“Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said Friday they struck an oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, according to state news agency IRNA, as a British maritime agency also reported an attack. Iran has maintained its stranglehold on the strategic strait as Washington continues pressing its counter-blockade of Iranian ports during the Middle East war. Iran wants to charge ships for passage, attacking vessels it accuses of attempting to circumvent its preferred route.” (09/18/26)
“Russians on Friday began three days of voting in the country’s first wartime parliamentary election, which features virtually no opposition and is all but certain to secure the Kremlin’s political dominance. Authorities spread the election over the weekend in a bid to boost turnout among the 111 million eligible voters and even allowed electronic balloting. Polls opened Friday and will close Sunday. The Kremlin wants the parliamentary election — the first since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 — to underline public support for the war and give a veneer of legitimacy to its action. … The liberal Yabloko party, the only registered political entity that dared to criticize the war, was removed from the ballot last month by Russia’s Supreme Court, and only has a few dozen candidates in the single-constituency races. Additionally, some anti-war politicians have been imprisoned or forced to flee abroad ahead of the campaign.” (09/18/26)
“The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control has identified and sanctioned an Iranian bitcoin exchange linked to the ‘Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority,’ a front company that enables the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ fee-for-transit scheme for the Strait of Hormuz. In March, just weeks after the U.S.-Israeli strikes began, Iranian forces began an informal practice of charging safe-passage fees for the Strait of Hormuz at a rumored rate of up to $2 million per transit. This was later formalized as an ‘insurance’ fee payment, handled by ‘Hormuz Safe’ and the similar ‘Persian Gulf Marine Insurance Company.’ … In a follow-up action announced Thursday, the Treasury said that it was also sanctioning BitBank, a cryptocurrency handling service used by HormuzSafe to process payments.” (09/17/26)
“A US federal judge has ruled the Trump administration must give 30 days’ notice before any ‘demolition’ occurs to the Kennedy Center, as President Donald Trump warned the Washington DC performing arts venue could be ‘ripped down’. The order comes after Trump was photographed onboard Air Force One looking at a poster with a headline that appeared to tout the demolition of the site. US District Judge Christopher Cooper ordered a detailed report of the centre’s ‘temporary closure’ for emergency repairs, and for written notice of any change to the scope of the project. In May, Cooper ordered the removal of Trump’s name from the building.” (09/17/26)
“Ousted board members of the U.S. Institute of Peace are asking a federal court to block the imminent carving of President Donald Trump’s name on the headquarters of the nonpartisan institution he sought to dismantle shortly after taking office. Members of the board who were removed by the administration filed an emergency motion Thursday in Washington in a dispute that has echoes of Trump’s effort to place his name on the Kennedy Center. The motion was filed as an emergency petition, alleging that a contractor has already been selected to carve Trump’s name into the Constitution Avenue headquarters that the administration sought to shutter as part of the Elon Musk-led DOGE effort to shrink the government.” (09/17/26)
“A United Nations fact-finding mission on Iran said Thursday it had reasonable grounds to believe the United States was behind two military strikes on a school and sports facility in Iran in February, and that these constituted war crimes. It also found that Iranian authorities committed crimes against humanity during their deadly crackdown on anti-government protests that occurred just weeks before the U.S. and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran on Feb. 28. The findings in a new report by the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran, to be submitted to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, examined the American conduct during the Iran war that began in February and the Iranian government’s response to nationwide unrest that began in late December.” (09/17/26)
“As the war in the Middle East continues to push up energy prices and foster heightened fears about inflation, the Bank of England held interest rates steady on Thursday. The decision to not raise rates this month makes it an outlier among other large global central banks. Policymakers at the central bank held rates at 3.75 percent, where they have been since late last year. The decision was announced a day after data showed inflation in Britain had risen to 3.1 percent in August, the fastest pace of price growth since March, driven by higher gasoline and diesel prices. It also follows the decision by the U.S. Federal Reserve to raise interest rates on Wednesday, its first increase in more than three years. But officials at the Bank of England said the protracted conflict in the Middle East was increasing the probability that they would need to raise interest rates soon.” (09/17/260
“Sweden’s left-leaning opposition won a narrow majority in the country’s national election, a complete vote count showed Thursday. The Swedish Election Authority said the four opposition parties won 176 seats in the 349-seat parliament in Stockholm, the Riksdag, in Sunday’s election. The four parties that make up or support the outgoing conservative-led government took 173 seats. Shortly after the final results were announced, center-right Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said he would resign as the head of government in a letter to the parliament’s speaker posted on X.” (09/17/26)
“The number of people applying for unemployment benefits dropped sharply last week, another sign that layoffs remain rare and most Americans enjoy job security. The Labor Department reported Thursday that jobless claims slid to 196,000, the fewest since mid-July and down from 206,000 the week before. The four-week average of claims, which smooths out week-to-week volatility, dropped to 203,250. Economists had expected claims to come in at 207,500, according to a survey by the data firm FactSet.” (09/17/26)
“Canada has formally applied to join the U.K.-led Joint Expeditionary Force as a full-time member, a bid that London is supporting, Prime Minister Mark Carney’s office said in a media statement Wednesday. The joint force is a military coalition made up of 10 allied countries focused on NATO’s northern flank. It was assembled in 2014 to create a rapid-response force. Canada’s military has worked with the force in multinational drills but has not been a permanent member of the group.” (09/17/26)
