“France prosecutors on Monday sought two years with an electronic tag and a five-year ban on public office for ex-culture minister Rachida Dati in a trial on corruption charges linked to dealings with the Renault-Nissan group. They sought a four-year jail term for Carlos Ghosn, the fugitive former Renault-Nissan chief now living in Lebanon, who is being tried in absentia as part of the same trial in Paris. … [Dati] stands charged with corruption and influence peddling over alleged lobbying for Renault-Nissan between October 2009 and February 2013 while she was a member of the European Parliament.” (09/28/260
“A British child chess prodigy has become the youngest player in history to earn the woman [sic] grandmaster (WGM) title. Bodhana Sivanandan, 11, from north-west London, secured her third and final WGM norm – a certified title-level performance – while representing England at the 46th Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, the International Chess Federation (FIDE) confirmed. Speaking to FIDE, Sivanandan said she was happy about the achievement but wanted to ‘keep making history’. It is the latest milestone in a remarkable rise for the schoolgirl, who has already become Britain’s youngest women’s [sic] chess champion and the youngest person to represent England internationally in any sport.” [editor’s note: The BBC headline calls her a “woman”; I attempted to fix that, since last I knew an 11-year-old human was still a “child” – SAT] [additional editor’s note: Whether the person in question is either biologically or mentally a “child” or “adult” isn’t something that can be determined by drawing a number out of a hat; all the number indicates is that she is legally a “minor” – TLK] (09/28/26)
“Hungary’s Parliament voted on Monday to lift the parliamentary immunity of three lawmakers, including the country’s prime minister, Péter Magyar, as prosecutors proceed with ongoing criminal investigations. Prosecutors are investigating Magyar on suspicion of misdemeanor theft after he allegedly took a man’s mobile phone during a nightclub altercation and threw it into the Danube River in June 2024, nearly two years before his party won a landslide election that unseated former populist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. … Lawmakers on Monday also voted to suspend the immunity of two former ministers in Orbán’s government who are suspected of, separately, criminal mismanagement of 17.3 billion forints ($53.6 million) of public funds and accepting more than 12 billion forints ($37.2 million) in bribes and kickbacks.” (09/28/26)
“The Trump administration on Monday released new fuel economy standards that relax regulatory requirements for automakers to control pollution from gasoline-powered cars and light trucks. The new rules were released shortly after President Donald Trump rejected an Iranian proposal to open the Strait of Hormuz, sending oil prices soaring.” (09/28/26)
“The number of confirmed cases of Ebola virus in Congo has surged past 8,000, as the country runs out of health workers to contain the deadly disease. Congo announced an outbreak on May 15, caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, which has no known treatment or vaccine, and has struggled to contain it. Latest data from Congo’s health ministry showed that 8,067 cases have been confirmed, with 3,901 deaths as of Sept. 26 across 63 health zones in seven of the country’s 26 provinces, with a fatality rate of more than 48%.” (09/28/26)
“Oil prices jumped Monday in Asia trading after U.S. President Donald Trump rejected an Iranian peace proposal aimed at ending the Middle East conflict and reopening the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. crude futures for November delivery rose 3.3% to $95.46 a barrel as of 4:57 a.m. ET, while international benchmark Brent gained 3.66% to $108.14 a barrel. Trump turned down Iran’s conditional offer to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and told aides he expects U.S. strikes on the country to resume after November’s midterm elections, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday, citing unnamed U.S. officials.” (09/28/26)
“Russian strikes killed eight people across Ukraine on Sunday, a day after Moscow vowed to pursue the war, authorities said Sunday. … On Saturday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told the UN General Assembly his country intended to continue its military campaign ‘to the end’.” (09/27/26)
“Supporters of Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado took to the country’s streets on Sunday to demand her safe return and presidential elections that could lead to a democratic transition in Venezuela. The government has been widely accused of stealing elections, jailing dissidents and stifling freedom of speech. In Caracas, hundreds of activists in sky blue shirts — the color of Machado’s Vente Venezuela party — rode motorcycles and drove through the city’s main avenues, honking their horns and waving Venezuelan flags. Similar demonstrations were held in state capitals including Valencia, Maracaibo and Merida. … Machado has been living in exile for the past nine months, and has had her plans to return to Venezuela spoiled multiple times. Opposition activists have accused Venezuela’s government of blocking her return, a claim denied by Venezuelan authorities.” (09/27/26)
“President Donald Trump has asked Chinese President Xi Jinping whether he would like to buy U.S. weapons, David Perdue, the U.S. ambassador to China, said in a television interview Sunday. ‘President Trump continues to say, ‘Hey, we sell arms to other people around the world,’’ Perdue said on ‘Fox News Sunday’ while discussing the state visit by Xi to Washington last week. ‘He actually asked President Xi would he like to buy some at one point.’ Perdue did not give further details and did not reveal Xi’s reply. … When asked for comment, the White House said through a U.S. official that the United States had no plans to sell arms to China. The State Department said in a statement that ‘U.S. law prohibits arms sales to China, and there is no offer or plan to sell arms to China.'” (09/27/26)
“Serbia’s populist president, Aleksandar Vučić, has resigned to pursue an attempt to become prime minister in an early parliamentary election that will test his firm rule in the Balkan country after nearly two years of protests. Vučić’s second presidential term would otherwise end in May next year. He is banned by the constitution from seeking a third term and said he was resigning to lead his rightwing Serbian Progressive party (SNS) in the 25 October ballot. The governing populists face a major challenge from a youth-backed movement that led protests triggered by a train station canopy collapse in November 2024 that killed 16 people in the northern city of Novi Sad.” (09/27/26)
