Sept. 11, 2026 - Daily News Digest

On this day: in 1941, Charles Lindbergh makes his Des Moines speech accusing the British, Jews and FDR's administration of conspiring for war with Germany.

QOTD: “This is a key part of our plan to build the industrial capacity to produce millions of drones within the next two years,” Carney said. “And, importantly, one third of all the drones we manufacture will go to support Ukraine’s defense of its homeland.”

YEMEN/SHIPPING/SEC - Iran-backed Houthis capture key island in vital waterway
https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/10/middleeast/houthis-capture-mocha-red-sea-strait-intl

Iran-backed rebels in Yemen captured the strategic Perim Island in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait on Friday, two Yemeni government sources told CNN, potentially expanding Tehran’s influence over another key global shipping route.

A day earlier, the Houthi group captured the port town of Mocha as it sought to take control of the country’s Red Sea coast.

The news sent shockwaves worldwide over the possible impact on global shipping and oil prices, as well as the risk of opening a new front in the US-Iran war.

Bab al-Mandeb is a chokepoint linking Asia and Europe via the Red Sea and Suez Canal. Although less critical to the oil trade than the Strait of Hormuz, it carries essential goods worldwide, including millions of barrels of oil each day.

CHINA/INDIA/POL - China, India arranging meeting for Xi, Modi, China's foreign ministry says
https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-india-arranging-meeting-xi-modi-chinas-foreign-ministry-says-2026-09-11/

China and India are arranging for ​a bilateral meeting between ‌Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra ​Modi, China's foreign ​ministry said on Friday, as ⁠Xi is set to ​travel to India this ​weekend to attend a BRICS summit.

China is willing to approach ​bilateral ties "from a strategic ​and long-term perspective," enhance communication and ‌cooperation ⁠while properly managing differences, said Mao Ning, a ministry spokesperson, during a ​regular ​press ⁠conference.

UKRAINE/MIL/TECH - Behind the killer robots of Ukraine's new warfare 'revolution'
https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/behind-killer-robots-ukraines-new-warfare-revolution-2026-09-11/

In a cramped workshop near the front line in northeastern Ukraine, military mechanic "Chimera" is helping prepare his unit's robot forces for battle.

Lined up in a ​row, the four-wheeled unmanned vehicles known as "Hyenas" will crawl toward Russian lines with their payload of explosives and attack an enemy dugout or halt an advance.

Similar models have captured Russian ‌prisoners, said Chimera, 44, who asked to be identified by his call sign.

"Imagine what 20 kilograms (44 pounds) of explosives is like: it's very powerful," he said. "Very powerful."

Workshops like this one, run by Ukraine's Third Army Corps, have sprouted up across the 1,200-km (745-mile) front as Kyiv's outmanned army seeks to gain the technological edge against Russia's unrelenting infantry assaults in the fifth year of war.

Unmanned ground vehicles are a critical new component of Ukraine's strategy to fight smarter by preserving the lives of its troops on ​a drone-saturated battlefield, where virtually any movement can prove deadly.

Most Ukrainian brigades and regiments feature unmanned systems units which are expanding to include UGVs as part of their forces.

CANADA/UKRAINE/MIL/TECH - Canada Targets Millions of Drones, With a Third for Ukraine
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-09-10/canada-targets-millions-of-drones-with-third-going-to-ukraine

Prime Minister Mark Carney and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a declaration of a 100-year partnership between their two countries, as Canada pledged to boost its drone production capacity and send one-third to Ukraine.

Carney said the agreement, signed by the two leaders in Calgary on Thursday, will build up Canada’s sovereign drone capabilities and deepen ties with Ukraine. The UK inked a similar century-long partnership with Ukraine last year.

“In the coming months, we will codify a long-term framework for cooperation across defense and security, trade and investment, reconstruction, energy, critical minerals and technology,” Carney said.

The prime minister said Canada will also launch a national drone marketplace, based on a successful Ukrainian model. It will give the Canadian Armed Forces direct access to about 400 suppliers, which he said will increase the number of drones available to the military tenfold.

GCC/IRAN/POL/ENERGY - Gulf States Weigh Rare Meeting With Iran Next Week on Hormuz
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-09-11/gulf-states-may-meet-iran-next-week-to-discuss-future-of-hormuz

A six-member bloc of Gulf states is weighing a meeting with Iranian officials next week to discuss the future of the Strait of Hormuz, people familiar with the matter said, in what would be the first gathering with the Islamic Republic since war erupted more than six months ago.

Oman is aiming to get foreign ministers from the Gulf Cooperation Council and Iran together on Monday in Salalah, a southern Omani city, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing sensitive matters.

The meeting is not confirmed, the people said, with two adding that escalating hostilities between Saudi-backed forces and the Houthis, a group based in neighboring Yemen and supported by Iran, may complicate the plans. Even if it happens, it’s unclear if all states in the bloc, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar as well as Oman, will attend, the people said.

Oman’s foreign ministry didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The Financial Times first reported the meeting.

The Houthis are pushing toward Red Sea coastal areas bordering the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait, raising fears that the group will tighten its grip on the vital maritime trade route. It already disrupted shipping and oil markets in recent years and the risk of a repeat is likely to be leveraged by Iran in discussions with Arab neighbors.

CHINA/EU/TAIWAN - China angered by Taiwan VP's visit to EU democracy forum
https://www.dw.com/en/china-angered-by-taiwan-vps-visit-to-eu-democracy-forum/a-79226311

China was angered by Italy and the EU on Friday, lodging "solemn ‌representations" with both after news broke that high-ranking Taiwanese officials had traveled to the bloc to attend an annual democracy summit.

Beijing's Foreign Ministry said it firmly opposes official interactions of any form with Taiwan by nations who have ties with China.

Solemn ‌representations is a literal translation of a Chinese term expressing diplomatic discontent. 

At issue is a visit by Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim and Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung, both of whom were welcomed to the Ventotene Conference for Freedom and Democracy in Italy.

China sees democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, which it has vowed to "reunite" with the mainland. 

Beijing has previously blasted Hsiao as an "independence diehard" and has criticized her Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) as a separatist outfit.

Taiwan's government has not sought formal independence but Beijing has, nevertheless, threatened to take the island by military force.

BRAZIL/POL - Brazil’s Supreme Court shuts down early as political chaos mounts
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/11/brazils-supreme-court-shuts-down-early-as-political-chaos-mounts

Brazil’s Supreme Court has cancelled a second straight day of deliberations as suspicions of corruption, political bias and police interference loom over several of its members.

Cancellations are rare at the high court. But on Thursday, Chief Justice Luiz Edson Fachin nixed a second consecutive session, calling for the court to reconvene on Tuesday instead.

The decision was spurred by an ongoing crisis among the court’s members.

The divisions emerged on September 1, when one justice, Andre Mendonca, unsealed a series of federal police documents that appeared to show a disgraced banker, Daniel Vorcaro, seeking advice from another justice, Alexandre de Moraes.

De Moraes has rocketed to prominence in recent years for his roles in high-profile cases.

He presided over the trial of former President Jair Bolsonaro after prosecutors accused the far-right leader of plotting a coup following his 2022 election defeat. De Moraes also oversaw suspensions of platforms like X and Rumble for failing to abide by court orders, making him a target for Brazil’s right wing.

US/IRAN/MIL - The US has made progress in reopening the Strait of Hormuz, but the Iran war is far from over
https://apnews.com/article/iran-us-war-hormuz-trump-yemen-houthis-2b126da67b09de2f328846eb656abe0e

In recent weeks, the United States has succeeded in loosening Iran’s grip over the Strait of Hormuz while virtually shutting down Iran’s own oil exports, accelerating its economic free fall.

But the war launched by the U.S. and Israel in February — intended to last a few weeks — is still far from over, and the stalemate is costly for both sides. An agreement reached in June quickly crumbled, with no sign of diplomatic progress since then. Low-level fighting persists, and the U.S. does not seem to have an exit strategy.

The mounting economic pressure on Iran has yet to stoke an uprising, and if its leaders are backed into a corner, they may opt for military escalation rather than capitulation. Their Houthi allies in Yemen have meanwhile stepped up attacks on Saudi Arabia, helping to push oil prices back up.

The price of a barrel of Brent crude, the international benchmark, surged above $100 this week, and diesel — heavily used in transport and farming — hit a record, potentially stoking inflation. U.S. President Donald Trump has acknowledged that gas prices are likely to stay high through the midterm congressional elections.

“Unfortunately, the U.S. is not winning in the war with Iran despite its limited success in loosening Iran’s grip over the strait and the devastating impact on Iran’s economy,” said Mona Yacoubian, a Middle East expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

“Iran shows no sign of backing down, and instead has demonstrated a willingness to not only fight back, but escalate wherever it can. The war is likely to be protracted with no clear victor.”