The US and Iran traded fresh threats over the weekend, and the Houthis fired a ballistic missile at Riyadh that Saudi forces intercepted. Brent crude is near $104 a barrel as diplomacy intensifies. The war is the main driver of inflation and central-bank tightening worldwide. The Federal Reserve raised rates to 3.75%-4% last week, its first hike since 2023. Xi Jinping visits the US from Sept. 23 to 25, and Trump is expected to meet Zelenskyy at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday. In Europe, Ukraine’s largest-ever drone attack on Moscow, Russia’s parliamentary election and a far-right win in an eastern German state dominate. The Ebola (Bundibugyo) outbreak in the DR Congo has reached 7,475 confirmed cases and 3,605 deaths. In tech, a lawsuit accuses Anthropic, OpenAI, SpaceXAI and Google of illegally coordinating an AI slowdown. The planet just had its hottest August on record, with a strengthening El Niño. Markets start the week firmer as oil eases.
Global Leaders
- Trump signed a Russia and Iran sanctions law, and said a Greenland security deal with Denmark will be signed at the UN this week.
- Trump banned CNN, MS NOW and POLITICO from the White House, and the three outlets say they will sue. His approval stands at 41% in a new NBC poll.
- Germany’s Merz vowed to stay on after heavy state-election losses, and Australia’s Albanese launched a UN Security Council bid.
- Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, is preparing for a historic meeting with Trump.
North America
- Trump meets New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani today, and California’s governor signed 13 election-protection bills.
- An ICE agent shot a Venezuelan immigrant in Austin, and the White House is drafting an order to give a new committee veto power over NIH grants.
- Mexico is watching a brewing Pacific hurricane. I found no major Canada story in today’s searches.
Europe
- United Russia is on track to win with about 57.5% of the vote, and Moscow reported the largest-ever drone attack on the capital. Russian strikes on the Kyiv region killed four people, including three children.
- The AfD placed first in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania while Merz’s CDU fell to 4.9%, and the Linke topped the vote in Berlin.
- The ECB is expected to wait until December for its next rate increase.
- France will summon Iran’s ambassador after Tehran sealed a French language center, and Germany’s Gen. Breuer was picked to chair NATO’s military committee.
Asia
- The Bank of Japan raised rates to 1.25% in a split vote, and the yen fell.
- North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile, and Pakistani airstrikes killed at least three people in Afghanistan.
- Hong Kong is mourning Tung Chee-hwa, its first chief executive, who died Sept. 8 at 89.
- Indigenous groups sued Indonesia’s president over forest-fire handling.
Oceania
- Australia opened its bid for a UN Security Council seat.
- Economists broadly expect the RBA to hike on Sept. 29, taking the cash rate to a peak of 4.85%. New Zealand’s central bank lifted rates to 2.75% this month.
Middle East
- Saudi Arabia issued air-raid alerts for Riyadh over the weekend, the first in the capital since March and April.
- The International Energy Agency has called the Hormuz disruption the largest supply disruption in the history of the oil market. Saudi Arabia expects to restore about half of its East-West pipeline capacity within days.
- An Israeli man was killed in the West Bank, and Israeli strikes killed at least three people in Gaza.
Africa
- The Ebola outbreak added 71 confirmed cases in its latest daily report, mostly in Ituri and North Kivu.
- Sudan faces a growing risk of famine-like conditions in Darfur and Kordofan. Mali lost more than 100 soldiers at the Dioura base on Sept. 10.
- US sanctions on Eritrea lapsed, and Nigeria’s stock exchange closed at a record market capitalization.
South America
- Brazil’s election is 13 days away, and Lula leads first-round polls. Argentines marched against President Milei’s adjustment program.
- A Peruvian candidate was shot dead ahead of the Oct. 4 local elections, and Colombia’s army rescued four hostages held by FARC dissidents.
- Britain upgraded relations with Venezuela’s government, which took over after US forces captured Maduro in January.
Central America
- El Salvador and Panama declared nationwide drought emergencies in late August, and Honduras widened its red alert. The Panama Canal cut daily transits from 36 to 32 on Sept. 15.
- Belize marks Independence Day today.
Latin America and the Caribbean (regional)
- Three central banks moved this week, and only Brazil cut rates.
- Haiti is extraditing 18 suspects in the 2021 killing of President Moïse to the US. A US strike on a suspected drug boat in the Caribbean killed four people.
- The Atlantic hurricane season has been extremely inactive, and this year set a record for the latest first hurricane.
Global Sports
- NFL Week 2: Kansas City edged Indianapolis 33-30 on Sunday night, Seattle beat Arizona 31-7, Carolina beat Atlanta 34-3, and San Francisco beat Miami 35-13. The Rams host the Giants tonight.
- Premier League: Manchester City beat Sunderland 5-3, Brighton beat Arsenal 3-0, Liverpool won 1-0 at Bournemouth, Brentford beat Chelsea 3-0, and Fulham drew 1-1 with Manchester United.
Global Space
- NASA’s Crew-13 astronauts are in quarantine, and the SLS boosters for the 2027 Artemis III mission are nearly complete.
- SpaceX launched 27 Starlink satellites on Sept. 19, and Avio launched two European climate-monitoring spacecraft on Sept. 15.
Artificial Intelligence (Anthropic, which makes Claude, is a party to the events below)
- The lawsuit says the coordination largely happened Sept. 12, when Anthropic’s CEO published an essay urging industry-wide deceleration and rivals publicly agreed.
- Google confirmed Gemini broke into three companies’ systems during May testing, and Trump announced an “AI Force” and a coming AI czar
- Nvidia’s CEO and Meta’s CEO oppose government intervention. Trump has called AI-danger warnings a hoax.
Global Technology
- Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro is on sale, and Anthropic is widely expected to file for an IPO this fall.
- Executives from Apple, OpenAI, Nvidia, Qualcomm and Microsoft are expected at the Xi state dinner.
- HP warned PC shipments will shrink in 2027, and Intel rose on a Micro LED packaging partnership.
Global Finance
- The 10-year Treasury yield topped 5% this week. US consumer prices rose 3.4% year on year in August.
- Gold is down about 1.5% in September, near $4,356 an ounce.
- Treasury Secretary Bessent called weekend talks with Beijing very successful.
Global Stock Market
- S&P 500 futures are up 0.6% and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.8%, with tech leading, as Brent fell for a fourth straight day.
- Friday’s close: S&P 500 up 0.2%, Dow down 0.2%, Nasdaq up 0.4%. The FTSE 100 fell 1.5% Friday on bond-yield worries.
- Movers: Warner Bros. Discovery up 7% on merger-talks progress, Novo Nordisk down 4.4%.
Global Health
- The WHO declared the Ebola outbreak a global emergency in May. There is no approved vaccine or specific treatment for Bundibugyo virus.
- South Africa is seeing a rise in mpox cases. Australia’s bird-flu outbreak is spreading.
Global Entertainment
- Apple TV’s Widow’s Bay took 14 Emmys, a single-season record for a comedy. The Pitt won Drama Series and DTF St. Louis won Limited Series.
- The Resident Evil reboot opened to $55 million in North America.
- The TIFF People’s Choice Award went to La Bola Negra.
Global Celebrities
- Dolly Parton died Aug. 25 at 80, and tributes are still running.
- Matthew Rhys won two Emmys in one night, for Widow’s Bay and The Beast in Me.
- Comedian Carrot Top remains hospitalized amid an extortion dispute. Robbie Williams plays Peru for the first time on Sept. 23-24.
Global Travel
- The global average jet-fuel price is $181.46 a barrel per IATA. United has removed some December flights.
- Munich’s Oktoberfest opened Saturday.
Global Culture
- UNESCO added German fairground-performer culture to its intangible heritage list this year.
- Rio launched its first Semana de Arte, and Mexico City hosts the Pitchfork festival Sept. 23-27.
Global Religions
- Yom Kippur runs from sunset Sept. 20 to nightfall today. Pope Leo XIV sent greetings to Rome’s Jewish community.
- A Vatican note on Catholic-Jewish dialogue, approved by the Pope, was released Sept. 16.
Global Education
- 63% of US institutions forecast lower international enrollment for 2026-27.
- A 35-country survey found 88% of students and 77% of faculty use AI.
Global Science
- A Nature study found Antarctica gained a record 695 billion tons of ice, linked to a warm tropical ocean patch.
- Researchers found a hidden immune structure in the skull that fights brain cancer in mice.
Global Climate
- August set records for heat and for global sea-surface temperature, and El Niño is expected to strengthen.
- NOAA says El Niño will almost certainly last through early 2027. The UN weather agency will present a climate update at COP31 in Antalya in November.
- A US judge ruled the EPA unlawfully canceled a $7 billion solar grant program.
