“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)
“A former Syrian military official convicted of torturing prisoners during the rule of former President Bashar Assad’s regime is facing a possible decades-long prison sentence in the U.S. A federal judge in Los Angeles is scheduled to sentence Samir Ousman Alsheikh on Thursday. A jury found him guilty in March of one count of conspiracy to commit torture and three counts of torture while in charge of Syria’s infamous Adra Prison from roughly 2005 to 2008.” [editor’s note: Last time I checked, Syria wasn’t a US state or territory, so how would the US courts have jurisdiction in the matter? – TLK] (09/17/26)
“Doral Mayor Christi Fraga is responding to business owners who say increased [ICE gang] activity in the city is frightening customers and workers and taking a significant toll on their businesses. ICE [gang members] were seen Wednesday in different areas of Doral, a city with a large immigrant population. A local social media platform reported that agents [abducted] people at a gas station near Northwest 41st Street and 107th Avenue. Nearby business owners say the presence of [gang members] is having an immediate economic impact. … Fraga told CBS News Miami that she understands the concerns but said local governments have no authority to prevent federal [gang members] from conducting [abduction] operations within their cities.” (09/16/26)
“When Sheena Hamlin found out she was pregnant with a daughter she named Ellie, she was ‘very excited’, until her doctors discovered at around 21 weeks that the baby ‘might survive birth, but that her lungs were so severely underdeveloped that she would suffocate almost as soon as the umbilical cord was cut’. ‘The alternative would be to terminate the pregnancy,’ explains a lawsuit filed in state court on Wednesday, but that ‘was not an option in Oklahoma’, where a pair of laws force patients whose ‘pregnancy will end in miscarriage, stillbirth, or the death of an infant shortly after birth’ to leave the state if they choose abortion. … she flew to Illinois for care shortly before Thanksgiving in 2024, and spent nearly $4,000 out of pocket. After the ‘devastating’ experience, the couple ‘underwent genetic testing and confirmed that Ellie had Meckel-Gruber syndrome’.” (09/17/26)
“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s party on Wednesday petitioned the electoral commission to block initiatives aimed at helping Israelis who live abroad return to vote in upcoming close-fought elections. Israel’s electoral law does not allow citizens residing outside the country to vote abroad, except for diplomats and emissaries sent by certain organisations. The Central Bureau of Statistics estimates there are 600,000 Israelis living abroad. Government opponents have been working for several weeks to encourage voters to come home to cast their ballots, hoping to strengthen the anti-Netanyahu camp in elections scheduled for 27 October. Initiatives include offering discounted plane tickets, assisting expatriates with the administrative procedures required to vote and organising their transport from the airport. Attorney Ilan Bombach, representing Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party, filed an appeal on Wednesday with the chairman of the Central Elections Committee demanding an end to these practices.” (09/17/26)
“The White House said Thursday that it was withdrawing its nomination of Lance Schroyer, a former Oklahoma state trooper, to lead U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ensuring that an agency at the forefront of President Donald Trump’s domestic agenda will remain without a Senate-confirmed leader for at least a while longer. Schroyer is close to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, a former U.S. senator from Oklahoma. He has little experience with immigration. The White House offered no comment in a brief statement. When he nominated Schroyer in June, Trump said on his Truth Social platform that his pick was ‘a PATRIOT with real operational experience’ and a ‘proven leader with DECADES of experience locking up the worst of the worst’. ICE has not had a Senate-confirmed leader since the Obama administration. David Venturella returned to the agency as acting director earlier this year after Todd Lyons resigned.” (09/17/26)
