Trump yesterday suggested he plans to meet with Brazilian President Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva next week, stating that the two leaders had \u201cexcellent chemistry\u201d when they briefly met during the ongoing U.N. summit. The Brazilian presidency has since confirmed the two leaders may meet. Ana Ionova reports for the New York Times<\/a>; Reuters<\/a> reports.<\/p>\n South African President Cyril Ramaphosa yesterday said that South Africa is in talks with a U.S. trade representative, seeking to reduce tariffs levied by Trump on the African country. In remarks delivered at the U.N. General Assembly earlier in the day, Ramaphosa said that \u201ctrade is now being used as a weapon against a number of countries.\u201d Doyinsola Oladipo reports for Reuters<\/a>.<\/p>\n The U.S. military\u2019s attacks on drug trafficking vessels are \u201conly for television\u201d and will not stop the world\u2019s drug trade, Colombian President Gustavo Petro had told the Washington Post<\/a>. The Trump administration should be targeting powerful Mexican and European drug cartels to effectively counter narcotics trafficking, Petro added. Samantha Schmidt reports.<\/p>\n RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR \u2014 INTERNATIONAL RESPONSES<\/p>\n In a shift in rhetoric, Trump posted yesterday on social media that Kyiv can \u201cwin all of Ukraine back in its original form,\u201d elaborating that \u201cPutin and Russia are in BIG economic trouble, and this is the time for Ukraine to act.\u201d Earlier on, Trump confirmed in a press conference alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that NATO countries should shoot down Russian aircraft that enter their airspace. Ruth Comerford and Anthony Zurcher report for BBC News<\/a>; Eli Stokols reports for POLITICO<\/a>.<\/p>\n Zelenskyy said yesterday evening that he was surprised by Trump\u2019s social media post but supported the \u201cbig shift\u201d in Trump\u2019s position. Zelenskyy said he believed that he and Trump will have a \u201cbetter relation than before\u201d and suggested that \u201cthe fact that Putin was lying to President Trump so many times also made a difference between us.\u201d Pranav Baskar reports for the New York Time<\/a>s.<\/p>\n A Kremlin spokesperson responded today to Trump\u2019s remarks by stating that Russia\u2019s economy is stable and that the Russian army is advancing in Ukraine. The spokesperson said in an interview that \u201cof course, President Trump heard Zelenskyy\u2019s version of events. And [\u2026] this is the reason for the assessment we heard.\u201d Anastasia Lyrchikova and Gleb Stolyarov report for Reuters<\/a>.<\/p>\n ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR\u00a0<\/p>\n Gaza City\u2019s al-Shifa hospital, one of the last functioning hospitals in the city, is overwhelmed with casualties from Israeli strikes, according to healthcare workers. A medic told BBC News<\/a> that the hospital staff are operating on severely wounded patients in filthy conditions and with \u201cminimal to hardly no anaesthesia.\u201d Separately, the Palestine Red Crescent Society said that Israeli gunfire also rendered a key oxygen station at the Al-Quds Hospital unusable, and that Israeli military vehicles are preventing anyone inside the hospital from leaving. Jon Donnison and Rushdi Abualouf report; Abeer Salman, Ibrahim Dahman, Khader Al Zaanoun, Tareq Al Hilou, Oren Liebermann, and Tim Lister report for CNN<\/a>.<\/p>\n Israeli tanks have moved into multiple neighbourhoods in Gaza City in the past day, according to geolocated images. Journalists working for CNN<\/a> report heavy shelling and drone presence, explosions, and the sounds of gunfire in the city. Abeer Salman, Ibrahim Dahman, Khader Al Zaanoun, Tareq Al Hilou, Oren Liebermann, and Tim Lister report.<\/p>\n Starting today, Israel will indefinitely close the only crossing between the occupied West Bank and Jordan \u201cat the direction of the political leadership,\u201d a spokesperson for the Israeli authority overseeing the crossing said. Reuters<\/a> report.<\/p>\n A group protesting Israel\u2019s siege of Gaza by sailing to the territory on a flotilla carrying humanitarian aid early today said that it was attacked by drones, had its communications jammed, and that explosions were heard from some boats. The group suggested Israel could be behind the attack. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the incident. Ephrat Livni reports for the New York Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS<\/p>\n U.N. Secretary General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres said yesterday in his opening speech at the U.N. General Assembly that \u201cthe principles of the United Nations that you have established are under siege\u201d as \u201cwe have entered an age of reckless disruption and relentless human suffering.\u201d Guterres addressed the wars in Gaza, Ukraine, and Sudan, while adding that \u201cthe scale of death and destruction [in Gaza] are beyond any other conflict in my years as secretary general.\u201d Farnaz Fassihi reports for the New York Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n U.N. Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory reported<\/a> yesterday that the Israeli government has shown clear intent to establish permanent control over Gaza and to annex the entire West Bank. The Israeli mission in Geneva dismissed the report\u2019s findings, stating \u201cHamas has genocidal intent towards Israel, the report has everything backwards.\u201d Olivia Le Poidevin reports for Reuters<\/a>.<\/p>\n The U.S. Special Envoy for Syria, Tom Barrack, said yesterday that Syria and Israel are close to agreeing a \u201cde-escalation\u201d deal, wherein Israel will cease attacks on Syria and Syria will agree not to move machinery near the Israeli border. Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa yesterday expressed concern that Israel might be stalling talks, saying\u00a0 \u201cwe are scared of Israel. We are worried about Israel. It\u2019s not the other way around.\u201d Humeyra Pamuk reports for Reuters<\/a>.<\/p>\n On 5 October, Syrian electoral colleges selected by regional committees will elect two-thirds of the 210-member People\u2019s Assembly, in the first election since the overthrow of the Assad government earlier this year. The remaining third of the Assembly will be selected by al-Sharaa. Tom Perry, Suleiman al-Khalidi, Timour Azhari, Firas Makdesi, and Orhan Qereman report for Reuters<\/a>.<\/p>\n Chinese Premier Li Qiang announced yesterday that China will no longer seek new special treatment for developing countries in World Trade Organization negotiations. Qiang presented the decision as coming from \u201ca responsible major developing country,\u201d signalling that Beijing will continue to claim status as a developing nation. The Wall Street Journal<\/a> reports.<\/p>\n U.S. TECH DEVELOPMENTS\u00a0<\/p>\n OpenAI announced yesterday that it will work with Oracle and SoftBank to open five new data centers in the United States as part of the Stargate Project. The announcement makes up 80% of the $500 billion that the companies pledged to spend on AI building facilities under a plan they unveiled in January at the White House. Cade Metz reports for the New York Times<\/a>; Megan Morrone reports for Axios<\/a>.<\/p>\n Chinese tech company Alibaba announced today that it is integrating Nvidia\u2019s AI tools for so-called physical AI into its Cloud Intelligence software platform. Alibaba\u2019s announcement came after its CEO Eddie Wu revealed plans to increase Alibaba\u2019s investment in AI infrastructure in excess of the $50 billion pledged in February. Luz Ding reports for Bloomberg<\/a>; Tracy Qu and Sherry Qin report for the Wall Street Journal<\/a>.<\/p>\n Alphabet\u2019s subsidiary, YouTube, said yesterday that it will allow accounts previously banned for spreading Covid-19 and election-related misinformation to apply for reinstatement, overriding its previous policy of treating the violations as permanent. Alphabet\u2019s lawyer Daniel Donovan wrote<\/a> to the House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH) yesterday, stating that the Biden administration had sought to influence the actions of platforms like YouTube and that \u201cit is unacceptable and wrong when any government [\u2026] attempts to dictate how the Company moderates content.\u201d Zach Vallese reports for CNBC<\/a>.<\/p>\n U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS<\/p>\n The Secret Service yesterday announced that it had seized and dismantled a cache of sophisticated equipment that was capable of shutting down the cellular network in the New York region. Officials said the network included more than 100,000 SIM cards and 300 servers and could be used for encrypted communication or to interfere with emergency response services. That there was no specific information that it posed a threat to the ongoing U.N. General Assembly, the officials said, adding that initial analysis of the data on some of the SIM cards identified ties to at least one foreign nation, as well as to criminals known to U.S. law enforcement. Eileen Sullivan reports for the New York Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n A Florida jury yesterday found Ryan Routh guilty of attempting to assassinate Trump, assaulting a Secret Service agent, and three federal gun charges in connection with an incident on a golf course last year. Routh tried to stab himself in the neck with a pen after the verdict was handed down, and was restrained by court bailiffs. He is set to be sentenced in December. Juliette Arcodia, Carmen Gonzalez, and Corky Siemaszko report for NBC News<\/a>.<\/p>\n Former FBI agent Peter Strzok yesterday lost a long-running lawsuit in which he alleged the first Trump administration violated his First Amendment rights by dismissing him over text messages critical of Trump. In her ruling<\/a>, the judge overseeing the case said that the evidence in the case had failed to prove his constitutional rights were violated. The judge stressed that\u00a0 she was not ruling on whether Strzok\u2019s firing \u201cwas the appropriate sanction\u201d for his conduct. Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney report for POLITICO<\/a>.<\/p>\n TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS<\/p>\n FBI agents found documents marked as classified while executing a search warrant at former national security adviser John Bolton\u2019s office last month, according to a court filing<\/a> released yesterday. The filing suggests the documents included materials that referenced weapons of mass destruction, the U.S. mission to the U.N., and records related to the federal government\u2019s strategic communications. Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney report for POLITICO<\/a>.<\/p>\n Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has disbanded the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services, a long-standing committee that provided recommendations concerning women serving in the military. A Pentagon spokesperson said Hegseth decided to terminate the advisory panel as it \u201cfocused on advancing a divisive feminist agenda that hurts combat readiness.\u201d Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart report for Reuters<\/a>.<\/p>\n Attorney General Pam Bondi\u2019s Chief of Staff, Chad Mizelle, is set to leave the Department of Justice, Axios<\/a> reports. He currently oversees the DOJ\u2019s Civil Division and Civil Rights Division. Mizelle said that he would continue \u201cexposing the left-wing groups responsible for violence\u201d across the United States and supporting the Trump administration\u2019s work. Mike Allen reports.<\/p>\n The General Services Administration is seeking to rehire hundreds of federal employees responsible for managing government workspaces who were fired during Elon Musk\u2019s downsizing effort earlier this year, according to an internal memo obtained by AP News<\/a>. Joshua Goodman and Ryan J. Foley report.<\/p>\n The Trump administration has launched an internal investigation into FEMA employees who signed a letter to Congress<\/a> warning that FEMA\u2019s present leadership threatens effective emergency management and endangers the public. According to internal emails seen by CNN<\/a>, FEMA has ordered the employees to sign non-disclosure agreements and schedule interviews with investigators as part of the probe. The disaster relief agency has placed several of the staffers who signed the letter on paid administrative leave in August. Gabe Cohen reports.\u00a0<\/p>\n U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS\u00a0<\/p>\n Government officials in Eswatini and Jamaica said this week that a Jamaican citizen who was deported from the United States to a prison in Eswatini, a country to which he has no ties, has now been repatriated to Jamaica. Orville Etoria\u2019s deportation to a prison in Eswatini generated alarm among rights groups, who argued that he had been unlawfully detained as he faced no criminal charges. John Eligon reports for the New York Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n 14 immigration judges were fired last Friday, adding to over 80 judges already let go by the Trump administration this year, sources told NPR<\/a>. \u201cThe dismissal of more immigration judges is an illogical and costly setback for the nation\u2019s immigration courts,\u201d Matt Biggs, the president of a union that represents immigration judges, said. Ximeno Bustillo reports.<\/p>\n Did you miss this?\u00a0Stay up-to-date with our\u00a0Litigation Tracker: Legal Challenges to Trump Administration Actions<\/a><\/p>\n If you enjoy listening, Just Security\u2019s analytic articles are also available in audio form on the justsecurity.org website.<\/p>\n ICYMI: yesterday on\u00a0Just Security<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/AD_4nXchCAluDft2LKA1wOLQ4i6pCzxIl0l-NcwpWXsODFsCUPu4amZ-9579JwGXy0dHUrxRzx7xqb2qETGLFJ1nxK5VHTcANGd2.png\"\/)
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