Politics

Russian Drone Hits Ukrainian Train Near Poland Border: September 14, 2026

YAHODYN — A Russian drone hit a train near the Ukraine–Poland border shortly after former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and other European security officials had passed through the area, the BBC reported Monday.

Ukrainian authorities said the strike at Yahodyn hit the locomotive’s engine and caused no casualties after passengers were evacuated. Johnson, Britain’s national security adviser Jonathan Powell, and others were returning from the Yalta European Strategy conference in Kyiv on a different train that left earlier than planned.

Ukraine’s railway company said the drone’s target “could have been the diplomatic train.” Polish and Ukrainian officials said the strike was about 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) from the Polish border. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk convened an emergency meeting, saying Russian escalation was “getting closer and closer to our border.”

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called the attack Putin’s terror “knocking” on the doors of the EU and NATO. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas accused Moscow of trying to scare Western countries. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russian forces would continue operations across Ukraine.

Sources: BBC

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South Korea Aims to Finalise U.S. Investment Plan Details This Week: September 13, 2026

SEOUL — South Korea will hold further talks with the United States early this week to finalise details of Seoul’s proposed $350 billion investment commitment to the U.S., Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan said Sunday, Reuters reported.

Speaking after returning from the United States, Kim said a $200 billion ceiling for strategic investments — part of the broader $350 billion package — including a $20 billion annual cap, had already been agreed and would not change.

Kim said the two sides were close on many issues but that several matters remained unresolved. This week’s talks will be by videoconference. He declined to name specific projects before negotiations are finished.

Kim travelled to the United States last week for talks with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and other officials on the scale and conditions of the proposed package, tied to last year’s tariff agreement that lowered reciprocal U.S. rates from 25% to 15% in exchange for the investment pledge.

Sources: Reuters, Yonhap

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Vessel Struck in Strait of Hormuz as Fire Breaks Out, UKMTO Says: September 13, 2026

DUBAI — A fire broke out aboard a vessel after it was struck by an unknown projectile while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, the UK Maritime Trade Operations said Sunday, Anadolu Agency and RTE reported.

UKMTO said it received an initial report at 2300 GMT Saturday. An update Sunday said a fire had broken out and local authorities were assisting in evacuating crew. The agency advised vessels to exercise caution. Extent of damage and environmental impact remained unclear in early reports.

Separately, Qeshm city governor Amir Teymouri said a merchant vessel was struck around 5 a.m. local time off Hengam and Qeshm islands, killing one person and injuring three, Iranian state media said. Iranian outlets described the strike as a U.S. attack; attribution has not been independently confirmed by Western wires.

The incident comes a day before Iran is due to meet Gulf Arab states in Oman over the future of the strait, a chokepoint already disrupted by the U.S.–Iran war and now under added strain after Saudi Arabia shut its East-West oil pipeline.

Sources: Anadolu Agency, RTE

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Saudi Pipeline Outage Threatens Loss of 4% of Global Oil Supply: September 13, 2026

LONDON — Saudi Arabia will run out of oil stocks for exports if it does not restart its major East-West pipeline to the Red Sea within days, leading to a loss of up to 4% of global supply, Saudi oil buyers and traders told Reuters on Sunday.

Since Friday’s drone attacks forced Riyadh to shut the line, authorities have not given full details on damage or repair timelines. Industry sources gave estimates ranging from a partial restart sooner to five or six weeks for full repairs. Saudi Arabia’s government media office and energy ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters.

The pipeline has been rerouting about 4 million barrels per day — roughly 4% of global supply — to Yanbu after wartime disruption of the Strait of Hormuz. With the line offline, Yanbu has stocks to maintain exports for only five to seven days, three industry sources said. Additional stocks at Egypt’s Ain Sukhna and Sidi Kerir ports would also run down without resumed pumping.

Saudi oil supply already fell to a more than three-decade low in August, the International Energy Agency said Friday. Saudi Arabia told OPEC last week that August production dropped to 6.2 million barrels per day from 10.9 million in February before the war began.

Sources: Reuters

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Eritrea Accuses Ethiopia of Destabilising Horn of Africa: September 13, 2026

ADDIS ABABA — Eritrea on Saturday accused Ethiopia of destabilising the Horn of Africa, in the latest war of words between the fractious neighbours, AFP reported via The Hindu and Arab News.

An Eritrean Foreign Ministry statement accused Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s Prosperity Party of “actively destabilising the Horn of Africa,” saying Addis Ababa had escalated “war rhetoric,” challenged international treaties, and “hosted, trained, and financed” proxy groups with a “regime-change” agenda against Eritrea.

Eritrea also accused Ethiopia of “harbouring, supporting and actively encouraging” Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces, the paramilitary faction fighting Sudan’s army since 2023. Contacted by AFP, the Ethiopian premier’s spokesman did not immediately comment.

Ties normalised after Abiy took office in 2018, earning him a Nobel Peace Prize, and Eritrean forces later backed Ethiopia’s federal army in the Tigray war. Relations have soured since that conflict ended in late 2022, with Eritrea claiming landlocked Ethiopia has designs on its Red Sea port of Assab.

Sources: AFP via The Hindu, AFP via Arab News

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Russian Drone Strike Wounds Five in Ukraine’s Odesa: September 13, 2026

KYIV — At least five people were wounded in a Russian attack on the Ukrainian city of Odesa on Sunday morning, officials said, a day after strikes on the city killed two people, Reuters reported.

“Residential areas were damaged in several districts of the city. Authorities are assessing the full extent of the damage,” Odesa military administration head Serhiy Lysak said on Telegram.

Odesa, home to Ukraine’s main port hub, has faced persistent Russian missile and drone attacks in recent months, forcing the closure of seaports crucial to Ukrainian exports. Officials said a Russian drone struck the city Saturday morning, hitting an apartment building and killing two people while injuring 26.

Several other regions in western Ukraine were also targeted overnight and into Sunday morning, regional authorities said, without immediately reporting civilian casualties.

Sources: Reuters

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Swedes Vote in Election That Could Bring Far Right Into Government: September 13, 2026

STOCKHOLM — Swedes were voting Sunday in a closely fought parliamentary election that will either bring a far-right party into government for the first time or shift the country back toward the liberalism it has long been known for, Reuters reported.

Opinion polls this week showed Sweden’s centre-left opposition holding a narrow lead over the ruling right-wing bloc. Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, who trailed for most of his term, has been catching up, while rival Magdalena Andersson and her Social Democrats have lost ground.

Kristersson has pledged to bring the far-right Sweden Democrats into government if his bloc wins. The right has already agreed on a four-party cabinet if victorious. Polling stations opened at 8 a.m. local time; exit polls are expected soon after they close at 1800 GMT.

Over the past four years, the minority coalition backed by the Sweden Democrats has abolished permanent residency for refugees, tightened welfare rules, and boosted expulsions. Supporters credit those policies with cutting gang violence and immigration; critics say civil liberties have been eroded and households squeezed by weak growth.

Sources: Reuters

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Trump Says He Could ‘Settle’ Falklands Dispute With Argentina: September 13, 2026

DUBLIN — President Donald Trump said Saturday he expects to be called on to “settle” any potential conflict over the Falkland Islands, describing rising U.K.–Argentina tension as a “potential disaster,” The Independent and Bloomberg reported.

Speaking alongside Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Trump questioned whether Britain would “be willing to travel that far” if Argentina invaded as in 1982, saying it would take “weeks by boat.” He added: “I’m sure I’ll be called into that potential disaster, but if they do, I’ll probably be able to settle it out.”

The remarks follow earlier comments in which Trump suggested Washington might not back Britain over the islands and said he was reviewing the traditional U.S. position. Argentine President Javier Milei, a Trump ally, has stepped up sovereignty claims and oil-related sanctions threats over the territory Argentina calls Las Malvinas.

In the Commons on Wednesday, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the United Kingdom would be “relentless” in defending the Falkland Islanders’ right to remain British. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband has said the islands “are British and will remain so” because that is the islanders’ overwhelming preference.

Sources: The Independent, Bloomberg

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Carney Explores Canada as EU ‘Associate Member’: September 13, 2026

BRUSSELS — Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney wants closer links with the European Union and is exploring whether his country could become an “associate member” of the bloc, Reuters reported Sunday, citing The Wall Street Journal.

The Journal said EU and Canadian officials described openness to a yet-to-be-created associate membership status. The Canadian embassy in Brussels and European Commission spokespeople did not respond to Reuters requests for comment.

Canada’s escalating trade war with the United States has added urgency to Ottawa’s pivot toward other partners. Relations with Washington have deteriorated since President Donald Trump returned to office in early 2025, with tariffs covering tens of billions of dollars in cross-border trade.

According to the Journal, Canada and the EU are discussing freer movement of goods, services, and workers in strategic supply chains such as energy, AI, defence, and critical minerals, plus underwater cables, data centres, and energy infrastructure. Carney has spoken regularly with EU leaders, notably French President Emmanuel Macron, about visa-free living and work arrangements; the two are set to meet later this month.

Sources: Reuters

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Trump Says U.S.-Canada Trade Deal Likely ‘Fairly Soon’: September 12, 2026

DUBLIN — President Donald Trump said Saturday that Canada wants a trade deal with the United States “very badly” and that an agreement could come “fairly soon,” Reuters reported after his meeting with Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin.

“Canada has to treat our farmers better. They can’t charge our farmers tariffs,” Trump told reporters, adding: “You’ll probably see a deal with Canada fairly soon.” He did not say whether formal negotiations had resumed after talks collapsed last month.

Asked whether he intended to have the United States leave the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, Trump sidestepped the question and returned to demands for better terms for U.S. farmers, Bloomberg and Reuters reported.

Canada’s retaliatory tariffs covering about $20 billion of U.S. goods took effect September 8 after Ottawa suspended negotiations, intensifying an 18-month trade dispute between the neighbors.

Sources: Reuters, Bloomberg

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