Briefing

• The UN Secretary-General and the UN Mission in Libya welcomed the House of Representatives' endorsement of the Smaller Convening Agreement signed on August 30. • This endorsement serves as a formal step toward resolving the current political deadlock within the country. • The agreement aims to stabilize the region by facilitating meetings between the Secretary-General, local authorities, refugees, and humanitarian workers.

• UN agencies provided updates on several global crises during a press briefing in Geneva on September 15, 2026. • The briefing covered Ebola updates from WHO and OCHA, school conditions for children in Ukraine via UNICEF, and the recovery of human remains in Gaza by OHCHR. • These reports highlight critical humanitarian risks for displaced people in Yemen and restrictions facing women and girls in the West Bank.

In today’s newsletter: Plaid Cymru, the SNP and Sinn Féin have signed an agreement for greater powers, as pressure grows on Westminster over the UK’s futureGood morning. Back in May, the shape of British politics shifted dramatically. I’ll forgive you if you were too preoccupied refreshing Andrew Sparrow’s live blog for the latest speculation about Keir Starmer to notice, but since 7 May, centre-left nationalist parties that ultimately aspire to leave the UK have been in government for the first time simultaneously in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.This week sees the initial codification of that shift. In Cardiff yesterday, Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth, Scottish National party leader John Swinney and Sinn Féin vice-president Michelle O’Neill (who shares power with the Democratic Unionist party) affirmed their countries’ right to seek independence from the UK. Along with the leader of the opposition in Ireland, Mary Lou McDonald, they signed a memorandum of understanding that called on Westminster “to prepare, plan and facilitate constitutional change in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland”. And they posed for a fair number of group photos too.Reform UK | Andy Burnham’s government could thwart Reform’s unprecedented £72m donations with retrospective restrictions on political donors that will include tough new residency requirements, ministers have announced.AI | Donald Trump has dismissed calls to increase controls on AI as a “sick conspiracy”, as stocks linked to the technology slumped after appeals from Anthropic, OpenAI and SpaceX leaders on the weekend for the industry to slow down.Nato | Nato fighter jets shot down a drone over Lithuania after an alert was issued in the ‌capital and surrounding region, while Poland scrambled fighter jets less than a day after retrieving a suspected Russian drone adrift in its waters.Middle East | Yemen’s Houthi rebels have seized two strategic islands in the Red Sea, reinforcing the Iran-backed group’s ability to control a key shipping route, as concerns mount that the world is facing a new oil supply crisis.Lucy Letby | Two leading experts have quit Lucy Letby’s defence team over concerns about the “scientific credibility” of some of its evidence. Continue reading...

• Inspur Electronic Information announced a plan to raise up to 9 billion yuan (approximately $1.3 billion) through a private placement of shares to no more than 35 qualified investors. • The company will allocate 2.6 billion yuan of the proceeds toward boosting AI computing power. • This capital move allows the company to scale its infrastructure to meet the National Data Administration's goals for embodied intelligence, or AI that interacts with the physical world.

In today’s newsletter: As Labour MPs scramble to realign later today around a bill that could stop donations like this in their tracks, a look at new game-changing donations to a party engulfed in financial scandalsGood morning. Nigel Farage has a confirmed talent for upending the laws of political gravity, and this weekend has been no exception, as he declared himself “humbled” by two donations of £36m each from cryptocurrency tycoons Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne.I’d shoehorn a joke about buses in here but, honestly, this feels too consequential for that.Economy | Former chancellor George Osborne said Britain’s economy had “fallen off a cliff” since Brexit – and that rejoining the European Union’s customs union would be the fastest route to recovery.Technology | Sam Altman and Elon Musk backed Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei’s call to “slow the pace” of AI development. Amodei had cautioned that an AI swarm could otherwise become capable of “taking over the entire internet” within a year.Sweden | With most of the votes counted, Sweden’s national election remained too close to call on Sunday night, with left-wing parties holding a lead of just a single seat according to a partial tally by the election authority.Ukraine | A train carrying Boris Johnson and the former CIA chief David Petraeus may have been the target of a Russian drone strike that hit a train engine near the Poland-Ukraine border, according to Ukrainian Railways.Travel | The air traffic control outage that caused thousands of flights to be grounded across the UK earlier in the week was caused by a military aircraft entering “spurious” flight data into the system, according to a report.Monday | First ministers of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland will meet in Cardiff to discuss moves towards self-determination across the nations.Tuesday | The final report of the Thirwall Inquiry into events at the neonatal unit where Lucy Letby worked will be published. Letby was sentenced to 15 whole-life terms for murdering seven infants and attempting to murder seven others.Thursday | Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, will address the European parliament. Continue reading...

• Indonesia is implementing ambitious crop production schemes that put millions of hectares of forest at risk. • The scale of the threat involves the potential loss of millions of hectares of forest land. • These agricultural expansions threaten critical biodiversity and carbon sinks that regulate the global climate.

• Cuba is experiencing a severe power crisis that is disrupting basic services following the imposition of sanctions. • National electricity generation in August met less than one third of the country's total demand. • The UN and its partners are coordinating with Cuban authorities to provide aid to citizens with the most severe needs.

• Currency markets are showing mixed trends as the Euro rises toward 1.17 and the Dollar Index appears bearish. • The USDINR rose to close above 95 yesterday, while the 10-year Government of India bond yield remains stable at approximately 6.95%. • Traders face volatility in the near term as the Euro, Australian Dollar, and British Pound show bullish momentum.