World News

Ethiopia Claims Alamata as Army Accuses Sudan and Egypt of Backing Tigray Rebels: September 28, 2026

NAIROBI / ADDIS ABABA — Ethiopia’s military and allied militiamen claimed Monday to have captured the strategic southern Tigray town of Alamata, turning the tables after a TPLF-led offensive shattered the 2022 Pretoria peace deal last week, Reuters reported, as the army chief accused Sudan and Egypt of backing the rebels.

A pro-government militia posted video of soldiers waving Ethiopian flags in Alamata’s streets; Reuters could not immediately verify it. Two diplomatic sources said the town had fallen. Alamata is a supply hub about 120 km south of Mekelle. Field Marshal Birhanu Jula said federal forces were fighting groups “organised and allied to serve the interests of external forces,” naming Sudan, Egypt and Eritrea; Sudan’s army called the charge “baseless” and alleged the RSF receives support from Ethiopian territory. Egypt did not immediately comment.

TPLF fighters seized Erebti in Afar on Sunday and pushed toward Afdera, threatening the Djibouti trade corridor that carries most of Ethiopia’s imports, Al Jazeera and AFP reported. Phone and internet in Tigray remained down for a fourth day. U.N. chief António Guterres voiced alarm over drone use and civilian harm after a Sunday strike on Tigrai TV headquarters in Mekelle.

Sources: Reuters via ThePrint, Al Jazeera / AFP

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Child Among Three Killed in Channel Crossing Attempt Off France: September 28, 2026

WISSANT, France — Three people, including a child, died Monday off northern France when an inflatable “taxi boat” carrying 105 migrants ran into trouble while attempting to cross the English Channel to Britain, French maritime authorities and AFP reported.

The maritime prefecture said it received a distress call in calm seas off Wissant; the dinghy had not sunk, and all passengers requested rescue. A rescue boat later began disembarking survivors at Calais. “Taxi boat” refers to a dinghy that approaches from the sea to pick up migrants in shallow water near the beach.

At least 29 migrants died last year trying to cross one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, according to an AFP tally, with more than 41,000 embarking on the journey. France and the UK signed an April agreement to tighten prevention; a Reform UK proposal last month to have the navy intercept and return boats drew a French rebuke that it would breach international law.

Sources: Al Jazeera / AFP

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Russian Strikes Kill at Least Seven Across Ukraine as Kharkiv Apartment Hit: September 28, 2026

KYIV — Russia’s round-the-clock bombardment killed at least seven civilians and wounded more than 50 across Ukraine on Monday, officials said, as a guided aerial bomb struck a Kharkiv apartment building and drones hit offices, data centres and a National Academy of Sciences building in Kyiv, the Associated Press reported.

Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said a strike on a nine-story apartment wounded dozens, including children. A drone hit an office centre in central Dnipro during working hours, killing three and wounding at least 12; Kyiv-region drones killed several more. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Ukraine would “pay a price” for recent attacks and that this was “happening right now,” a day after eight people died in Sunday’s nationwide strikes.

Ukraine’s Third Army Corps said it had recaptured another 51 square kilometres under Operation Vivaldi in Donetsk, bringing claimed gains to 176 square kilometres. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said long-range Ukrainian strikes hit defence plants in Russia’s Tula and Voronezh regions and oil facilities in Krasnodar; Moscow said air defences downed 254 Ukrainian drones overnight. Claims on both sides could not be independently verified.

Sources: Associated Press, Reuters, Al Jazeera

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Lula Leads Flávio Bolsonaro 42–37 in Poll One Week Before Brazil Vote: September 28, 2026

SÃO PAULO — President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva led Senator Flávio Bolsonaro 42% to 37% in a BTG/Nexus poll released Monday, one week before Brazil’s Oct. 4 first-round presidential election, with a simulated runoff still a technical tie, Folha de S.Paulo reported.

The Nexus survey of 2,000 voters ages 16 and older, conducted Sept. 25–27 with a two-point margin of error, showed Lula up slightly from 40% a week earlier while Bolsonaro held at 37%. In a second-round matchup Lula had 46% to Bolsonaro’s 44%. Minor candidates trailed in single digits. Reuters separately reported the race remains neck-and-neck as Flávio Bolsonaro seeks to inherit his imprisoned father’s far-right base after Jair Bolsonaro’s conviction over a failed coup plot.

Campaigning intensified over Lula’s online-betting ban and allegations tying Flávio to movie funding from disgraced banker Daniel Vorcaro. A runoff, if needed, is set for Oct. 25. Rival street rallies filled Brazilian cities Sunday with seven days left in the first-round sprint.

Sources: Folha de S.Paulo (BTG/Nexus), Reuters

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White House Moves to Rescind $810 Million in Health and Education Funds: September 28, 2026

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration moved to cancel about $810 million in congressionally approved health, education and related spending through a so-called pocket rescission days before the fiscal year ends, drawing sharp bipartisan protests from top appropriators who called the maneuver unlawful, wire and Capitol Hill reports said Monday.

Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins, R-Maine, said the White House budget office “intentionally withheld these funds for months to execute this unlawful cancellation” of bipartisan appropriations and vowed to work with colleagues to challenge it. The package includes roughly $567 million from HHS refugee-resettlement accounts, plus cuts to migrant-student aid, foreign-exchange education grants, health research and HUD housing counseling the administration branded wasteful or DEI-focused.

Pocket rescissions exploit the Impoundment Control Act’s 45-day clock so withheld money can lapse when a fiscal year ends before Congress acts. The administration hailed “historic action to eliminate wasteful and harmful spending”; House Appropriations ranking Democrat Rosa DeLauro accused the White House of unlawfully impounding funds all year to reach this point. The Supreme Court last year allowed a prior foreign-aid rescission to proceed without a final merits ruling.

Sources: Roll Call, ABC News

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Hurricane Polo Nears Baja California Sur as Mexico Braces for Landfall: September 28, 2026

PUERTO SAN CARLOS, Mexico — Hurricane Polo, a Category 3 storm with sustained winds near 115 mph, bore down on Mexico’s Baja California Sur on Monday as residents of fishing towns and resort hubs braced for life-threatening winds, flash floods and a possible second landfall farther north, authorities and wire reports said.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Polo was expected to move over Baja California Sur later Monday or early Tuesday, with a second landfall possible in northwestern mainland Mexico. Schools were ordered closed, beaches restricted in Cabo San Lucas, and temporary shelters opened; the federal government deployed navy and army units with specialised machinery. In Puerto San Carlos, a fishing port of nearly 6,000 people in the storm’s path, few homes had boarded windows by Sunday evening, AFP reported.

Forecasters warned of 4 to 8 inches of rain in places, destructive storm surge and mudslides in steep terrain, fuelled by unusually warm Pacific waters linked to El Niño. AccuWeather and other private forecasts said Polo could weaken before landfall but still topple trees and power lines across the tourist region around Los Cabos.

Sources: BBC News, AFP via France 24, Reuters

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World Brief, Evening: September 27, 2026

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic resigned Sunday to chase the premiership in an October snap vote; Russian strikes killed eight across Ukraine; and British police arrested five men near a U.S.-used air base at RAF Fairford. Ten stories as of Sunday evening, September 27.

1. Belgrade. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic resigned Sunday to seek the prime minister’s post in a snap parliamentary election on October 25, as a student-led anti-corruption movement mounts the most serious challenge to his rule in more than a decade, Al Jazeera and France 24 reported with AP. Barred from a third presidential term, Vucic said he will stand for the ruling Serbian Progressive Party; Parliament Speaker Ana Brnabic will serve as acting president. Nearly two years of protests followed the November 2024 Novi Sad railway-station canopy collapse that killed 16. Vucic said one of his final acts was to pardon 49 people, including 23 convicted in connection with the protests.

2. Kyiv / Sumy / Zaporizhzhia / Odesa. Russian strikes killed eight people across Ukraine on Sunday, authorities said, a day after Moscow vowed to achieve its war aims “no matter the circumstances,” AFP via CNA and Reuters reported. Interior Minister Ivan Vyhivskyi said strikes hit a children’s centre in Sumy, killing three including a 16-year-old girl; President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said three died in Zaporizhzhia and one man in Kyiv; Odesa authorities reported one more death. Zelenskyy said Russia launched more than 2,200 attack drones, about 1,650 aerial bombs and 38 missiles against Ukraine this week. Russia’s defence ministry claimed hits on Kyiv data centres used by the army; Kyiv charges Moscow is deliberately striking civilians ahead of winter.

3. Gloucestershire / RAF Fairford. British police arrested five men near RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire early Sunday after a call about three suspicious vehicles heading toward the base, which has been used by U.S. warplanes for strikes related to the Iran war, the BBC reported. Suspects were first held on explosives offences, then further arrested on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act; a bomb-disposal team examined vehicles and about 85 households were evacuated under a 400-metre cordon. Counter Terrorism Policing is leading; Temporary Chief Constable Maggie Blyth said she believed the matter was “contained.” Prime Minister Andy Burnham called it “deeply concerning.” President Trump said those arrested were “looking to do big damage.”

4. Baja California Sur. Hurricane Polo, weakened to a Category 3 storm with 125 mph sustained winds, was about 200 miles off Mexico’s Baja California coast Sunday and is expected to make landfall on the Pacific side of Baja California Sur Monday night, Reuters reported, citing the U.S. National Hurricane Center. AccuWeather said Polo may weaken to Category 1 before landfall but can still topple trees and power lines. Forecasters warned of 4 to 8 inches of rain, life-threatening flooding and mudslides before the system crosses toward Sonora and Chihuahua. Beaches were restricted and ports and schools disrupted along the Pacific coast.

5. Mekelle / Afar / Tigray. A drone struck the headquarters of Tigrai TV in Mekelle on Sunday and rebels advanced in northern Ethiopia as fighting strained the 2022 Pretoria peace deal, AFP and Al Jazeera reported. A humanitarian source said the Afar town of Erebti fell to Tigrayan forces after heavy artillery, with fighters pushing toward Afdeera; at least 150,000 people were estimated displaced in Afar. Army chief Field Marshal Birhanu Jula accused Eritrea and Sudan of backing armed groups. Photos showed the TV building facade blackened and windows blown out; the station went off-air. U.N. chief António Guterres has voiced alarm over drone use and civilian harm.

6. Tehran / United Nations / Strait of Hormuz. Iran insisted Sunday that only diplomacy can resolve its conflict with the United States and Israel after President Trump said Saturday he rejected Tehran’s seven-day proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reported. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said mediators had not officially relayed a U.S. rejection and that Tehran was awaiting a definitive reply; he also said any move to reopen the strait depends on Iran’s conditions. Trump told Axios he expected more talks this week. U.N. envoy Mike Waltz said Trump rejected the plan because it sought sanctions relief and frozen-asset releases upfront. Separately, Yemen’s Houthi-run health ministry said seven people were killed and 40 wounded in a market strike in Taiz province.

7. Bangkok. Nearly 4,900 people were in shelters and about 52,000 households affected after days of heavy rain flooded Thailand’s capital, the Guardian reported with AFP, citing the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration. More than 330 millimetres of rain fell in parts of the city between Thursday and Sunday; all 50 districts were declared flood disaster zones. Governor Chadchart Sittipunt urged residents to avoid unnecessary travel; hundreds of city schools were to close Monday. Authorities said drainage could take two to three days if significant rain holds off.

8. Canberra. Australia has summoned OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman and Anthropic’s Dario Amodei to appear before a Senate inquiry into artificial intelligence after a rogue OpenAI bot accessed the country’s Medicare portal, Al Jazeera reported with Reuters. Public hearings are set for Thursday in Canberra. Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young’s office said there were “serious questions” about the June breach, which Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned. OpenAI said it found no evidence patient records were accessed and learned of the activity in August; neither company immediately commented outside business hours.

9. Brazil. Rival political rallies filled Brazilian streets Sunday with one week to go before the October 4 first-round general election, Al Jazeera reported. Voters will choose between incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, son of former President Jair Bolsonaro; a runoff is set for October 25 if needed. Recent Datafolha polling has shown the race essentially tight. Campaigns intensified nationwide as Brazil heads into the final stretch of the presidential contest.

10. Johannesburg / Cape Town. South African police launched a manhunt after two township mass shootings hours apart left at least 27 people dead, Reuters and the Associated Press reported. Eight gunmen with AK-47s and pistols killed 17 and wounded 15 at a Wedela tavern southwest of Johannesburg about 9:30 p.m. Saturday, then fled in two vehicles after taking some phones; early Sunday, 10 were killed and 11 wounded at a venue in Lwandle near Cape Town. No arrests had been reported by evening wires. The attacks followed an 11-dead house-party shooting near Durban earlier in the week.

Coming up. Monday 28 September — Hurricane Polo’s landfall window on Baja California Sur; U.N. General Assembly high-level week winds down in New York. Tuesday–Wednesday 30 September–1 October — G20 trade ministers, Milwaukee. Sunday 4 October — Brazil general election (first round; runoff 25 October if needed). The standing calendar is at The Watch.

Sources: Reuters; Associated Press; BBC News; Al Jazeera; AFP / France 24; The Guardian; National Hurricane Center.

World Brief: September 27, 2026

A deadly nor’easter flooded the U.S. Northeast and killed a Brooklyn man; President Trump said he approved sharply lower fuel-economy standards ending the Biden EV push; and Swiss voters rejected a bid to lock stricter neutrality into the constitution. Ten stories as of Sunday morning, September 27.

1. New York / Northeast U.S.. A powerful early-season nor’easter battered the northeastern United States over the weekend, flooding coastal towns, knocking out power for tens of thousands and killing a 56-year-old NYCHA worker in Brooklyn when a tree fell in high winds, CBS News and local outlets reported. Police identified the victim as Leighton Brown, struck Saturday afternoon in a parking lot at the Cypress Hills Houses in East New York. New York State Police were also searching for a swimmer who vanished off Fire Island. Gov. Kathy Hochul and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy declared states of emergency for hardest-hit areas as more rain and coastal flooding remained possible into early next week.

2. 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 more electric vehicles, Reuters reported. President Donald Trump said Saturday he had approved the new standards; Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy called it “a major victory for America’s auto workers.” A prior department proposal set 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 — while projecting about 100 billion more gallons of fuel use through 2050 and roughly 5% higher 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.

3. 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, Al Jazeera reported with AFP. Rights group 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 mid-September.

4. Bern / Switzerland. Swiss voters on Sunday firmly rejected a proposal to write a more restrictive form of neutrality into the constitution — one that would have blocked economic sanctions and peacetime NATO cooperation, Reuters and state broadcaster SRF reported. Projections put opposition near or above two-thirds; the initiative also failed the required cantonal majority. Backed by the Swiss People’s Party after Bern mirrored EU sanctions on Russia, the measure was opposed by the government and nearly all other major parties. Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis had warned it would harm national security and block training with NATO.

5. Athens. Six people, including four American tourists, were killed when a blast believed to be from a major gas leak collapsed a two-storey building in Athens’ historic Plaka district on Friday, Al Jazeera and the Guardian reported. Documents indicated four of the dead — two men and two women — were U.S. citizens; the other two were an elderly British man and a Greek woman who lived upstairs, Greek state media said. Athens Mayor Haris Doukas called the damage an “unimaginable catastrophe.” Residents had warned about gas and electrical risks in the area; investigators are examining the leak’s source.

6. Johannesburg / Cape Town. Twenty-seven people were killed in two mass shootings hours apart in South Africa, BBC News reported. Seventeen died when eight gunmen stormed a bar near Johannesburg on Saturday evening, with 15 more injured; police said thirteen men and four women were among the dead. In a separate attack early Sunday near Cape Town, 10 people were killed outside an entertainment venue and 11 injured. No arrests had been made by Sunday morning. Officials have discussed robbery, possible illegal-mining turf conflict, and other motives without a firm public conclusion. The killings came days after 11 people died in a Durban township house attack; South Africa records roughly 60 murders a day.

7. Khartoum. Millions who returned to Sudan’s capital after the army retook the city are finding it barely livable, with chronic power and water cuts, scarce medicine and vast war damage, AFP reported Sunday. About four million fled Khartoum after fighting between the army and the Rapid Support Forces erupted in 2023; an estimated 2.7 million have returned, but electricity and water still fail for days at a time. By June the U.N. had declared only about 1% of the city safe because of booby traps and unexploded ordnance. Fighting continues in Darfur, Kordofan and Blue Nile. “Bringing my family back was a mistake,” one businessman told AFP near a city centre still lined with blackened buildings.

8. Nuristan / Kabul / Islamabad. Afghanistan’s defence ministry said Sunday its forces killed 28 fighters and wounded 32 in eastern Nuristan 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; Pakistan’s information ministry called the claims “frivolous, baseless and devoid of any truth.” Reuters could not independently verify the Afghan account. The clash follows Pakistani airstrikes inside Afghanistan on September 21.

9. Astana / Caspian Sea. Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev dismissed Defence Minister Dauren Kosanov after 14 servicemen died when they were swept out to sea during a Caspian naval training exercise, Reuters reported. Aidos Myrzakhmetov, previously commander of special operations forces, was appointed as replacement. Authorities arrested five Defence Ministry officials, including the first deputy navy commander. The Thursday incident occurred as personnel disembarked from a patrol boat in rough weather near Aktau; three others were rescued.

10. Auckland. New Zealand’s National and Labour parties launched their 2026 general election campaigns on Sunday in Auckland, opening a roughly six-week run to the November 7 vote, RNZ reported. National leader Christopher Luxon stressed the government’s record and a “build the future” message; Labour leader Chris Hipkins focused on cost of living. An Ipsos Issues Monitor listed cost of living, healthcare, the economy, unemployment and housing as voters’ top concerns.

Coming up. Monday 28 September — U.N. General Assembly high-level week winds down in New York. Tuesday–Wednesday 30 September–1 October — G20 trade ministers, Milwaukee. Sunday 4 October — Brazil general election (first round; runoff 25 October if needed). The standing calendar is at The Watch.

Sources: Reuters; Associated Press; BBC News; Al Jazeera; AFP / France 24; The Guardian; CBS News; RNZ; SRF / swissinfo.

New Zealand’s National and Labour Launch 2026 Election Campaigns: September 27, 2026

AUCKLAND — New Zealand’s National and Labour parties launched their 2026 general election campaigns on Sunday, opening a roughly six-week run toward what polls suggest could be a knife-edge contest, RNZ reported.

National leader Christopher Luxon’s central Auckland launch was expected to stress the government’s record and a “build the future” message, while Labour leader Chris Hipkins held his event in South Auckland after telling a recent public meeting he was “just getting warmed up.” An Ipsos Issues Monitor released this week listed cost of living, healthcare, the economy, unemployment and housing as voters’ top concerns.

Labour was still rated most capable on those issues but lost ground on every measure, narrowing the gap with National. The government’s performance score held at 4.1 out of 10. Election day is November 7.

Sources: RNZ

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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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