In a papal decree issued on Sept 14, the US pontiff said the measure was abolished from Sept 1.VATICAN CITY – Pope Leo has restored the salaries of cardinals and senior Vatican officials to pre-Covid levels, reversing pay cuts introduced by his predecessor Francis during the pandemic, according to a decree published on Sept 14.In 2021, Pope Francis cut the salaries of cardinals by 10 per cent and those of senior Vatican officials by eight per cent to ease pressure on the Holy See’s finances during the Covid-19 crisis and amid chronic budget deficits.In a papal decree issued on Sept 14, his 71st birthday, the US pontiff said the measure was abolished from Sept 1.The pay cuts, which had been “necessary to face the exceptional challenge of the pandemic”, could now be lifted, the Pope said, adding that Vatican institutions would continue efforts to ensure their “economic sustainability”.A cardinal working in the Roman Curia, the Catholic Church’s central administration, is estimated to earn between 4,500 euros (S$6,600) and 5,000 euros a month.The Holy See’s finances are showing signs of improvement. In its annual report published in May, the Vatican bank reported net profit of 51 million euros.In a separate decree released on Sept 14, Leo cancelled a plan by the last pope to transfer some of the Vatican archives outside of the tiny city state. It said a new building would be erected in the Vatican. AFP
Read briefing NEW YORK/SHANNON, Ireland, Sept 13 - U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday said he would consider a request from relatives of those killed in the September 11 attacks to release more records about the event and whether its perpetrators had ties to Saudi Arabia."I'm going to look at it when I get back," he told reporters in Ireland before boarding a plane to fly back to the U.S.Families of 9/11 victims have been calling for declassification of additional records related to the events. New York lawmakers from both parties have called on the Trump administration to release certain phone records."This is probably one of the better shots that we have at getting this information out there," U.S. Representative Nicole Malliotakis, a New York Republican, told ABC News earlier this month. "And I think that hopefully we'll see this type of transparency coming from this administration."New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani recently released to the public about 170,000 pages of records related to air quality, health concerns and the response to the attacks by the city. REUTERS
Read briefing Sweden’s Social Democrat leader Magdalena Andersson arrives at the party's election night watch party on Sept 13, at the Stockholm Waterfront Congress Centre in Stockholm.STOCKHOLM - Sweden’s left-wing parties led in the general election on Sept 13, according to two exit polls published after voting ended, with the far-right seen losing ground.In one of the biggest surprises, the anti-immmigration Sweden Democrats, which entered Parliament in 2010, lost support for the first time, according to the exit polls.“Of course it’s a bit of a disappointment that we are not the second-biggest party anymore in these polls. But it’s still not finished, it can still change,” Julia Kronlid, a Sweden Democrat MP, told AFP.Supporters of the Social Democrats, the main centre-left party, erupted into cheers as the exit polls appeared on screens at their watch party.The four opposition parties, led by Social Democratic leader Magdalena Andersson, were credited with 51.3 per cent of votes in a poll for public broadcaster SVT, compared to 46.8 per cent for Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson’s right-wing alliance which includes the Sweden Democrats.A poll for broadcaster TV4 gave the left 51.3 per cent and the right 47 per cent.Kristersson has headed a minority coalition backed by the Sweden Democrats for four years, giving the far-right influence over policy in exchange for support in Parliament.The Sweden Democrats had hoped to enter government if the right-wing won the election.“It would be really tough for the country to go back to four years of the Social Democrats in power,” Sweden Democrat supporter Bjorn Englen told AFP.Through the campaign, opinion polls gave a comfortable lead to the left-wing opposition, but the gap narrowed to a dead heat in the final days of the race.Much of the campaign focused on healthcare and helping struggling households cope with rising costs.Andersson was the first woman to head Sweden’s government in 2021-2022. Her party ruled the Scandinavian country for the better part of the 20th century and remains Sweden’s largest.The Social Democrats have pledged to bolster the welfare state and help struggling households cope with rising costs.Adding a touch of star power to election day, ABBA’s Benny Andersson performed at her party’s headquarters in Stockholm, changing the lyrics of their hit song Mamma Mia to “Mag-da-le-na!”.Outgoing prime minister Kristersson has meanwhile vowed to focus on improving Swedes’ everyday lives now that his government’s clampdown on organised crime and immigration was starting to show results.Deadly shootings and bombings by organised crime networks have fallen sharply in recent years, while asylum applications are at a record low.“We want to use our new and far better preconditions to improve the lives of ordinary people... to make Sweden great again,” Kristersson told AFP before the vote, borrowing US President Donald Trump’s trademark slogan.Over the past two decades, far-right leader Jimmie Akesson has steered the party with neo-Nazi roots into the mainstream.“Sweden is becoming safer, better, and more Swedish,” Akesson said at a campaign rally on Saturday, surrounded by blue-and-yellow “Make Sweden Sweden Again” posters.At a polling station on Sept 13, store manager Linda Eriksson, 48, told AFP she hoped for a change of government.“Hopefully a lot of people will realise that we have to change course... so that everyone will feel included in society,” she said.Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg had urged voters to “vote out Tido”, referring to the right-wing government’s alliance with the far-right.Voter Tommy Strand told AFP in Stockholm he had cast his ballot for the Green Party.“The most important thing is the climate. I think we can even cut back a little on our welfare state in order to secure the future,” the 58-year-old said.If the four opposition parties obtain a majority, tough negotiations would still be needed to form a government as they are splintered ideologically. AFP
Read briefing Sept 13 - A newly installed memorial statue of slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk was vandalized overnight in Phoenix on Sunday, according to the organization that he founded.The statue was defaced with red paint, according to a post on X from Tyler Bowyer, chief operating officer of Turning Point Action, the youth-focused political organization founded by Kirk.Phoenix police confirmed they had responded to calls on Sunday morning regarding a vandalized memorial outside the headquarters of Turning Point and asked anyone with information to call."This morning we woke up to radical criminals vandalizing our headquarters," Bowyer posted on X, along with photos of the statue and a separate sign that also had been spray-painted.The statue was unveiled on Thursday to mark one year since Kirk was fatally shot during a Turning Point event in Utah on September 10, 2025.The man accused of killing Kirk, Tyler Robinson, has pleaded not guilty to murder charges and could face the death penalty if convicted.Civil rights advocates criticized Kirk for rhetoric they called racist, anti-immigrant, transphobic, and misogynist, citing his public remarks denigrating Black Americans, LGBTQ+ communities, Muslims and immigrants.His supporters described him as a defender of conservative values and public debate who galvanized young voters for President Donald Trump in the 2024 election. REUTERS
Read briefing Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused a former press secretary, who’s worked with him before the war, of spreading Russian propaganda.KYIV - Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky imposed sanctions on a former press secretary on Sept 13, accusing her and nine others of spreading Russian propaganda and of supporting Russia’s aggressive policy toward Ukraine.Yuliia Mendel — who worked with Zelensky from 2019 to 2021, before Russia’s invasion — responded with a message on Facebook saying it was unconstitutional to impose sanctions on Ukrainian citizens. She did not comment on the specific accusations.Mendel has given interviews criticising Zelensky’s record since 2025, when a number of members of the president’s inner circle became embroiled in corruption scandals. The suspects have denied the charges that have not been tested in court.The sanctions — announced by Zelensky in a decree — would last for 10 years and included asset freezes and restrictions on trade, the document read.They were an unusual measure to use against a former member of staff, though they have been used against political figures.In 2025, Ukraine imposed sanctions on former president and opposition politician Petro Poroshenko, including an asset freeze and a ban on withdrawing capital from the country, for what the domestic spy agency said were “national security” reasons.The order on Sept 13 “imposes restrictions on 10 Russian and Ukrainian individuals who spread disinformation and Russian propaganda and support Russia’s aggressive policy toward Ukraine. Yuliia Mendel is among those sanctioned,” the presidency said in a statement.Mendel, Zelensky’s first press secretary after he became president, wrote on Facebook that she had been expecting the move.“Sanctions against Ukrainian citizens are unconstitutional, as are many of Zelensky’s other decisions,” she added. “Volodymyr Zelensky is imposing them on anyone who advocates for peace in Ukraine.” REUTERS
Read briefing Fighters gather near damaged military vehicles in the aftermath of alleged airstrikes on pro-government forces at an unknown location in Yemen, in this still image taken from a video released on Sept 12, 2026.SANAA - Yemen’s Houthis said on Sept 13 that Saudi Arabia had launched more than 50 strikes against their positions in 24 hours, after the Iran-backed group claimed a rare drone and missile attack on a military base in the kingdom.The Houthis have been engaged in renewed fighting with Saudi-backed government forces since Yemen’s civil war reignited in July, when the group declared a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia and began targeting its ships in the Red Sea.The latest clashes follow a week-long Houthi offensive that culminated in the group capturing Yemen’s Red Sea coast, cementing their hold on the Bab al-Mandab Strait.The waterway is a vital artery for Saudi oil exports as the Strait of Hormuz remains closed amid the US-Iran war.In a post on Telegram, Yayha Saree, the group’s military spokesman, said: “The criminal Saudi enemy has carried out 58 airstrikes in the past 24 hours.”The Houthis carried out their heaviest missile and drone attack in years this week against Saudi Arabia, setting oil sites ablaze and wounding 73.The group’s Almasirah TV channel reported on Sept 13 that “Saudi aviation carried out two strikes” on Saada, a stronghold for the group.It also reported artillery fire in the border district of Monabbih, in the same province.Later on Sept 13, Almasirah reported two Saudi strikes on a market in the northern Al-Jawf province.The Houthis have reported more than 100 strikes against their positions since Sept 8, with no confirmation from Riyadh so far.Up to now, the strikes have mainly focused on the front lines, in support of Yemeni government forces, without targeting the Houthis’ heart of power, including the capital Sanaa.Yemen’s civil war began in 2014 when the Houthis seized the capital and forced out the internationally recognised government.They then fought a Saudi-led coalition from 2015 until a UN-brokered ceasefire in 2022. The conflict had since been dormant before it roared back to life in July.Riyadh says little about the Houthi strikes on its territory, but issues brief alerts almost daily warning of potential attacks in southern regions near Yemen.On Sept 13, the Saudi civil defence agency sent alerts for the city of Abha and the region around Khamis Mushait, and again quickly lifted them.Earlier in the day, the Houthis said they used drones and missiles to attack the Sharurah military base in southern Saudi Arabia.The attack targeted “weapons depots and command and control centres that are managing the aggression against our nation and people”, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree wrote on X.Late on Sept 12, the Saudi civil defence agency had said two people were injured after a projectile fired by the Houthis fell in the Jizan region, which also lies along the border.A damaged mosque in the aftermath of a projectile launched by Yemen's Houthi group, according to Saudi Civil Defense, in Al-Tuwal, Jazan, Saudi Arabia.The fighting in Yemen in recent weeks has displaced nearly 86,000 people, a UN agency said on Sept 13, with the number surging by 10,000 from a day earlier.The International Organization for Migration added that some of those displaced have begun fleeing Yemen altogether, saying that more than 2,000 people had reached Djibouti.Yemen’s civil war has killed hundreds of thousands of people and triggered a major humanitarian crisis.The renewed hostilities kicked off in July when the Houthis let an Iranian plane land in defiance of Saudi control of Yemeni airspace.The government retaliated by striking Sanaa airport, an attack the Houthis blamed on Saudi Arabia.Yemen is the latest country to be drawn into the broader Middle East war, which began with US-Israeli strikes against Iran in late February.US news site Axios reported that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman twice called US President Donald Trump to request strikes on the Houthis last week, but that the request was rejected. AFP
Read briefing Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine’s presidential office, says Kyiv is readying itself for new talks involving Russia and the US.KYIV - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff was quoted as saying on Sept 12 that Kyiv was preparing for the resumption in October of three-sided talks aimed at resolving the more than four-and-a-half-year-old war with Russia.Kyrylo Budanov, quoted by Ukrainian media, told reporters on the sidelines of a conference in Kyiv that Ukraine was readying itself for the prospect of new talks involving Russia and the United States.Budanov was speaking several days after US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held talks in both Moscow and Kyiv.It was their first such visit to Moscow since February and their first visit to the Ukrainian capital.The last three-sided meeting took place in Geneva in February. US-led diplomatic efforts had stalled as Washington was focused on the conflict with Iran.Witkoff said after visiting both capitals that they welcomed new momentum in proceeding with talks.Zelensky said the two envoys had presented some “very decent, worthwhile ideas”. He suggested that a new three-sided meeting could be hosted by Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Switzerland or other countries.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow did not rule out a resumption of peace talks but added that it was too early to say when and where such talks might take place.Major differences on how to end the war remain between the two sides. A key issue is the fate of the remaining Ukrainian-held territory in the eastern Donbas region, which Moscow has claimed as its own but has failed to capture despite years of fierce fighting. REUTERS
Read briefing People protesting against Germany’s far-right AfD party in Berlin on Sept 12, after the party won the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt by a landslide on Sept 6.BERLIN - Tens of thousands of protesters took part in demonstrations across Germany on Sept 12 against the far-right AfD, after the party scored a crushing victory in a state election last week.The Alternative for Germany (AfD) topped the vote in the eastern region of Saxony-Anhalt, and is now seeking to form the first extreme-right state government in Germany since World War II.About 150,000 demonstrators took to the streets in around 20 cities nationwide, including Berlin, Hamburg and Munich, in protests that were called by Pruef, which advocates for a ban on the AfD, organisers said.They waved signs emblazoned with slogans that read “Ban the AfD now,” and “Democracy needs no alternatives”.“A broad cross-section of civil society is taking to the streets to prevent the enemies of the constitution, the AfD in Saxony-Anhalt, from gaining government power,” said Christoph Bautz, head of campaign group Campact, also involved in the demonstrations.The rise of the AfD has unnerved many who feel Germany has a special responsibility to atone for its Nazi past, and calls have grown for mainstream parties to seek to ban the group.But hurdles for a formal ban are high in Germany, and Chancellor Friedrich Merz, of the centre-right CDU party, remains sceptical about taking such an approach.In Berlin, police said several thousand protesters took part in several demonstrations.The AfD held a counter-demonstration in the capital, attended by Kristin Brinker, its lead candidate in next weekend’s regional elections in Berlin.Campact said there were around 25,000 demonstrators in Hamburg and 12,000 in Munich.The anti-immigration, Russia-friendly party took almost 44 per cent of the vote in a Sept 6 election in Saxony-Anhalt, against 17 per cent for the CDU.It fell three seats short of an absolute majority, and has started talks with other groups and MPs in an effort to form a state government. AFP
Read briefing Air traffic in Brussels was disrupted for half an hour on Sept 11, officials said on Sept 12, after a drone was spotted.BRUSSELS - Traffic at Brussels airport was disrupted for half an hour on the evening of Sept 11 after a drone was spotted, air traffic control operator Skeyes said on Sept 12, almost a year after a string of similar sightings caused major concern in the country.The drone procedure was launched, which includes an interruption of traffic at the runway until 30 minutes after the last sighting, spokesperson Kurt Verwilgen said.He declined to give any details on the kind of drone it was or how many flights were diverted.In November 2025, Belgian authorities announced the purchase of defensive kamikaze drones from a Latvian company after a string of such incursions near civilian airports, military bases and a nuclear power plant in the previous weeks caused disruptions and raised safety concerns.Belgian officials at the time had said the incursions bore the hallmark of Russian interference, while acknowledging they had no proof. Russia denied any involvement. REUTERS
Read briefing KYIV, Sept 12 - Ukraine is bracing for a brutal winter as intensified Russian attacks on the country's infrastructure and key export industries compound a deepening budget crisis, Ukrainian officials said on Saturday.Economy Minister Oleksandr Kravchenko said that damage to infrastructure and fixed assets from Russian air strikes was estimated at close to $10 billion this year, while the broader economic costs of the attacks and the de facto blockage of its ports were seen at about 1.5 percentage points of gross domestic product."We anticipate a very difficult winter in terms of both critical infrastructure, which is being destroyed every day by Russian attacks, but also in terms of overall economic conditions in the country," Kravchenko said."This all comes when the budget and the fiscal space are very constrained," he told investors, officials and diplomats at a YES conference in Kyiv.With fighting on the front line largely stalled more than 4-1/2 years into the war in Ukraine, Russia and Ukraine have increasingly targeted logistics networks and other economic assets in an effort to undermine each other's war effort.For more than two weeks, Russia has carried out near constant attacks on Kyiv using faster jet-powered drones, disrupting life, business and government operations.Moscow has also effectively blocked Ukraine's Black Sea ports by intensifying its air attacks on the country's southern regions.About $40 billion in export revenue is at risk as a result of the blockade, Kravchenko said. Ukraine's main exports - agricultural products and iron and steel - are shipped via its Black Sea ports.As Russian attacks damage infrastructure and industry, domestic budget revenue has begun to come under pressure.Domestic revenue underperformed by $1.35 billion in the first eight months of the year, with a quarter of those losses recorded in August alone, said Roksolana Pidlasa, head of the parliamentary budget committee.She said the war was becoming increasingly expensive and Ukraine could no longer fully finance its defence needs from domestic resources, as it had in previous years.Ukraine spent about $42 billion on its defence in the first eight months of the year, excluding in-kind military support. However, domestic revenue generation and local borrowing yielded only $39 billion in this period, Pidlasa said."Unfortunately, this year the war has gotten so expensive that we can't even cover our share of the costs," she said at the conference.The daily cost of the war grew to about $190 million this year compared with $140 million in 2024 due to inflation, expanded troop numbers, mounting social payments for families of fallen soldiers, and higher ammunition consumption, she added.Ukraine faces an additional funding gap through the end of this year for its defence. The government is looking for ways to cut or postpone non-military budget spending and is negotiating with its Western partners on more financial support, but so far no clear and fast solution has been found. REUTERS
Read briefing A police officer standing near the body of a resident who was killed in his car by a Russian drone strike, in the front-line city of Kramatorsk, Ukraine, on Sept 12.KYIV - Russian air strikes in several Ukrainian regions on Sept 12 killed six people, injured dozens and damaged residential buildings and infrastructure across the country, officials said.The civilian death toll has risen sharply in Ukraine over the past two months as Russia steps up attacks on power plants and other infrastructure. Ukraine has hit energy facilities and warehouses in distant parts of Russia and both sides have targeted each others’ shipping.The governor of Ukraine’s Zhytomyr Region, west of Kyiv, Vitaliy Bunechko, said a Russian strike on a grocery store killed two people in the town of Zvyahel. Two petrol stations also came under attack as well as an unidentified “enterprise with foreign investment”, he said.Firefighters dealing with the aftermath of a Russian drone strike at a railway station in Lutsk, Ukraine, on Sept 12.Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelensky reported attacks on the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia and in his home town of Kryvyi Rih.Zaporizhzhia regional governor Ivan Fedorov said two people were killed and 11 injured in assaults on Zaporizhzhia and other localities.A residential building targeted by a Russian air strike, in Odesa, southern Ukraine, on Sept 12.Oleksandr Vilkul, head of Kryvyi Rih’s military administration, said two people had been killed in overnight attacks on the city by drones and missiles.The Russian military said its forces hit Ukrainian steel maker Zaporizhstal in the city of Zaporizhzhia, an Interpipe Steel complex in Dnipro, and several plants in Kryvyi Rih, including the Northern Iron Ore Beneficiation Works complex.Police experts examining the remains of a private home in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, where two people died in an air strike early on Sept 12.In the Odesa region, governor Oleh Kiper, said 37 people, including an infant, had been injured in a series of overnight attacks. Two people were missing.The Russian Defence Ministry said Moscow’s forces had maintained their strikes on Ukrainian ports, hitting a cargo ship in Odesa it said was carrying goods for military use.Earlier in the day, the ministry said its forces had struck two cargo vessels overnight in the Black Sea port of Chornomorsk.Ukraine’s military said it hit one of Russia’s largest synthetic rubber producers in Togliatti in the Samara region, causing a fire. The Togliattikauchuk plant specialised in the production of synthetic rubbers and fuel additives that are used in fuel for Russian missiles, it said.Russian regional governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev said industrial facilities in Samara region had been attacked by Ukrainian drones, without specifying which they were or whether they had been damaged, Interfax news agency reported.Ilya Sukhikh, mayor of the city of Togliatti in Samara region, said several residential buildings were damaged and one person was injured.In a separate attack, four commercial properties were set ablaze in the city of Taganrog in the Rostov region, local mayor Svetlana Kambulova said, according to TASS. REUTERS
Read briefing Houthi supporters celebrating the advances made by Iran-backed Houthi forces, in Sana’a, Yemen, on Sept 11. After a week-long offensive, the Houthis have seized the Yemeni side of the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the southern gateway to the Red Sea and the Suez Canal.SANA’A - The Iran-backed Houthis seized control of Yemen’s entire Red Sea coast and captured three strategic islands on Sept 11, in a lightning offensive that cemented their hold on a vital shipping corridor linking Europe and Asia.The developments are likely to deepen the Middle East war’s impact on international commerce, as Saudi Arabia shut down an oil pipeline following attacks, and after months of Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.Following a week-long offensive that has left hundreds dead, government officials said the Houthis seized the Yemeni side of the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the southern gateway to the Red Sea and the Suez Canal.A local official with Yemen’s Saudi-backed government said on Sept 11 that the Houthis had “completed their takeover of the Bab al-Mandab area and Mayyun Island”.A government military official later reported the group had also seized Greater and Lesser Hanish, the last two islands in the narrow waterway not under their control, as well as all of the neighbouring Red Sea coastline.“Everything that was under our control on the western coast has fallen,” the military official added.A witness told AFP that gunmen were “deploying along the Bab al-Mandab shore and are driving around in military vehicles”.The capture of the islands, particularly Mayyun in the middle of the strait, heightens the Houthis’ ability to attack Saudi tankers, which they have been targeting since July.Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, has relied on the Red Sea ever since Iran’s Hormuz blockade choked off its shipments via the Gulf.Mohammad Mokhber, an adviser to Iranian supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei, congratulated the Houthis on their “resounding victory” on Sept 11.Farea Al-Muslimi, research fellow at Chatham House, told AFP: “Now the Iranians don’t only control... the Strait of Hormuz, but they control the other most strategic chokepoint in the Middle East.”Oil prices have soared past US$100 a barrel this week, while average US diesel prices topped US$6 (S$7.60) for the first time on Sept 11 – a potential headache for President Donald Trump ahead of midterm elections.The Houthis’ military spokesman, Yahya Saree, said navigation through the Bab al-Mandab Strait was “safe” for all but Saudi Arabia following the latest advances.Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea delivering a televised statement in Sana'a, Yemen, on Sept 11.The Houthi offensive has killed more than 500 people, according to sources on both sides.It has also displaced about 46,000 people, the UN migration agency said on Sept 11.It is part of renewed hostilities in Yemen’s civil war that began with the group’s takeover of the capital Sanaa in 2014.Houthi supporter Abdulhamid Dhaifallah lauded the group’s “great victories” in and along the strait.“They have been preparing for this front for four years,” the Sanaa resident said.A video screengrab from Sept 10 shows Houthis inspecting wreckage which they say is an armed Saudi Arabian reconnaissance drone, in a location given as Hajjah, Yemen.Satellite images from Copernicus Sentinel Data taken on Sept 10 showed black smoke billowing near Medina, along the general route of the east-west pipeline that carries Saudi oil to its Red Sea coast.The Saudi energy ministry on Sept 11 announced that attacks led to the closure of the pipeline – which it had been increasingly using to bypass Hormuz – adding that injuries were recorded.“The East-West pipeline in the Riyadh and Medina regions was subjected to several attacks on Thursday morning,” a ministry official told the SPA news agency, adding: “The pipeline was stopped as a precaution, and the attacks resulted in some injuries.”Before the Red Sea offensive, the Houthis already controlled a large part of Yemen’s north.They have recently attacked government-held areas in Hodeida and Taiz provinces and swept down the coast, seizing the port city of Mokha and Zuqar Island, north of Bab al-Mandab, on Sept 10.Mohamed, 46, who fled Mokha in the middle of the night, told AFP there was an “apocalyptic” atmosphere in the historic city.On Sept 11, the spokesman for the Yemeni government forces, Majed Abdullah Al-Nazili, said they had begun shelling areas along the Taiz-Mokha road, while residents told AFP they heard airstrikes.While Saudi Arabia has also hit back with airstrikes and ordered troop reinforcements from Aden, where the internationally recognised government is based, it has failed to stop the Houthis’ advance.Houthi media said two Saudi strikes hit Mokha’s airport on Sept 11, while a local official said the city’s seaport was hit by six missiles of unknown origin.“I think the Saudis have tried everything they can to avoid this war, but I don’t think they have any more choice,” said Al-Muslimi.
Read briefing RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept 11 - Eduardo Bolsonaro, a son of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, will renew his push for the United States to reinstate sanctions on Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes under the Global Magnitsky Act during a Washington visit next week, he told Reuters on Friday.The move comes amid an unusually close election campaign for president in Brazil, where Eduardo's brother Flavio Bolsonaro is statistically tied in run-off polls against incumbent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Eduardo Bolsonaro has been actively promoting his brother's campaign."The Magnitsky matter itself is something we have been working on for over a year now. So, it is not an election-related issue," said Eduardo Bolsonaro, declining to disclose details of his agenda during the visit.The younger Bolsonaro, a former Brazilian congressman, has led a campaign against the justice, pushing for him to face sanctions for his role in overseeing the trial that led to his father's conviction and imprisonment for attempting a coup after losing his 2022 re-election bid.The Global Magnitsky Act allows the U.S. to impose economic penalties against foreigners it considers to have a record of corruption or human rights abuses. In July of last year, U.S. President Donald Trump sanctioned Moraes, calling the trial against former President Jair Bolsonaro a "witch hunt."Moraes' wife was later sanctioned, but in December the sanctions were lifted after a diplomatic push by Brazil's government.Eduardo Bolsonaro, living in the U.S. and convicted by Moraes in a separate case, now sees room for a reinstatement of the sanctions after an investigation raised suspicions that Moraes made improper contact with a banker who allegedly led a multibillion-dollar fraud scheme.
Read briefing PARIS, Sept 11 - A train derailed between Rouen and Caen in northern France, injuring around 20 people on Friday evening at around 7:54 p.m., French authorities said.The train was carrying 180 passengers and went off the rails near to the town of Cleon in Normandy, French Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot said in a post on X.There are 140 firefighters at the scene to help the injured and the passengers, he added.The local authority, the prefecture of Seine-Maritime, advised the public to avoid the area. REUTERS
Read briefing Sept 11 - An Afghan woman accused of supporting the Islamic State has been deported from the United States in the first case to be pursued by the U.S. Department of Justice through a little-known court created 30 years ago to deport "alien terrorists."Nazira Haji Zada, a 47-year-old who had been residing in Texas as a lawful permanent resident of the United States, was deported after agreeing not to continue to fight against her removal in the Alien Terrorist Removal Court following her arrest in July, the department said on Friday.The Justice Department had accused her of helping conceal a failed, Islamic State-inspired plot to commit a mass shooting on Election Day 2024. She was never charged with any crime, but her son and son-in-law pleaded guilty to related charges last year.Her case had been filed in a court that had gone unused in the decades since its creation by Congress in 1996. That court allows the government to rely on classified evidence in deportation cases.Her attorney initially argued the secretive process violated her due process rights. Defendants in such cases are not allowed to review the classified evidence used against them.But according to court documents unsealed on Friday, Haji Zada agreed last month that she was an "alien terrorist" subject to removal. The court's chief judge, Joan Ericksen, subsequently approved her deportation.“This landmark case, resulting in the prompt removal of this alien terrorist to her country of origin, is a win for national security and the rule of law," U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement.The case marked the latest in a series of aggressive moves by President Donald Trump's administration to carry out deportations as part of an immigration crackdown.It was unclear, though, whether the Justice Department would use the obscure court again anytime soon.Matthew Farley, a public defender who represented Haji Zada, in a statement said her "choice to consent to removal should not be seen as an endorsement of this court's legitimacy.""Dragging lawful permanent residents into court but refusing to show them or their attorneys the evidence that will be used against them is a plain violation of due process," he said. "We are confident that the Alien Terrorist Removal Court will be struck down as unconstitutional as soon as a judge is asked to address the issue." REUTERS
Read briefing Sept 11 - Anthropic said in a threat intelligence report on Thursday that several actors had used its Claude AI models for activities ranging from weapons development and cyber operations to surveillance and fraud.Here are some of the most notable cases described in the report as alleged by Anthropic.• CHINA-TAIWAN AIR DEFENSES: Anthropic said a China-based actor used Claude to develop an electronic-warfare and air-defense suppression software suite that ranked targets and modeled radar jamming. During the project, the actor changed a simulation to include 12 targets in Taiwan, including early-warning radar, Patriot and Tien Kung missile batteries, air bases and a command bunker. Anthropic said account information linked the actor to Chinese research institutions including the People's Liberation Army Academy of Military Sciences. Anthropic banned accounts linked to the actor.China's foreign ministry said it was not aware of the Anthropic report and that the government maintains that AI should be developed for good and opposes distortion of facts and smears against the country.China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control. Taiwan rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims.• CHINA ANTI-TORPEDO SYSTEM: Anthropic said another China-based actor used Claude to help develop specifications and fire-control software for an anti-torpedo system intended for the Chinese navy. The actor used Claude to produce a technical proposal of more than 200 pages, compare the system with U.S. Navy technology and simulate hostile technical reviews to improve the proposal. "We assess the actor was associated with a Chinese defense industry manufacturer aiming to produce a weapons specification and acquisition proposal for the People’s Liberation Army Navy," Anthropic said.• CHINESE RESEARCH INTO MICROWAVE WEAPONS: A China-based defense-intelligence actor used Claude to research foreign high-power microwave weapons, identify components and suppliers and trace supply chains, Anthropic said. The actor sought information that could help reverse-engineer the weapons and develop countermeasures, and drafted restricted briefings for senior Chinese Communist Party, military or state-security officials, the company said.• YEMEN MISSILE DEVELOPMENT: Anthropic said a cell of threat actors in northern Yemen used Claude to help develop software for a guided rocket, a planned ballistic missile with a range of more than 2,000 km and a missile variant incorporating a hypersonic glide vehicle. The actors used Claude for coding, simulation and troubleshooting, including after a guided-rocket test appeared to fail. Anthropic said it had no evidence they successfully fielded an operational weapon. "Our safeguards blocked many of their requests, but not all of them," Anthropic said.The disclosure comes as the Iran-aligned Houthis, who control most of northern Yemen, have intensified attacks on Saudi Arabia and its energy infrastructure. The Anthropic report did not identify whether or not the threat actors were Houthis.• RUSSIAN DRONE SWARM: Anthropic said likely freelance Russia-based actors used Claude to develop software for an autonomous swarm of first-person-view attack drones, including terminal guidance, target selection and coordination between multiple aircraft.Small FPV attack drones have become a central weapon in the war in Ukraine, where Russia and Ukraine have deployed them on a vast scale for reconnaissance and strikes.The Russian Embassy in Washington did not respond to questions about specific allegations made by Anthropic or the report overall.• RUSSIA DUAL-USE COMPONENT PROCUREMENT: Anthropic said a Russia-based procurement manager used Claude to identify intermediaries in China and Hong Kong to acquire European-made goods with potential military uses and work out routes through third countries that could obscure their destination.Items sought included German-made magnetometers, space-grade photovoltaic wafers and aviation oxygen systems, Anthropic said. Russia has increasingly relied on intermediaries and alternative trade routes to obtain foreign technology since Western countries imposed sweeping sanctions and export restrictions following its invasion of Ukraine.Anthropic detailed five case studies of people attempting to use "our models in ways that could support biological weapons development."The attempts included efforts to get Claude assistance on drafting a grant application for funding research on modifying the chikungunya virus in a location where Anthropic does not offer its services. In another case, also in a location where the company does not operate — requiring users to obfuscate their location to utilize the services — Anthropic said it detected efforts to research highly pathogenic avian influenza. Other examples included research related to orthopoxvirus and non-transmissible novel venoms and toxins, Anthropic said.
Read briefing Sept 10 - Anthropic on Thursday said it had disrupted several alleged malicious uses of its Claude models over the past eight months, including a suspected Russia-linked cyber espionage campaign and efforts by Chinese AI firms it accused of trying to extract and replicate Claude's capabilities.Cybercriminals and state-backed hackers were increasingly using AI not just to assist with tasks but to orchestrate and execute large portions of cyberattacks, Anthropic said in its latest Threat Intelligence report, adding that humans were often overseers rather than hands-on operators in the campaigns."A majority of the operations ... were enabled by AI via direct execution or orchestration. The use of AI went beyond simple questions and responses from a chatbot but rather involved the use of multi-agent frameworks executing" tasks, Anthropic said.Anthropic said it had disrupted what it described as attacks from seven China-based labs during that period. Among the labs Anthropic named were tech giant Alibaba, Moonshot, DeepSeek and Xiaomi.Operators it linked to Alibaba ran what Anthropic called the largest "illicit distillation" attack, allegedly aimed at extracting capabilities of Claude models and using them to improve the Chinese tech firm's Qwen models, the company said.Anthropic said it observed more than 151 million exchanges it attributed to Alibaba between May and July 2026, peaking at nearly 3 million per day from more than 3,500 accounts it described as fraudulent.Distillation refers to the process of training smaller AI models using output from larger, more expensive models in a bid to lower the costs of training a new AI tool.Rather than running bulk queries, Kimi chatbot creator Moonshot and DeepSeek allegedly routed live customer conversations, which sometimes included sensitive information, through Claude and used its responses as training data, Anthropic alleged.A hacking group whose tradecraft was consistent with Russia-based threat actor Midnight Blizzard allegedly ran phishing, hotel Wi-Fi hijacking and WhatsApp-takeover operations against Ukrainian government, military and diplomatic targets, using AI at nearly every stage, Anthropic said.The group allegedly used AI to build a system that automatically detected when its malware was flagged by security defenses and rewrote the code until it evaded detection again REUTERS
Read briefing Sept 10 - The Israeli military destroyed Hezbollah underground infrastructure at the Ali al-Taher ridge in southern Lebanon, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Thursday, adding that the operation completed the consolidation of a security zone in the area.Israeli forces would remain in the area to prevent the Iran-aligned Hezbollah militant group from re-establishing its presence and rebuilding its capabilities, the two officials said in a joint statement.The Ali al-Taher ridge, about 15 km (10 miles) from the Israeli border, has become one of the most contested areas of the war between Israel and Hezbollah. Hezbollah is believed to have built an underground command centre and weapons stores there, according to Lebanese security sources who spoke to Reuters in July.Lebanon's state news agency NNA said the Israeli military carried out a powerful blast at the ridge, with tremors and the sound of the explosion felt across Nabatieh and surrounding areas.The Israeli military said its forces had established "operational control" over the ridge, both above and below ground, before dismantling the infrastructure. The network extended for more than 2 km (1.24 miles) and contained dozens of rockets, missiles and drones, as well as anti-tank missiles, mines and explosive devices, it said.The military said a central command complex belonging to Hezbollah's Badr unit was located within the underground infrastructure. The complex contained command centres, weapons storage rooms and living quarters that allowed fighters to remain underground for extended periods, it said.Israel has pushed into southern Lebanon and seized several strategic positions since the conflict erupted on March 2.The ridge has been one of Israel's main operational focuses and lies within an expanded, self-declared Israeli buffer zone in southern Lebanon.A U.S.-brokered framework agreed after a June ceasefire called for Israeli forces to gradually withdraw from southern Lebanon while Lebanese troops disarm Hezbollah. The process has stalled, however, with Hezbollah refusing to give up its weapons and Israel saying it will not withdraw until the group disarms. REUTERS
Read briefing WASHINGTON - The US government announced new sanctions on Sept 10 against firms and individuals that it says are aiding Hezbollah and other Iranian proxies in the Middle East as it intensified its campaign to isolate Iran economically.The latest sanctions are part of the Treasury Department’s “Operation Economic Outcast,” first announced on Aug 24, which aim to cut off the revenues that Tehran is using to fund the war, build missiles, conduct cyberattacks and support the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC.The Sept 10 actions by Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control hit entities and individuals in Iraq, Lebanon and Turkey that Washington said supported Kata’ib Hezbollah, an Iraqi Shia paramilitary group under the command of the IRGC, and Hezbollah, a Lebanese Shia party, Treasury said in a statement.Treasury also announced a settlement with a US citizen who agreed to pay US$1.43 million (S$1.8 million) to settle their potential civil liability for 39 apparent violations of sanctions on Iran, and issued a broad whistleblower appeal for tips on any sanctions evasion or money laundering by Iran.OFAC also issued a bulletin making clear that it would deny most Iran-related licensing requests, except in exceptional circumstances, and said its licensing division had immediately begun denying “the vast majority” of outstanding Iran-related specific license requests.“OFAC will maintain this licensing policy until Iran changes its behavior, including obstructing the Strait of Hormuz, attacking US personnel and partners in the Gulf, and pursuing nuclear and conventional weapons,” Treasury said.“Operation Economic Outcast is targeting those who continue to stand with the failing Iranian regime,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.“Whether they finance terror, launder money, or help Iran evade sanctions, we will find them, cut them off from the US financial system, and dismantle the networks keeping the regime afloat.” REUTERS
Read briefing WASHINGTON, Sept 10 - President Donald Trump's administration has brought a number of high-profile cases, some of which have been dropped, dismissed or blocked by judges or juries.The Justice Department dropped its case against former U.S. Olympian David Hearn, who was accused of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, part of Trump's efforts to remake Washington. In a July 31 court filing, federal prosecutors said evidence pointed to a flawed installation, not vandalism, as causing the liner of the newly renovated pool to peel.Trump, facing criticism over the $14.7 million renovation, had repeatedly blamed the problems on vandals he alleged had sabotaged the project.Hearn, 67, pleaded not guilty to felony destruction of property. He had acknowledged reaching into the pool to touch a section of already detached liner, but denied ever removing a piece. Lawyers for the former Olympic canoeist accused the Trump administration of using the case to provide "political cover" for mismanagement of the project.Christian Garcia was charged with assaulting a federal officer in June 2025 immigration protests in Santa Ana, California. He admitted to throwing a plastic water bottle toward officers but said the wind blew it back onto him.Garcia, 32 at the time, was arrested and held for three days, then lost both his jobs after his bosses told him they had been called by investigators.The Trump administration has brought criminal charges against at least 851 people accused of attacking or impeding federal officers, only to abandon them at an unusually high rate.A Reuters review of federal court records completed in July found that 31% of completed cases had ended in dismissal. That compares to 8% of all federal criminal cases, according to Federal Judicial Center data.Separately, former Justice Department staffer Sean Dunn, who hurled a sandwich at a Customs and Border Protection agent in fury over Trump’s law enforcement surge in Washington, was cleared of misdemeanor assault charges in November 2025 after a three-day trial.Prosecutors initially sought felony charges against Dunn, but downgraded the case to a misdemeanor after a grand jury declined to return an indictment, one of several cases in which grand juries refused to indict.New York Attorney General Letitia James, a longtime Trump critic, was charged in October 2025 with lying on a mortgage application. A federal judge dismissed the criminal charges the following month, saying the Trump-picked U.S. attorney who brought the case was unlawfully appointed.In December, a federal grand jury in Virginia refused to indict James on allegations of mortgage fraud for the second time, according to sources familiar with the matter.James, an elected Democrat, characterized the case as an abuse of the criminal justice system designed to punish her for her criticism of Trump and a lawsuit she led against Trump and his family real estate business.Former FBI Director James Comey, whom Trump fired in 2017 as the bureau investigated possible collusion between his 2016 presidential campaign and Russia, became a harsh critic and frequent target of the president.The Justice Department filed criminal charges against Comey in September 2025 alleging false statements and obstructing a congressional investigation over Comey's 2020 testimony when he addressed Republican criticism of the Russia investigation.In November, a federal judge dismissed charges against Comey, saying the U.S. attorney who brought the case was unlawfully appointed.In April, the Justice Department charged him with threatening Trump by posting a 2025 photo of seashells arranged on a North Carolina beach to show the numbers "86 47."In U.S. parlance, the number 86 can be used as a verb meaning to throw somebody out of a bar, while 47 could be seen as code for Trump, the 47th president. Comey's lawyers said the case was a vindictive prosecution. REUTERS
Read briefing RABAT, Sept 10 - Morocco's foreign ministry said on Thursday that no evidence established involvement of Rabat in the mass crossing into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in July, adding it rejected being drawn into Spain's domestic political battles.More than 70,000 people crossed from Morocco into Ceuta, fueling criticism in Spain of both Rabat and Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.While most have since returned, over 100 died according to NGOs. Local authorities say thousands, including unaccompanied minors, remain in the enclave, living in makeshift camps or on the streets and beaches, fuelling near-daily protests by residents angry at the Spanish government's handling of the crisis.Spain's opposition parties have since targeted Pedro Sanchez's government's relationship with Morocco and accused Rabat of facilitating or orchestrating the crossing."Why continue to level accusations against Morocco when no evidence, facts, or reports establish any involvement on the part of Moroccan authorities?" the ministry said in a statement."Why are illegal migrants not being returned, even though the Moroccan government has officially committed to readmitting them? Why are unaccompanied minors being kept away from their families, when Morocco has urgently requested their return?" the ministry said.Reports released by the Spanish government on Wednesday showed that Spanish intelligence and security agencies had warned both Madrid and Moroccan counterparts about the possibility of a mass crossing."Morocco refuses to be used as a pre-election political pawn, nor does it accept being made the scapegoat in political score-settling," the ministry said. National elections are due in Spain by mid-2027.The ministry highlighted the close security, migration and economic cooperation established between Rabat and Madrid since Sanchez backed in 2022 Morocco's autonomy plan for Western Sahara.Morocco does not recognise Spanish sovereignty over Ceuta and the other enclave of Melilla. REUTERS
Read briefing Migrants arriving on small boats from mainland Europe has become a politically toxic issue in Britain.LONDON - Anti-immigration demonstrators in southern England massed outside a hotel where Pakistan’s Under-19 cricket team were staying after mistaking them for asylum seekers, British media reported on Sept 9.The incident on the evening of Sept 8 in a northern suburb of Portsmouth occurred some 48 hours after protesters disrupted the disembarkation of scores of migrants near the port city and confronted police in widely condemned scenes.Immigration and the arrival of tens of thousands of asylum seekers annually on small boats from mainland Europe has become a politically toxic issue in Britain, sparking numerous protests in recent years, some turning violent.The Sept 8 incident came after reports online about a coach with young Asian men on board being seen at a Marriott Hotel in the Portsmouth suburb of Cosham drew protesters to the venue, according to media reports.A councillor from anti-immigration party Reform UK went to the scene and helped disperse the crowd after confirming the men were in fact members of Pakistan’s teenage cricket team, Britain’s Guardian newspaper said.The senior Pakistan men’s side are currently involved in the third Test against England at Birmingham’s Edgbaston ground.A spokesman for Hampshire Police – which is responsible for the region – said the force “were notified that a group of people were starting to congregate” near the hotel on the evening of Sept 8.“Officers subsequently attended and spoke to members of the public that had gathered who were expressing concerns about a coach that had been seen in the area,” the spokesman added.“The officers explained that their concerns were not correct,” the spokesman said, without confirming the Pakistani cricketers were the mistaken target.He noted the crowd of around 30 people dispersed a short time later and no offences were identified.Michael Bradley, a national organiser from the Stand Up To Racism organisation, condemned the incident as showing “where the scapegoating of refugees and migrants can lead”.“When a Pakistan U-19‘s team is faced by protests because it ‘might’ in fact be a group of migrants it means that effectively any group of black or Asian people coming into the city are being seen by the far right as a potential target,” he said.“It’s obvious where all this is going to end – racist attacks and more violence.” AFP
Read briefing FILE PHOTO: Michael Cohen, former lawyer for Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump, departs his home in Manhattan to testify in Trump's criminal trial over charges that he falsified business records to conceal money paid to silence porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016, in New York City, U.S., May 20, 2024. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File PhotoSept 9 - U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that he would consider a pardon for Michael Cohen, his former fixer whose testimony contributed to a 2024 conviction against Trump, but who has more recently said that he "felt pressured and coerced."Asked by reporters on Wednesday whether he would consider a pardon for Cohen, who is seeking one, Trump said: "If everything is checking out, it's something I would consider.""I appreciate that at least he came out, although late, he came out and rectified the situation," he said.In 2018, Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison — and served more than a year — for a $130,000 hush payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election — as well as for other crimes, including cheating on his personal taxes and lying under oath to Congress.Trump was convicted in 2024 on 34 counts of falsification of business records to conceal the Daniels payment, in part due to Cohen's testimony. He has denied the encounter with Daniels, whose given name is Stephanie Clifford, and is appealing the ruling. REUTERS
Read briefing Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Jared Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law, and U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, September 5, 2026. Sputnik/Gavriil Grigorov/Pool via REUTERSWASHINGTON, Sept 9 - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he had a "great" conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier in the week and that the Russian leader wanted to make a deal to end the war in Ukraine."He is wanting to make a deal, and if (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelenskiy is wanting to make a deal, that'd be very nice," Trump told reporters before boarding Air Force One en route to Dallas for the Republican National Convention.Trump spoke over the phone with Putin on Tuesday, shortly after U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, returned from a diplomatic swing through Moscow and Kyiv. The duo, who are in charge of most major peace negotiations for the U.S., discussed potential proposals to bring the war to a close.Last month, Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe met with intelligence officials in Moscow, in part to encourage Russian officials to end their invasion.Despite those efforts and Trump's statements, intelligence officials in the U.S., Ukraine and throughout Europe continue to doubt Putin is seriously interested in ending his ongoing war, now in its fourth year."The holdup is two people who hate each other," Trump told reporters, referring to Putin and Zelenskiy."I think more than anything else, it's two people that hate each other." REUTERS
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