World News · Monday, 14 September 2026
Sweden's left bloc is projected to win by one seat, and the far right loses votes for the first time
Sweden voted on Sunday and the count points to 175 seats for Magdalena Andersson's centre-left bloc against 174 for Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson's right-wing bloc. The far-right Sweden Democrats, promised cabinet seats if the right won, fell back for the first time since 2010. Votes cast abroad are still to come. Elsewhere, Oman called off Monday's Hormuz talks, Trump told Ukraine to stop hitting Russian diesel, and a Russian drone hit a train 800 metres from Poland.
175 of 349
seats projected for Magdalena Andersson's centre-left bloc in Sweden's parliament
the smallest possible majority; the right-wing bloc is projected at 174
17.7%
of the vote for the far-right Sweden Democrats in the first count, down from 20.5% in 2022
the first time the party has lost support since entering parliament in 2010
4,853 of 6,312
election districts counted when the one-seat projection was made
votes cast abroad may not arrive until Wednesday, a minister said
The lead story — what happened
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Sweden held a general election on Sunday, and the result is much closer than the polls showed for most of the year.
[1] [2] -
Sweden's election authority projects 175 seats for the centre-left bloc and 174 for the right-wing governing bloc, in a parliament of 349.
[3] -
175 is the smallest possible majority. The projection was based on votes from 4,853 of Sweden's 6,312 election districts.
[3] [2] -
Exit polls at 8pm had shown a clearer lead for the left, 51.3% against 46.8%.
[4] [5] Later projections by the broadcasters SVT and TV4 put the two sides almost level.[6] -
The final winner may not be known for several days, because votes cast abroad still have to arrive. Sweden's foreign minister said that could take until Wednesday.
[2] -
The far-right Sweden Democrats lost support for the first time since they entered parliament in 2010. An initial count put them at 17.7%, down from 20.5% in 2022.
[2] [5] -
The Sweden Democrats were founded in the 1980s by people from extremist groups, including neo-Nazis. They say they have since expelled such members.
[7] [2] -
Since 2022 they have backed Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson's minority government from outside it. In return they got influence over immigration and crime policy.
[8] [7] -
In April Kristersson said they could join his government, with cabinet seats for the first time, if the right won a majority.
[1] -
His government ended permanent residency for refugees and stepped up expulsions.
[2] Asylum applications are at a record low, and gang shootings and bombings have fallen.[8] -
The centre-left leader, Magdalena Andersson of the Social Democrats, was prime minister in 2021 and 2022. Her bloc led the polls by about 10 points early this year, and that fell to two or three.
[5] [1] -
Whoever wins still has to build a coalition, and party leaders expect that to take weeks. Andersson's side is split among its smaller parties.
[4] [6]
Who is involved
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Magdalena Andersson
leader of Sweden's centre-left Social Democrats and prime minister in 2021-2022; her four-party bloc is projected to win by one seat
[5] [3] -
Ulf Kristersson
Sweden's conservative prime minister since 2022 and leader of the Moderate party; he promised the far right cabinet seats if his side won
[7] [4] -
Jimmie Akesson
leader of the far-right Sweden Democrats since 2005; he was widely expected to become migration minister if the right won
[7] [8] -
Sweden's election authority
the body that counts the votes; its projection gave the left 175 seats and the right 174
[3]
How it unfolded
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2022 Kristersson forms a minority government backed from outside by the Sweden Democrats
[7] [8] -
April 2026 Kristersson says the Sweden Democrats can join his government if the right wins a majority
[1] -
Sun, 8pm exit polls give the left bloc 51.3% and the right 46.8%
[4] -
Sun, night the election authority projects 175 seats for the left and 174 for the right
[3] -
By Wednesday votes cast abroad are expected to arrive
[2]
Where this points
Watch the votes cast abroad, which may not arrive until Wednesday: one seat moving would decide whether Andersson or Kristersson gets to try to form the next government.
What is pushing on the whole day
The bar and the word are our reading of how hard each one is pushing today. The arrow is where it is heading. The evidence is in the stories below.
Diesel in the United States passed $6.20 a gallon on Sunday, a new record.
US President Donald Trump told Ukraine to stop hitting Russian diesel.
A ship carrying 243 people capsized in Indonesia's Java Sea, and 129 are still missing.
Israel's culture minister called for two filmmakers to lose their citizenship over a documentary about Gaza.
The rest of the day
31 more stories on this beat.
Each with its own sources. None of these is a link to the story above.
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02
Oman calls off Monday's Hormuz talks
Oman postponed a meeting set for Monday in Salalah, in southern Oman, where Iran and the Gulf states were to discuss shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
[10] Oman's foreign minister said it was delayed in the interests of consensus.[20] An Iranian official said some countries in the region had asked for the delay.[9] Only Iraq had publicly confirmed it would come, and Bahrain had refused.[20] Iran's foreign minister had already said a deal with Oman would not reopen the strait until the US meets Iran's demands.[9] Why it matters — Before the war began on 28 February, about a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied gas passed through Hormuz.
[21] Ship crossings fell to single digits a day over the weekend, against a ten-day average of 14.[10] -
03
A ship is hit off Iran's Qeshm Island
Iranian state media said an attack on an Iranian commercial ship off Qeshm Island killed one person.
[21] Qeshm is the largest island in the Persian Gulf and sits on the Strait of Hormuz.[22] Reports differ on the wounded: three, according to AP, and four, according to Reuters.[22] [9] Britain's maritime security agency, UKMTO, separately reported a ship hit by a projectile in the strait, with a severe fire and the crew taken off.[21] [9] It is not clear whether both reports describe the same ship.[22] Why it matters — Iran now makes ships ask its permission to cross and strikes those that do not, while the US bombs Iran's coast to challenge that control.
[10] The US military said on Saturday its forces had turned back 100 commercial ships in 60 days.[22] -
04
Saudi oil at Yanbu may last a week
Saudi Arabia kept its 1,200-kilometre East-West pipeline shut all weekend after drone strikes on Friday.
[10] The pipeline had become the main way to move Gulf oil to the Red Sea without passing through Hormuz.[9] [14] Traders and Saudi oil buyers told Reuters that oil stored at the port of Yanbu can keep exports going for only five to seven days if the line stays shut.[9] After that, up to 4% of the world's oil supply could be at risk.[9] Oil prices jumped when markets opened on Monday.[10] Why it matters — Shares in Saudi Aramco, the state oil company, fell to their lowest level since March.
[23] Saudi Arabia has not said how badly the pipeline is damaged, and estimates of the repair time range from days to weeks.[9] -
05
Trump tells Ukraine to stop hitting Russian diesel
US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, must stop striking Russian diesel fuel.
[12] He said the attacks were causing a shortage that is hurting the world.[12] Months of Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian refineries have cut Russia's fuel output and led to fuel rationing across Russia.[12] [11] Ukraine says refineries are fair targets, because oil pays for and fuels Russia's invasion.[12] [11] The average US price of diesel, which trucks, trains, ships and farm machines burn, rose above $6.20 a gallon on Sunday.[9] [12] Why it matters — High pump prices are a problem for Trump's Republican Party, which faces midterm elections in just over 50 days.
[23] Trump also said the Iran war should end right after that vote, or maybe before it.[23] -
06
Russian drone hits a train near Poland
A Russian drone hit the engine of a Ukrainian passenger train bound for Warsaw, near Ukraine's border with Poland, on Sunday.
[24] [25] The crew had been warned in advance, and no one was hurt.[24] Former UK prime minister Boris Johnson and senior European security advisers had passed along the same line shortly before, on their way back from a conference in Kyiv.[25] Poland's prime minister, Donald Tusk, said a drone struck 800 metres from the Polish border.[25] Russia said it hit infrastructure that carries military cargo from Europe.[26] Why it matters — Ukraine's border crossings with Poland carry a large share of the military and humanitarian aid its allies send.
[11] On Tuesday two people died when Russian drones hit a crossing between Ukraine and Moldova.[11] -
07
Russia fires 453 drones, Ukraine hits oil plants
Russia launched 453 drones at Ukraine overnight into Sunday, and Ukraine's air force said it stopped 409 of them.
[27] [11] Drones damaged a block of flats and buildings near a railway station in Stryi, a city in western Ukraine near Poland.[27] A Russian attack on Odesa, Ukraine's main Black Sea port, injured at least nine people.[11] Ukrainian drones killed two people in Nizhnekamsk, an oil and chemical centre in Russia's Tatarstan region, local officials said.[11] Ukraine also said it hit an oil refinery at Slavyansk-on-Kuban in southern Russia.[11] [27] Why it matters — Russia is aiming at Ukraine's electricity before winter, while Ukraine aims mostly at Russia's oil and gas.
[27] The front line has barely moved this year, so both sides are trying to wear down each other's economy instead.[26] -
08
Kremlin rules out a Putin-Zelensky meeting in Miami
Zelensky said on Saturday he would go to the G20 summit in Miami to meet Russia's president, Vladimir Putin.
[27] The Kremlin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, called that impossible and said Putin would meet Zelensky only in Moscow.[27] Peskov also said India's Narendra Modi and China's Xi Jinping had both offered to help broker peace.[26] He said Russia had not ruled out three-way talks with Ukraine and the US in October.[26] Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said Russia would not stop fighting during any talks.[27] Why it matters — Russia still demands that Ukraine pull out of the eastern Donbas region, which Ukraine says it will never do.
[26] Leaders of countries friendly to Russia, including India and Kazakhstan, have publicly told Putin the war should end.[26] -
09
Russia blames Ukraine for strikes by the Zaporizhzhia plant
The head of Rosatom, Russia's state nuclear company, said Ukrainian strikes on Friday hit trucks bringing diesel to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant.
[28] Alexei Likhachev said two Russian soldiers were killed and the strikes landed very close to the plant's edge.[28] Zaporizhzhia has six reactors and is Europe's largest nuclear plant, and Russian forces have held it since the first weeks of the war.[28] Diesel generators keep the nuclear fuel in its reactors cool whenever both of its outside power lines are down.[28] Both were down for nearly three weeks in August and September.[28] Why it matters — Each side regularly accuses the other of raising the risk of a nuclear accident there.
[28] The UN nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, keeps a team at the plant and helped arrange a local ceasefire for repairs last month.[28] -
10
Zelensky sanctions his former press secretary
Zelensky put sanctions on Yuliia Mendel, his press secretary from 2019 to 2021, and nine other people on Sunday.
[18] His office accused them of spreading Russian propaganda and supporting Russia's attack on Ukraine.[18] The sanctions last ten years and include freezing their assets.[18] Mendel has criticised Zelensky's record in interviews since last year, when several people close to him were caught up in corruption scandals.[18] She said sanctions on Ukrainian citizens break the constitution and target anyone who argues for peace.[18] Why it matters — Sanctions are an unusual measure against a former staff member, though Ukraine also used them against former president Petro Poroshenko in 2025.
[18] -
11
Kushner says the US used Israel's isolation to get a Gaza deal
Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and envoy, said the US used the global isolation Israel faced after its strike in Doha to push it into the October 2025 Gaza ceasefire.
[13] Israel struck Hamas leaders in Qatar's capital on 9 September 2025.[13] The strike killed a security officer and five lower-ranking Hamas members, but left the leaders largely unhurt.[13] Kushner called it terrible and unsuccessful, speaking on Friday to the Yalta European Security Conference.[13] Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party replied that the strike and Trump's pressure made Hamas release the hostages.[13] Why it matters — The US pressed Netanyahu to apologise to Qatar's leaders at the time, and the ceasefire followed soon after.
[13] Likud faces an election on 27 October, and Kushner's account gives the credit to US pressure rather than to Netanyahu.[13] -
12
Gaza film wins in Venice, and a minister targets its makers
NAZA, a documentary by the Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, won a special jury prize at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday.
[17] It alleges AI-assisted killing of civilians in Gaza, and its makers say it draws on 24 Israeli military and intelligence whistleblowers.[17] Israel's culture minister, Miki Zohar, accused the makers of treason and said he would act to revoke their citizenship.[17] [29] Israel's army called one whistleblower's claim, that a strike expected to kill 500 civilians was once approved, completely false.[30] Why it matters — Revoking citizenship is legal in Israel but rarely done, and it needs the interior minister, the justice minister and judges, not the culture minister.
[17] The director says the crew will do everything to show the film across Israel.[31] -
13
Israel says it will not leave south Lebanon
Israel's defence minister, Israel Katz, said on Sunday that Israel will not leave the 700-square-kilometre security zone it holds in southern Lebanon until Hezbollah is disarmed across the country.
[19] Hezbollah is the Iran-backed armed group and political party in Lebanon. He said the zone runs from the Mediterranean coast to Mount Hermon and includes the Ali Taher ridge.[19] Israel's army killed Hezbollah fighters and destroyed its tunnels on that ridge.[19] Katz said anyone who approaches it will be destroyed.[19] Why it matters — Three officials told Reuters this month that Iran warned the US it would respond forcefully to an Israeli offensive on the ridge.
[19] A foreign official said Israel had put off storming it because of US pressure.[19] -
14
Likud moves to bar two Arab parties
Netanyahu's Likud party said on Sunday it will ask for the Joint List and the United Arab List to be disqualified from Israel's election.
[19] Both parties are led by, and mostly voted for by, Israel's Arab citizens. Likud said there is no place in parliament for parties that harm Israeli soldiers and will not call Hamas and Hezbollah terrorist organisations.[19] Removing a party from the ballot changes who can win seats before anyone has voted.Why it matters — The election is on 27 October, and The Times of Israel says Likud is fighting an uphill battle to keep power in it.
[13] -
15
West Bank settlers pitch tents inside northern Israel
Young settlers from Tekoa, a settlement in the occupied West Bank, set up a camp over the weekend on land belonging to Majd al-Krum, an Arab town in Israel's Galilee.
[32] [33] The Jewish National Fund, which owns a large share of Israel's land, said it leased the field only for grazing.[33] Footage on Sunday showed tents, furniture and lights, and no animals.[33] Local owners fear the camp will block them from their olive groves at harvest.[33] Last month Israel's finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, launched a plan to expand Jewish settlement into the Galilee and the Negev.[33] [32] Why it matters — Ofer Cassif, a lawmaker from the Arab-majority Hadash party, said the camp copies inside Israel the methods used to push Palestinians off land in the West Bank.
[33] In the West Bank itself, an off-duty Israeli soldier was arrested and suspended after firing towards the village of al-Mughayyir.[19] -
16
Israeli strike kills two in Gaza City
An Israeli strike on a car in the Tel al-Hawa district of Gaza City killed two people on Sunday.
[34] Palestinian media reported 13 wounded.[19] Israel's military said the two were Hamas engineers who made weapons in systematic violation of the ceasefire, and named them.[35] Local medics asked the public to help identify the bodies.[34] Gaza's health officials say more than 1,300 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed since the ceasefire began, and Israel's army says four of its soldiers have been killed.[34] Why it matters — The US-backed ceasefire of October 2025 stopped large-scale fighting but not Israeli strikes.
[34] There has been little progress on its next steps, which include Israel pulling out of Gaza and Hamas giving up its weapons.[34] -
17
An Iranian Guards faction struck ships on its own, NYT reports
The New York Times reported on Sunday that a hard-line faction of Iran's Revolutionary Guards attacked ships in the Strait of Hormuz in July without telling Iran's senior leaders.
[19] The report cited two members of the Guards and five Iranian officials.[19] On 7 July Iranian forces fired on three commercial ships and set fire to a Qatari gas tanker.[19] The report said the Guards' commander, Ahmad Vahidi, had not authorised the attack, and that Iran's president, Masoud Pezeshkian, was furious.[19] Why it matters — The attack wrecked efforts by more moderate Iranian officials to end the confrontation with the US.
[19] If the report is right, the people who sign a deal for Iran may not control every unit that can fire on a ship. -
18
Houthis claim strikes on a Saudi base
Yemen's Houthis, the Iran-backed group that holds northern Yemen, said they fired drones and missiles at a military base in Saudi Arabia's Najran region, without giving evidence.
[22] They have been attacking Saudi ships in the Red Sea since declaring a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia in July.[19] On Monday Saudi civil defence issued, then lifted, danger alerts for four southern cities: Najran, Khamis Mushait, Jazan and Abha.[19] Fighting between the Houthis and Yemen's Saudi-backed government risks a return to civil war after four years of truce.[22] Why it matters — Regional sources told Reuters that the US's reported refusal to strike the Houthis for Saudi Arabia is making some Gulf governments see talks with Iran as a necessity.
[14] A Gulf source said Saudi Arabia's foreign minister had planned to attend the Oman meeting.[14] -
19
Trump shrugs off report that Chinese firms helped Iran
Trump brushed aside a Wall Street Journal report about Chinese help for Iran.
[36] It said Chinese entities gave Iran satellite images of a US base in Jordan before an attack that killed three US soldiers in July.[36] Trump said China basically does what the US does, and that the US spies on China too.[36] The US officials quoted by the Journal did not name the Chinese entities or accuse China's government directly.[36] Xi and Trump are expected to meet in the US on 24 September, though China has not confirmed it.[36] Why it matters — Reuters said Trump's reply fits recent US efforts to play down tensions with China before that meeting.
[36] It comes despite US frustration over China's close ties to Iran.[36] -
20
BRICS summit ends, and Iran and the UAE meet
The BRICS summit in New Delhi ended on Sunday.
[37] BRICS is a group of 11 countries, including Brazil, Russia, India, China and Iran, with about half the world's people.[37] India's prime minister, Narendra Modi, announced a shared early-warning system for infectious diseases and handed the chair to China.[37] Iran's president met the crown prince of Abu Dhabi and said they agreed to put the past behind them.[20] [23] Iran has fired missiles and drones at the UAE, a fellow BRICS member, during the war.[38] Why it matters — A public meeting between the two is rare, because they sit on opposite sides of the Gulf war.
[23] [38] The UAE cut economic ties with Iran in August, and still says the war needs a political solution.[23] -
21
Okinawa elects a governor who accepts the new US base
Genta Koja, backed by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's government, won the election for governor of Okinawa, Japan's southernmost prefecture, on Sunday.
[39] [40] He took 59% of the vote and beat the two-term governor, Denny Tamaki.[39] His win ends 12 years of Okinawa governors who tried to shrink the large US military presence there.[39] Koja accepts moving a US Marines air base from Futenma to Henoko, and his win could end Okinawa's court fight against it.[40] [39] Why it matters — Okinawa is part of a chain of islands that limits China's access to the Western Pacific, and Japan's westernmost island is 110km from Taiwan.
[39] Takaichi is preparing a security strategy expected to speed up Japan's biggest military build-up since the Second World War.[39] -
22
Korea's chipmakers refuse to prepay for power
Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, South Korea's two biggest chipmakers, turned down a request to pay 25 trillion won ($18.7bn) in advance to the state power company, KEPCO.
[41] KEPCO wanted the money to build power supplies for planned clusters of chip factories.[41] The companies said the request was difficult to accept after internal reviews, according to a document given to a lawmaker.[41] A company official said they were unsure chip demand would last long enough to justify paying that much up front.[41] Why it matters — The dispute is over who pays first for the power supply of chip factories that are still only planned.
[41] -
23
Java Sea ship capsizes, and 129 are missing
The Virgo Transport 8, carrying 243 people from Surabaya in East Java to Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan, capsized in bad weather early on Sunday.
[15] By Monday morning 108 people had been rescued, six were dead and 129 were missing.[15] An official said strong waves hit the ship's side and it leaned over.[15] More than 600 rescuers and about 12 ships are searching.[15] Last month two Indonesian ferries caught fire, killing five people on one and one person on the other.[15] Why it matters — Indonesia has about 17,000 islands, and ferries are cheaper and easier to reach than flights, so the country relies on them.
[15] The cause is still being investigated.[15] -
24
Philippine ferry fire toll reaches 76
The death toll from the fire on the ferry MV June Aster, off Palawan in the Philippines, rose to 76 after rescuers recovered 41 more remains.
[16] Thirteen people are still unaccounted for.[16] The ferry was sailing from Manila to Coron, a trip of about 20 hours.[16] Officials said most of the bodies are charred and identifying them could take weeks or much longer.[16] Survivors told the maritime authority they heard two explosions before the fire.[16] Why it matters — Investigators have not yet reached the flooded lower decks or the engine room, where the cause may be found.
[16] The Philippines has more than 7,600 islands, and millions of people there rely on ferries and small boats.[16] -
25
A Nepal tunnel survivor goes home
Sah, a 30-year-old foreman at the Upper Trishuli 3A hydropower station, reached his village of Tilathi Koiladi, near Nepal's border with India, on Sunday.
[42] He was one of only three people pulled alive from tunnels buried when a Himalayan glacier collapsed and sent a flood down the valleys.[42] He survived in the dark by drinking floodwater and water seeping from the rock.[42] His family washed his feet in a traditional welcome.[42] Nepal counts at least 1,386 dead and 5,130 missing, including about 900 power station workers.[42] Why it matters — Other families in his village still have relatives missing from the hydropower stations.
[42] One family phoned him in hospital to ask whether he had seen their missing relative, and he had not.[42] -
26
Japan's wood pellets clear Indonesian forest
A new analysis by environmental groups says wood burned for energy has become a new cause of forest loss in Indonesia, and Japan is the biggest buyer.
[43] Coal power stations can burn wood pellets alongside coal, and Japan uses them to meet its renewable energy goals.[43] Japan imported a record 8.64 million tons in 2025, and imports from Indonesia rose from 66,460 tons in 2023 to 402,310 tons.[43] Indonesia has granted at least 45 concessions for this wood, covering more than 750,000 hectares of natural forest.[43] Why it matters — Japan has stopped subsidies for new large projects, but projects already approved keep them for up to 20 years.
[43] South Korea used to be the biggest buyer, until it cut its own subsidies after criticism over deforestation.[43] -
27
Kosovo gets a government after 18 months
Kosovo's parliament voted in a new government under Prime Minister Albin Kurti on Sunday, with 62 votes in the 120-seat assembly.
[44] Opposition members stayed away, accusing Kurti of breaking post-election rules, and said they will go to the Constitutional Court.[44] Kosovo has been stuck for more than 18 months, through elections in February 2025, December 2025 and June this year.[44] Electing a president needs at least 80 lawmakers present, which Kurti does not have.[44] Why it matters — Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, and both have been told to mend relations to move towards joining the EU.
[44] If the deadlock goes on, Kosovo could face yet another early election.[44] -
28
Brazil judge widens the Bolsonaro film case
Brazilian Supreme Court justice Flavio Dino said on Sunday there are strong signs that lawmaker Mario Frias played a central role in an alleged criminal network.
[45] Investigators suspect public money was diverted through companies working on Dark Horse, a film about former president Jair Bolsonaro.[45] Police raided Frias, a minister under Bolsonaro, on Thursday, and he denies wrongdoing.[45] Dino said the network may have links to the PCC, a Brazilian criminal gang the US has named a terrorist group.[45] Why it matters — Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, the former president's son, is under investigation over money for the same film and challenges President Lula da Silva in October's election.
[45] Brazil's Supreme Court is also split by a public fight between two justices over the federal police.[45] -
29
UK peers debate a cap on donations
Britain's House of Lords debates a bill on Monday that would cap donations from British voters living abroad at 100,000 pounds.
[46] Calls for limits grew after Nigel Farage's Reform UK party received 72 million pounds from two billionaires, Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne, in 24 hours.[46] Both are British and have lived overseas.[46] Britain's housing secretary, Angela Rayner, said the rules would apply backwards, so anyone who breaks them would have to return the money.[46] Why it matters — A peer from Labour, Britain's governing party, wants to extend the cap to donors living in Britain too.
[46] Reform says the gifts follow the law, and accuses Labour of trying to rig the system.[46] -
30
Turkey arrests 162 in raids on LGBTQ groups
Turkish authorities arrested and charged 162 people in nationwide raids on LGBTQ organisations, the state news agency Anadolu reported on Sunday.
[47] The operation was called My Family is Safe.[47] It followed an investigation into LGBTQ groups over allegations of prostitution and obscenity.[47] Prosecutors said they wanted to stop such activities being regarded as normal in society.[47] Why it matters — The prosecutors' stated aim is about how society sees these groups, not only about the crimes alleged.
[47] -
31
Netanyahu's UN trip expects big protests
Israel's UN ambassador, Danny Danon, said he expects intense protests when Netanyahu speaks at the UN General Assembly in New York later this month.
[48] New York's mayor, Zohran Mamdani, has backed demonstrations against him.[48] Mamdani had long promised to arrest Netanyahu if he came, but said in July that as mayor he cannot.[48] Activist groups have announced a week of action during the assembly.[48] Why it matters — The assembly also comes while the next UN secretary-general is being chosen to replace Antonio Guterres.
[48] Danon says Israel is meeting the candidates but backing none in public.[48] -
32
Ukraine says 8,500 North Korean soldiers remain in Russia
Ukraine's military intelligence told the BBC that about 8,500 North Korean soldiers are still in Russia's Kursk region, in four brigades guarding the border.
[49] It said they are not in active combat and have not been seen in occupied Ukraine.[49] North Korea sent about 13,000 troops in late 2024.[49] A BBC Korea study of a memorial estimated 2,300 were killed, and Ukraine's intelligence says 3,000.[49] Last month Zelensky warned that up to 50,000 North Koreans could be sent.[49] Why it matters — A researcher in Seoul estimates weapons sales and troops have earned North Korea close to $10bn, about a third of a year's economy.
[49]
Why the first count is rarely the final one
The first number after a vote or a disaster comes from whatever can be counted fastest, and it keeps moving as slower counts arrive.
The twist
An early number tells you how much has been counted so far. It cannot yet tell you what happened.
How it works
- Something happens that people want a number for straight away: a vote, a sinking, a fire
- The first number comes from whatever can be counted fastest: an exit poll, the people pulled out, the bodies found
- That number is reported, and people react to it
- Slower counts arrive later: votes from abroad, divers reaching a wreck, tests on remains
- The number moves, and sometimes the move changes who won or how bad it was
The same force, elsewhere today
Where this chain is also running, in today's other stories.
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Sweden's election
Exit polls at 8pm gave the left 51.3% to 46.8%, and the count from most districts then showed a one-seat gap, with votes from abroad still to come.
-
The Java Sea capsizing
By Monday six were dead, 108 rescued and 129 missing, so the death toll will stay open until the search for the missing ends.
-
The Philippine ferry fire
The toll jumped by 41 to 76 in one day once searchers reached more of the ship, and naming the dead may take months.
-
North Korea's losses in Russia
One count of a memorial gives 2,300 dead and Ukraine's intelligence gives 3,000, because North Korea has never published its own figure.
Where you've seen this
Jobs figures
a government's first monthly jobs number is often revised when more employers send in their forms
Storms and earthquakes
damage estimates keep climbing for weeks as inspectors reach more buildings
Disease outbreaks
case counts trail real infections, because a case is only counted after a test
The catch
Sometimes the first count is close to right, and a wide early lead in a vote rarely flips. The first number is most likely to move when the gap is small or the search is still going.
And the whole of it
At the Sweden Democrats' election party, people cheered when a later projection showed the gap closing. The numbers on this page are also counts from one Monday morning, and some of them will move.
What is really going on
Sweden is still counting, and one seat separates Magdalena Andersson's centre-left bloc from Ulf Kristersson's right-wing bloc, so whether the far-right Sweden Democrats join a government for the first time rests on the rest of the count.
Why it works on us — A rising fuel bill is easier for voters to accept when a leader names someone else as the cause, and Trump said the diesel shortage comes from Russia and Ukraine, not from the Middle East.
Who gains
-
Magdalena Andersson and the Social Democrats
— If the one-seat projection holds, Andersson returns as prime minister after four years in opposition.
[5] [3] -
Russia's government
— Trump publicly asked Ukraine, not Russia, to stop one kind of strike, and those strikes had cut Russia's fuel output and caused rationing.
[12] [11] -
Iran
— Ships now need its permission to cross Hormuz, and its foreign minister says a deal with Oman will not reopen the strait until the US meets Iran's demands.
[10] [9] -
Genta Koja and Sanae Takaichi's government
— Koja's win could end Okinawa's court fight against the US base at Henoko, and may make it easier to open civilian ports and airports to the military.
[39] -
Japanese biomass power projects already approved
— They keep their subsidies for up to 20 years, even though Japan has stopped subsidies for new large projects.
[43]
Who pays
-
Truck, train and farm operators in the US
— Diesel, the fuel they run on, passed $6.20 a gallon on Sunday.
[9] [12] -
Ukraine
— The US president is publicly pressing it to stop hitting Russian fuel, while Russian drones hit the border crossings its aid comes through.
[12] [11] -
Families of the 129 missing from the Virgo Transport 8
— They are waiting on a search that more than 600 rescuers and about 12 ships are still carrying out.
[15] -
Landowners in Majd al-Krum
— A settler camp now sits on land near their olive groves just before the harvest, and police broke up their protest.
[33] -
Communities living in Indonesia's forests, including the Polahi people
— Biomass concessions cover more than 750,000 hectares of natural forest, and communities living in those areas rely on the forest.
[43] -
Yuliia Mendel and nine others
— Their assets are frozen and their trade restricted for ten years by a presidential decree.
[18]
What nobody knows yet
Open questions from across today’s stories — ours included.
-
01
Who will form Sweden's next government.
The projection gave the left 175 seats and the right 174 with 4,853 of 6,312 districts counted, and votes cast abroad may not arrive until Wednesday.
[3] [2] -
02
Why the Sweden Democrats lost votes for the first time.
A Stockholm University political scientist said the reason will not be clear until detailed studies of how people voted are published.
[4] -
03
How long Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline stays shut.
Saudi Arabia has not described the damage, and sources gave Reuters repair estimates ranging from days to weeks.
[9] -
04
When the Hormuz meeting in Oman will happen, and who will come.
No new date was given, only Iraq had confirmed it would attend, and Bahrain had said it would not.
[10] [20] -
05
How many people were wounded on the ship hit off Qeshm, and whether it is the burning ship UKMTO reported.
AP reported three wounded and Reuters four, and AP said it was not clear whether the two reports describe one ship.
[22] [9] -
06
Whether a Revolutionary Guards faction really attacked ships in July without its leaders' approval.
The New York Times report rests on two Guards members and five Iranian officials who were not named.
[19] -
07
How many of the 129 people missing from the Virgo Transport 8 are alive.
Six are confirmed dead and 108 rescued, and more than 600 rescuers were still searching on Monday.
[15] -
08
What started the fire on the MV June Aster.
Survivors reported two explosions, but investigators have not yet reached the flooded lower decks or the engine room.
[16] -
09
Whether a Gaza strike expected to kill 500 civilians was ever approved.
The claim comes from an unnamed soldier in a clip from the film NAZA, and Israel's army calls it completely false.
[30] -
10
How many North Korean soldiers died fighting for Russia.
A BBC Korea study of a memorial estimated 2,300 and Ukraine's intelligence says 3,000, and North Korea has never published a figure.
[49]
Sah, a foreman trapped in a flooded tunnel by Nepal's glacier flood, reached his home village on Sunday. His family washed his feet in a traditional welcome, and his mother held him and kissed him.
Also true today
- Rescuers in Indonesia pulled 108 people alive from the Java Sea after the Virgo Transport 8 capsized in bad weather.
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