War Live

Campaigning or control of Congress is expected to ramp up as some states open early votingGood morning, and welcome to our US politics live blog. The midterm elections are less than two months away, but some states begin early voting today, marking the start of a crucial stretch of campaigning for control of Congress.Virginia begins early in-person voting, while voters in Minnesota, Idaho and South Dakota can cast absentee ballots in person, as the campaign turns increasingly on the cost of living and the continuing war in Iran.The Trump administration has approved a potential sale of 48 advanced F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, worth an estimated $24.3b. The Department of State said the propose sale “will improve Saudi Arabia’s capability to deter current and future threats by strengthening its homeland defense”. The move comes despite concerns from intelligence agencies that China could potentially gain access to, or steal, sensitive F-35 technology through Saudi Arabia, according to the New York Times. The newspaper reported:One detailed report, issued months ago by the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency, raised questions about whether the Americans and Saudis would be able to secure sites with F-35 technology. It also raised concerns about the access that Chinese military personnel have to Saudi bases and the prevalent use by Saudi Arabia of Chinese technology in telecommunications infrastructure and defense installations.Former staff members of the US Institute of Peace have asked a federal appeals court to prevent the Trump administration from carving the president’s name into the facade of its headquarters in Washington, which was renamed the ‘“Donald J. Trump United States Institute of Peace” last year. Lawyers for the institute’s ousted board members argued that engraving Trump’s name on the building would cause “irreparable harm” by undermining the organization’s independent mission.The USIP dispute comes as another Washington cultural institution faces a court battle over changes under Trump. A federal judge has ordered the Kennedy Center to give 30 days’ notice before making any major physical changes to the building, including demolition as Trump has threatened. The president said the centre could be “ripped down” amid a dispute over plans to put his name on the building and a proposed $257m renovation. The center is currently closed due to what its Trump-backed leadership described as safety issues caused by age and structural deficiencies. Continue reading...

• The Australian government is seeking public and organizational submissions until October 9 to help shape new AI legislation. • Labor plans to release draft legislation by the end of the year to address risks regarding foreign interference and hacking. • Without new investment in onshore research, Australia risks hosting AI infrastructure while intellectual property and commercial returns accrue offshore.

• The US Federal Reserve is scheduled to announce its interest rate decision at 11:30 PM IST today, September 16. • Fed Chair Kevin Warsh will hold a press conference to discuss the decision at 12:00 AM IST on September 17. • The outcome of this meeting directly impacts borrowing costs and investment strategies for global financial markets.

The action is likely the last House vote on issue ahead of the midterm electionsSign up for the US Breaking News emailOn Capitol Hill today, Dr Nicole Saphier, Donald Trump’s third pick to be the US surgeon general will face lawmakers on the Senate health, education, labor and pensions committee for a confirmation hearing at 10am ET.A reminder that the president withdrew his last two nominations for the top doctor position – Casey Means and Dr Janette Nesheiwat. While Means’ nomination fell apart after she was grilled by senators in February, Trump withdrew his support for Nesheiwat after questions circled around her academic credentials. Continue reading...

Union statement comes after Nigel Farage says a Reform UK government would stop unions funding Labour if they block £72m donations to his partyThe Liberal Democrats have said that they will try to introduce a cap on the amount people donate to political parties by amending the representation of the people bill as it goes through the Lords.Lisa Smart, the Lib Dem Cabinet Office spokesperson, said:We can’t keep playing whack-a-mole with each new attempt by Farage to sell out our democracy.Labour’s residency requirements aren’t good enough and the Conservatives simply sat on their hands whilst in power. For decades governments of both colours have stood by and done nothing.The scale of donations made to Reform in recent days is unprecedented in British politics and should deeply concern anyone who cares about the health and integrity of our democracy.We cannot afford to see the Americanisation of our politics, with out of control political spending, funded by stratospheric sums of crypto and corporate cash. These donations show clearly whose side Reform are on, with crypto billionaires, foreign and powerful corporate interests lining up to pour in eye-watering sums of money to advance their agendas. Continue reading...

• An oil tanker exploded and caught fire on Monday after colliding with mines in the Strait of Hormuz amid escalating US-Iran tensions. • S&P 500 futures dropped 0.7% and Nasdaq futures fell 1.6% as the incident raised risks for global energy supplies. • President Donald Trump stated he expects the conflict with Iran to end this year, potentially shortly after the US midterm elections.

• Researchers dredging off the coast of Iceland in 2006 collected and froze an ocean quahog clam that had lived for over 500 years. • A count of 507 annual shell rings determined the clam, nicknamed Ming, was born around 1499. • Studying the clam's resistance to oxidative stress and protein maintenance provides scientists with hypotheses about exceptional longevity in non-colonial animals.

• An Iranian commercial vessel was attacked near Qeshm Island, resulting in one death and four injuries. • An official attributed the attack to the "US terrorist enemy." • The incident occurs as Houthi forces and Yemen’s government trade strikes over the Bab al-Mandeb, a critical shipping lane.

• US President Donald Trump expects the war with Iran to end "immediately after the election" on November 3, claiming Iran "can't hold out any longer". • Iran has declared a wave of tit-for-tat attacks on shipping, amid a unclear chain of command in the country's leadership. • The conflict's outcome has significant stakes for the US, with President Trump under pressure to end the war as the midterm elections approach.

The strikes come after it was revealed that Ukraine’s president Volodomyr Zelenskyy’s plane was almost hit by a drone when leaving Moldova this weekMeanwhile, Reuters reported that Nato allies interrupted a Russian plot training to unleash a secret weapon designed to disable critical undersea cables without leaving any fingerprints.Two 1,400 km subsea fiber-optic cables linking Svalbard to mainland Norway lie as deep as 2,700 metres below the sea’s surface. They carry ⁠vast amounts of satellite data downloaded at the SvalSat satellite ground station, the world’s largest and part of NASA’s Near Space Network. Continue reading...

• The 78th annual Primetime Emmy Awards began announcing winners on September 5-6, 2026, in Los Angeles. • Netflix's Stranger Things won an award for its visual effects work involving WĒTĀ FX Limited and ILM. • These awards recognize the highest quality achievements in television, impacting the prestige and market value of the winning production studios.

• The FTSE 100 index opened 18.66 points lower at 10,793 as rising oil prices and tensions between the US and Iran weighed on investor sentiment. • Energean and Aberdeen shares gained value despite the overall market dip. • Market volatility reflects the concrete risk that Middle East instability can drive up energy costs and disrupt global trade.

• The US Central Command destroyed five Iranian oil tankers on Wednesday amid escalating tensions between the United States and Iran. • The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps responded by expanding its maritime restricted zone into the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. • Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi is facing pressure to disarm Iran-backed Shi’ite militias that are currently resisting efforts to hand weapons to the state.

UK foreign secretary to reassert support for Palestinian rights and a two-state solution in move drawing criticism from US and IsraelGood morning. It is hard to understand Labour/leftwing politics in the UK at the moment without reference to Israel and Gaza. Keir Starmer’s popularity with some progressive voters slumped in part because he was seen as unwilling to do enough to channel the anger they feel about how Israel is treating Palestinians – even though last year he took the historic step of formally recognising the state of Palestine. Quite a lot of what Andy Burnham has done in his early days as PM has had a “continuity Starmer”, but today the new government will take a bold step that will recast the UK/Israel relationship, acting where the Starmer administration just dragged its feet.In a statement to MPs, Ed Miliband, the new foreign secretary, will announce that Britain is banning trade with illegal Israeli settlements on the West Bank. Patrick Wintour has the story here.I don’t know if [the British government is] really aware of the implications and how it’s going to affect Brits.For example, 25% of pharmaceuticals that are used in the UK are made in Israel. Are they willing to give those up? It looks like they are. Continue reading...

• The far-right AfD party won a victory in the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt on September 7. • The region has an unemployment rate of 8%, which is only slightly above the national average. • This result represents a political defeat for Chancellor Friedrich Merz and signals growing disillusion with mainstream politics across Europe.

Follow the day’s news liveFormer prime minister, John Howard, has warned political parties against banning migration from certain countries as the debate over Australia’s immigration settings continues.The 87-year-old was in Canberra last night for an hour-long chat with Australian National University national security professor, Rory Medcalf, ahead of the 25th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks in the US.But I think the mood is overwhelming that we have to try very hard to stop terrorism creeping in under the cover of immigration, and you can’t do it by just stopping immigration, and it’s very hard to do it by stopping categories of immigration ...When some people say you stop it by saying ‘we won’t take migrants from any country that has got a reputation for terrorism’, well, it might be a lot more limiting than those people imagine. Continue reading...

• Pakistan played a three-day warm-up match against the Professional County Club Select XI as part of their 2026 tour of England. • Saud Shakeel scored 100 runs off 147 balls during Pakistan's second innings, where the team reached 264/3. • These matches allow the Pakistan national team to refine their form and strategy before competing in official tour fixtures.

• Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed its naval forces attacked a US-operated drone boat in the Strait of Hormuz. • Lawmaker Fathollah Tavassoli stated on Sunday that Tehran will not be forced into negotiations through sanctions or threats from the US and Europe. • This stance indicates that Iran intends to resist economic or political pressure used to impose excessive demands on the country.

• Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed its naval forces attacked a US-operated drone boat in the Strait of Hormuz. • Lawmaker Fathollah Tavassoli stated on Sunday that Tehran will not be forced into negotiations through sanctions or threats from the US and Europe. • The confrontation increases the risk of military escalation and economic instability in a critical global shipping lane.

The new ACTU secretary, Melissa Donnelly, says One Nation ‘says one thing and does another’Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastGood morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it will be Nick Visser with the main action.The new secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, Melissa Donnelly, has said cost of living issues and the rollout of AI in workplaces are two major focuses of her new role. More coming up. Continue reading...

• Iran has claimed responsibility for new attacks targeting military bases used by U.S. troops in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, ignoring previous warnings from Donald Trump. • Simultaneously, the Pentagon is investigating reports that a separate U.S. military strike may have accidentally hit a wedding party. • Recent casualty data from the Pentagon lists four service members killed in Jordan and Iraq during July, alongside 14 others killed during the ongoing conflict with Iran.

• The US launched a strike on Iran’s Larak Island, marking the first direct exchange of fire between the two nations in over a month. • Iran retaliated by targeting US military personnel at an airbase in the United Arab Emirates, while Donald Trump claimed that Iran’s Kharg Island energy hub was being destroyed. • Marking six months since the start of the war, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei urged Muslim nations to unite against the US and Israel, labeling them enemies of all Islamic nations.

• Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian announced Tehran's readiness to establish joint security arrangements with neighboring countries. • The announcement comes as the conflict with the United States reached the six-month mark on Friday. • Pezeshkian emphasized that these diplomatic outreach efforts are based on Iran's "experience of war" rather than a position of weakness.

• Iran has vowed to resist U.S. sanctions as the conflict involving the United States and Israel passes the six-month mark. • Despite U.S. blockades of Iranian ports and significant disruptions to ship traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, neither side shows signs of backing down. • China continues to access Iranian crude oil via Central Asian highways and railways, mitigating the impact of the maritime blockade.

• On August 28, 2026, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences to Norway following the passing of King Harald V. • PM Modi specifically highlighted the "warmth" of the late monarch, reflecting on the positive relationship between the two leaders. • This diplomatic gesture underscores the importance of India's bilateral ties and mutual respect with Norway.

• Federal Reserve official Kevin Warsh is preparing to speak at the influential Jackson Hole conference amid rising concerns over inflation. • The event is critical for financial markets as Fed governors typically use the platform to signal future shifts in monetary policy. • Deutsche Bank economists suggest Warsh's address may focus on "big-picture" topics, including the Fed's internal taskforces or the economic implications of AI.

• Massive flash floods in central Nepal have resulted in numerous deaths and left over 750 people missing, including 133 Indian nationals. • Indian authorities report that at least 290 Indian citizens currently remain "uncontactable" following the deluge. • Both Nepal and China have issued warnings regarding fresh flood risks, indicating that the region remains under significant threat.

• Asian markets traded quietly on Thursday, August 27, 2026, as investors awaited a Friday speech by Warsh at Jackson Hole. • The Bank of Korea raised its policy rate to 3.00% from 2.75%, marking the second consecutive rate hike for the institution. • Nvidia reported strong Q2 fiscal 2027 results, with CFO Colette Kress projecting fiscal 2028 revenue growth of approximately 70%, significantly exceeding the 44% analyst forecast.