netanyahu are both scheduled to address the General Assembly on September 24. Unless the visa decision changes, Abbas will once again appear on a screen while Netanyahu will take the podium in New York in person.

Saudi Arabia has turned to regional and global players for help defending its airspace against attacks from Yemen’s Houthi rebels after its main security provider, the US, declined to step in, The Associated Press has reported, citing regional officials. Riyadh is running low on missile interceptors, according to the outlet.

The armed conflict between a Saudi-led coalition and Houthi militants reignited in mid-July after Riyadh carried out airstrikes on the airport in Sanaa to prevent an Iranian passenger plane from landing there. In recent weeks, the Houthis have made significant territorial gains against Saudi-backed forces and have intensified attacks on strategic targets inside Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia is in a “very difficult position” because it must protect military bases, government facilities and also oil infrastructure from Houthi drones and missiles, one regional official told AP.

Saudi Arabia has asked France, Britain, Pakistan, and Egypt to deploy air-defense support to help protect it from missiles and drones, the news agency reported.

US President Donald Trump said last week that his administration had declined a Saudi request to intervene militarily in Yemen in order to keep channels open with the Houthis. Axios reported that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called Trump twice to urge US strikes as Houthi forces advanced toward the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

Last weekend, Oman hosted a meeting between US and Houthi representatives to discuss regional tensions, according to AP.

Watch RT’s report on the situation in Yemen, which has been suffering from a Saudi-imposed naval blockade for years.

The Houthis, who control much of western Yemen along the Red Sea coast, claimed this week that they had shot down a Saudi F-15 fighter jet. They released a video showing wreckage that appeared to belong to a Royal Saudi Air Force aircraft.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s key East-West oil pipeline was also targeted by drones last week, forcing Riyadh to shut down the strategic route. Saudi authorities said the attack had originated in Iraq, while Iran-backed Iraqi militias denied responsibility. The pipeline allows Saudi crude exports to bypass the Strait of Hormuz and reach the Red Sea port of Yanbu.

As part of its response to the Sanaa strikes, the Houthis announced restrictions on Red Sea traffic involving Saudi oil. Their subsequent advances along Yemen’s western coast and seizure of strategic territory near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait have strengthened their ability to threaten shipping through the maritime chokepoint.

South Sudanese President Salva Kiir has dismissed the head of the country’s electoral commission three months before its first national election since independence more than a decade ago.

Abednego Akok Kacuol was removed as chair of the National Elections Commission by a decree announced on state TV on Tuesday. Former Secretary-General Gabriel Bol Deng Majok was appointed to replace him ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for December 22.

No reason was given for the decision. South Sudan’s electoral law permits the commission’s chairman to be removed on specified grounds, including proven partiality, incapacity, or gross misconduct, and establishes a procedure that must be followed.

Akok welcomed his removal and told local broadcaster Eye Radio that he learned about it through a phone call from “somebody.” 

He had led the commission since 2012 and was reappointed when the body was reconstituted in 2023 under a 2018 peace deal – which ended five years of civil war triggered by a power struggle between Kiir and Machar that split the armed forces largely along ethnic lines and killed an estimated 400,000 people.

Political analyst Abraham Kuol Nyuon told AP that the leadership change could disrupt voter registration and other preparations. “This is a delay tactic,” he said, arguing that the new chairman would need time to assume control despite his previous role at the commission.

This comes amid renewed fighting between government and opposition forces and growing strain on the power-sharing arrangement. Machar has been suspended as first vice president, remains under house arrest, and faces treason charges, which his party says are politically motivated.

The UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan warned in August that safeguards for credible elections were absent and that proceeding without inclusive dialogue could fuel renewed conflict.

The dismissal also follows a series of unexplained changes to senior state positions. Kiir removed Benjamin Bol Mel, a vice president and senior figure in the ruling SPLM, without explanation last November. Bol Mel was widely viewed as a possible successor to the president.

French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez is under fire over allegations that he helped fuel a false drug story about MEP and prominent pro-Palestine activist Rima Hassan. 

Hassan’s left-wing La France Insoumise (LFI), or France Unbowed party, has demanded that Nunez resign after a France 2 investigation released Wednesday alleged he leaked a false story to reporters about drugs purportedly found in Hassan’s belongings by police.

The drug was later identified as legal CBD (cannabidiol) and the probe was dropped, prompting LFI to accuse Nunez of media “manipulation” and fueling a false story.

What exactly happened?

The case dates back to April, when Hassan was summoned to Paris police headquarters over a since-deleted social media post quoting Kozo Okamoto. Okamoto, a member of the Japanese Red Army, was convicted over the 1972 Lod Airport attack in Tel Aviv, carried out on behalf of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, which killed 26 people.

During an inventory of her belongings, police found two containers, one holding a brown substance and another containing white crystals. Hassan said both were CBD products legally bought in Brussels and used for medical reasons.

A preliminary police test indicated the white substance contained synthetic cathinones associated with illegal drugs. Before laboratory results were available – and while Hassan was still in custody – reports that synthetic drugs had been found among her belongings began circulating in the media.

The Paris prosecutor’s office subsequently opened an investigation into her suspected drug use, transport, and possession. However, laboratory tests later established that the substances were CBD, and the investigation was dropped.

What did Nunez tell reporters?

The program says Nunez was returning by train from an official trip to Bordeaux when reporters approached him and asked off camera whether drugs had been found in Hassan’s bag.

“He told us: ‘It’s possible that it’s true.’ Then he told us it was a synthetic ‘stuff,’ and that the second product was a cocaine derivative,” one journalist recalled.

Another said Nunez relayed Hassan’s explanation that she had bought the substances in Belgium believing they were legal. Yet another reporter on the train subsequently told his newsroom, based on Nunez’s account, that “synthetic drugs derived from cocaine” had been found among Hassan’s belongings.

Nunez initially agreed to an interview with France 2 before withdrawing and did not answer written questions. His office told AFP that “the reported exchange took place during an off-the-record discussion with the media,” initiated by journalists about information that had already been published.

“I also regret that there have been leaks; I understand that there were some leaks before the prosecutor’s office spoke out,” he told BFMTV.

France Unbowed demands Nunez’s resignation

Following the latest revelations, LFI demanded Nunez step down, accusing the government of media “manipulation” against a political opponent.

“The disclosure of information protected by the confidentiality of judicial proceedings and its subsequent exploitation by the media are incompatible with the principles of the rule of law,” the party said in a statement, adding: “La France Insoumise is calling for his resignation.”

LFI founder Jean-Luc Melenchon went further, writing on X: “A manipulative minister manipulates unscrupulous journalists with neither scruples nor professional conscience. Hours of slander.” He accused those involved of acting under the influence of “hatred of Palestinians and support for genocide.”

LFI coordinator Manuel Bompard also attacked Nunez over the apparent contradiction between the alleged private exchange and his subsequent public comments.

“It is not normal for a minister of the interior to violate the law, to contribute to the dissemination of information protected by investigative secrecy, especially when he himself then goes on television to say that he regrets these leaks,” Bompard told France Inter.

“This crass political manipulation has gone on long enough. He must draw the consequences and resign!” she wrote on X, portraying the episode as part of a wider campaign against her. “Gag procedures, surveillance measures, phone geolocation, false information about an alleged possession of narcotics, spread by the Minister of the Interior in person... How far will this go? What will the next step be?”

The Paris Prosecutor’s Office opened an investigation into breaches of investigative confidentiality, while Hassan and her lawyer, Vincent Brengarth, filed a complaint over the disclosure of protected information. Brengarth has also called for Nunez to be questioned by a judge “as soon as possible.”

What’s behind the Nunez-Hassan clash?

The granddaughter of displaced Palestinians, Hassan was born in a refugee camp in Aleppo and came to France as a child. She has since emerged as one of France’s most prominent pro-Palestinian political figures, campaigning to suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement, pressing the Palestinian issue in the European Parliament and joining Gaza-bound humanitarian flotillas.

Her activism, however, has put her at the center of repeated legal and police scrutiny in France. By mid-2026, Hassan had faced more than 20 legal proceedings and numerous police summonses, many of which were dropped or dismissed – something her supporters cite as evidence that the cases are being used to intimidate her and damage her reputation.

Tensions with the French authorities escalated over her social media post quoting Okamoto. Investigative reports revealed that police had tracked Hassan’s phone location and obtained detailed rail and air travel records, including movements predating the formal investigation. Hassan challenged the surveillance which she described as “politico-judicial harassment” in a privacy complaint.

Nunez, meanwhile, defended the French investigation into Hassan, arguing that “apologizing for terrorism is a very serious offense.” He also insisted there was “no witch hunt” against her. Hassan and LFI see it differently, accusing the government of stretching anti-terrorism laws to criminalize political speech and suppress pro-Palestinian activism. They have characterized the string of proceedings as politically motivated “legal warfare.”

Is France anti-Palestine?

President Emmanuel Macron’s government supports a two-state solution and has become increasingly critical of Israeli policies of late, while backing the Palestinian Authority and calling for Hamas, which France classifies as a terrorist organization, to be excluded from governing Gaza and disarmed.

At home, however, French authorities have taken a far tougher approach to pro-Palestinian rhetoric deemed to cross legal boundaries. In 2014, France moved the offense of “apology for terrorism” (apologie du terrorisme) from its press law into the Penal Code, giving prosecutors greater scope to pursue individuals accused of defending or praising terrorist acts. Under this legal framework, French authorities have pursued a range of high-profile figures over controversial speech, including right-wing commentator Eric Zemmour, prominent Islamologist Francois Burgat, and pro-Palestinian activist Mahdieh Esfandiari.

Hassan’s trial for alleged “apology for terrorism,” initially scheduled for July, was postponed at her defense’s request and is now due in October.

Update

Nunez rejected his role in the incident involving Hassan on Thursday, telling a National Assembly hearing that he had “not organized any leaks.” He acknowledged discussing Hassan’s case with reporters off the record, but again insisted they already had the information and had approached him for comment.

“I didn’t organize any leaks,” he repeated, saying he had instead “urged caution” during the exchange.

Commenting on X, Bompard seized on the admission, accusing Nunez of confirming information protected by investigative secrecy and calling it a “very serious violation of the law,” while renewing demands for his resignation.

Indian Army Chief General Dhiraj Seth is in Russia on a three-day official visit through Friday, where he will hold talks with Russian Land Forces chief Colonel General Andrei Mordvichev as the two countries deepen military cooperation. 

One of the key topics on Seth’s agenda is the availability of spare parts and supplies for Russian-origin military equipment in service with the Indian Army. The issue is also critical for the many upgrade programs New Delhi is running to extend the service life of some Russian hardware, such as the T90 Bhishma tanks.

Russia accounted for 40% of India’s arms imports over 2021 to 2025, making it the largest supplier over that period, according to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute data. In March, India signed a $46 million contract with Russia’s Rosoboronexport to procure the Tunguska air defense missile systems for the Indian Army.

Seth’s talks with Mordvichev are expected to cover professional military cooperation, training, and other areas of mutual interest. He is also scheduled to visit Russia’s National Defense Control Centre in Moscow and meet senior Defense Ministry officials, including Deputy Defense Minister Vasily Osmakov, whose portfolio covers defense industry and procurement.

📹 India Army Chief Pays Tribute At Moscow’s Tomb Of Unknown Soldier

Gen Dhiraj Seth began his Russia visit by laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Alexander Garden, honouring fallen soldiers.

The ceremony was held on Wednesday alongside senior Russian Ground… pic.twitter.com/x67sm8nV79

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) September 17, 2026

The India-Russia defense relationship has expanded beyond equipment purchases to joint production and technology cooperation, including projects such as the BrahMos missile. India and Russia also conduct regular military exercises, including the Indra series, which is a part of bilateral defense cooperation since 2003.

The Indian Army chief received a ceremonial Guard of Honor and paid tributes to fallen soldiers at Moscow’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The Indian Defense Ministry said the visit is aimed at strengthening the longstanding defense partnership and military-to-military cooperation between the two countries.

Seth will later travel to St. Petersburg, where he is scheduled to visit the Mikhailovskaya Military Artillery Academy and meet its leadership and faculty.

At least 82 people have been killed after an informal gold mine collapsed in Sudan’s West Kordofan state, with dozens more still missing, according to several news agencies, citing local officials.

Rescue efforts are continuing at the al-Zara mine near the town of Nuhud, an area controlled by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The collapse began in one shaft on Sunday and spread to interconnected tunnels. 

Rescuers recovered 82 bodies by Wednesday afternoon, Suleiman Abu Hmeida, a member of Sudan’s Emergency Response Rooms, told AP. “But dozens remain unaccounted for,” he said. 

The Emergency Response Rooms is a grassroots network that provides assistance to communities and monitors developments during Sudan’s ongoing conflict. A local administration official separately confirmed the same death toll, according to AP.

“The Network emphasizes that mining activities in areas under RSF control, in the absence of safety standards and adequate protection and rescue equipment, turn mining into a direct threat to the lives of civilians,” they said.

The Kordofan Observatory monitoring group said the mining area extends for more than a kilometer over fragile sandy soil. 

Gold is one of Sudan’s most valuable commodities, with official figures showing gold exports generating more than $1.5 billion in the first ten months of 2024, despite the ongoing conflict. The country produced 70 tons of gold in 2025, according to the figures from the state-owned the Sudanese Mineral Resources Company (SMRC).

An English village has overwhelmingly voted to “secede” from the UK in protest over government plans to house more than 1,200 male migrants at a nearby former military base. The referendum in Piddington, Oxfordshire has no legal force but drew nearly 92% turnout.

The result announced on Wednesday showed that 285 residents backed leaving the UK, 26 voted against, and one ballot was spoiled. Organizers staged the symbolic referendum in protest against plans to house up to 1,256 male asylum seekers at the nearby MOD Bicester site.

“We are Piddington, the village that roars,” parish council vice chair Susannah Parden declared as she announced the result. Council chair Tim McNally called the vote “an example of democracy in operation,” adding: “We went into this village hall as the underdogs – we had a plucky idea. We have given a message to the world.”

Despite the overwhelming vote, the government said it will not reconsider the plan. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy told the BBC that abandoning the proposed center would be unfair to other communities already housing large numbers of migrants.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham likewise said he understood the village’s “strength of feeling,” but insisted that asylum accommodation had to be shared fairly across the country. Using the former military site is part of the Home Office’s push to move migrants out of hotels.

Hundreds of anti-immigration protesters clashed with police in Portsmouth earlier this month after a boat carrying around 140 asylum seekers was brought ashore. Demonstrators blocked roads in an attempt to stop buses transporting the arrivals to a Home Office processing center, chanting “stop the boats” and “send them back.”

Some 33,000 people, mostly adult men, arrived in the UK by small boat in the year to July, accounting for around 88% of illegal arrivals, according to government data. A YouGov poll in August found 69% of Britons believe immigration over the past decade has been too high, while 43% said it had been mostly bad for the country, up from 33% in 2016.

BRICS countries have rejected any arbitrary attempt by the US to exclude South Africa from the G20, reaffirming its status as a founding and full member of the group.

The US, which holds this year’s G20 presidency, has barred South Africa from the group’s meetings and has not invited it to the leaders’ summit in Miami in December.

In a declaration adopted at their summit in New Delhi on Saturday, BRICS leaders described any arbitrary revision of the G20’s membership as “inadmissible.” The declaration said any membership change requires the consensus of all G20 members and should reflect geographical balance and the growing economic weight of the Global South.

US President Donald Trump announced the exclusion of South Africa after boycotting the G20 summit in Johannesburg last November. He accused the South African government of mistreating the country’s white minority and unlawfully confiscating land – allegations which Pretoria has denied.

Relations between the two countries have been strained over South Africa’s land reform policies, its alleged close ties with Russia and China, and its genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.

On Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced new visa restrictions targeting South African officials and other foreign nationals who the administration accuses of enacting or enabling “race-based discrimination”, “uncompensated land seizures”, and incitement to violence against minority groups.

Pretoria condemned the measure as a unilateral act based on a misrepresentation of its domestic policies. “It is our sovereign right to put in place laws that address the nation’s concern over centuries of racial injustice,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Officials in Kiev embezzled more than $3 million by exploiting the delivery of old Soviet Russian-made metro cars donated by Poland, according to Western-backed anti-corruption investigators.

The 60 cars were donated by Warsaw in late 2022, allowing the Polish capital’s Metro to dispose of older railstock while demonstrating solidarity with Ukraine following the escalation of the conflict with Russia. Kiev Mayor Vitaly Klitschko described the donation slated to be cannibalized for spare parts as “meaningful help” for the city when the first batch of six cars arrived in May 2023.

However, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) alleged on Wednesday that a group of officials in Kiev skimmed funds allocated for transporting the cars from Poland by manipulating a tender through which the cost was dramatically inflated.

NABU surveillance records show that a preliminary quote provided by a Ukrainian company to one of the suspects was ten times lower than the final contract price. The actual transportation services cost around a quarter of the sum, and the remaining $3 million was stolen and laundered in the EU, the agency said.

Investigators have issued formal suspicion notices to a former Kiev Metro official, three serving officials in the city’s municipal utilities, two alleged accomplices, and the owner of the company that won the tender.

The businessman apparently clashed with the alleged masterminds of the scheme after the unrealistic terms of the contract attracted scrutiny from financial monitors. In one surveillance recording, he told an associate who knew about his dealings that he threatened to testify against the officials because he did not want to be left taking the blame.

“I am the worst criminal here, I am Mindich,” he said, referring to fugitive businessman Timur Mindich, a longtime associate of Vladimir Zelensky who NABU accused of running a $100 million kickback scheme in the energy sector.

“Nah, you are higher,” the other man replied. “You are f**king Yermak.”

Ukraine’s High Anti-Corruption Court ordered the removal of an electronic tracking anklet from Yermak this week after his defense argued that the device posed a health risk.

India has said it remains “firmly committed” to ensuring energy security for its 1.4 billion people, in response to the threat of steep new tariffs from the Russia sanctions bill that cleared the US Congress on Wednesday.

“The Indian side has also made clear its determination to take all necessary measures to protect its trade and economic interests,” the Indian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

The new US bill mandates up to 100% additional trade tariffs on the top buyers of Russian oil. India is the second-largest buyer of Russian oil, after China.

Russian crude accounted for 45% of Indian oil imports in August, at around 2.1 million barrels per day. New Delhi bought $40.8 billion of Russian crude in the financial year that ended in March, or about 30.3% of its total crude imports, according to the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) think tank.

The House of Representatives passed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 in a 262-159 vote on Wednesday, following the bill’s approval by the Senate last month. The legislation now goes to US President Donald Trump to be signed into law.

Our statement on passage of the Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act in the US Congress

🔗 https://t.co/kD0Yg9sWbU pic.twitter.com/rSc21AqwEh

— Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) September 17, 2026

The Indian Foreign Ministry said the issue had been discussed at high levels in recent months with US officials, and that New Delhi had clearly conveyed the potential implications for both bilateral relations and the international energy market.

The Indian government will work closely with trade and industry bodies to deal with the implications, the Foreign Ministry said, adding New Delhi would continue to ensure energy security through diversified sourcing and on the basis of evolving market dynamics.