Millions of people are left without electricity in Cuba as a result of a collapse of the country's energy power grid.
Source:
AP 
September 18
Disasters and accidents
International relations
Denmark and the United States reach a deal allowing the U.S. to expand its military presence in Greenland and granting permanent basing, overflight, and access rights, while barring non-NATO countries from establishing bases and restricting sensitive investments on the island.
Source:
Reuters
U.S. president Donald Trump signs the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, which authorises and expands statutory sanctions, tariffs, and prohibitions on Russia and extends existing sanctions on Iran until 2031.
International sanctions during the Russian invasion of UkraineUnited States and the Russo-Ukrainian warUnited States sanctions against Iran
Source:
Kyiv Indepedent
Polish prime minister Donald Tusk announces that Poland has joined the Anti-Ballistic Missile Coalition to develop a joint anti-ballistic missile defence system with some other European countries.
Source:
Firstpost
Law and crime
King Sultan Ibrahim of Malaysia grants former prime minister Najib Razak a conditional pardon, allowing him to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest until August 23, 2028, following his corruption conviction linked to 1MDB.
Source:
Reuters
Spanish police begin moving more than 3,000 migrants from beaches in Ceuta to temporary accommodation at the port. The operation prompts crowding and clashes, with officers firing warning shots and several people sustaining injuries.
Source:
News.Az
Three students, including the perpetrator, are killed and eight others are injured in a mass shooting at a secondary school in Banga, South Cotabato, Philippines.
Source:
AA
Pakistan's medical regulator orders Afghan students enrolled in medical and dental programs to leave their colleges and return to Afghanistan. Dozens challenge the directive in court, while a Lahore judge temporarily suspends expulsions in Punjab.
Source:
AFP via France 24
Protests erupt in Minna, Niger State, Nigeria, after 37 miners died yesterday in custody of the Security and Civil Defence Corps following raids on suspected illegal mines. Niger state governor Mohammed Umar Bago imposes a curfew.
Source:
Reuters
Russia designates filmmaker Andrey Zvyagintsev a foreign agent, subjecting him to financial restrictions, reporting requirements, and mandatory labels on published material. Zvyagintsev, who lives abroad, has criticized the Russo-Ukrainian war and president Vladimir Putin.
Source:
Reuters
Politics and elections
A pro-government rally is held in Tehran, Iran, in what is called the biggest show of defiance since the war started on February 28.
Source:
The Times of Israel
Russians begin voting to elect 450 seats of the State Duma over a period of three days following Ukrainian attacks upon oil infrastructure. The elections are also held under strict control during the Russo-Ukrainian war, combined with an ongoing crackdown on anti-war opposition and the anti-war party Yabloko being disqualified from running.
Source:
AP
The Senate of Bolivia ratifies an agreement to take a US$1.9 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund amid a deep economic crisis in the country, with trade unions threatening renewed protests in response.
Source:
AP
Business and economy
The Bank of Japan raises its benchmark interest rate by 0.25 percentage points to 1.25%, the highest level since 1995, citing inflation pressures from rising energy costs and a weak yen, and signals further increases.
Source:
AFP via France 24
Russia places the local assets of Auchan and Nestlé under temporary administration, transferring their control to Russian firm L.E.V. Management, headed by interior minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev. The government cites the companies' origins in countries it designates as "unfriendly" amid broader seizures of foreign-owned businesses.
Source:
CNN
Armed conflicts and attacks
The IRNA reports that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has hit the Togo-flagged oil tanker as it attempted to pass the Strait of Hormuz.
Source:
Al Jazeera
The Sudanese Armed Forces says that they have killed several Rapid Support Forces militants in Sudan's Blue Nile state. The country's defence ministry also confirms the attacks.
Source:
Radio Tamazuj
A suicide car bombing outside a mosque located inside a police station in Kohat District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, kills at least 31 people, including 16 policemen, and injures at least 100 more. The Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group claims responsibility.
Source:
AFP
Health and environment
Zealand Pharma's drug Zeydovio receives approval by the European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use to treat short bowel syndrome.
Source:
Reuters
September 17
Armed conflicts and attacks
Lt. Col. "Aleph", the chief police officer in the Southern Command's Gaza Division, is dismissed following his role in the failures leading to the Hamas-led October 7 attacks on Israel.
Source:
The Times of Israel
The Israel Defense Forces confirm that they have killed a Al-Qassam Brigades Nukhba Forces commander who took part in the October 7 attacks in a airstrike and a Hamas navy officer in another airstrike in Gaza City.
Source:
JFeed
The UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission finds "reasonable grounds" that the United States military may have committed war crimes with attacks on the Minab school and Lamerd sports hall in southern Iran.
Source:
Reuters
reports that Saudi Arabia has sent a proposal for Oman to mediate a two-week ceasefire with the Houthis.
Source:
AzerNews
Source:
Arab News
Twenty-six people are killed and 82 more injured during clashes between two rival communities in Abyei, at the border between Sudan and South Sudan.
Source:
Al Jazeera
Fifteen civilians are killed during an armed attack by unknown individuals in Madegoua, Far North Region, Cameroon.
Source:
Reuters
Politics and elections
Ulf Kristersson announces his resignation as Prime Minister of Sweden after his right-wing bloc wins 173 seats in the Riksdag, compared to 176 won by the opposition, led by Magdalena Andersson.
Source:
BBC News
Venezuela restores access to 17 news websites that were previously blocked, including EFE, , NTN24, and , as the interim government and opposition resume political transition talks that include freedom of expression.
Source:
Gulf News
Australia tightens visa rules for international students and working holidaymakers, restricts visa switching, and increases enforcement against overstayers as it seeks to reduce net overseas migration to 225,000 by 2027–28 and ease pressure on housing.
Source:
AFP via France 24
Arts and culture
The 16th-century Codex Azcatitlan goes on display in Mexico City after France loaned two folios nearly two centuries after the manuscript left the country. Mexico continues seeking the codex's permanent return from France.
Source:
BBC News
Law and crime
Pakistan's Supreme Court suspends 17-year prison sentences imposed on human rights lawyer Imaan Mazari and her husband over anti-state social media posts, and grants them bail pending an Islamabad High Court ruling.
Source:
Reuters
Malawian police rescue a 47-year-old British woman after her abduction in Blantyre. Four suspected kidnappers are killed in a shootout with officers, while a senior police officer is injured and hospitalized in stable condition.
Source:
AP via ABC News
Thirty-seven suspected illegal gold miners die in custody of Nigeria's civil defence agency in Minna, Niger State. Survivors say overcrowding and poor ventilation caused breathing difficulties, while an intelligence report links the deaths to those conditions. The government orders an investigation.
Source:
AFP
Health and environment
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service narrows its enforcement of the Endangered Species Act by excluding unintentional wildlife deaths from its definition of prohibited take, including foreseeable deaths linked to activities such as commercial fishing and logging.
Source:
AFP via France 24
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence approves the Trastuzumab deruxtecan drug for women in England with metastatic or incurable HER2-breast cancer that cannot be removed surgically, making it the first licensed targeted treatment for patients, two years after it was rejected due to its cost effectiveness.
Source:
The Independent
International relations
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) votes 152–3, with four abstentions, to allow Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and other senior Palestinian officials to address UN meetings, including the general debate of the eighty-first session of the UNGA, by video for one year after United States visa restrictions prevented their travel to New York City, where the UN headquarters are.
Source:
Reuters
Serbian president Aleksandar Vučić inaugurates a factory for Israeli-made drones that will be produced by the country's Krušik company, with Vučić stating that it will employ 100 people and produce advanced equipment for the Serbian military.
Source:
AP
September 16
Politics and elections
The Philippine Commission on Elections proclaims all 78 elected members of the Bangsamoro Parliament, with four parties given all seats for party representation. The Bangsamoro Federalist Party, earning most of the seats, fails to secure a majority, leading to a hung parliament. Meanwhile, six sectoral seats are given to the United Bangsamoro Justice Party.
Source:
Manila Bulletin
Sports
In association football, Clearlake Capital buys out Todd Boehly and Mark Walter's stakes to gain full control of Premier League club Chelsea. The deal is valued at around £950 million (€1.1 billion) for the 25% share. Chelsea is now worth about £5 billion (€5.8 billion).
Source:
ESPN
The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) announces that its finals will move from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, for three years beginning in 2027. The WTA also relocates its global headquarters from St. Petersburg, Florida, to Charlotte.
Source:
BBC
Health and environment
The United Kingdom records its second-best butterfly season in 16 years amidst record heat waves in the country.
Source:
The Independent
Fiji declares HIV a national crisis after reporting 2,016 new diagnoses in 2025, sixteen times the 2019 total. The government estimates that one in 60 adults lives with HIV and expands testing, prevention, and treatment services.
Source:
New Straits Times
In a study published by the journal, scientists report that the PANXEON blood test helps detect pancreatic cancer at early stages and treat the disease before it spreads.
Source:
Discover
International relations
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen invites Canada to become the first associate member of the European Union amidst the ongoing trade war between Canada and the United States.
Source:
CNBC
The United States House of Representatives passes a bipartisan sanctions bill that imposes sanctions on Russia's energy revenues, financial institutions, officials, and shadow fleet, while authorizing tariffs of up to 100% on major buyers of Russian oil and gas. The bill will head to president Donald Trump's desk for his signature for it to become law.
International sanctions during the Russian invasion of UkraineUnited States and the Russo-Ukrainian war
Source:
Reuters
Source:
Al Jazeera
Law and crime
A district court in Seoul, South Korea, orders North Korea to pay KRW44.6 billion (US$32.5 million) in damages for destroying the Inter-Korean Liaison Office in Kaesong in 2020, in South Korea's first damages lawsuit against North Korea.
Source:
Reuters
Macau begins its first closed-door national security trial against former legislator Au Kam San, who faces charges including subversion of state power and alleged ties with foreign groups and media outlets. He faces up to 25 years in prison.
Source:
AFP via RTL Today
The Kosovo Specialist Chambers sentences former prime minister Hashim Thaçi to 25 years in prison after convicting him on charges of murder, torture, cruel treatment and arbitrary detention committed during the Kosovo War.
Source:
AP
Science and technology
Astronomers confirm the existence of Elias 2-24 b, the youngest known exoplanet, which is less than one million years old and located approximately 450 light-years from Earth. The discovery was observed through the W.M. Keck Observatory in Mauna Kea, Hawaii, U.S., using a coronagraph.
Source:
Space.com
Disasters and accidents
Guatemala announces food aid for about 1.2 million families affected by severe El Niño-related drought, which damages crops and livestock across the Dry Corridor. The programme distributes maize, beans, and rice with World Food Programme support.
Source:
Arab News
At least 82 people are killed when a gold mine explodes in West Kordofan, Sudan, an area under control of the Rapid Support Forces.
Source:
Sky News
Arts and culture
The Americana Music Honors & Awards are held at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee, United States, with the Heartbreakers performing for the first time since lead vocalist Tom Petty's death in 2017.
Source:
The Independent
Armed conflicts and attacks
Twenty-one people are killed, 45 are injured, and about 100 others are missing after a residential building in Gaza City collapses after it was previously hit by an Israeli airstrike. Twelve children are among the fatalities.
Source:
Al Jazeera