Wednesday, September 30, 2026 –
Iran: Iran says it received U.S. response to Strait of Hormuz proposal. U.S. sanctions ten entities in China, Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia over Iran arms procurement. U.S. offers 40 million barrels from strategic reserve. Qatari Prime Minister says Iran war pushed country into budget deficit. Three tankers struck by unknown projectiles in Strait of Hormuz. No explosives found in vans near RAF Fairford, UK police say. Iran executes two more over January protests.
Yemen: UAE vice president visits Saudi Arabia for first time since rift. Ansarallah ballistic missiles strike Saudi-backed forces’ camps in southern Yemen.
Palestine: Israeli strike on vehicle kills six in Gaza City as death toll since Tuesday reaches 13. Israeli forces raid homes, settlers attack Palestinian property across the occupied West Bank. Gaza child mortality more than doubled in 2025 amid Israeli attacks. Qatar PM: Hamas agreed to release all civilian hostages on October 7.
Lebanon: Lebanese soldier, civilians wounded in Nabatieh as Israeli ceasefire violations continue across the south. Four in five Lebanese households struggle to afford basic needs as conflict deepens crisis.
U.S.: Senate blocks resolution on occupied West Bank. Supreme Court allows President Donald Trump’s third-country deportation policy to resume. ICE plans to hire 5,000 more officers by year’s end. California passes law banning shock gloves for law enforcement. Tech executives sign “morally binding” AI accord at White House lunch with Trump. DHS confirms $20 million in taxpayer funds spent on pro-Trump ads, drawing bipartisan criticism. IRS to add citizenship question to tax forms. Trump administration preparing to auto-enroll all children in Trump Accounts before midterms. Trump’s ban on $1 billion in Canadian imports takes effect. Federal prosecutors charge Wilber Garces Perez with assaulting ICE officer in Austin shooting. Senate GOP leaves Trump’s $350 billion defense funding request in limbo before recess.
International: Commercial plane traveling from UAE to Israel forced to land in Saudi Arabia after fight between pilots. Scandal rocks Flávio Bolsonaro campaign ahead of first-round election in Brazil. Amnesty: Mali army, Wagner mercenaries killed at least 34 civilians in seven incidents. UN renews Haiti security force mandate. Belgium to transfer three F-16s to Ukraine by year’s end, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says. Russian Tu-95 bomber crashes during training, killing six crew. Lithuania offers to pay for permanent US troop presence, PM says. UN says North Korea violated armistice; North Korea dismisses DMZ mine blast findings as “farce.” Afghanistan says it killed 41, captured 62 insurgents crossing from Pakistan in three days. Somali pirates kill five crew members before tanker rescue by Puntland forces. Fighting between SPLM-N, Otoro tribe kills over 500 in Sudan’s Nuba Mountains. Malaysia begins sending nearly 1,500 Rohingya refugees back to Myanmar despite safety concerns. 300,000 join French civil servant strikes; student protests turn violent nationwide. UK’s Burnham vows sweeping public service expansion in first conference speech as PM.
Supreme Court allows Trump’s third-country deportation policy to resume: The Supreme Court granted an emergency request Tuesday allowing the Trump administration to resume deporting immigrants to “third countries” where they have no ties. Oral arguments are scheduled for December to issue a definitive ruling.
The order reverses a 1st Circuit Court of Appeals decision that sided with plaintiffs arguing people deserve a “meaningful opportunity” to raise safety concerns before removal to a third country.
Roughly 25,000 people were deported to third countries since February of 2025, according to court records.
ICE plans to hire 5,000 more officers by year’s end: ICE is preparing to hire 5,000 new employees, according to the New York Times, expanding its workforce by roughly 17% after growing by about 8,000 to reach 29,000 employees since Trump took office.
Most recruits are expected to become “deportation officers,” who conduct arrests and manage deportation cases. Their hiring will draw on the more than $100 billion in new funding granted the agency by Congress.
During last year’s rapid hiring surge, hundreds of recruits were removed after being let in with limited or no initial vetting. One of these recruits, David Brouillette, was identified as the agent who fatally shot Colombian immigrant Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Maine in July.
California passes law banning shock gloves for law enforcement: California passed a law banning local, state, and federal law enforcement personnel from using gloves that can deliver painful electric shocks to people.
DHS confirms $20 million in taxpayer funds spent on pro-Trump ads, drawing bipartisan criticism: The Department of Homeland Security committed $20 million from Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill”—funds intended for Customs and Border Protection—to fund campaign-style ads glorifying the president, according to a Tuesday letter from Sens. Patty Murray and Chris Murphy, who called the ads “a shockingly corrupt misuse of taxpayer dollars” and demanded answers within 48 hours. The ads, which began running last week during NFL and college football broadcasts, have drawn criticism from both parties.
Tech executives sign “morally binding” AI accord at White House lunch with Trump: Tech executives, including Anthropic’s Dario Amodei, OpenAI’s Greg Brockman, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, and Elon Musk, signed a “morally binding” constitution on AI governance during a White House lunch Tuesday. At the meeting, Trump also floated forming a 10-person oversight committee for the industry.
President Donald Trump claimed that the tech leaders showed evidence of “tremendous self-policing,” and that they assured him they were putting the “appropriate guardrails” on their models, which have been the subject of recent hacking controversies in the U.S. and Australia.
Zuckerberg told reporters that the Tuesday framework centers on companies maintaining “robust internal controls,” including internal risk reviews and third-party audits reviewed by company boards, calling it “a start and an accord that the whole industry could come to.”
IRS to add citizenship question to tax forms: The IRS is preparing to add a citizenship and work-authorization question to next year’s Form 1040, though tax experts say the change serves no clear administrative purpose since existing tax benefits already require valid Social Security numbers.
Trump administration preparing to auto-enroll all children in Trump Accounts before midterms: The government is preparing to use IRS data to automatically enroll all children under 18 in tax-advantaged “Trump Accounts,” aiming to reach up to 60 million additional children weeks before the midterms. Only 5% of eligible middle- and lower-income families had voluntarily enrolled by summer, sources told The Washington Sun.
It is unclear what advantages would accrue to those enrolled, given that most families remain ineligible for the program’s flagship $1,000 benefit for babies born 2025-2028.
Trump’s ban on $1 billion in Canadian imports takes effect: President Trump’s ban on nearly $1 billion worth of Canadian goods, including dairy products, motor vehicles, and alcohol, took effect Tuesday, the latest escalation in an ongoing trade war.
Federal prosecutors charge Wilber Garces Perez with assaulting ICE officer in Austin shooting: Federal prosecutors in Texas charged Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, the Venezuelan delivery driver shot by an ICE agent in Austin, with assaulting a federal officer, alleging in an eight-page affidavit that his car’s side-view mirror struck agent “L.G.” as he drove away to evade arrest.
The affidavit, based on an interview with another agent whose body camera captured the incident and Garces Perez himself, describes a short pursuit that ended when an SUV struck his car, after which Garces Perez said L.G. fired his pistol through the back-right window, striking him in the upper back. That bullet remains lodged near his spine and had not been removed as of last week. L.G., who was not wearing a body camera, gave no account in the filing.
Senate GOP leaves Trump’s $350 billion defense funding request in limbo before recess: Senate Republicans are set to leave Washington for recess without approving President Trump’s $350 billion defense reconciliation request, part of a broader push toward a $1.5 trillion total defense budget, as party members remain divided over financing.
Defense hawks, including Sen. Kevin Cramer (N.D.), want the full amount to fund priorities including the Golden Dome missile shield. Deficit hawks like Sen. Ron Johnson (Wis.), chair of the Budget Committee, have objected, with Johnson saying he won’t move a reconciliation package until after the midterms without identified spending offsets.
Pentagon Comptroller Jay Hurst said Congress may incorporate some priorities, particularly munitions investments, into the regular discretionary budget instead, though that process is also stalled, with government funding only secured through December 11.
Commercial plane traveling from UAE to Israel forced to land in Saudi Arabia after fight between pilots: A fight between pilots on a commercial FlyDubai flight from the United Arab Emirates to Israel forced the aircraft to make a dramatic emergency landing in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.
Around two and a half hours after departing from Dubai on its way to Tel Aviv, the plane descended from 33,000 feet to 17,000 feet within a minute, before turning close to the Jordanian border and eventually landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
An Israeli official told the AP a fight broke out between two pilots, one of whom was armed with a knife. It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the fight. The aircraft’s captain and the first officer were injured and taken to the hospital upon landing.
During the incident, Israel scrambled warplanes, fearing a hijacking of a plane. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that Saudi Arabia had arrested the pilot who allegedly stabbed the other one. Netanyahu claimed passengers and crew members on the flight managed to subdue the pilot, preventing a “major disaster.”
Scandal rocks Flávio Bolsonaro campaign ahead of first round election in Brazil: Right-wing candidate Flávio Bolsonaro faces a new corruption scandal days ahead of the October 4 election following a report published by Brazilian outlet PlatôBR. Leaked messages, photos, and financial records from disgruntled former business partner Alexandre Santini link Bolsonaro to lavish gifts, including a $60,000 Rolex, sex parties allegedly paid for with suspect funds, and an attempt to lobby a Supreme Court justice.
Amnesty: Mali army, Wagner mercenaries killed at least 34 civilians in seven incidents: An Amnesty International report accuses forces from Russia’s Wagner Group and the Malian army of killing at least 34 civilians across Mali’s Segou, Mopti, and Timbuktu regions, in seven incidents between June 2023 and December 2025.
The victims, according to the report, were mostly pastoralist community members targeted based on their ethnicity or killed because they lived in areas with active jihadist groups.
Describing the incidents as war crimes and “deliberate,” the report noted that “victims were shot, had their throats cut, or were burned alive.” It also provided accounts of torture by Wagner members during patrols and detentions.
UN renews Haiti security force mandate: The UN Security Council extended the Gang Suppression Force’s mandate in Haiti by six months to March 31, 2027. Twelve member states voted in favor of the extension, though China, Russia, and Pakistan abstained over concerns about insufficient funding, personnel and efficacy.
The force, meant to provide security ahead of Haiti’s Dec. 13 elections, is currently deployed at less than 30 percent of its intended size.
Russian strikes kill four, including a child, in Kyiv region overnight: Russian air strikes killed four people, including a child, and injured seven more in and around Kyiv early Wednesday, with Kyiv City Military Administration reporting two dead and four injured in the capital itself.
Neighboring NATO members Romania and Poland scrambled military jets to protect their airspace amid the attacks.
Separately, a Ukrainian drone strike damaged private houses in Russia’s Samara region, an oil-producing hub roughly 1,100 kilometers southeast of Moscow.
Belgium to transfer three F-16s to Ukraine by year’s end, Zelenskyy says: Belgium agreed to transfer three F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine by the end of the year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, noting that Ukraine has already received urgent F-16 ammunition deliveries from Belgium and Spain.
Russian Tu-95 bomber crashes during training, killing six crew: A Russian nuclear-capable Tu-95 strategic bomber crashed Tuesday during a training mission in the country’s far east, killing six crew members, with one survivor hospitalized, Russia’s Defense Ministry said.
The unarmed aircraft went down in an unpopulated area near the village of Krasnoyarovo on the Zeya River, close to the Chinese border, with regional officials saying the pilots “did all they could to steer the plane away from residential buildings.”
Lithuania offers to pay for permanent U.S. troop presence, PM says: Lithuania “ready to pay the bill” for a permanent U.S. military base, its prime minister told Bloomberg TV: “We would definitely go for it if they’re ready, and we would ensure the best possible conditions for the troops.”
The push comes as Trump separately announced “major progress” last week toward establishing a permanent base in neighboring Poland—which President Karol Nawrocki suggested calling “Fort Trump.”
Lithuania, located about 67 miles from mainland Russia, prepares to hold the EU’s rotating presidency in early 2027.
UN says North Korea violated armistice; North Korea dismisses DMZ mine blast findings as “farce”: On Wednesday, North Korea’s Kim Yo Jong, sister of leader Kim Jong Un, called a South Korean investigation into last week’s DMZ mine blast “low and dirty” and a “farce,” accusing Seoul of fabricating evidence. South Korean Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul said North Korean mines caused the explosion that wounded three South Korean soldiers and warned of “corresponding” action.
The UN Command, which oversees the Korean armistice, found another active North Korean anti-personnel mine during a joint on-site investigation with South Korean authorities on Wednesday, and determined “an Armistice Agreement violation occurred.”
Afghanistan says it killed 41, captured 62 insurgents crossing from Pakistan in three days: Afghanistan’s defense ministry said on Wednesday its forces killed 41 alleged insurgents and captured 62 more over three days this week, claiming the fighters crossed from Pakistan “with the support” of Islamabad and that the group included members of the Islamic State group. Pakistan did not immediately comment, though it has rejected similar claims.
Somali pirates kill five crew members before tanker rescue by Puntland forces: Somali pirates killed five crew members—three Pakistanis, one Myanmar national, and one Indian national—aboard the hijacked tanker MT Honour 25 before Puntland security forces rescued the ship and captured 16 pirates, Puntland’s information ministry said Tuesday, marking the apparent first deaths at the hands of Somali pirates in over a decade.
Drop Site contributor Mohamed Gabobe reports on the seizure of the Honour and another vessel, the MT Eureka, in a piece published Tuesday. Gabobe’s report is available in full here.
Fighting between SPLM-N, Otoro tribe kills over 500 in Sudan’s Nuba Mountains: More than 500 people from the Otoro ethnic group have been killed and over 25,000 displaced in months of fighting around Kauda in Sudan’s South Kordofan/Nuba Mountains region, Otoro acting chief Koko al-Degeil Damgala told Sudan Tribune on Wednesday. Fatalities continue to mount daily, he said, while displaced residents are sheltering in caves without humanitarian aid.
Damgala rejected accusations that the Otoro rebelled against the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), saying that the tribe remained invested in the group’s political project, but that it had recently rebelled against “systemic marginalization and misrule” in the region. He claimed that the SPLM-N had begun a wave of arbitrary detentions of prominent Otoro in April, sweeping up aid workers, civil servants, military personnel, and local traders.
Malaysia begins sending nearly 1,500 Rohingya refugees back to Myanmar despite safety concerns: Malaysia began transporting nearly 1,500 Rohingya refugees back to Myanmar Tuesday under police escort, describing the returns as “voluntary” despite UN warnings that “conditions for safe and dignified returns” to Myanmar do not exist for the Rohingya.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim reached an agreement with Myanmar’s military government in July to return 5,000 refugees; the 1,500 returned on Tuesday are part of this group. Doctors Without Borders and more than 160 civil society organizations called for the returns to be halted.
300,000 join French civil servant strikes; student protests turn violent nationwide: Roughly 300,000 civil servants, including teachers, firefighters, and healthcare workers, joined a one-day nationwide strike Tuesday demanding higher pay and better conditions, with police estimating 30,000 marched in Paris. Separate student protests over school conditions turned violent, injuring 10 students and staff and 48 law enforcement officials, with 440 people detained.
General Confederation of Labor general secretary Sophie Binet called the demonstrations “a red alert,” giving the government 48 hours to reverse planned budget cuts, including a proposed annual salary freeze for state workers.
UK’s Burnham vows sweeping public service expansion in first conference speech as PM: British Prime Minister Andy Burnham used his first Labour conference speech Tuesday to promise a “new path” for Britain, pledging to create a “National Care Service,” “free…at the point of use” to give UK residents access to state-funded caregivers, to make adjustments to the “pension triple lock” (which sets the rate by which pensions are raised) by April 2030, and to reduce deposit requirements for young homebuyers.
He also promised drastic changes to British utility provisions, saying he would reverse a Thatcher-era “ban on public ownership of water companies,” and that his government would seek to create a new publicly owned “Great British Grid” to challenge private electricity operators.
Regarding Britain’s foreign relations, Burnham pledged to “stand up to” Russian and Iranian threats and continue its “principled leadership” in support of a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine.
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