“Norway’s prime minister denied Wednesday an ‘unhealthy culture’ among the country’s diplomats, as current and former ministers addressed a hearing over ties between late US convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and senior Norwegian officials. … The Epstein files have shed light on ties between the US financier and Rod-Larsen and his diplomat wife Mona Juul, the architects of the 1993 Oslo Accords who are now under investigation in Norway—she for ‘aggravated corruption’ and he for ‘complicity in aggravated corruption’. The couple denies any wrongdoing. In total, 11 officials who have held the positions of foreign minister or development aid minister since 2005, will address the committee Wednesday and Thursday.” (09/30/26)
“The Federal Reserve’s internal watchdog said Wednesday that the central bank has broadly mismanaged an expansive building renovation project but did not find any criminal violations, as alleged by Trump administration prosecutors. A variety of missteps by the Fed’s Board of Governors and staff inflated the cost of the $2.4 billion renovation, the Fed’s inspector general said. The board did not secure a comprehensive cost estimate at the beginning of the project, nor did it nail down a maximum overall cost, a step that could have forced the building contractor to absorb the impact of inflation, the IG said in a 120-page report. Prices spiked after construction began in 2022. ‘Our review found that the Board has not effectively managed and executed its … contract and repeatedly deviated from its cost-management provisions,’ the report said. The building project became a high-profile flashpoint in the Trump administration’s efforts to pressure the Fed into cutting its key interest rate.” (09/30/26)
“The Defense Department on Tuesday announced plans to stop hiring civilians for tenured faculty positions at U.S. military service academies, a move that would make it easier to fire some professors in the future. In a memo, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the change was needed to ensure the academies are focused on their ‘warfighting mission’ of training military leaders.” (09/29/26)
“US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth is expected to announce the firings of 20% of admirals and generals across the armed forces, according to US media. The announcement is anticipated Wednesday at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia, adding to an earlier round of personnel cuts in 2025. There are over 800 active-duty generals and admirals across the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Space Force, according to the latest defence department tally. The last time Hegseth assembled military leaders at Quantico, in September 2025, he criticised the department as being ‘too woke’ and slammed its leaders for being out of shape, saying ‘fat generals and admirals’ is ‘a bad look’. Hegseth’s anticipated firings are the latest in a broader overhaul of the US military under his leadership, seeking to insert what he calls ‘a war fighter ethos’ into the defence department, including a rebrand, calling it the Department of War.” (09/30/26)
“A commercial plane traveling from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates to Israel was forced to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, briefly raising concerns about a possible hijacking and prompting Israel to scramble warplanes. Israeli media, citing security officials, said the incident stemmed from a feud between the plane’s two pilots, and everyone on board was safe. The plane landed in Tabuk, a civilian and military base in the kingdom.” (09/30/26)
“The U.S. military announced Wednesday that it completed the withdrawal of all American troops from Iraq, ending a 12-year mission to fight the Islamic State group and prompting President Donald Trump to hail the conclusion of ‘a very expensive excursion into Hell’. The last U.S. troops left an air base in northern Iraq under a deal between Baghdad and Washington. Trump, in a social media post, described the withdrawal by a Sept. 30 deadline as ‘orderly’. Appearing soon after at a White House event celebrating Hispanics, he spoke at length about the withdrawal and said, ‘It’s been a long time with very bad decision making that got us involved in this quagmire in the first place. It was a quagmire. For many, many years it lasted. But soon that part of history will be over.’ He said the shift was a victory for the U.S., Iraq and a sign of victory over the Islamic State group.” (09/30/26)
“Federal prosecutors in Texas announced charges Tuesday against Wilber Rafael Garcés Pérez, a Venezuelan delivery driver shot and seriously wounded by an ICE officer in Austin this month. The charges came a day before he was set to appear in court to challenge the legality of his immigration detention. Garcés Pérez, 28, was charged with one count of assaulting, resisting and impeding a federal officer, according to a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. Garcés Pérez was wounded by an ICE officer in the upper part of his back on Sept. 20 while he was in his car making DoorDash deliveries.” (09/29/26)
“The United Nations Security Council on Tuesday extended by six months the mandate of an international security force in Haiti intended to fight powerful armed groups that have taken control of much of the country. Twelve nations voted to renew the mandate of the Gang Suppression Force (GSF) and none voted against. Three nations, however, abstained: China, Russia and Pakistan, whose representatives cited concerns over insufficient funds, personnel and efficacy. The extension is intended to provide security ahead of Haiti’s first election in a decade in December. Armed groups continue to control large parts of the Caribbean nation despite successive international deployments, and the force has struggled to deploy enough troops to carry out its mandate.” (09/29/26)
“The US Supreme Court on Tuesday lifted restrictions on the deportations of immigrants to countries that are not their own, while agreeing to hear the issue on its merits in December. The conservative-dominated high court granted an emergency request by the Trump administration to suspend a lower court ruling that restricted, but did not outright ban, so-called ‘third-country removals.’ The lower court had said that people targeted with deportation must be given effective notice ahead of time about where they are being sent to allow them to raise concerns about potential persecution. The three liberal [sic] justices on the nine-member panel said they would not have granted the Trump administration’s request.” (09/29/26)
“Israeli troops got a Palestinian family back into their two West Bank homes Monday night—but the return lasted only about 10 minutes, reports Reuters. At that point, more than 100 Israeli [squatters] arrived and attacked soldiers and the Palestinians, even setting fire to the homes in a chaotic scene. ‘Due to the violence, the mission to return the family to their homes was not completed,’ the military said in a statement. Troops had the family go up to a roof when the [squatters] broke in but then evacuated them as the clashes intensified, reports the New York Times, citing witness accounts.” (09/29/26)
