Sept. 21, 2026 - Daily News Digest
On this day: in 1993, Russian president Boris Yeltsin triggers a constitutional crisis when he suspends parliament and scraps the constitution.
WORLD/UN/WHO CARES? - War, runaway AI and climate shocks to take center stage as world leaders meet at UN
https://apnews.com/article/un-assembly-leaders-ai-trump-netanyahu-climate-c4727651b9030d6e7f81c0457a33440b
Under a global cloud of wars and bitter divisions, world leaders meet at the United Nations this week facing new fears that runaway artificial intelligence could threaten humanity even as climate shocks and escalating prices are already making life much tougher for hundreds of millions of people.
The annual high-level gathering at the U.N. General Assembly will also be consumed with major wars in Iran, Gaza, Ukraine,Sudan, Congo and Myanmar and a persisting question: Can the leaders do anything to end them?
And what can they do about the relentless rise of global warming threatening the future of the planet, the growing inequalities within and among nations, and shocks to the global economy as blocked shipping routes and supply chains increase the cost of living and slow growth?
The future of the United Nations will also definitely be on the agenda. At 81, its powers are still the victorious nations from World War II, not the 21st century’s major global players. The U.N.’s 193 member nations have agreed to a wide-ranging reform package that includes updating key institutions such as the powerful U.N. Security Council, where the U.S., Russia, China, Britain and France hold inordinate sway because of their veto power. Reform, however, is easier said than implemented.
Behind the scenes, there will be speculation about who will lead the United Nations next. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ second five-year term ends Dec. 31 and no clear successor has emerged.
GERMANY/POL - German voters turn to left and far-right as ‘disaster’ for ruling CDU threatens pro-growth reforms
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/21/german-election-result.html
Left-wing and far-right parties stormed to success in two German state elections over the weekend, delivering another hammer blow to the ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and complicating the path for its increasingly unpopular pro-growth agenda.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz accepted a “disaster” for the CDU following the vote in the north-eastern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, where the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) came first. The CDU also faced heavy losses in Berlin, where Die Linke (The Left) topped the result. The center-right CDU has led a national coalition government under Merz since 2025 and has been Germany’s dominant political force in the postwar era, formerly helmed by longstanding Chancellor Angela Merkel.
The AfD is unlikely to be able to govern in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern due to a boycott by other parties of any collaboration with the far-right. But its success will provide further momentum to a political force that came first in another state election result earlier this month and is pulling ahead in national voting intention, according to a Politico poll of polls.
The rise of far-right populism in Europe’s biggest economy, which has for decades been viewed as a bastion of stability, centrist policymaking and EU leadership, is being closely watched across the continent.
Merz on Sunday said he would stay in power despite the results, vowing to push ahead with various measures aimed at boosting the flagging German economy — including tax, healthcare and pension reforms, a highly anticipated program of defense and infrastructure spending, and easing bureaucracy to boost SMEs.
AUSTRALIA/DEMOGRAPHY - Australia warns of risks from ageing population, falling birth rates
https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/australia-warns-risks-ageing-population-falling-birth-rates-2026-09-21/
Australia forecast on Monday that deaths would exceed births for the first time in the 2060s, a demographic shift with far-reaching implications for an economy grappling with an ageing population, declining births and cuts to immigration.
For decades, Australia has sustained population growth by relying on immigration to offset low birth rates. But with immigration now slowing, the country is starting to look down a path already taken by many advanced economies including Japan, Germany and South Korea, where deaths have already outnumbered births.
In an Intergenerational Report published on Monday, the Treasury department identified AI, geopolitical fragmentation, the energy transition, ageing population and a shift to a service-based economy as the five most consequential transformations facing the country's economic outlook over the next four decades.
It now expects population growth to slow to 0.9% a year over the next four decades as fertility rates decline and net overseas migration – the difference between the number of incoming migrants and people leaving the country – continues to fall before stabilising. That is down from an average of 1.4% rise over the past 40 years.
US/DENMARK/GREENLAND - Trump’s Greenland Deal Eases Way for U.S. Business on Arctic Island
https://www.wsj.com/world/trumps-greenland-deal-eases-way-for-u-s-business-on-arctic-island-1cbef960?mod=world_lead_pos1
The security deal over Greenland, announced by President Trump on Friday, relieves the pressure from months of American maneuvering to control the semiautonomous Danish territory and smooths the way for more U.S. investments on the cash-starved but resource-rich Arctic island.
American and Greenlandic businesspeople say they hope the agreement, which is expected to be signed this week, will ease geopolitical tension, drive investment and remove some of the stigma many Greenlanders attach to cooperating with the Americans.
Trump’s initial interest in controlling Greenland, dating back to his first term in office, spurred new commercial attention to the island and its potential. But his threats to annex it by force made investors skittish, and Greenlanders wary of American intentions.
While the deal is unlikely to immediately open the floodgates to major investments in mining and oil drilling—sectors hampered by harsh Arctic conditions and structural obstacles—it will bring stability to other areas where U.S. businesses have shown interest. Many Greenlandic businesspeople say the U.S. is a natural partner given its geographical proximity.
“If the deal gets over the line, it will benefit all parties. We need to put behind us the insecurity that has plagued us, not only as individuals but in the business community, for nearly two years,” said Naaja Nathanielsen, lawmaker and former Greenlandic minister for business and mineral resources. “I have seen an increased American investment interest in recent years, and we want to build on that interest.”
RUSSIA/ENERGY - Russia Set to Extend Diesel Export Ban Beyond End of September
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-09-21/russia-set-to-extend-diesel-export-ban-beyond-end-of-september?srnd=homepage-americas
Russia is set to extend a ban on most diesel exports beyond the end of September as Ukraine continues to attack its refineries, according to people familiar with the matter.
There’s an understanding that the ban will be extended, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private deliberations. Prolonging the curbs by another month or even more is under consideration, one of the people said.
The Energy Ministry didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Russia enacted the ban in July as a wave of Ukrainian strikes against its refineries dragged oil-processing rates to multiyear lows. The export curbs, initially envisaged to last just a matter of weeks, were subsequently extended through August and then to the end of September as the attacks continued.
SYRIA/SEC - Syrian ammunition depot explodes in fourth such blast this month
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/syrian-ammunition-depot-explodes-fourth-such-blast-this-month-2026-09-21/
A series of explosions tore through an army weapons depot in northern Syria early on Monday, the fourth such incident this month, wounding several people and sending villagers scattering.
The blast was the latest in a series of mysterious and often unexplained explosions at military storage sites across Syria.
Authorities offered no immediate explanation for the blasts near Al-Eis in the province of Aleppo, which were heard across nearby towns.
RUSSIA/UKRAINE - Russia targets Zaporizhzhia after Ukraine launches 1,000-drone weekend barrage
https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-united-nations-drones-445b619fc9b2d002df1edaac8b320d09
Russian drones struck the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia on Monday, a day after Kyiv’s forces fired more than 1,000 drones at Russia, officials said.
The relentless daily attacks underscore the lack of significant progress in diplomatic efforts to end the fighting more than four years after Russia invaded its neighbor.
There is no sign the war is abating as world leaders gather this week at the U.N. General Assembly. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he expects to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump at the annual event in New York. Russian President Vladimir Putin is not due to attend.
Trump on Monday called the war “ridiculous” and said Moscow had “unfortunately lost control” of its diesel oil production as Ukraine targets Russian refineries with long-range drones.
“A large number of (Russian) diesel refineries have been blown up and are, at least temporarily, out of commission,” he said in a social media post.
KSA/YEMEN/SEC - Saudi-led coalition says defence intercepted Houthi missile fired at Riyadh
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/19/saudi-led-coalition-says-defences-intercept-houthi-missile-fired-at-riyadh
Saudi-led coalition forces fighting Yemen’s Houthis have said that the Iran-backed group fired a ballistic missile at Riyadh at dawn before it was intercepted and destroyed.
“The Houthis also attempted to target civilians and civilian infrastructure in Bisha, Taif, Farasan and Yanbu,” coalition forces spokesperson Major-General Turki al-Maliki wrote on X on Saturday, adding that the attacks were thwarted by the Gulf monarchy’s air defences.
Saudi Arabia warned of a “hostile aerial threat” and issued a string of emergency alerts across the kingdom overnight on Friday.
On Saturday, at least one explosion was heard in Riyadh, with residents near the airport saying they saw a large plume of black smoke later in the morning. Saudi authorities reported no casualties or damage.
It was the first air raid alert sounded in Riyadh since an escalation in fighting with the Houthis in Yemen began in July.
The Saudi spokesperson said that the Houthis are escalating their attempts to target civilians and civilian infrastructure in the capital. He also affirmed the coalition command’s right to take “appropriate” action to deter the Houthis, in accordance with international humanitarian law.
JAPAN/WEATHER - Typhoon approaches eastern Japan, prompting flood and landslide warnings
https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/typhoon-approaches-eastern-japan-prompting-flood-landslide-warnings-2026-09-21/
A powerful typhoon was approaching Japan's Pacific coast on Monday, bringing torrential rain, violent winds and a heightened risk of landslides across the Kanto region and other parts of eastern Japan, the weather agency said.
The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) warned that conditions could deteriorate rapidly as Typhoon Dujuan was forecast to pass close to the Tokyo metropolitan area later in the day.
Heavy rain has already drenched the Izu Islands and parts of Japan's Pacific coast, with some locations recording more than 300 mm (12 inches) of rainfall since Saturday, prompting authorities to issue the highest-level landslide emergency warning for the town of Oshima in the Izu Islands, about 110 km (68 miles) south of Tokyo.
The JMA said downpours could intensify from Monday afternoon as the typhoon nears the Kanto region, an area that includes Tokyo and surrounding prefectures.
At the Asian Games in central Japan's Aichi Prefecture, organisers postponed the equestrian eventing competition until Tuesday due to the approaching typhoon.