UN General Assembly

• Trump threatens to “annihilate” Iran: During his speech before the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, President Donald Trump threatened to “annihilate the Islamic republic” of Iran if the two countries fail to reach a deal.

  • “Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before, maybe one of the greatest in the Middle East or even the world?” Trump said, suggesting that Iran was waiting to see the outcome of the midterm elections. “Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again?”

  • Trump also defended recent U.S. moves in the Western Hemisphere, saying “to the victor belong the spoils” when he discussed the U.S.’s seizure of Venezuelan oil after U.S. forces snatched Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro from his home in Caracas.

  • He called Cuba a “failed state” that serves as a “haven for foreign adversaries to threaten America,” and said its government would soon fall. These remarks prompted Cuban delegates to walk out. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla later said: “The U.S. government proves incapable of accepting that Cuba is, and has the right to be, a fully independent and sovereign country.”

  • Trump also attacked the International Criminal Court as a “rogue institution,” called for its members to resign, and dismissed climate change as a “hoax.”

  • He rejected any “globalist scheme” to control advances in artificial intelligence, which he proposed be called “super intelligence,” as a “test” of his influence on the world stage.

• Iran military warns of “more crushing” attacks after Trump threats: Iran’s military warned Wednesday that it was prepared to launch “more crushing and less predictable” attacks against the U.S. and Israel after Trump threatened to “annihilate” the Islamic Republic during his UN General Assembly address Tuesday.

  • Responding in a statement carried by Mehr, Iran’s General Staff of the Armed Forces and the Khatam Al-Anbiya Central Command accused Trump of using the UN podium to justify U.S. “aggression” and described his threats as evidence of Washington’s “strategic desperation,” warning that Iranian forces were prepared to strike the U.S. and Israel with attacks more severe than those carried out earlier in the war.

• Lula warns against foreign election interference, defends Brazil’s sovereignty: Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva warned Tuesday against domestic or foreign interference in Brazil’s October 4 election, telling the UN General Assembly “Brazilian democracy belongs to Brazilians” and “Brazil will remain a sovereign country.”

  • Lula did not name Trump directly, though he did appear to reference the United States when he condemned the resurgence of “hegemonic ambitions” in the region and asserted that the country did not “need aircraft carriers in its waters,” a probable reference to the U.S.’s Operation Southern Spear. “Brazil does not belong in anyone’s backyard,” he said, calling attempts to divide the world into spheres of influence “anachronistic.”

  • Lula’s comments follow accusations that the Trump administration, allied with his election rival Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro, is trying to influence the vote through economic pressure, after Washington imposed two new rounds of tariffs on Brazilian goods in July.

• Macron condemns Israeli aid restrictions in UNGA speech; UK, France, Canada talk Palestinian statehood in committee: French President Emmanuel Macron condemned Israel’s aid restrictions on Gaza as “a shame for the world” in his UN General Assembly address Tuesday, asking “what credibility do we have if we continue to remain inactive in the face of Gaza?” Macron also criticized what he characterized as Israel’s “daily” violations in the occupied West Bank.

  • Macron, alongside UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham, Canadian Prime Minister Mike Carney and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, chaired a meeting on Palestinian statehood, where Burnham warned that failing to deliver a two-state solution “will corrode trust in the political, diplomatic, and international process.”

  • Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney also announced his intention to introduce restrictions on goods produced in West Bank settlements, following the UK’s earlier announcement of similar restrictions.

• U.S.-Iran UN hold first indirect talks since June MOU unraveled: Trump administration special envoy Steve Witkoff said U.S.-Iran talks on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly were conducted through mediators who shuttled between the two delegations, clarifying that the sides did not hold direct discussions after President Donald Trump said Tuesday that three-hour talks with the Iranian delegation had been “very good.”

  • Iran separately said the communications took place through a Qatari mediator and that Tehran presented conditions for ending the war, including an end to U.S. “acts of aggression,” a halt to the naval blockade and economic warfare, and the release of Iranian assets. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said Iran maintained its negotiating stance in the discussions. “This was not anything new,” Baghaei said of Iran’s conditions.

  • Witkoff said, in a post on X, the mediators had completed a round of discussions that he hoped would prove “constructive and promising” and would continue their work.

• Macron says France ready for greater role in reopening Strait of Hormuz: French President Emmanuel Macron said France was prepared to become more involved in efforts to secure transit through the Strait of Hormuz, while stressing that Paris did not want a confrontation with any country.

  • Macron told ABC News that the “main objective” of his meeting with Trump was to find an agreement to reopen the vital waterway and address the global energy crisis. He reiterated France’s opposition to the U.S. decision to go to war with Iran, saying “regime change by bombing a country” was not feasible and that Washington had not consulted its allies before launching the war.

  • Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly and criticized France’s “interventionist” positions toward Iran and its stance on U.S. and Israeli attacks.

• U.S., Denmark, Greenland sign deal expanding U.S. military presence: The United States, Denmark and Greenland signed an agreement Tuesday at the UN General Assembly granting Washington expanded military access to Greenland, allowing it to modernize the Pituffik Space Base and build new facilities at Narsarsuaq and Mestersvig.

  • The agreement resolves months of tension between the U.S. and Denmark, with President Donald Trump repeatedly threatening to seize the territory.

  • The open-ended agreement bars non-NATO countries from establishing military installations without unanimous approval from Denmark, Greenland and the U.S., restricts investment from “sensitive sectors” outside NATO and the EU, and grants the U.S. undersea access and unrestricted overflight rights.

• Zelenskyy says Ukraine ready for energy truce after “productive” Trump talks: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said after a 40-minute meeting with President Donald Trump in New York at the UN that Ukraine remains ready for a bilateral “energy ceasefire” with Russia, telling reporters “we are ready” to halt strikes on Russian refineries if Moscow stops targeting Ukraine’s energy system.

  • Separately on Tuesday, Zelenskyy warned on Telegram that Ukrainian intelligence indicated Russia was “preparing a new massive attack” against Ukraine.

  • Trump called his talks with the Ukrainian president “positive and productive” and said ending the war is likely, though a similar energy truce he announced last week collapsed almost immediately after strikes resumed.

  • Zelenskyy also said he asked Trump for additional Patriot air defense missiles for winter, proposing to swap future Patriot deliveries from a German deal in exchange for supplies from U.S. stockpiles now, though Trump had not yet agreed to this arrangement.

• U.S. withholds visa for Sudan’s Burhan, tying it to ceasefire proposal Khartoum has resisted: The United States is withholding a visa for Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan ahead of his scheduled UN General Assembly speech, contingent on his acceptance of a 90-day ceasefire proposed by U.S. Senior Advisor Massad Boulos, Reuters reported.

  • The suspension prompted Sudan’s UN ambassador to appeal to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who said he is “deeply concerned” and engaging with the U.S. on the issue.

• Canada pledges $71 million in Palestinian aid, imposes restrictions on Israeli settlement goods: Canada will provide about $71 million in assistance for the Palestinian government and impose trade restrictions on goods produced in Israeli settlements, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Tuesday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

  • He described the restrictions on settlement products as a “pragmatic, practical” measure intended to help preserve “the possibility of a two-state solution, and ultimately a durable peace for Israelis and Palestinians.”

• Trump and Latin America allies invoke Rio Treaty against cartels: The Trump administration is seeking to turn its campaign against Latin American cartels into a hemispheric security framework under the umbrella of the Shield of the Americas initiative. Fourteen governments joined a U.S.-backed declaration at the UN General Assembly pledging coordinated action against 24 organizations designated as “narco-terrorist”.

  • The declaration calls for sanctions, intelligence sharing, security cooperation and a commitment to invoke the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance, or Rio Treaty, to consider collective military action against the groups.

Yemen

• Ansarallah, Saudi-backed forces clash near Bab al-Mandab: Ansarallah and Saudi-backed forces are fighting over the strategic area linking Taiz and Lahj governorates with Yemen’s western coast near the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

  • Ansarallah military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group shot down an armed reconnaissance drone conducting “hostile missions” over Mocha in Taiz governorate.

  • On the opposing side, the Saudi-backed National Shield Brigades claimed they repelled an Ansarallah offensive in the strategic Kahboub mountain range and shot down three Ansarallah drones before they could reach their positions.

  • The Southern Giants Brigades, also deployed along the front, said they were continuing to target Ansarallah fortifications and reinforcements.

Iran

• Cargo vessel hit by projectile in Strait of Hormuz: A cargo vessel was struck by an unknown projectile in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, leaving the ship on fire and adrift and causing two casualties, the UK Maritime Trade Operations said.

  • All crew members were evacuated from the vessel and no environmental impact was reported.

• New U.S. sanctions on Iranian aviation take effect: A new package of U.S. sanctions targeting Iran’s aviation sector took effect Wednesday, after Washington pledged to ground Iranian airlines and penalize entities that continue doing business with them, AFP reported.

  • Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization said airports in Baghdad and Muscat would stop receiving Iranian flights from midnight, while negotiations were underway to reroute Baghdad-bound flights to Najaf and reach arrangements with Oman.

  • Other international services, including flights to Istanbul, remained scheduled, according to Tasnim.

  • Iraqi authorities have not formally announced measures, but several sources, including a senior government official, told AFP that Baghdad would comply with the U.S. restrictions.

  • Separately, AFP reported that an Iranian commercial aircraft landed in China despite Washington’s threat of sanctions.

Palestine

• Killed and wounded in Gaza: Over the past 24 hours, three Palestinians were killed and 18 injured in Israeli attacks across Gaza, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

  • The total recorded death toll since October 7, 2023 has risen to 73,922 killed, with 174,995 injured. Since October 11, the first full day of the so-called ceasefire, Israel has killed at least 1,402 Palestinians in Gaza and wounded 4,881, while 834 bodies have been recovered from under the rubble.

• Israeli attacks kill six Palestinians across Gaza since dawn: Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip killed six Palestinians and wounded others since dawn Wednesday, WAFA reported.

  • In Gaza City, an Israeli drone strike near Al-Wafa Hospital killed one Palestinian and wounded others, while several Palestinians were wounded in a separate attack targeting a group of people near the Abu Khadra complex in the western Rimal neighborhood.

  • In central Gaza, another Israeli drone strike in Deir el-Balah killed one Palestinian and wounded others.

• Israeli forces carry out demolitions across the occupied West Bank as settlers block Salfit road:

  • Hebron: Israeli forces began demolishing homes, agricultural structures, livestock pens, and water wells belonging to Palestinian families in Janba village in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron, on Wednesday, according to WAFA.

  • Jenin: Israeli bulldozers demolished agricultural and residential structures in the Abba village, southeast of Jenin, including four horse stables, greenhouses, sheep pens, a house under construction, a wall, and two agricultural rooms.

  • Salfit: Israeli settlers blocked Wadi Al-Shaer road connecting Salfit city with Al-Lubban Al-Sharqiya by placing rocks and metal spikes on the road, damaging several vehicles before Palestinians removed the obstacles and reopened it. Israeli forces also reclosed the northern entrance to Salfit city.

  • East Jerusalem: Israeli authorities demolished sheet-metal industrial structures belonging to Palestinians in Jaba, northeast of Jerusalem, and bulldozed the surrounding land.

• Military court extends detention of Palestinian-American journalist: A military court on Wednesday extended the detention of Palestinian-American journalist and Drop Site contributor Naqaa Hamed until September 28, according to her lawyer, Khaled Mahajneh.

  • Hamed was arrested by Israeli forces on September 15 as she was returning from a reporting assignment in the occupied West Bank. Israeli authorities have accused her of incitement against Israeli settlers and the army, communicating with the enemy, and cooperating with the enemy. She is currently being held in Damon Prison in northern Israel.

  • Mahajneh previously told Drop Site “the whole case is related to her journalistic work” and that her arrest came solely because of a campaign targeting her by Israeli settlers.

  • Hamed is a freelance journalist who has worked for various international outlets, including Drop Site News. Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen, Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib, and other U.S. officials, as well as the Committee to Protect Journalists, have called for her release.

• Israeli forces arrest senior PA security official: Israeli forces arrested Majdi Amer, a colonel in the Palestinian Authority’s Preventive Security Service during an overnight raid on the village of Kafr Qallil, south of Nablus, according to the Times of Israel. In a statement, the Israeli police said that undercover Border Police officers apprehended a “wanted operative in the Fatah terror group.”

• Pregnant Palestinian detainee suffers bleeding, harsh conditions in Israeli prison: Pregnant Palestinian detainee Baraa Abu Khadija, 36, from Tulkarm suffered abdominal pain and bleeding after being detained by Israeli forces and subjected to hours of restraint and a strip search, according to the Palestinian Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs.

  • The commission said Abu Khadija, detained since August 27, was blindfolded and tightly handcuffed with plastic restraints that caused her hands to swell before being taken to an unknown location, where she was strip-searched and kept bound to a chair for hours.

  • She was later transferred to Hasharon Prison for about five days, where she was held in a filthy, insect-infested cell without adequate drinking water, clean bedding, a shower, or a change of clothes, before being moved to Damon Prison.

  • The commission said Abu Khadija is now held in a room designated for pregnant detainees, where three pregnant women receive no specialized meals and are given an egg or a piece of meat only about once every three or four days.

• Trump’s “Board of Peace” to unveil $2.45 billion Gaza plan: Trump’s Board of Peace will unveil a six-month, $2.45 billion Gaza recovery plan Wednesday covering 66 projects, including temporary housing, rubble removal, hospital repairs, economic recovery, governance, and security, Axios reported. The plan estimates Gaza’s physical damage at $35.2 billion and full reconstruction costs at $71.4 billion over the next decade.

  • About $1 billion is allocated to infrastructure, including $400 million for temporary shelters and $275 million for rubble and unexploded ordnance clearance, while $885 million would go toward security, including the International Stabilization Force, Palestinian police and a $20 million weapons buy-back program.

  • Representatives from 35 countries, including the EU and several non-Board member states, are expected at Wednesday’s briefing. The full $2.45 billion has not yet been secured.

  • Hamas agreed July 30 to a roadmap linking decommissioning of weapons to Israeli withdrawal, which Israel has refused to implement. Israel is also reportedly blocking vetted Palestinian police recruits from leaving for training in Egypt and preventing the Board-approved Palestinian technocratic committee from entering Gaza.

Lebanon

• Israeli ceasefire violations continue in southern Lebanon as blast in Khiam damages homes, school, and power lines:

  • Israeli artillery shelling targeted the outskirts of Baraachit in the Bint Jbeil district and Wadi Zibqin in the Tyre (Sour) district on Wednesday, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency.

  • Separately, a large explosion carried out by Israeli forces around midnight in the town of Khiam caused extensive damage in nearby Jdeidet Marjayoun and Qlayaa, shattering windows and cracking walls in several homes. Marjayoun National School also sustained extensive window damage and temporarily suspended classes for repairs. The blast damaged electricity supply lines in the Nabaa al-Hamam area, causing a complete power outage across Hasbaya, Shebaa, and the Arqoub region.

U.S. News

• DoorDash settles NYC underpayment probe for $131.5 million: DoorDash reached a record $131.5 million settlement with New York City’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection Tuesday over findings that the company underpaid or delayed payments to delivery workers, paying the City $16.7 million in fines and giving nearly $115 million in relief to about 264,000 “Dashers,” who received a median payout of roughly $48.

  • DoorDash said in a statement, “Simply put, we screwed up… Our mistakes meant some Dashers were underpaid or paid late.”

  • The deal is the largest worker settlement in New York City history and the largest settlement involving food delivery workers in the United States. It comes nearly eight months after the city agency accused DoorDash and Uber Eats of using “design tricks” to deprive workers of more than $550 million in tips.

• Federal judge orders Texas to air condition all prisons by end of 2029: U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman ordered Texas to develop and implement a plan to install air conditioning across all 104 of its prison facilities by Dec. 31, 2029, ruling Tuesday that lockups without cooling violate the Eighth Amendment and that the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s response to extreme heat constitutes “deliberate indifference.”

  • Just over a third of Texas correctional facilities were fully air conditioned as of Sept. 1, and Pitman noted the agency’s recent $289 million legislative funding request for air conditioning fell well short of what it told the court it could obtain from state lawmakers. Installing air conditioning could cost up to $1.5 billion, the agency has noted.

  • Inmate advocates have attributed at least 10 heat-related deaths to lack of air conditioning between 2022 and 2025.

• ShinyHunters hackers claim to have breached FBI, stolen data on all employees: Hacking group ShinyHunters claimed on Tuesday to have breached multiple FBI-related services and stolen data “on all FBI employees and applicants,” including names, home addresses, phone numbers and spouse information, according to 404 Media.

  • The group also defaced the FBI’s jobs website Tuesday with a message reading “this site has been seized by ShinyHunters.”

  • A group representative provided a sample containing data on 5,000 FBI employees, some of which 404 Media verified through open-source tools, and said the group used a zero-day exploit in an Oracle PeopleSoft product to access AWS GovCloud servers and exfiltrate between two and three terabytes of data.

  • An FBI spokesperson said the agency is “aware of claims” and investigating the incident.

  • The group, which typically extorts victims after breaches, said its motivation here is not financial but rather “coercion” tied to a prior FBI report describing ShinyHunters’ tactics, which it demanded be corrected or removed within a week.

• Trump administration asks Supreme Court to overturn release of pro-Palestinian scholar: The Trump administration petitioned the Supreme Court Monday to overturn a lower court’s release of Georgetown scholar Badar Khan Suri, an Indian citizen and postdoctoral fellow arrested by masked ICE officers in March 2025 amid a broader crackdown on pro-Palestinian activism on college campuses, after a district court judge freed him in May 2025 on grounds he was likely to succeed in proving his arrest was retaliation for constitutionally protected speech.

  • Solicitor General D. John Sauer argued the 4th Circuit’s July 2-1 ruling upholding Suri’s release—which found lower courts could hear constitutional detention challenges even amid pending immigration proceedings—threatens nationwide immigration enforcement by letting detainees “bypass immigration courts.”

• Trump backs diesel export ban amid GOP pressure over record fuel prices: President Donald Trump said Tuesday he has called for a ban on U.S. diesel exports, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirming the administration is examining whether a full or partial ban is feasible.

  • The administration had previously resisted calls for a diesel export ban, which had come from farmers and truckers squeezed by fuel price increases. Iowa Republicans Sen. Chuck Grassley and Rep. Ashley Hinson made public calls for the policy earlier this week, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune said last week he was “open” to the idea.

• Trump officials plan to allow up to 17,500 more White Afrikaner refugees over next year: The Trump administration notified Congress Tuesday it plans to allocate up to 17,500 refugee spots for fiscal year 2027, “primarily” for White Afrikaners from South Africa, according to a notice obtained by CBS News.

  • The State Department, which has effectively shuttered U.S. refugee resettlement program for all other groups, said Afrikaners “face the seizure of agricultural property without compensation” and discriminatory policies, claims the South African government has consistently denied.

  • The effort—which the announcement projects will cost $500 million—follows new U.S. sanctions imposed last week on South African officials accused of discriminating against the group.

• Trump officials cut 760,000 from ACA over alleged fraud: Vice President JD Vance and administration officials announced Tuesday they are removing about 760,000 people from Affordable Care Act coverage over suspected fraud, with an additional 419,000 enrollees facing further verification.

  • At the press conference announcing the removals, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz also said his agency would be imposing a six-month moratorium on new insurance brokers selling ACA plans.

  • Officials claimed the removals would save $2.2 billion in federal spending.

  • The crackdown comes as ACA enrollment, which peaked under President Joe Biden, has already fallen by more than 1 million since Trump took office.

• GOP Sen. John Curtis calls for Senate probe of Donald Trump Jr. over Russian oligarch’s wedding gift: Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah) sent a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee leaders Chuck Grassley and Dick Durbin calling for an investigation into “the use of presidential family relationships for private financial benefit” urging subpoenas for Donald Trump Jr. after ProPublica reported that Russian businessman Umar Kremlev, who has close ties to Vladimir Putin, paid for a lavish Bahamas wedding afterparty for Trump Jr.

  • “A toaster is a wedding gift. A private-island party paid for by a Putin-connected oligarch is something else,” Curtis said, also citing Trump Jr.’s crypto ventures and international real estate dealings.

  • Curtis also called in his letter for an investigation into Hunter Biden.

• ICE officer who shot Austin man was not wearing body camera: The ICE officer who shot Wilber Garcés Pérez in Austin over the weekend was issued a body camera but was not using it during the incident, two former DHS officials told the Washington Post, despite an agency mandate rolled out after two prior shootings of unarmed immigrants by camera-less officers. The officer is also a recent recruit, the officials told the paper.

  • ICE sent officers an email Tuesday reminding them cameras “must” be activated during enforcement activity.

  • Garcés Pérez’s attorney, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, said he was taken to another hospital Monday night after reporting paralysis on his left side, with a bullet still lodged near his spine.

• El-Sayed defends Harris support: After campaigning alongside former Vice President Kamala Harris, in Detroit, Michigan, Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed defended her support, with particular attention to the controversy surrounding her role in the Biden administration’s conduct during Israel’s genocide in Gaza and El-Sayed’s support for the “Uncommitted” movement in Michigan.

  • El Sayed noted that his positions on Gaza had not changed. “I was very clear that I disagreed with my party when it came to the genocide,” he said. “None of those positions have changed at all. I’m not going to change them.”

  • El-Sayed nevertheless urged Democrats divided over Gaza to build a coalition against Trump, arguing the country would be better positioned on “everything from gas to groceries to Gaza” had Trump lost in 2024.

• Byron Donalds scrubs Trump references from campaign website amid president’s sinking approval: Florida gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds removed at least eight prominent references to President Donald Trump’s endorsement from his campaign website, including a homepage banner, a “Chip in” button, and a photo of Donalds with the president, according to the Miami Herald.

  • Trump’s endorsement now appears only in a rolling banner alongside other conservative endorsers, and Donalds’ policy page no longer lists “Enact the Trump Agenda” as a top priority, replacing it with affordability.

  • Spokesperson Gates McGavick said the site “reflects Byron’s focus on the issues that matter most to Floridians” and that Donalds remains “proud to have President Trump’s endorsement.”

Other International News

• U.S. claims neither Sudanese army nor RSF has legitimate authority: The U.S. State Department said Tuesday that neither Sudan’s army nor the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have legitimate authority to govern the country, with spokesperson Thomas Pigott saying both sides rule “purely through force of arms” and accused both of failing to commit to ceasefire efforts and of escalating the conflict instead.

  • The statement called Sudan’s war the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, and said Washington would work to “raise the cost of continued conflict on all belligerents.”

• South Sudan’s Kiir dissolves transitional government, consolidates power in interim: South Sudan President Salva Kiir dissolved the country’s transitional government Tuesday, hours after signing amendments to election laws that removed requirements to complete a permanent constitution and census before holding a vote, in preparation for the country’s first-ever national elections.

  • The transitional government was originally established under a 2018 peace deal that ended a years-long civil war in the country.

  • Under the amended National Elections Act, passed by parliament Monday, Kiir’s executive leadership retains full constitutional powers through the election period, and the National Legislative Assembly will shrink from 650 to 270 members, with state assemblies cut from 100 to 58 seats.

  • The moves come as Kiir’s longtime rival, opposition leader Riek Machar, remains under house arrest since March 2025 and on trial for treason and murder charges he denies.

  • Elections were initially expected in 2022 but have been delayed twice.

• Tigray forces launch offensive against Ethiopia’s government: Tigrayan forces launched a major offensive against Ethiopia’s federal government Wednesday, a senior Ethiopian official said, shattering the Pretoria Agreement that ended the 2020-2022 civil war, with the officials from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front saying they entered a “defensive war” against government “aggression.”

  • Getachew Reda, an adviser to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, said the TPLF seized federally controlled airports in Tigray and launched an “all-out offensive” into neighboring Afar and Amhara regions, where Tigrayan forces are fighting alongside local armed groups and the Fano militia. Ethiopian Airlines has suspended flights to Tigray.

  • The fighting follows the announcement of a seven-group alliance on Sunday, which declared its aim at overthrowing Abiy’s government.

• Survivors: Nigerian guards sprayed substance into packed cell before 37 detainees died: Three survivors told Reuters that Nigerian prison guards sprayed an unidentified substance into an overcrowded cell holding dozens of detained gold miners near Minna, then kept the doors locked; 37 detainees died.

  • The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps paramilitary agency jailed the miners after raiding suspected illegal mining sites. Many of those jailed were teenagers.

  • President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ordered an investigation in response. The deaths, which authorities initially attributed to a possible disease outbreak before saying the cause remains under investigation, sparked protests that turned deadly Friday, leading officials in the country’s Niger state to impose a 24-hour curfew.

• Venezuelan opposition leader Machado makes unsuccessful bids to return home, adviser says: Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado made three unsuccessful attempts by sea and air to return to Venezuela in recent hours, her adviser Pedro Urruchurtu said on social media, bringing her total failed return attempts to seven since she clandestinely left the country nine months ago, according to the Spanish newspaper ABC.

  • The paper did not report who blocked her Tuesday attempts.

  • Machado’s efforts coincided with interim President Delcy Rodriguez’s first meeting with President Trump in New York following President Nicolas Maduro’s capture by U.S. forces in a January raid.

• Alleged fentanyl trafficker arrested in Mexico City in joint U.S.-Mexico operation: Mexican authorities arrested Jose Angel Rivera, known as “Don Flaco,” in Mexico City Tuesday for allegedly coordinating and financing an organization that transported fentanyl chemical precursors from China to Mexico and the U.S., in a joint operation with the FBI and DEA, Security Minister Omar Garcia Harfuch said on X.

  • Rivera had been sanctioned by the U.S. State Department in January 2023 over his alleged role in fentanyl trafficking.

  • Harfuch said the arrest reflected “international cooperation, shared responsibility, and unrestricted respect for our sovereignty.”

  • The arrest came the same day President Trump told the United Nations that Mexico was “the epicenter” of drug cartel violence and needed to “reclaim control of its territory.”

• Taiwan says it will stay in “close contact” with U.S. on arms sales: Taiwan’s defense ministry said Wednesday it would continue close coordination with the U.S. to implement arms sales “according to plan,” ahead of an expected meeting between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington this week, where Xi is expected to press Trump to halt the sales.

  • A $14 billion arms package remains in abeyance following Trump’s December approval of an $11 billion package, the largest ever.

• UN report finds Nicaragua’s crackdown on dissent amounts to crimes against humanity: Nicaraguan state institutions, coordinated through a chain of command reaching senior government levels, have carried out enforced disappearances, torture, and arbitrary detention of political opponents amounting to crimes against humanity, according to a report published by UN human rights officials on Tuesday.

  • The report documents 161 cases of enforced disappearance and eight deaths in state custody since April 2018.

  • The report also noted a shift, beginning in 2023, toward long-term disappearances and nationwide police raids targeting dissidents, church members, Indigenous leaders, and former officials. Female detainees have been subjected to threats of sexual violence.

  • In July, Ortega said that Nicaragua would no longer hold elections, and in September, Nicaragua’s Congress passed a constitutional reform banning opposition parties from participating in future votes.

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