Politics

Kazakhstan Dismisses Defence Minister After 14 Die in Naval Exercise: September 27, 2026

ASTANA — Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has dismissed Defence Minister Dauren Kosanov days after 14 servicemen died when they were swept out to sea during a Caspian naval training exercise, Reuters reported, citing presidential decrees.

Aidos Myrzakhmetov, previously commander of the special operations forces, was appointed as Kosanov’s replacement. On Friday, the Interior Ministry said authorities had arrested five Defence Ministry officials, including the first deputy navy commander.

The incident occurred Thursday as military personnel were disembarking from a patrol boat on the Caspian coast in rough weather; three other people were rescued. Tokayev’s move underscores political fallout from one of the country’s deadliest recent peacetime military accidents.

Sources: Reuters

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Afghanistan Says 28 Fighters Killed After Crossing From Pakistan: September 27, 2026

KABUL — Afghanistan’s defence ministry said Sunday its forces killed 28 fighters and wounded 32 in eastern Nuristan province after a group it said included Islamic State militants crossed from Pakistan; Islamabad rejected the allegations, Reuters reported.

Kabul alleged Pakistani militias supported the fighters and that most were former Afghan government security personnel. Pakistan’s information ministry called the claims “frivolous, baseless and devoid of any truth,” denying that its forces or intelligence agencies were involved, trained former Afghan personnel, or facilitated Islamic State or other militants.

The ministry said the group crossed into Kamdesh district on Saturday intending to attack; surviving fighters fled back toward Pakistani militia positions, it claimed. Reuters could not independently verify the account. The clash follows Pakistani airstrikes inside Afghanistan on September 21 that Islamabad said killed 28 militants; Afghan officials and the U.N. mission reported civilian deaths.

Sources: Reuters

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Swiss Voters Reject Bid to Enshrine Stricter Neutrality: September 27, 2026

BERN — Swiss voters on Sunday rejected a bid to write stricter neutrality into the constitution, preserving the government’s room to apply the doctrine flexibly — including maintaining sanctions against Russia, early results and projections showed.

The Neutrality Initiative drew only about 31% support, with roughly 69% voting against, according to early government tallies and GFS Bern projections for Swiss public broadcaster SRF. The proposal would have declared Switzerland’s neutrality “eternal and armed,” barred peacetime military-alliance cooperation and blocked sanctions not approved by the United Nations.

Supporters, led by the right-wing Swiss People’s Party, argued that mirroring EU sanctions after Russia’s 2022 invasion breached neutrality — a view Moscow echoed. The government, parliament and all major parties except the SVP opposed the measure. In a separate ballot, voters also rejected a food self-sufficiency initiative.

Sources: SWI swissinfo / Bloomberg, SRF

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Venezuela Frees 39 Political Prisoners After Post-Maduro Talks: September 27, 2026

CARACAS — Venezuela released 39 political prisoners between Friday and Saturday after a second round of U.S.-backed talks between the interim government and the opposition, rights groups said, Al Jazeera reported with AFP.

Justicia, Encuentro y Perdón said those freed included eight women accused of “narco-terrorism” in 2021 and six people accused of working with the United States in a 2020 attempt to overthrow former President Nicolás Maduro. The releases followed Friday’s negotiations under interim President Delcy Rodríguez, held with Washington’s approval since Maduro’s military removal in January.

Foro Penal said 344 people remained classified as political prisoners as of September 18, down from 391 on August 10. Rodríguez enacted an amnesty law in February under U.S. pressure, but rights advocates say the pace of releases has been slow. Families have continued protests outside the U.S. embassy in Caracas and El Rodeo I prison.

Sources: Al Jazeera / AFP

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Trump Approves Sharply Lower Fuel Economy Standards, Ends Biden EV Push: September 27, 2026

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration will finalize sharply lower vehicle fuel-economy standards through 2031 on Monday, reversing a Biden-era push that steered automakers toward building more electric vehicles, officials said Saturday, Reuters reported.

President Donald Trump said he had approved the new standards, which he cast as a win that will lower new-vehicle prices. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said “a major victory for America’s auto workers is coming Monday.” The department previously proposed a fleetwide average of about 34.5 miles per gallon by 2031, down from 50.4 under Biden rules, estimating average new-vehicle costs would fall by roughly $930.

The same analysis projected higher fuel use — on the order of 100 billion gallons through 2050 — and about 5% more carbon dioxide emissions. Former Biden transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg said lowering standards would hand clean-tech leadership to China and leave Americans paying more at the pump. The move lands as U.S. drivers face elevated fuel prices since the wider Middle East war began in February.

Sources: Reuters, Al Jazeera

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Pacific Defence Ministers Urge Caution on Military Response Group, Cite China Missile Test: September 26, 2026

SUVA — Pacific defence ministers wrapping up talks in Fiji signalled they will not rush to expand a regional military response group into civil-unrest “stabilisation” missions, while expressing “grave concern” over China’s ballistic missile test into the Blue Pacific, RNZ reported, citing ABC News.

The South Pacific Defence Ministers’ Meeting — Australia, Chile, Fiji, France, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Tonga — agreed on a “phased approach,” consolidating the Pacific Response Group’s humanitarian and disaster-relief role before any stabilisation mandate. Australian Defence Force chief Adm. Mark Hammond said there must be “absolute consensus” and “due respect to sovereign constitutional processes,” noting some members face elections or recent cabinet changes.

Ministers said China’s recent ballistic missile test, conducted “without appropriate notice,” was the second such test in the region within two years and risked undermining the Pacific Islands Forum’s Ocean of Peace declaration. They used stronger language than Forum leaders adopted in Palau earlier this month.

Sources: RNZ / ABC News, The Post

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Taiwan Says Arming Island Remains Vital U.S. Interest After Trump-Xi Summit: September 26, 2026

TAIPEI — Providing weapons so Taiwan can defend itself and keep supplying semiconductors to the world is in the U.S. national interest, a senior Taiwanese diplomat said Saturday after a summit between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping ended with no major public breakthrough on the island, Reuters reported.

Deputy Foreign Minister Francois Wu asked whether concessions on Taiwan would serve U.S. interests, saying military sales that give Taiwan “sufficient capability to defend itself” and allow its chip industry to keep contributing globally are “important U.S. interests.” Xi told Trump in Washington on Thursday he hoped the United States would adhere to the “correct position” of opposing Taiwan independence. Trump has yet to approve a pending roughly $14 billion arms package he said in May he was holding in abeyance.

U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue told CNBC on Friday there has been no change in Taiwan policy, including under the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act. China’s People’s Daily on Saturday reiterated that Taiwan is “the core of China’s core interests and the first unbreakable red line in China-U.S. relations.”

Sources: Reuters

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Iran Awaits U.S. Reply After Report Trump Rejects Hormuz Peace Plan: September 26, 2026

CAIRO — Iran on Saturday awaited an official U.S. response to its proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end fighting in the wider Middle East war after the Wall Street Journal reported that President Donald Trump had rejected the deal, Reuters reported.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Friday at the United Nations that the plan, transmitted via Qatari mediators, would trigger a seven-day countdown to reopening the strait and a pause in regional fighting if Washington lifts its blockade on Iranian ports, releases frozen funds and waives oil sanctions. The Journal, citing unnamed U.S. officials, said Trump is privately sceptical Iran would meet his demands and has told aides a renewed bombing campaign is likely after the November midterms.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told CBS’s “Face the Nation” that Tehran is ready for talks on its nuclear programme but will not accept “bullying or coercion.” Araqchi also briefed his Saudi counterpart on safe shipping routes in the strait. Early Saturday, Yemen’s Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted two Houthi ballistic missiles toward Khamis Mushait and two drones headed for Riyadh.

Sources: Reuters

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Seven Dead as Russia and Ukraine Exchange Strikes, Aerial War Intensifies: September 26, 2026

KYIV — Russian attacks killed four people across Ukraine on Saturday as the aerial war between Moscow and Kyiv intensifies, the Associated Press reported, while a Ukrainian drone strike in Russia’s Krasnodar region killed three more.

Two women died in Zaporizhzhia when they were trapped beneath rubble of their destroyed home, regional officials said. A separate Russian attack on Sumy killed two people. Drones also hit several districts in Kyiv, injuring four and damaging residential and office buildings, and sparked a warehouse fire in the Boryspil district. Russia’s Defense Ministry said its Kyiv attack damaged a data center that supported cellphone internet and Starlink systems.

“It is essential that our partners not forget: Russia is escalating every single day,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote Saturday, listing strikes on homes in Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia and the Odesa, Sumy and Kharkiv regions. In Krasnodar, regional Gov. Veniamin Kondratyev said a Ukrainian attack sparked fires at two industrial sites; Russian media later reported a local oil refinery was targeted.

Sources: Associated Press via ABC News

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EU Agrees to Release €6.6 Billion Linked to Ukraine Military Aid: September 26, 2026

BRUSSELS — European Union member countries have agreed to release €6.6 billion ($7.5 billion) in EU funds linked to military aid for Ukraine, foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Friday, Reuters reported.

The money comes from the European Peace Facility, which finances military aid to countries outside the bloc and reimburses EU governments for aid they have provided. Of the released funds, €900 million will go to the EU’s military assistance mission for Ukraine and €1 billion will fund new joint procurement of equipment, Kallas said. The remaining €4.7 billion will reimburse member states, some of whom have said they would channel their share to Ukraine.

“That’s good news for Ukraine and bad news for Russia,” Kallas said. “Moscow’s hybrid attacks try to intimidate Europe into scaling back its support for Ukraine. Europe is doing the opposite.” Funds related to Ukraine had been stuck for months, initially blocked by the previous Hungarian government under Viktor Orbán. Individual governments will decide how much of their refunds become fresh military aid for Kyiv.

Sources: Reuters

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