World News

Thousands March in Culiacán Against Cartel Faction Violence: September 15, 2026

CULIACÁN — Thousands of people took to the streets of Culiacán to demand an end to the violence that has wracked Mexico’s Sinaloa state since two factions of the Sinaloa cartel began a bloody war two years ago, the BBC reported.

Residents dressed in white held posters of missing loved ones and signs reading “We don’t want fear, we want peace” at Sunday’s protest, timed to the second anniversary of fighting that erupted after the U.S. arrest of drug lord Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada. His followers, known as La Mayiza, accuse Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán’s sons — Los Chapitos — of betrayal, and the factions have staged ambushes, shootings, and burning roadblocks.

Businessman Sergio Esquer told AFP that more than 5,000 businesses have closed since the feud began. The Catholic Church and civil society helped organize the march, which began with a Mass in which the bishop of Culiacán urged the warring groups to stop. Relatives of a one-year-old boy killed by a stray bullet last week were among the participants.

Sinaloa’s political crisis has deepened as well. U.S. prosecutors in April accused Governor Rubén Rocha of conspiring with Los Chapitos; Rocha denied wrongdoing and has twice stepped aside amid investigations and public pressure from President Claudia Sheinbaum.

Sources: BBC

—

Fed Expected to Raise Rates Wednesday, Defying Trump: September 15, 2026

WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve is widely expected to lift its short-term interest rate Wednesday for the first time in three years to fight stubbornly high inflation, a move that would put the central bank at odds with President Donald Trump’s support for a cut, the Associated Press reported Tuesday.

A quarter-point increase from a rate currently about 3.6% is not guaranteed because Fed Chair Kevin Warsh has avoided the forward guidance his predecessors used. Still, most analysts expect a hike after Warsh’s Jackson Hole speech two weeks ago arguing the Fed had not yet put inflation in check. Futures markets priced roughly a 90% chance of a move after Friday’s inflation report showed core prices picking up in August.

The decision is due at 2 p.m. EDT Wednesday, followed by Warsh’s news conference. Trump has demanded cuts and said Sunday the United States “should be paying the lowest interest rate in the world.” White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said Trump “100% respects the independence of Kevin Warsh,” while also suggesting the Fed should stay out of the way of midterm elections seven weeks away.

Oil near $100 a barrel from Middle East conflict and AI-related investment have kept inflation above the Fed’s 2% target. Economists say a hike would be Warsh’s first major credibility test since taking the chair in May; traders already price further increases in December and March.

Sources: Associated Press via WTOP, Reuters

—

World Brief: September 14, 2026

A Russian drone struck a Ukrainian passenger train near the Polish border; Oman postponed Monday’s Iran–Gulf Hormuz meeting with no new date; and a Reuters poll finds most economists now expect the Fed to hike a quarter point this week. Ten stories as of Monday morning, September 14.

1. Yahodyn / Poland border. A Russian drone struck the locomotive of a Kyiv–Warsaw passenger train about 2 km from the Polish border at Yahodyn shortly after former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European security officials had passed on another train, the BBC and Reuters reported. Ukrainian rail operator Ukrzaliznytsia said there were no casualties and that passengers had been evacuated about 15 minutes earlier. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk convened an emergency meeting as Poland issued air-threat alerts in border counties of Lublin Voivodeship.

2. Salalah / Strait of Hormuz. Oman postponed Monday’s meeting in Salalah between Iran and Gulf states on Strait of Hormuz shipping “in the interests of consensus,” Oman’s Foreign Ministry and Reuters reported; Iran said Saudi Arabia requested the delay citing events in Yemen, Al Jazeera reported. No new date was set. The postponement follows an Iranian commercial ship strike that killed one and wounded four, and a UKMTO report of a projectile strike on a vessel in the strait.

3. Washington. Eighty-six of 101 economists in a Reuters poll conducted after Friday’s inflation report now expect the Federal Reserve to raise rates by 25 basis points to a 3.75%–4.00% target range at its September 15–16 meeting — the first hike since July 2023 — reversing last week’s hold consensus. Interest-rate futures priced close to a 90% chance of an increase this week. A near-majority of forecasters, 37 of 70, expect at least one further hike by end-March. Fed Chair Kevin Warsh faces pressure from President Trump, who has pressed for cuts.

4. Kinshasa / DRC. The Democratic Republic of Congo’s Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak — the country’s worst on record — has passed 7,022 cases, with 3,398 deaths and 1,671 recovered, and has reached a seventh province, South Ubangi, Al Jazeera and Reuters reported. The government said the epidemic peaked in mid-to-late August and that cases are declining in some zones.

5. São Paulo. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva regained a slim lead over Senator Flávio Bolsonaro in a simulated runoff, a BTG Pactual/Nexus poll showed Monday, Reuters reported. Lula would take 47% to Bolsonaro’s 46% in a runoff scenario — statistically tight given a 2-percentage-point margin of error — reversing a September 8 survey that had Bolsonaro ahead 46% to 45%. In a first-round scenario Lula led 42% to 37%. Separately, Brazil’s Supreme Court unsealed further material on a Bolsonaro biopic-financing probe. The first round is October 4.

6. Toronto. Prime Minister Mark Carney opened a two-day summit pitching more than 160 Canadian projects to global investors — including BlackRock’s Larry Fink, Blackstone’s Jon Gray, Temasek, and Dutch pension giant APG — amid the U.S. trade war, Reuters reported. Ottawa is targeting C$1 trillion in investment over five years.

7. Air Force One / US–China–Iran. President Trump brushed aside a Wall Street Journal report that Chinese entities supplied Iran with satellite imagery of a Jordan base before a July strike that killed three U.S. troops, equating U.S. and Chinese spying, Reuters reported. China rejected the accusations.

8. Naha / Okinawa. LDP-backed Genta Koja won about 59% of the vote to defeat Governor Denny Tamaki, ending 12 years of anti-base-leaning governors in Okinawa, Reuters and Al Jazeera reported. Koja accepts the Henoko base relocation, a result that may give Tokyo a freer hand on military buildup.

9. Panguna / Bougainville. Autonomous Bougainville President Ishmael Toroama condemned an attack on the Panguna mining camp in which machinery was burned at a site linked to Lloyds Metals, Reuters and RNZ reported. Toroama said he will continue to press for a copper-mine restart.

10. Moscow. The Kremlin welcomed President Trump’s call for Ukraine to halt strikes on Russian diesel facilities; spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Gulf instability is driving energy markets, Reuters reported. Russia’s diesel export ban remains in focus ahead of the State Duma election September 18–20.

Coming up. Tuesday–Wednesday 15–16 September — Federal Open Market Committee, Washington, with the Summary of Economic Projections. Sunday 20 September — Russia State Duma election. Tuesday 22–Saturday 26 and Monday 28 September — UN General Assembly high-level week, New York. October 4 — Brazil general election (first round). The standing calendar is at The Watch.

Sources: Reuters; BBC; Al Jazeera; Oman Foreign Ministry; RNZ; Associated Press.

Bougainville Presses Panguna Mine Restart After Camp Attack: September 14, 2026

WELLINGTON — Bougainville President Ishmael Toroama condemned an attack on a mining camp at Panguna and said his government would press ahead with plans to reopen the long-shuttered copper mine despite opposition from some groups, Reuters reported.

Personnel were assaulted and equipment destroyed at the camp, Toroama’s office said late Sunday, without detailing injuries or identifying those responsible. AFP reported that saboteurs torched heavy machinery belonging to Indian company Lloyds Metals and Energy, which is leading restart efforts.

Panguna, once among the world’s biggest open-pit copper operations, has been closed for nearly three decades after conflict devastated the autonomous Papua New Guinea region. Reopening is central to Bougainville’s push for economic strength as it pursues independence.

“The government and people of Bougainville will not be intimidated by individuals or factions seeking to undermine our efforts to redevelop the Panguna Mine,” Toroama said. Landowner consent, environmental safeguards, and benefit-sharing remain contested.

Sources: Reuters, AFP via France 24

—

China Opens Xiangshan Defence Forum Amid Regional Tensions: September 14, 2026

BEIJING — China’s military leadership is expected to outline its global security aims this week as Defence Minister Dong Jun opens the three-day Xiangshan Forum amid tensions over Taiwan, the South China Sea, and doubts about U.S. commitments in Asia, Reuters reported Monday.

Hundreds of officers, diplomats, and scholars from dozens of countries are expected at the tightly scripted Beijing gathering, often cast as a Chinese counterpart to Singapore’s Shangri-La Dialogue. Dong’s speech is expected to push multipolar cooperation and may include coded criticism of the United States and its allies.

Analysts say overt U.S. criticism could be tempered ahead of President Xi Jinping’s planned Washington meeting with President Donald Trump later this month. Japan may face sharper rhetoric given current Beijing–Tokyo tensions, Singapore-based scholar James Char said.

Vietnam is sending Defence Minister Phan Van Giang; Malaysia’s vice defence minister will attend. The U.S. delegation is expected to be led by the Pentagon’s principal director for China, Taiwan, and Mongolia. Taiwan does not attend the forum.

Sources: Reuters

—

Oman Postpones Hormuz Talks After Iranian Cargo Ship Strike: September 14, 2026

DUBAI — Oman postponed a planned Monday meeting between Iran and other Persian Gulf powers on managing Strait of Hormuz shipping after an Iranian cargo vessel was struck near Qeshm Island, killing one person and wounding four, France 24 reported, citing AP and Iranian state media.

Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi said late Sunday the regional meeting was delayed “in the interests of consensus.” An Iranian foreign ministry official said Tehran and Muscat postponed talks at the request of some regional countries and would set a new date.

Iran’s IRNA quoted the Qeshm governor blaming a “terrorist enemy” for the Sunday strike. Asked whether the United States hit the vessel, President Donald Trump said, “I don’t want to say.” Commercial traffic through Hormuz remains low amid the U.S.–Iran war.

Saudi Arabia has submitted amendments to an Iran–Oman shipping arrangement, citing concern about lasting implications for other Gulf Cooperation Council states, a Gulf official told AP. Bahrain said it would not attend the meeting, citing a lack of diplomatic ties with Tehran.

Sources: France 24 (AP)

—

Congo’s Worst Ebola Outbreak Passes 7,000 Cases: September 14, 2026

KINSHASA — More than 7,000 Ebola cases have been recorded in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s worst-ever outbreak of the disease, Congolese authorities said, AFP and Al Jazeera reported.

Figures released over the weekend put confirmed cases at 7,022 since mid-May, with 3,398 deaths and 1,671 recoveries. The outbreak involves the rare Bundibugyo strain, for which there is no approved vaccine or treatment, though several candidates are being tested.

The epidemic began in northeastern Ituri province and spread through conflict-hit eastern and northern regions with weak health infrastructure. A case was recently confirmed in South-Ubangi, bordering the Central African Republic and Republic of Congo.

Government spokesman Patrick Muyaya wrote on X that the peak came in the third week of August and that indicators show a decrease, with 10 of 61 affected health zones recording no new cases for at least 21 days.

Sources: AFP via The Japan Times, Al Jazeera

—

Brazil Court Unseals Probe Into Bolsonaro Biopic Funding: September 14, 2026

RIO DE JANEIRO — A Brazilian Supreme Court justice on Sunday unsealed an investigation into a film about former President Jair Bolsonaro, pointing to suspicions that its financing had ties to a criminal network, the Associated Press reported.

Justice Flavio Dino said the hypothesis of a sophisticated scheme diverting public funds via congressional budget amendments and Sao Paulo city government had strengthened. The case may further complicate Senator Flavio Bolsonaro’s challenge to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in October’s election.

Sen. Bolsonaro is under investigation for corruption, money laundering, and tax evasion related to millions of dollars from a disgraced banker used to finance the biopic “Dark Horse.” Federal police last week targeted Bolsonaro ally and former cabinet member Mario Frias, who sent about 2 million reais ($400,000) to a nonprofit linked to the film.

Dino said there were strong indications Frias played a central role in an alleged network that may also have links to the First Command of the Capital (PCC). Frias denied wrongdoing and said he never allocated congressional funds to the production.

Sources: Associated Press

—

Lula Regains Narrow Edge Over Flavio Bolsonaro in Brazil Poll: September 14, 2026

SAO PAULO — Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva regained a slim lead over right-wing Senator Flavio Bolsonaro in a simulated runoff for next month’s election, a BTG Pactual/Nexus poll showed Monday, though the race remained statistically tied, Reuters reported.

In a runoff scenario, Lula would receive 47% support compared with 46% for Bolsonaro. A September 8 survey had Bolsonaro ahead 46% to 45% — his first numerical lead over Lula since March — helping Brazilian assets rally as the former president’s eldest son is viewed as more market-friendly.

In a first-round scenario, Lula led with 42%, followed by Bolsonaro at 37%, Augusto Cury at 6%, Ronaldo Caiado at 5%, and Renan Santos at 2%. If no candidate wins more than 50% of valid votes on October 4, the top two advance to an October 25 runoff.

Nexus surveyed 2,003 people from September 11 to 13, with a margin of error of 2 percentage points.

Sources: Reuters via The Straits Times

—

Trump Downplays Report China Entities Aided Iran Before Jordan Attack: September 14, 2026

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE — U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday brushed aside a Wall Street Journal report that Iran acquired satellite images of a base in Jordan from Chinese entities before a July attack that killed three U.S. troops there, Reuters reported.

Asked whether he would raise the issue with Chinese President Xi Jinping at a planned September 24 meeting, Trump equated Chinese and American surveillance. “They basically do what we do,” he told reporters. “When they say China spies on us, I say you’re right and we spy on them too.”

The Journal report, which Reuters could not independently verify, said U.S. officials declined to identify the Chinese entities and did not allege direct involvement by Beijing. China on Monday said it “firmly oppose[s] unfounded suspicions and accusations made without evidence,” foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said.

Trump reiterated that he has a good relationship with Xi and said China had “behaved reasonably well.” At least 18 U.S. service members have been killed since the U.S.–Israeli war with Iran began at the end of February.

Sources: Reuters

—

World News

Footer

About Journal of Occurrences