“The House will vote Wednesday on a broad package of sanctions targeting Russian officials and key pillars of its economy as lawmakers look to deprive Russian President Vladimir Putin of the financial resources needed to wage the war against Ukraine. The bill is named after the late Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who spent more than a year working on it. If the House passes the bill, it would go to President Donald Trump to be signed into law. The legislation represents the most ambitious effort to support Ukraine since President Donald Trump’s return to the White House and would break nearly two years of relative gridlock on the issue following a 2024 emergency aid package. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been pushing for the bill’s passage and made a direct appeal to senators shortly before they passed it last month.” (09/16/26)
“The number of people aged 100 or older in Japan surpassed a record 100,000 this year, the latest government figures show, underscoring the country’s rapidly aging and declining population. The Health and Welfare Ministry statistics released Tuesday show Japan now has 107,677 centenarians, up 7,914 from the previous year and exceeding the 100,000 mark for the first time. Nearly 88% of them are women.” (09/16/26)
“European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday proposed opening the door for Canada to become the European Union’s first ‘associate member,’ a significant step that could bring Ottawa substantially closer to the bloc as its trade dispute with the U.S. shows no signs of abating. Speaking in Strasbourg during her annual State of the European Union address, von der Leyen addressed Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who was in the chamber, and called for a major expansion of economic, technological and security cooperation between Canada and the EU. … Earlier this week, Carney — who is scheduled to address the European Parliament on Thursday — said Canada was seeking a ‘unique alliance’ with the EU, but not membership.” (09/16/260
“Police in Congo fired tear gas Tuesday to disperse hundreds of people demonstrating against constitutional changes they said could allow President Félix Tshisekedi to seek a third term in office. The opposition coalition C64 organized demonstrations in the capital, Kinshasa, and several other cities, including Lubumbashi and Kindu in eastern Congo, despite restrictions on mass gatherings imposed due to the fast-spreading Ebola outbreak. The protest in Kinshasa drew hundreds of people and began peacefully, but was dispersed by police with tear gas and warning shots after protesters clashed with pro-government supporters.” (09/15/26)
“Myanmar’s military-backed government has deported Adam Castillo, a U.S. businessman and former president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Myanmar, after three months in jail on what supporters say were trumped-up charges, state media reported Wednesday. State-run MRTV television said Castillo was flown out of the capital, Naypyitaw, earlier in the day, ‘in consideration of the friendly relations between Myanmar and the United States.’ The report said he had been charged with breach of trust over allegations he had violated the regulations of AmCham Myanmar. It did not say whether he had ever been brought to trial, or whether the charges had been dismissed. … Castillo, 40, was released into the custody of U.S. officials in Myanmar then flown to Bangkok, Thailand, and will soon return home to the U.S.” (09/16/26)
“Hours after singer Ed Sheeran addressed the backlash over rapper Macklemore being ousted from his tour for pro-Palestinian comments onstage, his remaining supporting acts have all quit Sheeran’s tour. … After he put Macklemore’s removal solely on venues and promoters, supporting acts Aaron Rowe, Lukas Graham, Beoga and Finneas announced that they were withdrawing from Sheeran’s tour to stand in solidarity with Palestinians — meaning the tour now has no openers. Sheeran said upcoming venues contacted him after his shows at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium earlier this month, saying they would pull his performances if Macklemore, 43, was not removed as his opening act, because of ‘how Macklemore conveyed part of his message during his performance,’ the singer said.” (09/15/26)
“The son of imprisoned former Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai appealed for his father’s release at a congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday, one week before Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to visit the U.S. Sebastien Lai urged his father’s release on humanitarian grounds at a hearing of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China. A Hong Kong court sentenced Lai to 20 years in prison in February following his conviction under a Beijing-imposed national security law. Lai’s daughter, Claire, did not appear at the hearing after being diagnosed with cancer. Her brother said she began chemotherapy in London last week. ‘Let Jimmy Lai come home to his family and let him sit beside his daughter in her hardest moment,’ he said, describing his father as ‘a 78-year-old man who has already suffered enough.'” (09/16/26)
“The Trump administration plans to deliver powerful 2,000-pound bombs to Israel as part of an upcoming arms deal, weapons that prompted such concerns about the possibility of mass casualties in Gaza that the Biden administration paused their delivery two years ago. The $2.8 billion package includes 40,000 of the bombs, made up of 20,000 Mk84s and 20,000 BLU-117s, according to two U.S. officials and a person familiar with the plan who spoke Tuesday on condition of anonymity to discuss the package, which is not yet final. Congress has been informally notified about the pending deal, most of which is to be paid for with foreign military financing — in which U.S. taxpayer dollars are given to Israel to turn around and buy the weapons from the United States.” (09/15/26)
“A Democrat fundraising giant used by the biggest players on the left is being accused of covering up the acceptance of fraudulent political donations and lying to Congress about its security standards. Congressional Republicans are providing an update on their investigation of ActBlue — a platform for campaigns to raise money that’s used by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, and the Democratic leaders of the House and Senate, among others — that alleges the company potentially accepted foreign contributions and concealed the evidence from the GOP’s probe. ActBlue has previously denied any wrongdoing.” (09/16/26)
“A court in Seoul has ordered Pyongyang to pay roughly $32.5m for blowing up an office in North Korea in 2020 that was intended to foster better relations between the two neighbours. ‘The court has ruled the North should pay the South Korean government 44.6 billion won in damages,’ a spokeswoman for the Seoul Central District Court told the AFP news agency on Wednesday. The lawsuit over the destruction of the Inter-Korean Liaison Office marks the first time the South Korean government has sought damages directly from the North Korean state, media reports said.” (09/16/26)
