“Sweeping travel restrictions on Chinese citizens came into effect on Tuesday, including exit bans for people considered to have endangered China’s ‘industrial or technological security.’ The new exit-and-entry rules, which were passed in July, apply to citizens deemed to have violated technology import and export regulations, particularly in the field of artificial intelligence. The State Council in Beijing said the new rules were formulated to ‘safeguard national sovereignty, security, and development interests.’ The regulations apply not only to people within China but also to Chinese citizens deemed to have committed criminal acts abroad.” (09/15/26)
“Government borrowing costs hit their highest since the 2008 financial crisis on Tuesday, with 10-year U.S. Treasury yields now above 5%, increasing pressure on heavily indebted borrowers that so far have been shielded by resilient economic growth. The average 10-year yield for the Group of Seven largest economies hit 4.285%, the highest since mid-2008 and a full percentage point above where it was prior to the start of the war in the Middle East. … The bond selloff has raised the cost for governments to borrow new money, but also left them with higher interest bills that siphon funds from social, defence and other programmes, which in turn raises questions as to the sustainability of their debt burdens.” (09/15/26)
“Soldiers in the African nation of Eswatini accidentally shot two U.S. government personnel last week, the country’s government said. The U.S. personnel were shot during an anti-smuggling operation by the Eswatini army in a rural region in the northeast of the country late Friday, Eswatini’s government said in a statement late Monday. The Americans sustained ‘minor injuries’ and there was an investigation underway, Eswatini government spokesperson Thabile Mdluli told The Associated Press on Tuesday. The Eswatini government didn’t immediately identify the U.S. personnel or say why they were present.” (09/15/26)
“The U.S. said for the first time Monday that the Space Force has deployed weapons in orbit. U.S. Air Force Secretary Troy Meink told the Air and Space Cyber Conference that the U.S. has ‘on-orbit space control weapons,’ as he outlined a broader push to modernize the Air Force and Space Force in response to advances by U.S. adversaries, AI, and the growing use of autonomous weapons. He did not specify what kind of weapons in space had been deployed, or when, according to the official Air Force account. … His comments came as governments are reassessing what weapons and defense systems they’ll need to defend themselves against an increased threat from hybrid attacks.” (09/15/26)
“The recovery of hundreds of bodies from the rubble of buildings destroyed by Israeli strikes in Gaza during the war that began nearly three years ago has raised fresh concerns about possible war crimes, the U.N. human rights chief said on Tuesday. Volker Turk said the remains of what appeared to be entire families were being unearthed from sites destroyed during Israeli attacks, adding that many victims were women and children. … The Israeli Prime Minister’s office and Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Israel has repeatedly rejected allegations that it deliberately targets civilians and says it acted in accordance with international law while fighting Hamas militants in Gaza.” (09/15/26)
“President Donald Trump on Tuesday blasted the Supreme Court justices he appointed after they ruled against him on mail ballots, tariffs and birthright citizenship, portraying their decisions as a personal betrayal. ‘These are not the people I interviewed to serve on the United States Supreme Court, they are merely a shell of their original selves,’ Trump wrote on social media, reacting to the court’s Monday night ruling that blocked his administration’s restrictions on mail ballots in the midterms. Although Trump blamed all three of his appointees for ruling against him, the court’s ruling did not specify a vote count …. Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, whom Trump appointed to the court during his first term, concurred with the decision blocking the administration’s effort to allow the U.S. Postal Service to impose new nationwide rules on mail ballots. Neither of Trump’s other two appointees — Justices Neil M. Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett — registered dissents.” (09/15/26)
“A US federal judge on Monday temporarily blocked a new visa cap for international students, visiting scholars and foreign journalists, saying the Trump administration’s national security justification ‘borders on the absurd’. Judge F. Dennis Saylor in Boston said the rationale for the restriction was ‘exceptionally weak’, and the connection between the rule and the problems it purported to address was ‘exceptionally attenuated’. … Under the new rule, which was scheduled to take effect on Tuesday, foreign journalists would be limited to 240 days in the US …. The rule would limit international students’ stays to four years and restrict programme changes, transfers and second degrees at the same academic level.” (09/15/26)
“Nick Reiner will not be given the death penalty if he is found guilty of murder — and has his slain parents to thank. Prosecutors have taken the steep punishment off the table for the alleged killing in part because of the views of Rob and Michele Reiner, both were against capital punishment, according to LA County District Attorney Nathan Hochman, who held a press conference before Reiner’s hearing Tuesday. His siblings, Jake and Romy Reiner, also would have had a difficult time coping with potentially playing a role in executing their brother, TMZ reports. Hochman also revealed he discussed the decision to take the death penalty off the table with Reiner’s siblings before making the announcement. Reiner was indicted on August 12 for the murder of his parents, with a special circumstance of lying in wait added.” (09/15/26)
“Thailand and Cambodia ’s foreign ministers exchanged opening statements in Singapore on Tuesday at the first meeting to settle a sea border dispute under a U.N. agreement on maritime law for compulsory conciliation. At issue is territory claimed by both that is believed to contain large, exploitable amounts of natural gas and other hydrocarbons. The decision to take the matter to the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, or UNCLOS, was triggered by Cambodia in June after Thailand terminated a 25-year-old memorandum of understanding meant to resolve overlapping maritime claims.” (09/15/26)
“Prosecutors in Colombia have accused former foreign minister Laura Sarabia of abusing her power after she made her nanny take a lie detector test. The scandal erupted in 2023, when Colombian news weekly Semana reported that a woman Sarabia had employed to look after her son had been hooked up to a polygraph and questioned over the alleged disappearance of a case full of cash from Sarabia’s flat.
Sarabia, who was the chief of staff for President Gustavo Petro at the time, resigned in June 2023 but was later appointed as foreign minister and, following her resignation from that post, as Colombia’s ambassador to the United Kingdom. She has denied any wrongdoing. … Prosecutors said Sarabia abused her position as his chief of staff by ordering police to question her nanny, Marelbys Meza, over the alleged disappearance of the cash, which was said to amount to several thousands of dollars.” (09/15/26)
