NEED TO KNOW
KSA Houthis hit Riyadh: Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis launched an attack on the Saudi capital on Saturday and smoke was seen rising near the international airport causing flight disruptions. The attack follows the group’s rapid advances this month, including the seizure of the strategic port of Mokha and Perim Island, giving them greater control over the Bab al-Mandeb Strait and key Red Sea shipping routes. Reuters reported that days earlier, after a Saudi appeal, China privately pressed Iran to use its influence to rein in the Houthis and prevent further escalation that threatens vital energy routes. President Trump cut short a weekend stay at Camp David and returned to Washington last night, while the State Department warned that the conflict could escalate rapidly and today, Tehran said it has received intelligence indicating possible renewed US strikes against Iran.
EU Aramco halts October deliveries to Europe: Saudi Aramco has informed European refiners that they will receive no crude oil allocations for next month under their long-term term contracts, according to Bloomberg. The decision follows an earlier attack that forced the shutdown of Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline to the Red Sea, which normally allows supplies to reach Europe via the Mediterranean. European customers, who typically rely on these steady monthly shipments, previously imported around 577,000 barrels per day from Saudi Arabia.
RU Ukraine strikes Moscow: Ukraine launched a major drone attack on Moscow and the surrounding region today, damaging a Moscow oil refinery and killing two people, according to Russian authorities. The strike came just days after Donald Trump called on President Zelensky to stop targeting Russian diesel and refinery infrastructure, arguing that the attacks were contributing to the global fuel shortage. Kyiv defended its strikes on Russia’s energy infrastructure as a way of disrupting the revenues and fuel supplies supporting Moscow’s war effort. The Kremlin called the attack “unprecedented” and aimed at disrupting the ongoing elections and said it had downed over 1,600 drones since Saturday, including 450 headed for Moscow.
RU Russia votes for new Parliament: Russia started a three-day election for the Duma on Friday, the first since its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. United Russia, the party backing Vladimir Putin, is expected to retain its dominant position. The only registered party openly opposing the war, Yabloko, was barred from the ballot and several anti-war politicians have been imprisoned or forced into exile, as critics and independent observers question the fairness of the election. The vote is taking place under tight political controls and with electronic voting, while Russia has also extended voting to territories of Ukraine that it has seized. On Saturday, Russian authorities reported attacks on voting systems and communication lines across the country.
DK Greenland deal: The US, Denmark and Greenland have reached an agreement allowing the US to significantly expand its military presence on the Arctic island, with permanent rights to bases, access and overflights, while banning any US adversaries from establishing military facilities there without Washington’s approval. Danish and Greenlandic leaders stressed that the deal fully respects Denmark’s sovereignty over Greenland and the territory’s right to self-determination, with no land being ceded.
JP BoJ, Fed hike rates: Japan’s central bank raised its benchmark interest rate from 1% to 1.25% on 18 September, marking the highest level in 31 years and the first hike in three months, as it seeks to combat rising inflation and move away from decades of ultra-low rates. The US Federal Reserve also raised its key rate this week by a quarter point to a range of 3.75%–4%, the first increase in more than three years. It was a unanimous decision by the Federal Open Market Committee, aimed at tackling persistently high inflation, despite intense political pressure for cuts from President Trump.
EU Canada receives “associate member” invitation: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed during her State of the European Union address on September 16 that Canada become the EU’s first “associate member,” an unprecedented status that does not currently exist in EU treaties. The aim is to go beyond the existing CETA trade deal into areas including defence industry integration, critical minerals, energy security, technology, AI, and people-to-people exchanges (such as potential Erasmus+ participation). Canadian PM Mark Carney, who attended the speech in Strasbourg, received a standing ovation from MEPs and welcomed the ambition for closer ties, while stressing Canada seeks a unique alliance rather than full membership. President Trump threatened “very serious tariffs” if he judged the move as a “hostile act”.
FR Macron sounds alarm over Russian hybrid warfare: President Macron has ordered the government to prepare a plan to protect France’s critical infrastructure and sensitive defence-industry sites against what he describes as an intensifying Russian hybrid threat, including drone and cyberattacks. Macron said France itself had been targeted by such attacks in recent weeks and warned they would not go unanswered. He linked the broader threat to Russia’s efforts to intimidate European countries and undermine their support for Ukraine, citing recent incidents elsewhere in Europe.
RU Nestlé assets seized: Russian authorities have placed the Russian businesses and assets of Swiss food giant Nestlé and three French companies, Auchan, Lemana Pro (formerly Leroy Merlin), and FM Logistic, under temporary administration. The Kremlin cited the companies’ links to countries it considers “unfriendly,” while the measure could eventually lead to forced sales or transfers to Russian buyers, as has happened with other Western companies. Nestlé said it was assessing the situation and its options, though the impact is expected to be small, given that Russia accounts for just over 1% of the group's sales.
US White House media ban: President Trump has barred CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House, accusing the outlets of publishing “fake news” and warning that other media organizations could face similar treatment. The move has raised First Amendment concerns because access appears to be tied to the content of the outlets’ coverage. The three organizations have said they will defend their right to cover the administration, while the White House Correspondents’ Association and press-freedom groups have also objected.
PK Energy “lockdown” amid surging fuel prices: Pakistan has introduced a new round of austerity measures to conserve fuel as the Gulf conflict pushes up petrol and diesel prices. The measures include cutting fuel allocations for government vehicles by 50%, banning new state vehicle purchases and official foreign trips. The new rules also require shops and markets to close by 9pm, wedding halls by 10pm and restaurants and cafés by 11pm. A few days earlier, sharp fuel price increases in Syria triggered the country’s most widespread protests since the fall of Bashar al-Assad, after diesel prices rose 40%.
SWE Center-left wins election by slim margin: Sweden’s election ended in an exceptionally close result, with the centre-left opposition winning 176 seats in the 349-seat parliament, beating the right-wing governing bloc by 3 seats. The Sweden Democrats, which had supported Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson’s government, suffered their first decline in support in a parliamentary election, taking about 17.6% of the vote. Kristersson has resigned, and former Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson has been asked to try to form a government, although bringing the four centre-left parties together could prove difficult. She said that Sweden would now take a new direction after four years during which the government had taken a hard stance on immigration and crime.
GOOD TO KNOW
Swiss neutrality referendum
Switzerland will vote on 27 September in a popular referendum on the “Neutrality Initiative,” which seeks to write a stricter definition of neutrality into the constitution. The proposal would declare Swiss neutrality perpetual and armed, ban membership of or peacetime cooperation with any military alliance such as NATO (except in the case of a direct attack or imminent threat), prohibit participation in conflicts between other states, and stop Switzerland from imposing its own sanctions on warring parties, allowing only UN sanctions and measures to prevent sanctions being circumvented. Supporters argue the current flexible practice has been weakened by decisions such as adopting EU sanctions against Russia and other moves by the government that they believe increasingly erode Switzerland’s neutrality and impartiality. The government opposes the initiative, saying it would reduce Switzerland’s security options and ability to respond to modern threats.
Against this backdrop of intense debate over how rigidly neutrality should be applied, the Federal Council on Friday adopted the Security Policy Strategy 2026, which prioritizes stronger resilience, better protection of civilians and critical infrastructure, and enhanced defence capabilities through 10 objectives and 46 measures aimed at hybrid threats, remote attacks and organized crime. The Council also seeks deeper international cooperation as it emphasized: “As Switzerland is surrounded by EU and NATO member states, their stability and security policy commitments also contribute to Switzerland's security. In return, these states expect Swiss contributions to European security.”
NICE TO KNOW
UK Scottish, Welsh, Irish leaders sign independence pact: Leaders of the Scottish National Party (SNP), Plaid Cymru, and Sinn Féin signed a memorandum of understanding on 14 September affirming their nations’ right to self-determination. The document stated that “no Westminster government has the right to block democracy or undermine the principle that our people will decide their own future”. They told the UK government to prepare for constitutional change in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland and that their future lies with the European Union. At the joint press conference, SNP leader and Scottish First Minister John Swinney predicted that UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham “will be the last prime minister of the United Kingdom”.
CHI Space arms race warning: China has urged the US to halt its military expansion in space after Washington publicly acknowledged for the first time this week that it has weapons deployed in orbit. US Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said the weapons are intended to defend against hostile actions, but did not disclose what systems are involved. China said the move risks turning space into a battlefield and triggering a global arms race, while Chinese analysts warned that other countries could respond by developing their own counter-space capabilities.
CHI Beijing imposes tighter travel restrictions on citizens: China has introduced sweeping new rules that expand the circumstances under which citizens can be prevented from leaving the country, including for reasons related to national, technological and industrial security. The restrictions build on controls that were already affecting civil servants, state-owned enterprise employees and people in sensitive industries, with some reportedly required to surrender their passports or obtain approval for overseas travel. Exit bans have also increased sharply in recent years, with Chinese court records mentioning 188,760 such bans in 2025, compared with just 89 in 2016.
US Anthropic sets up biology lab: Just days after Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei publicly called for a slowdown in AI development over safety risks, Reuters reported that the company has established a physical “wet lab” in the San Francisco Bay Area to expand its AI-driven biology and drug research beyond computer simulations. The lab supports efforts to tackle rare diseases that the company thinks the pharmaceutical industry is neglecting, with plans for Claude AI to help direct robotic experiments under human oversight.
UK Digital test for preschoolers causes distress: A study by researchers at University College London and Leeds Beckett University found that every four- and five-year-old filmed taking the new digital Reception Baseline Assessment, a government-mandated on-screen test to measure early literacy, language and maths skills, showed signs of distress, including crying. The touchscreen format also distorted results, with some children who understood the questions losing marks due to difficulties dragging or tapping correctly. The Department for Education introduced the digital requirement last year, despite opposition from campaigners and parents who argue it normalizes excessive screen use for young children. Shadow education secretary Laura Trott called it “absurd” for the government to promote limiting screen time while moving assessments onto devices, and groups like SafeScreens are urging a pause until more evidence of its impact is available.
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