Xi comes to Washington to ask the US to stop arming Taiwan, and points at a promise from 1982

The rest of the day

42 more stories on this beat.

Each with its own sources. None of these is a link to the story above.

1. 02

   US and China set AI safety talks

   The United States and China will meet again on artificial intelligence safety in two months in Shenzhen, US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said. [7] He and Chinese vice premier He Lifeng led preparation talks in New York on Sunday. [4] He said both sides want to agree what the leading dangers are, naming software agents nobody can control and hackers who work for no government. [7] Bessent said the companies building these systems should be liable for what they do, and that the labs can slow down whenever they want to. [7]

   Why it matters — The two governments competing hardest on artificial intelligence have fixed a date to discuss its dangers, which is further than they have got on trade. [7]

2. 03

   Democrats urge keeping the Chinese car ban

   Twenty-seven Democratic members of the US House of Representatives urged Trump to keep the ban on Chinese carmakers selling into the American market, days before his meeting with Xi. [8] The letter was led by Representative Debbie Dingell of Michigan. [8] It asked him to maintain protections against Chinese cars and connected-vehicle technology, and to make sure China cannot get in through direct imports, factories built inside the US, or other routes around the rule. [8]

   Why it matters — Michigan builds cars, and its representatives want the closure written down before it can be offered in a room they will not be in. [8]

3. 04

   China tells Germany to avoid a trade war

   China's foreign minister Wang Yi told his German counterpart Johann Wadephul in a call that the two sides are comprehensive strategic partners and that China and Europe should not fight trade wars. [9] Germany has been one of the loudest European voices complaining about Chinese industrial overcapacity and an undervalued currency. [9] Germany's foreign ministry said both agreed trade must rest on fair rules and a real level playing field. [9] Wang also asked Germany to help keep the peace in the Taiwan Strait. [9]

   Why it matters — China worked on Europe in the same week it works on the United States, and raised Taiwan in both conversations. [9]

4. 05

   US to reopen two Greenland bases

   The United States, Denmark and Greenland were due to sign an Arctic security agreement at the UN in New York at 10:30am on Tuesday. [10] Three people who know the terms told Reuters the US will reopen Narsarsuaq, a southern airfield it left in the 1950s, and put forces at Mestersvig, an east coast outpost used by a Danish dog-sled patrol. [10] The text has not been published. [10] Trump says the deal gives the US permanent control; Denmark and Greenland say it does not touch Greenland's sovereignty. [11]

   17US bases in Greenland during the Cold War

   vsvs

   1US bases there today

   Why it matters — Greenland is a semi-autonomous Danish territory, and Trump's threats about it earlier this year set off a diplomatic crisis inside NATO before Denmark agreed to talk. [11]

5. 06

   World leaders open the UN meeting

   The UN General Assembly's high-level week opened in New York on Tuesday, with Trump due to address it. [12] Diplomats arriving described a world in turmoil: wars in Iran, Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan, Congo and Myanmar, and a shipping route effectively closed. [13][14] Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said power is shifting and the institutions must change with it. [13] The UN is 81 years old and the countries that can veto anything at its Security Council are still the winners of the Second World War. [14] Trump has scaled back American funding for it. [12]

   Why it matters — Almost every other story on this page is being settled in side rooms at the same building this week, by two governments at a time rather than by the 193 in the hall.

6. 07

   Britain will refuel Saudi war planes

   Britain's new prime minister Andy Burnham said the Royal Air Force will provide air-to-air refuelling for Saudi planes fighting Yemen's Houthis, using a single Voyager tanker based at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus. [15][16] He said the arrangement is for a matter of weeks and will be kept under review. [15] The Houthis seized the port of Mokha and islands near the Bab al-Mandab strait earlier this month, through which about 12% of world trade normally passes, and have fired missiles and drones at Saudi cities including its capital. [15]

   Why it matters — British officials had previously declined to comment on operational matters, and refuelling is the quiet way one country joins another's air war without dropping any bombs itself. [15]

7. 08

   Houthis promise not to hit US ships

   Houthi official Mohammed al-Bukhaiti said the group is not targeting the United States or any country in the strait, with the single exception of Saudi Arabia. [17] His comments followed US reports that Trump pulled back from striking Houthi positions at the last minute on Sunday, hours after a call with Saudi Arabia's crown prince Mohammed bin Salman. [17] Two people told Reuters that Trump made no direct pledge of military support in a separate call with Yemen's president. [18] The Houthis say the attacks will continue until Saudi Arabia lifts its blockade. [17]

   Why it matters — The group is fighting the world's top oil exporter while formally exempting the world's largest navy, which keeps the one force that could break the blockade on the sidelines. [17]

8. 09

   EU short of warships in the Red Sea

   The European Union's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc's naval mission protecting shipping in the Red Sea would need more than ten warships, and said there are not that many in the area now. [19] Diplomats say six are currently operating. [19] The mission, called Aspides, was launched in 2024 to protect merchant ships from Houthi attacks. [19] Kallas spoke in New York on Monday, on the edge of the UN meeting. [19]

   In the Red Sea now6 warships

   What the EU says it needs10 warships

   Why it matters — Naming the gap out loud is how a European official asks member governments for ships they have so far not sent.

9. 10

   Yemenis flee across the Red Sea

   More than 3,000 Yemenis have arrived on the African side of the Red Sea in recent days, many of them whole families crossing in fishing boats. [20] The UN estimates more than 120,000 people have been displaced by the sudden fighting along Yemen's Red Sea coast this month. [20][16] Saudi air strikes on the port city of Mokha killed at least six people including two children and a woman, according to Houthi-linked media cited by AFP; Saudi Arabia has not commented. [16] The Houthis took Yemen's capital Sanaa in 2014, which drew Saudi Arabia into the war. [21]

   Why it matters — This is the part of the Red Sea fight that does not appear in shipping figures or oil prices: fishermen loading their children and their goats into a boat. [20]

10. 11

    Russia hits nine Ukrainian regions

    Russian bombardment of Zaporizhzhia late on Sunday hit apartment blocks, a university and a shopping centre, wounding five people, Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky said. [22] Russia struck nine other Ukrainian regions the same night, he said. [22] Russia's defence ministry said it had targeted logistics hubs, warehouses and ports. [22] The strikes answered a Ukrainian drone swarm of more than 1,000 aircraft launched over the weekend, hundreds of them aimed at the Moscow region during the final day of Russia's parliamentary election. [22][24]

    Why it matters — Zelensky expects to meet Trump in New York this week and said Russia is sending signals it is ready to widen the war rather than end it. [22]

11. 12

    Moscow's biggest refinery stops

    The Moscow refinery owned by Gazprom Neft has halted crude oil processing after fires broke out at both of its primary distillation units during Ukraine's weekend drone attack, three industry sources told Reuters. [23] Repairs could take several weeks. [23] The plant processed about 230,000 barrels a day in 2024 and produced 2.9 million tonnes of petrol and 3.2 million tonnes of diesel. [23] Its fuel has not been offered on the St Petersburg exchange since 21 September. [23] Ukraine said the strike used ten types of home-built drone and missile, including a new one called Pelican. [24]

    • AVT-6 unit53%
    • EURO+ unit47%

    Why it matters — Ukraine cannot hold more ground, so it is taking out the plants that turn Russian crude into the fuel its army and its drivers use. [23][24]

12. 13

    Macron floats an energy truce

    France's president Emmanuel Macron said he discussed with Trump the idea of a moratorium on Russian and Ukrainian attacks on each other's energy sites. [25] He called the conversation very good and very constructive, and said the two agreed Ukraine needs interceptor missiles faster. [25] Macron said he would raise the energy idea with Zelensky the same evening. [25] He gave no detail on what the moratorium would cover or who would police it. [25]

    Why it matters — A pause like that would stop the two things each side has left while the front line does not move: Ukraine burning Russian refineries and Russia cutting Ukraine's heating. [23][26]

13. 14

    Ukrainians brace for a hard winter

    Ukrainians are preparing for what many expect to be the worst wartime winter of air strikes since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. [26] Last winter's long sub-zero spell cut heating, water and sewage in Kyiv and other cities for weeks at a time. [26] Russia's drones have become more sophisticated and Ukraine is short of interceptors. [26] Some people are stocking firewood or buying equipment and warm clothing; others are considering moving abroad. [26] Britain's prime minister said he will press Trump for more interceptor missiles this week. [57]

    Why it matters — Ukraine is short of interceptors and its cities lost heating for weeks last winter, which is why interceptors are the first thing European leaders ask the US president for. [26][57]

14. 15

    Putin's party keeps its majority

    United Russia, the party behind President Vladimir Putin, kept its decisive majority in the national parliament, near-complete results showed on Monday. [27] Putin had presented the three-day vote as a test of support for the war in Ukraine. [27] Yabloko, the only anti-war party on the ballot, failed to enter the national parliament but appears to have won a small foothold in one regional assembly. [27] Senior figures including Dmitry Medvedev and foreign minister Sergei Lavrov visited party headquarters when the preliminary results came in. [27]

    Why it matters — The result gives Russia's government a fresh claim that the country endorses the war, weeks before the winter fighting season. [27]

15. 16

    Merz survives his party's worst result

    German chancellor Friedrich Merz said he will keep his coalition together for the sake of the country's democratic future, after two state election defeats on Sunday. [30][29] In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania the far-right AfD came first and Merz's Christian Democrats did not reach the 5% needed to enter the state parliament, the party's worst regional result since the war. [34][31] Merz called it a disaster and a profound turning point but rejected the idea that his own low ratings caused it. [30] He has been in office 16 months. [29]

    Why it matters — A German Marshall Fund analyst told Reuters that Germany is entering a period where workable coalitions get harder to build, and that this does not bode well for Europe when Germany is its de facto leader. [28]

16. 17

    A left-wing party wins Berlin

    Die Linke, the hard-left party, came first in Berlin's state election on Sunday, ahead of Merz's Christian Democrats, with the far-right AfD also gaining. [31][33] That puts Elif Eralp, 45, on course to become Berlin's first governing mayor of Turkish descent, in coalition with the Social Democrats and Greens. [32][33] She was born in Munich to Turkish socialists who fled the 1980 military coup in Turkey. [32] Her party wants to cap rents and take much of Berlin's housing into public ownership. [28] Merz said he would protect German Jews after the result. [33]

    Why it matters — Voters in the same country on the same day went to the far right in one state and the hard left in the other, which is what an eroding centre looks like from the ballot box. [28]

17. 18

    EU near a deal to delist Usmanov

    European Union ambassadors are close to removing Alisher Usmanov, a Russian metals billionaire, from the bloc's sanctions list, after France demanded it. [35] Sanctions on more than 2,600 people and companies accused of supporting Russia's war expire at midnight on Tuesday unless all 27 governments agree to roll them over. [35] Euronews reports that France and Uzbekistan agreed privately that Usmanov would come off the list in exchange for Azerbaijan pardoning and releasing two French citizens from prison. [35] Several member states are angry at the precedent. [35]

    Why it matters — A rule written in 2022 requiring everyone to agree is now the lever one government uses to take a single name off a list the other 26 want kept. [35]

18. 19

    Trump promotes a Belarus potash deal

    Trump said the United States is working on a massive deal to buy potash from Belarus at prices well below what it pays Canada. [36][37] Potash is a potassium salt used to make fertiliser. [36] Canada currently supplies most of the potash used by American farmers. [36] The announcement follows a year of talks led by US envoy John Coale, in which Belarus's president Alexander Lukashenko pardoned hundreds of political prisoners in exchange for the easing of US sanctions on Belarusian firms, including the state producer Belaruskali. [36] The European Union still bans Belarusian potash. [36]

    Why it matters — Belarus let Russia use its territory to stage the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, and the European Union still bans its potash while the United States is now discussing buying it. [36]

19. 20

    Lithuania says do not soften on Belarus

    Lithuania's foreign minister Kestutis Budrys said there is no reason for Europe to soften its position on Belarus, because Belarus is not changing its behaviour. [38] He told Reuters at the UN meeting that he welcomed the prisoner releases, but said about 1,000 political prisoners remain and that European sanctions still work. [38] Lithuania borders Belarus and takes in many of those who are freed. [38] Budrys said his country would prefer to coordinate sanctions policy with the United States. [38]

    Why it matters — The neighbour that absorbs the consequences is asking the distant partner not to trade away the pressure, and has no vote in Washington. [38]

20. 21

    US readies sanctions on the whole ICC

    The Trump administration has prepared sanctions against the entire International Criminal Court and plans to announce them soon, two people familiar with the matter said. [39] Dutch officials were told by the US that the measures could be levied as early as Monday, and were encouraged to withdraw the Netherlands from the court, which it hosts in The Hague. [40] The US has already sanctioned more than a dozen current and former staff, including half the sitting judges. [40] The court has issued arrest warrants for senior Israeli officials including prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who denies the allegations. [40]

    Why it matters — When its former chief prosecutor was sanctioned in 2025 he lost his email, his bank accounts were frozen and he could not enter the US, so the same measures against the institution would reach every member of staff. [40]

21. 22

    UN calls US boat strikes unlawful

    A UN special rapporteur, Ben Saul, concluded that US air strikes on vessels said to be carrying drugs broke international law and could amount to crimes against humanity. [41] He counted at least 68 strikes in the Caribbean and Pacific since September last year, outside US territorial waters, killing 223 people. [41] Saul said that even if those on board belonged to designated terrorist groups, they had not attacked the United States, so there was no right of self-defence. [41] The US military said its most recent strike, two days earlier, killed four people it described as narco-terrorists. [41]

    Why it matters — The finding lands in the same week the US is preparing to sanction the court that would normally examine exactly this kind of allegation. [39][41]

22. 23

    Seven Ethiopian groups join forces

    Seven Ethiopian armed groups announced an alliance aimed at overthrowing prime minister Abiy Ahmed's government, including forces that fought on opposite sides of the 2020-2022 Tigray war. [42][43] The new body, the Ethiopian Peoples' Forces Alliance for Survival, includes the Tigray People's Liberation Front and the Amhara Fano National Movement, which fought for Ethiopia's federal government against the TPLF before turning against it in 2023. [42] Its statement was read out by Fano leader Zemene Kassie on Tigrayan television. [42] The Tigray war killed hundreds of thousands of people. [42]

    Why it matters — An adviser to Abiy said last month that any such grouping would cause havoc but could not overthrow Ethiopia's federal government, and that is the claim now being tested. [42]

23. 24

    More than 100 Malian soldiers killed

    Al Qaeda-linked fighters from JNIM killed more than 100 Malian soldiers in an attack at Dioura on 10 September, security and diplomatic sources told Reuters. [44] One security source put the death toll at 130 with more than 100 taken hostage; a diplomatic source said around 120; JNIM claimed 150. [44] Mali's army acknowledged losses without giving numbers. [44] JNIM also said it struck air defences at Sevare airport, and a resident reported six consecutive nights of shelling and about 40 wounded Malian and Russian fighters at the local hospital. [44]

    Why it matters — Russia's Africa Corps fights alongside Mali's army in both places, so this is also a test of what Russian support is worth in the Sahel. [44]

24. 25

    Nigerian petrol prices climb again

    Petrol in Lagos and Abuja has risen to about 1,400 naira a litre this month, from roughly 1,200 a month earlier, with some northern stations charging 1,500. [45] Diesel sells for more than 2,000 naira. [45] The rise followed the Dangote refinery raising its wholesale price to 1,350 naira a litre, tracking higher crude costs. [45] Nigeria is Africa's largest oil producer and votes in a general election on 16 January 2027. [45] Opposition politicians have made fuel prices the central test of President Bola Tinubu's record since he removed the petrol subsidy. [45]

    Petrol a month ago1,200 naira a litre

    Petrol now in Lagos and Abuja1,400 naira a litre

    Petrol at some northern stations1,500 naira a litre

    Why it matters — Nigeria is Africa's largest oil producer and its pump prices still follow the world crude price, so a truck driver in Abuja says there is little left for his family after he fills the tank. [45]

25. 26

    Arrests over a South African killing

    South African police arrested a man and two women over the death of Jabulile Ntimba, whose body was found wrapped in a sheet in Dawn Park, east of Johannesburg, last Thursday. [46][47] Hers was the last of nine recent cases of women's bodies being found dumped in that region. [47] Acting police chief Lieutenant General Puleng Dimpane called the arrests a breakthrough and said officers were working to solve all nine. [47] Police have not established whether the deaths are connected or whether one person is responsible. [47] The three were due in court on Monday. [46]

    Why it matters — The killings brought students to vigils in Cape Town and pushed violence against women back to the top of South African politics. [46]

26. 27

    Ten lions found dead in Tanzania

    Authorities in northern Tanzania suspect poisoning killed ten lions found on Friday in the Ndutu area of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, a UNESCO World Heritage site. [48] The conservation authority said preliminary findings suggest the animals died after eating poison, and an investigation is under way. [48] Lions, elephants and black rhinos live there alongside semi-nomadic Maasai herders. [48] The International Union for Conservation of Nature classifies lions as vulnerable and says their numbers are falling. [48]

    Why it matters — Lions, elephants and black rhinos live in Ngorongoro alongside Maasai herders, and the conservation body lists conflict between people and wildlife among the threats pushing lion numbers down. [48]

27. 28

    Venezuela talks debt and oil in New York

    A Venezuelan delegation led by interim president Delcy Rodriguez began discussing energy, debt and mining with US counterparts in New York on Monday, officials and sources told Reuters. [49] Rodriguez met the head of the Inter-American Development Bank, and a meeting with Trump was scheduled for Tuesday. [49] The talks are expected to produce signed agreements as part of Trump's plan to rebuild Venezuela's industries. [49] Venezuelan officials had advanced the negotiations before Rodriguez travelled. [49] US forces seized the previous Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro from the capital at the start of this year. [13]

    Why it matters — Nine months after an American raid removed its leader, Venezuela's government is in New York negotiating the terms on which its oil comes back. [13][49]

28. 29

    Eighteen in court over Haiti killing

    Joseph Badio, a former Haitian justice ministry employee, appeared in a Florida court in a wheelchair alongside 17 others described as Colombian mercenaries. [50] They were flown from Haiti to the United States the previous day. [50] All are among 30 people charged over the 2021 assassination of Haiti's president Jovenel Moise, who was killed at his home near Port-au-Prince by about two dozen foreign gunmen. [50] At least nine people have already been convicted or pleaded guilty. [50] US prosecutors say south Florida was where the plot was planned and financed. [50]

    Why it matters — US prosecutors say south Florida is where the plot was planned and paid for, so the trial for the killing of a Haitian head of state is running in another country's courts. [50]

29. 30

    Report tracks US deportees in Haiti

    Human Rights Watch published the first detailed account of what happens to people deported from the United States to Haiti, where gang violence, hunger and poverty are all deepening. [51] The US has deported more than 470 people there since July, including some who lost Temporary Protected Status that had let them live and work legally in the US. [51] Flights land at Cap-Haitien because the main airport in Port-au-Prince is considered too dangerous. [51] Cap-Haitien's mayor Michel Saint-Croix says the city's population has tripled to more than a million in two years. [51]

    Why it matters — Most deportees have refused to speak to reporters because they fear for their safety, which is why a written record of where they end up did not exist until now. [51]

30. 31

    Gaza children return to classrooms

    Children in Gaza went back to in-person schooling for the first time in three years, in tents and makeshift buildings. [52] Around 22,000 students and more than 770 education workers, including 532 teachers, were killed during the war, said Ibrahim Ramadan, education director for East Khan Younis. [52] Moayed Abu Mustafa, back in class in Khan Younis, said he will sit on the floor of an unventilated tent without shoes, a notebook or a pen, and will learn anyway. [52] Samar Abu Salmi, 15, said students had been studying on phones. [52]

    Why it matters — School is the first ordinary thing to restart in Gaza, and it restarted without buildings, desks or most of the teachers. [52]

31. 32

    Israel's right bloc leads a poll

    A Channel 13 News voter poll gave the bloc around Netanyahu's government more Knesset seats than the opposition bloc for the first time in this election period. [53] The column notes that Netanyahu's own bloc still does not have the 61 lawmakers a government needs. [53] Haaretz's editorial board separately urged opposition leaders to stop fighting each other and warned that the infighting is what is putting the election within Netanyahu's reach. [53] Israel votes later this year. [53]

    Why it matters — The column says that if the trend holds, Netanyahu will probably form the next government, after an election fought on a record that includes 7 October. [53]

32. 33

    Mediator says a deal was near before 7 October

    Sufian Abu Zaida, a former senior Fatah official who mediated between Israel and Hamas before the 2023 attacks, said the two sides had been close to signing an agreement shortly before 7 October. [54][55] The deal concerned four Israelis held in Gaza. [55] He said the talks were not connected to the attacks themselves. [54] Abu Zaida had previously been identified in Haaretz reporting only by a codename, to protect him. [54] He spoke publicly on Monday morning. [54]

    Why it matters — Israel votes on a record that includes 7 October, and a named mediator saying talks were live in the days before it adds a fact the inquiry will have to deal with. [53][54]

33. 34

    Fourth Syrian arms depot explodes

    An ammunition depot exploded near Al-Eis in Syria's Aleppo province, the fourth such blast this month, with the sounds heard across nearby towns. [56] Four people were hurt, one by falling shrapnel, the emergency ministry said. [56] Residents fled and roads were closed while workers cleared unexploded projectiles. [56] A depot explosion in Idlib killed 14 people on 9 September and another in eastern Syria killed 11 last week. [56] There have been at least 16 such explosions since Bashar al-Assad was removed. [56] Authorities have offered no explanation. [56]

    Why it matters — Sixteen unexplained explosions at weapons stores is either a country that has lost track of what Assad's army left behind or somebody setting them off. [56]

34. 35

    Britain's new leader meets Trump

    Andy Burnham, who became Britain's prime minister in July, holds his first meeting with Trump on the edge of the UN gathering and addresses the Assembly on Tuesday. [57] He wants interceptor missiles for Ukraine before winter and ways to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, largely blocked since the US and Israel went to war with Iran in February. [57] The closure has pushed up oil prices and made Britain's cost-of-living problem worse. [57] Burnham said in 2017, as mayor of Greater Manchester, that Trump would not be welcome in the city. [57]

    Why it matters — Burnham's only other foreign trip since taking office was to Kyiv, and the two things he is asking for are both things only the US president can grant. [57]

35. 36

    Trump meets New York's mayor

    Trump met New York mayor Zohran Mamdani at Gracie Mansion while world leaders waited across town for the UN session. [58] Mamdani said the news outlets Trump has barred from the US president's offices should be present at the event; Trump defended the restrictions, saying he considers their coverage biased. [58] Mamdani told reporters afterwards that the two disagree sharply but that the relationship has held. [58] He said he would keep talking to anyone who can deliver relief to the city. [58]

    Why it matters — The mayor of the city hosting the General Assembly got the US president's time before any of the leaders waiting across town. [58]

36. 37

    Seven of nine planet limits breached

    A report published on Monday by the Potsdam Institute's Planetary Boundaries Science Lab found the world has crossed seven of the nine scientific boundaries it uses to describe a healthy planet. [59] Its director Johan Rockstrom said the planet is close to thresholds that lead to irreversible outcomes. [59] It landed as New York Climate Week opened beside the UN meeting, where talks were dominated by two new pressures: electricity demand from AI data centres, and fuel prices pushed up by the wars. [59] Britain's energy secretary Edward Miliband called cleaner power a national security matter. [59]

    Why it matters — Miliband said the climate breakdown must be an issue for foreign ministers, prime ministers and generals, not only for energy ministers and campaigners. [59]

37. 38

    US hides where detainees are held

    US Immigration and Customs Enforcement removed thousands of detainees with final deportation orders from its public online locator on 15 September, three current and former officials told the Associated Press. [60] The change was not announced. [60] Lawyers confirmed clients disappeared from the system, and the American Immigration Lawyers Association warned members on Friday. [60] Nearly 16,000 people booked into ICE detention in July had final removal orders, more than a third of all bookings. [60] Lawyers say the change makes last-minute legal challenges harder. [60]

    Why it matters — A person who cannot be located cannot be represented, so removing a name from a database is a practical limit on a legal right without any law being changed. [60]

38. 39

    Brazil takes Uruguay's beef quota

    Brazil's president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Uruguay has authorised Brazil to use the surplus of its beef export quota to China, after meeting his Uruguayan counterpart Yamandu Orsi in New York. [61] China imposed an extra 55% tariff in January on beef imports above quota from major suppliers including Brazil. [61] Brazil had already shipped 98.5% of its 1.1 million tonne quota between November and June. [61] Brazilian beef exports are expected to fall 10% this year. [61] Uruguay's foreign ministry did not comment. [61]

    Why it matters — Two South American governments quietly pooled their access to one buyer, which is what smaller exporters do when a large market sets quotas country by country. [61]

39. 40

    Two maps, one hidden and one revealed

    BBC Verify identified thousands of locations blurred on Apple Maps inside China, including military and government sites and several detention facilities linked to alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang. [62] Separately, Israel's official public mapping site govmap stopped blurring parts of the Gaza Strip, publishing 2025 aerial imagery in high definition that shows at least seven Israeli army positions inside the buffer zone in northern Gaza. [63] The change was spotted on Monday by an open-source intelligence account. [63] It is not known whether the unblurring was a policy change or a mistake. [63]

    Why it matters — The same week, one state's map hid its detention sites and another's revealed its own army's positions, and neither government explained the decision. [62][63]

40. 41

    Binance investigated over Iran trades

    US prosecutors are examining whether the crypto exchange Binance knowingly allowed trading that breached sanctions on Iran, Bloomberg News reported. [64] The Manhattan US attorney's office is leading the inquiry with the Justice Department's criminal division. [64] Binance said it has zero tolerance for sanctions violations and fully cooperates with law enforcement. [64] Its former chief Changpeng Zhao stepped down in 2023 and pleaded guilty to breaking US anti-money-laundering laws as part of a $4.3bn settlement. [64] The Justice Department declined to comment. [64]

    Why it matters — Sanctions on Iran only bite if the routes around them close, and a crypto exchange is the newest of those routes. [64]

41. 42

    US to ground Iranian airlines abroad

    US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said all Iranian airlines will be shut down around the world from Wednesday. [65] The threat is aimed less at the airlines than at the airports, fuel suppliers and ticketing firms they rely on abroad: service an Iranian plane, Bessent said, and you will be knocked out of the dollar system. [65] The US Treasury sanctioned the last remaining Iranian carriers earlier this month. [65] Iran's aviation industry was already short of new aircraft and spare parts after years of sanctions. [65]

    Why it matters — This is a secondary sanction, which works by threatening third countries rather than the target, and it is why an airport in a neutral country now has to choose sides. [65]

42. 43

    Republicans break with Trump on Iran

    Two Republicans in tight US Senate races, Ashley Hinson in Iowa and Mike Rogers in Michigan, called on Monday for a swift end to the war in Iran, after earlier supporting it. [66] Both also called for suspending the federal petrol tax and halting US diesel exports. [66] Diesel prices have hit record highs. [66] Trump's approval rating has fallen to a career low of 32%. [66] Oil steadied on Tuesday with Brent just above $100 a barrel, as traders waited for possible US-Iran talks at the UN meeting. [67]

    Why it matters — The war reaches American voters as a fuel price, and candidates in close races are the first people in a governing party to say so out loud. [66]