Russians go to polls against backdrop of Ukraine war and Putin’s tightening grip

• President Trump will meet with Persian Gulf leaders in New York next week during the United Nations General Assembly to discuss postwar strategy for the region. • U.S. officials also met over the weekend with representatives of Yemen's Ansar Allah, known as the Houthis.

• World leaders will gather in New York starting Tuesday for several days of high-level debate at the United Nations General Assembly. • Diplomats indicate there will likely be a high-level meeting on the sidelines regarding the conflict in Sudan.

• UN Secretary-General António Guterres released a report on September 16, 2026, detailing reprisals against human rights activists across 32 countries. • The International Maritime Organization chief called for an immediate end to attacks targeting seafarers and merchant ships.

• A Saudi-led coalition shot down a Houthi drone near Mecca on Tuesday amid ongoing regional instability. • The United States embassy issued a travel advisory urging citizens to reconsider traveling to Saudi Arabia following alerts in Mecca and other areas.

• The BRICS grouping adopted a joint declaration by consensus on September 12 after back-channel negotiations resolved disputes between Iran and the UAE. • The agreement overcame sharp divisions regarding the conflict in West Asia to reach a unified diplomatic position.

• Member states are meeting at the U.N. General Assembly to address global food crises and humanitarian diplomacy amid ongoing financial shortfalls and political tensions. • The session on realigning global food action is scheduled to last only 75 minutes.

• A building collapse in Gaza killed at least 21 people, including 12 children, amid widening Middle East conflicts. • The tragedy occurred alongside diplomatic stalemates in Cairo and delayed security talks in Oman.

• Yemen's Houthi movement evolved from a local Zaydi Shi'ite revivalist group in the 1990s into a heavily armed force capable of striking regional targets. • The group expanded its reach along the Red Sea coast to threaten the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a critical global maritime chokepoint.

• Iran-backed groups attacked a major Saudi oil pipeline, forcing the facility to shut down. • Social media platforms have seen a surge of old and repurposed videos falsely presented as current footage from the Houthi-Saudi front lines.

‘Disposal of the body in this case was as thorough as it was brutal,’ justice Peter Hamill said when sentencing 55-year-old Nirmeen NouflFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA woman who lied to police multiple times to cover up killing and dismembering her abusive husband will spend a further 12 months in jail.Nirmeen Noufl was sentenced on Friday after pleading guilty in August to killing her husband Mamdouh in excessive self-defence while she was being choked and assaulted in their Sydney home. Continue reading...

Drinking locally made alcohol is common in Nigeria, especially in rural areas where it is more affordable and poorly regulatedAt least 48 people have died and about 100 others are receiving treatment in southern Nigeria after consuming a locally brewed alcoholic concoction suspected to contain methanol, officials said on Thursday.Banji Ajaka, Ondo state’s commissioner for health, said the cases had been reported in the Odigbo and Irele local government areas. A total of 182 people are believed to have been affected and some are being treated in the hospital, he said. Continue reading...